Swale Borough Council elections are held every four years to elect Swale Borough Council in Kent, England. Since the last boundary changes in 2015 the council has comprised 47 councillors representing 24 wards. [1] Until 2011 one third of the council was elected every year, followed by one year without election.
Summary of the council composition after recent council elections, click on the year for full details of each election. Boundary changes took place for the 2002 election, leading to the whole council bring elected in that year and reducing the number of seats by two. [2]
| Year | Conservative | Labour | Liberal Democrats [a] | Swale Ind. | Green | UKIP | Independents & Others | Council control after election | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Local government reorganisation; council established (50 seats) | |||||||||
| 1973 | 17 | 25 | 3 | – | – | – | 5 | No overall control | |
| 1976 | 27 | 19 | 3 | – | 0 | – | 1 | Conservative | |
| New ward boundaries (49 seats) | |||||||||
| 1979 | 26 | 21 | 1 | – | 0 | – | 1 | Conservative | |
| 1980 | 25 | 21 | 2 | – | 0 | – | 1 | Conservative | |
| 1982 | 28 | 17 | 3 | – | 0 | – | 1 | Conservative | |
| 1983 | 31 | 13 | 4 | – | 0 | – | 1 | Conservative | |
| 1984 | 27 | 12 | 8 | – | 0 | – | 2 | Conservative | |
| 1986 | 23 | 14 | 12 | – | 0 | – | 0 | No overall control | |
| 1987 | 19 | 13 | 17 | – | 0 | – | 0 | No overall control | |
| 1988 | 21 | 13 | 14 | – | 0 | – | 1 | No overall control | |
| 1990 | 19 | 16 | 14 | – | 0 | – | 0 | No overall control | |
| 1991 | 18 | 19 | 12 | – | 0 | – | 0 | No overall control | |
| 1992 | 20 | 14 | 14 | – | 0 | – | 1 | No overall control | |
| 1994 | 17 | 12 | 19 | – | 0 | 0 | 1 | No overall control | |
| 1995 | 14 | 14 | 20 | – | 0 | 0 | 1 | No overall control | |
| 1996 | 6 | 19 | 23 | – | 0 | 0 | 1 | No overall control | |
| 1998 | 7 | 19 | 22 | – | 0 | 0 | 1 | No overall control | |
| 1999 | 9 | 17 | 23 | – | 0 | 0 | 0 | No overall control | |
| 2000 | 15 | 12 | 22 | – | 0 | 0 | 0 | No overall control | |
| New ward boundaries (47 seats) [4] | |||||||||
| 2002 | 25 | 10 | 12 | – | 0 | 0 | 0 | Conservative | |
| 2003 | 25 | 11 | 11 | – | 0 | 0 | 0 | Conservative | |
| 2004 | 26 | 11 | 10 | – | 0 | 0 | 0 | Conservative | |
| 2006 | 28 | 10 | 8 | – | 0 | 0 | 1 | Conservative | |
| 2007 | 26 | 10 | 6 | – | 0 | 0 | 5 [b] | Conservative | |
| 2008 | 26 | 9 | 5 | – | 0 | 0 | 7 | Conservative | |
| 2010 | 33 | 10 | 3 | – | 0 | 0 | 1 | Conservative | |
| 2011 | 32 | 13 | 1 | – | 0 | 0 | 1 | Conservative | |
| New ward boundaries (47 seats) [5] | |||||||||
| 2015 | 32 | 4 | 0 | – | 0 | 9 | 2 | Conservative | |
| 2019 | 16 | 11 | 5 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 2 | No overall control | |
| 2023 | 12 | 15 | 5 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 1 | No overall control | |
By-elections occur when seats become vacant between council elections. Below is a summary of recent by-elections; [6] full by-election results can be found by clicking on the by-election name.
| By-election | Date | Incumbent party | Winning party | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eastern by-election | 25 January 2001 | Conservative | Conservative | ||
| Minster Cliffs by-election | 25 September 2008 | Sheppey First | Conservative | ||
| Sheerness East by-election | 25 September 2008 | Sheppey First | Labour | ||
| Teynham and Lynsted by-election | 2 October 2008 | Conservative | Conservative | ||
| Kemsley by-election | 8 March 2012 | Conservative | Conservative | ||
| Sheppey Central by-election | 16 October 2014 | Conservative | UKIP | ||
| Milton Regis by-election | 3 August 2017 | UKIP | Labour | ||
| Sheppey East by-election | 3 May 2018 | Conservative | Conservative | ||
| Sheerness by-election | 6 May 2021 | Labour | Conservative | ||
| Priory by-election | 30 September 2021 | Independent | Liberal Democrats | ||
| Minster Cliffs by-election | 14 September 2023 | Conservative | Swale Ind. | ||
| Abbey by-election | 14 December 2023 | Liberal Democrats | Liberal Democrats | ||
| Priory by-election | 3 September 2024 | Liberal Democrats | Liberal Democrats | ||
| Murston by-election | 21 November 2024 | Swale Ind. | Swale Ind. | ||
| Milton Regis by-election | 19 December 2024 | Labour | Reform UK | ||
