 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Colours denote the winning party with outright control | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Local elections were held in Scotland on 7 May 1992, to elect members to all 53 district councils. It was the last local election held under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, which had established the two-tier system of regions and districts. Regional and district councils were abolished in 1996, and replaced with 29 new mainland unitary authorities under the terms of the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994.
There was some speculation that these elections would be the last under the present two-tier system, as a review of council areas had been announced by the incumbent Conservative Government (The last elections were in fact the 1994 regional elections). The elections were seen as a test of the Conservative Government elected a month before in April, where the Conservatives had increased their vote share, much to the surprise of pollsters.
The election saw a decrease in turnout of more than 5%, the lowest since District Council elections were introduced in 1974. The number of women candidates increased to 26.7%, although only 21.5% of elected councillors were women, showing that the main parties often preferred to nominate men in wards where they had a better chance of winning. Labour saw a sharp fall on their vote share, down 8.5% from 1988. The main beneficiaries of this decline were the Conservatives, up 3.8%, but still in third place behind the SNP, who gained 3.0%. The Liberal Democrats also made modest gains, taking a new record of 95 seats.
Labour held most of their strongholds in the central belt, as well as Dundee and Aberdeen; even though their vote share decreased more in these areas (Such as East Lothian, down 13% from 1988 and Glasgow, down 11.8%) than elsewhere. The Conservatives were most successful in places were they hadn't stood many (if any) candidates before, such as Clackmannan (where the party only stood two candidates in 1988). Independents remained the largest party in rural areas, while the Liberal Democrats held their two councils of North East Fife and Annandale and Eskdale. [1]
| Votes Total | Votes % | Seats | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | 504,076 | 34.0 | 468 | |
| SNP | 360,014 | 24.3 | 150 | |
| Conservative | 343,358 | 23.2 | 204 | |
| Liberal Democrats | 140,697 | 9.5 | 94 | |
| Independent | 107,586 | 7.4 | 228 | |
| Other | 26,057 | 1.9 | 14 | |
| Total | 1,481,788 | n/a | 1158 | |
| District | 1988 result | 1992 result | Turnout | Details | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Berwickshire | Conservative | Conservative | Details | |||
| Ettrick and Lauderdale | Independent | Independent | Details | |||
| Roxburgh | Independent | Independent | Details | |||
| Tweeddale | Independent | Independent | Details | |||
| District | 1988 result | 1992 result | Turnout | Details | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clackmannan | Labour | Labour | Details | |||
| Falkirk | Labour | No overall control | Details | |||
| Stirling | Labour | No overall control | Details | |||
| District | 1988 result | 1992 result | Turnout | Details | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annandale and Eskdale | Liberal Democrats | Liberal Democrats | Details | |||
| Wigtown | Independent | Independent | Details | |||
| Nithsdale | Labour | No overall control | Details | |||
| Stewartry | Independent | Independent | Details | |||
| District | 1988 result | 1992 result | Turnout | Details | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dunfermline | Labour | Labour | Details | |||
| Kirkcaldy | Labour | Labour | Details | |||
| North-East Fife | Liberal Democrats | Liberal Democrats | Details | |||
| District | 1988 result | 1992 result | Turnout | Details | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Banff and Buchan | Independent | Independent | Details | |||
| City of Aberdeen | No overall control | Labour | Details | |||
| Gordon | No overall control | Independent | Details | |||
| Kincardine and Deeside | Independent | No overall control | Details | |||
| Moray | Independent | No overall control | Details | |||
| District | 1988 result | 1992 result | Turnout | Details | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| City of Edinburgh | Labour | No overall control | Details | |||
| East Lothian | Labour | Labour | Details | |||
| Midlothian | Labour | Labour | Details | |||
| West Lothian | Labour | No overall control | Details | |||
| District | 1988 result | 1992 result | Turnout | Details | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Angus | SNP | SNP | Details | |||
| City of Dundee | Labour | Labour | Details | |||
| Perth and Kinross | No overall control | Conservative | Details | |||
The Liberal Party is a liberal political party in the United Kingdom that was founded in 1989 as a continuation of the original Liberal Party by members who opposed its merger with the Social Democratic Party (SDP) to form the Liberal Democrats. The party holds five local council seats. The party promotes a hybrid of both classical and social liberal tendencies.
Regional elections were held in Scotland on 5 May 1994, as part of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973. These were the last elections before 29 new mainland unitary authorities, established by the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994, came into effect. The councils up for election were last contested in 1990 Scottish regional elections, and vote and seat changes are compared to the 1990 results.
The 2008 Stroud Council election took place on 1 May 2008 to elect members of Stroud District Council in Gloucestershire, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Conservative Party stayed in overall control of the council.
The elections to South Norfolk District Council were held on Thursday 5 May 2011 along with various other local elections around England, elections to the Scottish Parliament, National Assembly of Wales and Northern Ireland Assembly, and a referendum on whether to adopt the Alternative Vote electoral system for elections to the House of Commons. All 46 council seats were up for election. The previous council was controlled by the Conservatives, with the Liberal Democrats being the only opposition.
Elections to Cannock Chase District Council took place on 3 May 2012 on the same day as other local elections in England. A total of 14 councillors were elected from 13 wards as a third of the council was up for election. This also included a by-election in the Hagley ward which filled a vacancy that had arisen since the previous election. There were no elections held in the Hednesford Green Heath or Rawnsley wards as those wards elect only two councillors in the other two years of the election cycle.
The 2013 United Kingdom local elections took place on Thursday 2 May 2013. Elections were held in 35 English councils: all 27 non-metropolitan county councils and eight unitary authorities, and in one Welsh unitary authority. Direct mayoral elections took place in Doncaster and North Tyneside. These elections last took place on the 4 June 2009 at the same time as the 2009 European Parliament Elections, except for County Durham, Northumberland and the Anglesey where elections last took place in 2008.
The 2011 Harlow District Council election took place on 5 May 2011 to elect members of Harlow District Council in Essex, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Conservative Party stayed in overall control of the council.
The 2015 South Norfolk District Council election was held on Thursday 7 May 2015 to elect the whole council as part of 2015 United Kingdom local elections coinciding with the general election. The council continued to consist of 46 councillors and as immediately after the previous election, the council was controlled by local Conservatives, with local Liberal Democrats being the only opposition. The governing group's numbers were augmented by two councillors at the expense of that opposition group. Three defecting-from-majority independent councillors lost their council seats.
Elections to Strathclyde Regional Council were held on Thursday 8 May 1986, on the same day as the eight other Scottish regional elections. This was the fourth election to the regional council following the local government reforms in the 1970s.
The sixth and last election to Tayside Regional Council was held on 5 May 1994 as part of the wider 1994 Scottish regional elections. The election saw the Scottish National Party overtaking Labour to become the council's largest party, and following the election the SNP formed a minority administration. The Conservatives lost 10 seats and became the third largest party. 8 weeks later, leader of the council Lena Graham resigned 'for personal reasons' and Ewan Dow took over as council leader.
The 2016 Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council election took place on 5 May 2016 to elect members of Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council in England. This was on the same day as other local elections. One councillor was elected in each ward for a four-year term so the councillors elected in 2016 last stood for election in 2012. Each ward is represented by three councillors, the election of which is staggered, so only one third of the councillors was elected in this election. Before the election there was no overall control with a minority Labour administration. After the election there was still no overall control so the minority Labour administration continued.
The 2018 Lambeth London Borough Council election took place on 3 May 2018 alongside other local elections in London, to elect members of Lambeth London Borough Council in England. The election saw Labour remain in control of Lambeth Council with a slightly reduced majority, winning over 90% of the seats. The Green Party achieved its best-ever result in the borough, winning five seats and becoming the official opposition and the largest Green group in London.
Elections to Cannock Chase District Council took place on 3 May 2018 on the same day as other local elections in England. A third of the council was up for election, meaning a total of 13 councillors were elected from all but two of the council's wards.
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, 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 2022 Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council election took place on 5 May 2022 to elect members of Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council in England. One third of councillors — 17 out of 51, plus one vacancy in Ovenden ward were up for election. The election took place alongside other local elections across the United Kingdom.
Elections to Aberdeenshire Council took place on Thursday 5 May 2022 on the same day as the 31 other Scottish local government elections. As with other Scottish council elections, it was held using single transferable vote (STV) – a form of proportional representation – in which multiple candidates are elected in each ward and voters rank candidates in order of preference.
Elections to Perth and Kinross Council were held on 5 May 2022 as part of the 2022 Scottish local elections. 40 Councillors were elected from 12 multi-members electoral wards under the Single Transferable Vote electoral system. The Scottish Conservatives had run Perth and Kinross Council as a minority administration immediately prior to the election, with a previous coalition with the Scottish Liberal Democrats collapsing mid-way through the term. Twelve incumbent Councillors, including two group leaders, decided not to seek re-election whilst others stood again but lost their seats.
Elections to Cannock Chase District Council took place on 5 May 2022 on the same day as other local elections in England, Scotland and Wales. All but two of the council's wards were up for election, meaning a total of 13 councillors were elected.
