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All 36 metropolitan boroughs, all 296 English districts and all 37 Welsh districts | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 1991 United Kingdom local elections were held on Thursday 2 May 1991. [2] [3] The results were a setback for the governing Conservative Party, who were left with their lowest number of councillors since 1973, though their popular vote was an improvement from the 1990 local elections.
This was the first electoral test for Prime Minister and Conservative leader John Major, who had taken the helm from Margaret Thatcher in November 1990.
Labour and the Liberal Democrats both benefited from the Conservative losses.
The main opposition Labour Party gained 584 seats, bringing their number of councillors to 9,504, their highest since 1975. Their projected share of the vote was 38%, a decline of 6% from the previous year. They overtook the Conservatives in number of councillors and would remain in that position until 2003.
The governing Conservative Party lost 1,035 seats, leaving them with 7,985 councillors. Their share of the vote was projected to be 35%, an increase of 2% from the previous year.
The Liberal Democrats gained 407 seats and had 3,672 councillors after the elections, a record number and a sign of their improving popularity after a series of disastrous performances in local and European elections after their formation in March 1988. Their projected share of the vote was 22%, up from 17% in 1990. [4]
Despite the Conservatives' heavy losses, the party would go on to win the 1992 general election 11 months later.
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All 36 metropolitan borough councils had one third of their seats up for election.
In 185 districts the whole council was up for election.
Three of those districts - Oadby and Wigston, Tonbridge and Malling and Torbay - returned to whole councils elections having previously been elected by thirds.
In 9 districts there were new ward boundaries, following further electoral boundary reviews by the Local Government Boundary Commission for England.
These were the last elections to the district councils of Langbaurgh-on-Tees, Middlesbrough, Stockton-on-Tees and Woodspring before they were made unitary authorities by the Local Government Commission for England (1992).
These were also the last elections to the district councils of Beverley, Boothferry, Cleethorpes, East Yorkshire, Glanford, Holderness, Kingswood, Medina, Northavon, South Wight and Wansdyke before they were abolished and replaced by unitary authorities by the Local Government Commission for England (1992).
‡ New ward boundaries
In 111 districts one third of the council was up for election.
These were the last elections to the district councils before they were abolished by the Local Government (Wales) Act 1994.
South Bedfordshire was a local government district in Bedfordshire, in the East of England, from 1974 to 2009. Its main towns were Dunstable, Houghton Regis and Leighton Buzzard.
The 2003 United Kingdom local elections were held on Thursday 1 May 2003, the same day as the Scottish Parliamentary and the Welsh Assembly elections. There were local elections for all councils in Scotland and in most of England. There were no local elections in Wales, Northern Ireland or London.
The 2004 United Kingdomlocal elections were held on Thursday 10 June 2004, along with the European elections and the London mayoral and Assembly elections.
The 1998 United Kingdom local elections were held on Thursday 7 May 1998. All London borough council seats were elected as well a third of the seats on each of the Metropolitan Boroughs. Some unitary authorities and District councils also had elections. There were no local elections in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland.
The 2006 United Kingdom local elections were held on Thursday 4 May 2006.
The 2007 United Kingdom local elections were held on Thursday 3 May 2007. These elections took place in most of England and all of Scotland. There were no local government elections in Wales though the Welsh Assembly had a general election on the same day. There were no local government elections in Northern Ireland. Just over half of English councils and almost all the Scottish councils began the counts on Friday, rather than Thursday night, because of more complex arrangements regarding postal votes.
The 2011 United Kingdom local elections were held on Thursday, 5 May. In England, direct elections were held in all 36 metropolitan boroughs, 194 second-tier district authorities, 49 unitary authorities and various mayoral posts, meaning local elections took place within all parts of England with the exceptions of seven unitary authorities, and seven districts and boroughs. For the majority of English districts and the 25 unitary authorities who were "all-up" for election at the end of their four-year terms, these were the first elections since 2007. In Northern Ireland, there were elections to all 26 local councils. Elections also took place to elect members of most English parish councils.
The 1996 United Kingdom local elections were held on 2 May 1996. They were the last local elections until 2010 to show a decline in the number of Conservative councillors and an increase in the number of Labour councillors.
The 1994 United Kingdom local elections were held on Thursday 5 May 1994. The results showed a continued decline for the governing Conservatives — who were now in their 15th successive year of government at Westminster — with the third-placed party, the Liberal Democrats, as the main beneficiaries.
The 1993 United Kingdom local elections were held on Thursday 6 May 1993 in England and Wales, and Wednesday 19 May 1993 in Northern Ireland. The results showed a decline for the governing Conservative Party, who were still reeling from the fallout of Black Wednesday; with the third-placed party, the Liberal Democrats, gaining most seats.
The 1992 United Kingdom local elections were held on Thursday 7 May 1992, one month after the 1992 general election which returned the governing Conservative Party for a fourth consecutive term in office. The Conservatives won back some ground that they had lost the previous year.
The 1990 United Kingdom local elections were held on Thursday 3 May 1990. They were the last local elections held before the resignation of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in November 1990.
The 2014 United Kingdom local elections were held on 22 May 2014. Usually these elections are held on the first Thursday in May but were postponed to coincide with the 2014 European Parliament Elections. Direct elections were held for all 32 London boroughs, all 36 metropolitan boroughs, 74 district/borough councils, 19 unitary authorities and various mayoral posts in England and elections to the new councils in Northern Ireland.
The 2015 United Kingdom local elections were held on Thursday 7 May 2015, the same day as the general election for the House of Commons.
The 2017 United Kingdom local elections were held on Thursday 4 May 2017. Local elections were held across Great Britain, with elections to 35 English local authorities and all councils in Scotland and Wales.
The 2018 United Kingdom local elections were held on Thursday 3 May 2018, with local council elections taking place in all 32 London boroughs, 34 metropolitan boroughs, 67 district and borough councils and 17 unitary authorities. There were also direct elections for the mayoralties of Hackney, Lewisham, Newham, Tower Hamlets and Watford.
The 2019 United Kingdom local elections took place on Thursday 2 May 2019, with 248 English local councils, six directly elected mayors in England, and all 11 local councils in Northern Ireland being contested.
The 2021 United Kingdom local elections were held on Thursday 6 May 2021. More than 145 English local councils, around 5,000 councillor seats, thirteen directly elected mayors in England, and 39 police and crime commissioners in England and Wales were contested. On the same day, the 2021 Hartlepool by-election took place, and there were also elections to the Scottish Parliament, Senedd and London Assembly, the last in conjunction with the London mayoral election.
The 2022 United Kingdom local elections took place on Thursday 5 May 2022. These included elections for all London borough councils, and for all local authorities in Wales and Scotland. Most seats in England were last up for election in 2018 and in Scotland and Wales in 2017. The elections coincided with the 2022 Northern Ireland Assembly election. In 91 cases, most of them in Wales, council seats were uncontested, each having only one candidate. Three seats in Scotland remained unfilled as no one nominated to fill them.
The 2023 United Kingdom local elections were held on Thursday, 4 May 2023 in England and on Thursday 18 May 2023 in Northern Ireland. These included district councils, unitary authorities, and directly elected mayors in England, and included all local councils in Northern Ireland. Notably, these elections were the first to be held under the Elections Act 2022, a new voter identification law that required voters to show photo ID when attending a polling station, and was a cause for controversy.