2022 United Kingdom local elections
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Turnout | 33.6% (England)[1] 44.8% (Scotland)[2] 38.0% (Wales)[3] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Map showing party control of councils following the elections.
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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 local elections took place amid the Partygate scandal, in which it was found that numerous parties had been held at 10 Downing Street during national COVID-19 lockdowns, and COVID-19 social distancing laws were breached by numerous individuals. Public dissatisfaction over the events led to a decline in public support for Boris Johnson, the government led by him, and the Conservatives as a whole.
Across Great Britain, the governing Conservative Party had a net loss of 485 seats in comparison to 2017 in Scotland and Wales and 2018 in England, whilst Labour gained 108 seats (22 in England, 20 in Scotland, and 66 in Wales). The Liberal Democrats and Greens made gains of 224 seats and 87 seats, respectively, which exceeded those of the Labour Party in England but were also seen to a more modest extent in Scotland and Wales.
Overall
[edit]Across Great Britain, the Conservatives had a net loss of 485 seats in comparison to 2017 in Scotland and Wales and 2018 in England, whilst Labour gained 108 seats (22 in England, 20 in Scotland, and 66 in Wales). The Liberal Democrats and Greens made gains of 224 seats and 87 seats, respectively, which exceeded those of the Labour Party in England but were also seen to a more modest extent in Scotland and Wales. The Scottish National Party (SNP) gained 22 seats in Scotland whilst Plaid Cymru had a net loss of 6 seats in Wales.[5]
By party
[edit]Party | Councils | Councillors | Mayors | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Number | Change | Number | Change | Number | Change | ||
Labour | 74 | 5 | 3,073 | 108 | 4 | 1 | |
No overall control | 66 | — | |||||
Conservative | 35 | 11 | 1,403 | 485 | 1 | 1 | |
Liberal Democrats | 16 | 3 | 868 | 224 | 1 | ||
Plaid Cymru | 4 | 3 | 202 | 6 | 0 | ||
Independent | 3 | 2 | 606 | 15 | 0 | ||
SNP | 1 | 1 | 453 | 22 | 0 | ||
Aspire | 1 | 1 | 24 | 24 | 1 | 1 | |
Green[n 6] | 0 | 159 | 87 | 0 | |||
Residents[6] | 0 | 52 | 7 | 0 | |||
Reform UK | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | |||
BUP[7] | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |||
Gwlad[8] | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |||
Liberal[n 7] | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |||
Propel[9] | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |||
SDP[10] | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |||
Rubbish[11] | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||||
UKIP | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | |||
Total | 6,848 | 200 | 7 | 1 |
Used to project a general election
[edit]The results may be further processed to project the result of a hypothetical concurrent general election.
Party | Votes[12] | |
---|---|---|
Votes | Projected National Vote[n 1] | |
Labour | 3,673,389 | 35% |
Conservatives | 2,772,087 | 30% |
Liberal Democrats | 1,496,309 | 19% |
SNP | 627,484 | 17% |
Plaid Cymru | 160,369 | |
Greens[n 6] | 862,657 | |
Aspire | 915,513 | |
Reform UK | ||
British Unionist[7] | ||
Gwlad[8] | ||
Liberal[13] | ||
Propel[9] | ||
SDP[10] | ||
Rubbish[11] | ||
UKIP | ||
Residents' Association[6] | ||
Independent | ||
Total | 10,507,808 | 100% |
England
[edit]By party
[edit]Party | Councils | Councillors | Mayors | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Number | Change | Number | Change | Number | Change | ||
Labour | 65 | 3 | 2,265 | 22 | 4 | 1 | |
Conservative | 35 | 10 | 1,078 | 336 | 1 | 1 | |
No overall control | 29 | 3 | — | ||||
Liberal Democrats | 16 | 3 | 712 | 194 | 1 | ||
Aspire | 1 | 1 | 24 | 24 | 1 | 1 | |
Independent | 0 | 143 | 25 | 0 | |||
Green | 0 | 116 | 63 | 0 | |||
Residents | 0 | 51 | 7 | 0 | |||
Reform UK | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | |||
Liberal[13] | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |||
SDP[10] | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |||
UKIP | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | |||
Total | 4,393 | 146 | 7 | +1 |
Councils
[edit]Background
[edit]In total, 4,411 council seats are being contested in England, including irregular by-elections.[15]
Most seats in England up for election in 2022 were last elected in 2018. The exceptions are local authorities which have undergone recent boundary reviews. In the 2018 local elections, the Labour Party made gains in London at the expense of the Conservative Party, who in turn made gains in the rest of England at the expense of the UK Independence Party (UKIP). Few councils changed overall control.[16] Overall, UKIP lost 237 of the 243 seats it had held before the elections.[17] According to the BBC's analysis, the results reflected a national political situation with Labour and the Conservatives "neck-and-neck".[18]
County councils
[edit]County councils are the upper tier of a two-tier system of local government, with the area each council covers subdivided into district councils with different responsibilities. These are first-past-the-post or block voting elections, with a mixture of single-member and multi-member electoral divisions. County councils are elected in full every four years, with the last election having been in 2021. However, due to consultations about possible unitarisation, elections for three county councils were postponed to 2022.[19] The government has announced plans to replace the councils with unitary authorities pending Parliamentary approval.[20]
Elections to the new Somerset Council took place on 5 May 2022 for a unitary authority to run concurrently with the district councils until their abolition in April 2023.[21] In a similar way, members of North Yorkshire Council were elected at the same time, with its councillors to serve as county councillors for one year and then to serve an additional four-year term as unitary councillors.[22] Cumbria's two new unitary authorities were elected as "shadow authorities" which would go live after gaining their powers in 2023.[23]
London boroughs
[edit]Elections for all councillors in all thirty-two London boroughs were held in 2022 in line with their normal election schedule. All twenty-five London borough councils which have not had a boundary review since before 2013 were elected based on new boundaries.[24] The previous elections to London borough councils were held in 2018, which saw Labour win its second-best result in any London election and the Conservatives return their lowest-ever number of councillors in the capital. In 2018, Labour won control of Tower Hamlets council which had previously been under no overall control, but did not gain control of Barnet, Wandsworth or Westminster councils, which the party had targeted. Meanwhile, the Liberal Democrats gained control of Kingston upon Thames and Richmond upon Thames borough councils from the Conservatives.[25]
The 2022 elections saw Labour gain all three of Barnet, Wandsworth and Westminster councils which they had unsuccessfully targeted in 2018. The Conservatives gained control of Harrow from Labour as well as winning the new position of mayor of Croydon, with Croydon's council under no overall control, having previously been control by Labour. Lutfur Rahman gained the position of mayor of Tower Hamlets from Labour, with his Aspire party winning a majority of seats.[26]
Metropolitan boroughs
[edit]There are thirty-six metropolitan boroughs, which are single-tier local authorities. Thirty-three of them elect a third of their councillors every year for three years, with no election in each fourth year. These councils hold their elections on the same timetable, which includes elections in 2022. Birmingham City Council holds its elections on a four-year cycle from 2018, so is also due to hold an election in 2022. Due to boundary changes, three councils which generally elect their councillors in thirds will elect all of their councillors in 2022. They will then return to the thirds schedule, apart from St Helens Council, which is moving to all-out elections every four years starting in 2022. Several other boundary reviews have been delayed to 2023 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The scheduled elections in Liverpool in 2022 have been cancelled and instead the city is expected to move to all-out elections from 2023 on new ward boundaries.[27]
Elections for all councillors
[edit]Council | Seats | Party control | Details | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Previous | New | ||||||
Birmingham | 101 | Labour | Labour | Details | |||
Bury | 51[a] | Labour | Labour | Details | |||
Rochdale | 60[a] | Labour | Labour | Details | |||
St Helens | 48[a] | Labour | Labour | Details | |||
4 councils | 260 |
Election for one third of councillors
[edit]By-elections or uncontested wards can cause the seats up for election to be above or below one third of the council.
District councils
[edit]Election of all councillors
[edit]Some councils which elect all their councillors every four years did so in 2022. Gosport usually elects its councillors in halves, but all seats will be up for election due to new election boundaries. St Albans usually elects by thirds but all seats were up on new boundaries. Harrogate was due to elect all its councillors, but the election was cancelled due to the unitarisation of North Yorkshire, with councillors' terms being extended to April 2023, after which the district councils in North Yorkshire will cease to exist.[28]
Council | Seats | Party control | Details | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Previous | New | |||||
Gosport | 28[a] | Conservative | Liberal Democrats | Details | ||
Huntingdonshire | 52 | Conservative | No overall control (Lib Dem/Independent/Labour/Green coalition) | Details | ||
Newcastle-under-Lyme | 44 | Conservative | Conservative | Details | ||
South Cambridgeshire | 45 | Liberal Democrats | Liberal Democrats | Details | ||
St Albans | 56[a] | Liberal Democrats | Liberal Democrats | Details | ||
All 5 councils | 225 |
Election of councillors by halves
[edit]District councils which elect their candidates in halves did so in 2022.
Council | Seats | Party control | Details | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
up | of | Previous | New | ||||
Adur | 14 | 29 | Conservative | Conservative | Details | ||
Cheltenham | 21 | 40 | Liberal Democrats | Liberal Democrats | Details | ||
Fareham | 16 | 31 | Conservative | Conservative | Details | ||
Hastings | 16 | 32 | Labour | No overall control (Labour/Green coalition) | Details | ||
Nuneaton and Bedworth | 17 | 34 | Conservative | Conservative | Details | ||
Oxford | 24 | 48 | Labour | Labour | Details | ||
All 6 councils | 108 | 214 |
Election of councillors by thirds
[edit]District councils which elect by thirds that held elections in 2022. Carlisle, Craven and South Lakeland had been due to have a third of councillors up for election but these were cancelled due to the creation of Cumberland, North Yorkshire, and Westmorland and Furness Unitary authorities.[29]
Unitary authorities
[edit]Election of all councillors
[edit]Reading Borough Council will have all its councillors elected on new ward boundaries. The new unitary authority Somerset Council will hold its first election under the old Somerset County Council boundaries, with twice as many councillors being elected as previously. Shadow authorities for the two new unitary authorities replacing Cumbria County Council and its districts will also be elected, as will councillors for the new North Yorkshire Council ahead of its creation in 2023.
Notably, the count for the Skipton West and West Craven seat ended in a tie between independent candidate Andy Solloway and the Labour candidate Peter Madeley. After various methods for deciding the tie were mooted, including drawing from a deck of cards, the candidates drew straws with Andy Solloway drawing the long straw, thus being declared the winner.[30]
Council | Seats | Party control | Details | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Previous | New | |||||
Cumberland | 46[b] | No predecessor | Labour | Details | ||
Reading | 48[a] | Labour | Labour | Details | ||
North Yorkshire | 90 | Conservative | Conservative | Details | ||
Somerset | 110[c] | Conservative | Liberal Democrats | Details | ||
Westmorland and Furness | 65[b] | No predecessor | Liberal Democrats | Details | ||
All 5 councils | 359 |
Election of councillors by thirds
[edit]Unitary authorities that elect councillors in thirds did so in 2022.
City of London Corporation
[edit]The Court of Common Council is the main decision-making body of the City of London Corporation, which governs the City of London. The 100 councillors were elected across twenty-five wards. Elections were due on 18 March 2021, but as a result of the coronavirus pandemic were delayed to 23 March 2022.[31][32]
After 2017 election | Before 2022 election | After 2022 election | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Seats | Party | Seats | Party | Seats | |||
Independent | 85 | Independent | 84 | Independent | 78 | |||
Temple and Farringdon Together | 10 | Temple and Farringdon Together | 10 | Temple and Farringdon Together | 10 | |||
Labour | 5 | Labour | 6 | Castle Baynard Independents | 7 | |||
Labour | 5 |
Mayors
[edit]There were six local authority mayoral elections and one metropolitan mayoral election.
Combined authorities
[edit]Combined authority | Mayor before | Mayor-elect | Details | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
South Yorkshire | Dan Jarvis (Labour Co-op) | Oliver Coppard (Labour Co-op) | Details |
Local authorities
[edit]Council | Mayor before | Mayor-elect | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Croydon | New position | Jason Perry (Con) | ||
Hackney | Philip Glanville (Labour Co-op) | Philip Glanville (Labour Co-op) | ||
Lewisham | Damien Egan (Labour Co-op) | Damien Egan (Labour Co-op) | ||
Newham | Rokhsana Fiaz (Labour Co-op) | Rokhsana Fiaz (Labour Co-op) | ||
Tower Hamlets | John Biggs (Lab) | Luftur Rahman (Aspire) | ||
Watford | Peter Taylor (Lib Dem) | Peter Taylor (Lib Dem) |
There was also a referendum in Bristol on whether to continue using the mayor-and-cabinet system or to change to the committee system, with 59% voting to abolish the position of mayor.[33]
Scotland
[edit]By party
[edit]Party | Councillors | Councils | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
No. | Change | No. | Change | |
No overall control | — | 27 | −2 | |
SNP | 453 | +22 | 1 | +1 |
Labour | 282 | +20 | 1 | +1 |
Conservatives | 214 | −63 | 0 | 0 |
Liberal Democrats | 87 | +20 | 0 | 0 |
Greens | 35 | +16 | 0 | 0 |
British Unionist[7] | 1 | +1 | 0 | 0 |
Rubbish[11] | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
West Dunbartonshire Community Party[6] | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Independents | 149 | −16 | 3 | 0 |
Total | 1,223 | 32 |
Councils
[edit]Elections were held for all councillors in all 32 local authorities in Scotland. Local elections in Scotland are conducted by the single transferable vote (STV), which results in the number of seats won by each party more proportionally reflecting their share of the vote.[35] As a consequence, local elections in Scotland result more often in no overall control and local authorities being governed by minority or coalition administrations.[35] In this election two of the 32 councils came under one-party majorities - Dundee (SNP) and West Dunbartonshire (Labour).
Wales
[edit]Elections were held for all councillors in all 22 local authorities as well as for all community council seats in Wales. In all twenty-two councils, the elections were contested under new boundaries. This was the first time Welsh councils could choose between conducting the vote with the current first-past-the-post system or the proportional single transferable vote (STV) system, although practically this will not come into effect until at least 2027, as councils need to give advance notice of such a change.[36][37]
By party
[edit]Party | Councillors | Councils | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
No. | Change | No. | Change | |
No overall control | — | 10 | −1 | |
Labour | 526 | +66 | 8 | +1 |
Plaid Cymru | 202 | −6 | 4 | +3 |
Conservatives | 111 | −86 | 0 | −1 |
Liberal Democrats | 69 | +10 | 0 | 0 |
Greens | 8 | +8 | 0 | 0 |
Gwlad[8] | 1 | +1 | 0 | 0 |
Propel[9] | 1 | +1 | 0 | 0 |
Independents | 314 | +6 | 0 | −2 |
Total | 1,232 | 22 |
Councils
[edit]Opinion polling
[edit]England
[edit]Dates conducted |
Pollster | Client | Area | Sample size |
Con | Lab | Lib Dem | Green | Independent /others |
Lead |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
22–26 Apr | Survation | Good Morning Britain | England | 2,587[d] | 34% | 47% | 10% | 4% | 6% | 13% |
3 May 2018 | 2018 local elections[e] | 32% | 41% | 14% | 7% | 6% | 9% |
Scotland
[edit]Date(s) conducted |
Polling organisation/client | Sample size | SNP | Con | Lab | Lib Dem | Green | Alba | Others |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
5 May 2022 | 2022 Scottish local elections | N/A | 34.1% | 19.7% | 21.8% | 8.6% | 6.0% | 0.7% | 9.2% |
29 Apr–3 May 2022 | Survation | 893 | 41% | 17% | 23% | 8% | 5% | 1% | 4% |
24–28 Mar 2022 | Survation/Ballot Box Scotland | 1,002 | 44% | 18% | 23% | 6% | 3% | 1% | 4% |
20–26 Oct 2021 | Panelbase/Scot Goes Pop | 1,001 | 45% | 22% | 21% | 6% | 4% | 2% | <1% |
4 May 2017 | 2017 Scottish local elections | 1,889,658 | 32.30% | 25.30% | 20.16% | 6.82% | 4.1% | - | 10.4% |
Northern Ireland
[edit]The 2022 election to the Northern Ireland Assembly took place on 5 May 2022.
See also
[edit]- 2022 Birmingham Erdington by-election
- 2022 Tiverton and Honiton by-election
- 2022 Wakefield by-election
Notes
[edit]- ^ Swing figures are between the BBC national projected vote share extrapolation from 2021 local elections, and the BBC equivalent vote share projection from these local elections held in different areas.
- ^ a b One council was won in Scotland which uses the Single Transferable Vote for its voting system. The system means the number of Scottish councils won outright is far lower than in other parts of the UK.
- ^ Davey served as Acting Leader from 13 December 2019 to 27 August 2020 alongside the Party Presidents Baroness Sal Brinton and Mark Pack, following Jo Swinson's election defeat in the 2019 general election. Davey was elected Leader in August 2020.[4]
- ^ The SNP only ran in Scotland. The 34.1% result is the result within Scotland
- ^ a b Includes the Green Party of England and Wales (124 councillors, gain of 71), as well as the Scottish Greens (35 councillors, gain of 16).
- ^ Joy Andrews in Pickering, North Yorkshire.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba bb bc bd be New election boundaries
- ^ Old boundaries, with twice as many seats as previously
- ^ Of these respondents, only those "in areas of England where there are local council elections in May 2022" were prompted.
- ^ The listed figures are according to Survation, released under its above polling.
References
[edit]- ^ "Report on the May 2022 local elections in England". www.electoralcommission.org.uk. 21 September 2022. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
- ^ "Report on the May 2022 Scottish council elections". www.electoralcommission.org.uk. 21 September 2022. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
- ^ "Report on the May 2022 elections in Wales". www.electoralcommission.org.uk. 21 September 2022. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
- ^ Stewart, Heather (27 August 2020). "'Wake up and smell the coffee': Ed Davey elected Lib Dem leader". The Guardian.
- ^ "Election results 2022: How the parties performed in maps and charts". BBC News. 7 May 2022. Retrieved 8 May 2022.
- ^ a b c Includes Jim Bollan in Leven, West Dunbartonshire. BBC website includes him as an independent.
- ^ a b c John Jo Leckie in Fortissat, North Lanarkshire. BBC website includes him as an independent.
- ^ a b c Gwyn Wigley Evans in Llanrhystyd, Ceredigion. BBC website includes him as an independent.
- ^ a b c Neil McEvoy in Fairwater, Cardiff. BBC website includes him as an independent.
- ^ a b c Wayne Dixon in Middleton Park, Leeds. BBC website includes him as an independent.
- ^ a b c Sally Cogley in Irvine Valley, East Ayrshire. BBC website includes her as an independent.
- ^ "2022 local election results (Britain Elects aggregate)". Google Docs. Britain Elects. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
- ^ a b Joy Andrews in Pickering, North Yorkshire.
- ^ "Local Elections 2022 in England". BBC News. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
- ^ "Local elections 2022". Institute for Government. 30 May 2019. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
- ^ "Local election results 2018: The results in maps and charts". BBC News. 5 May 2018. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
- ^ "The Guardian view on the 2018 local elections: few changes but big lessons | Editorial". The Guardian. 4 May 2018. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
- ^ "Local election results 2018: No clear winner as Labour and Tories neck and neck". BBC News. 5 May 2018. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
- ^ "Local elections postponed in three English counties". BBC News. 23 February 2021. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
- ^ "Next steps for new unitary councils in Cumbria, North Yorkshire and Somerset". GOV.UK. Retrieved 22 July 2021.
- ^ Kenyon, Megan (3 December 2021). "Somerset unitary elections date confirmed". Local Government Chronicle (LGC). Retrieved 24 January 2022.
- ^ Council, North Yorkshire County (26 October 2021). "New Council elections". North Yorkshire County Council. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
- ^ "Transition". newcouncilsforcumbria.info. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
- ^ "LGBCE | Local government in London is changing | LGBCE Site". www.lgbce.org.uk. Archived from the original on 12 September 2021. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
- ^ Grafton-Green, Chloe Chaplain, Patrick (5 May 2018). "The full list of results for London's local elections". www.standard.co.uk. Retrieved 18 September 2021.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "Local Elections 2022: Results in London region as Tories take Croydon mayoralty". ITV News. 9 May 2022. Retrieved 11 May 2022.
- ^ "Liverpool City Council: Government reveals 'reset' plans". BBC News. 10 June 2021. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
- ^ "Election of councillors that will represent North Yorkshire for the next 5-years". Harrogate Informer. 25 January 2022. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
- ^ "The North Yorkshire (Structural Changes) Order 2022". Legislation.gov.uk. 18 March 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
- ^ Tate, Lesley. "ELECTION RESULTS: Candidates draw straws after polling exactly the same number of votes". Telegraph & Argus. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
- ^ "Forthcoming elections". City of London. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
- ^ "Court of Common Council 8th October 2020" (PDF). City of London. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
- ^ "Bristol mayor vote: City decides to abolish mayor post". BBC News. 6 May 2022.
- ^ "Local Elections 2022 in Scotland". BBC News. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
- ^ a b Cromar, Chris (10 September 2021). "Should England introduce PR for local elections like Scotland?". Public Sector Executive. Retrieved 18 September 2021.
- ^ Cromar, Chris (10 September 2021). "Should England introduce PR for local elections like Scotland?". Public Sector Executive. Retrieved 13 September 2021.
- ^ "Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021". legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 5 March 2022.
- ^ "Local Elections 2022 in Wales". BBC News. Retrieved 7 May 2022.