2024 United Kingdom local elections

← 2023 2 May 2024 2025 →
107 of 369 councils inEngland All seats in theLondon Assembly 11directly elected mayors 37Police and Crime Commissioners in England and Wales
Turnout	30%[1]
First party Second party   Leader Keir Starmer Ed Davey Party Labour Liberal Democrats Leader since 4 April 2020 27 August 2020 Seats before 6,318 seats[2] 99 councils 2,982 seats 35 councils Projected vote share[a] 34% 1% 17% 3% Seats won (2024) 1,159 51 councils 522 12 councils Councillors (after) 6,570[3] 107 councils 3,090 37 councils Net change (notional) 187 8 councils 104 2 councils   Third party Fourth party   Leader Rishi Sunak Carla Denyer andAdrian Ramsay Party Conservative Green Leader since 24 October 2022 1 October 2021 Seats before 5,531 seats 76 councils 772 seats 1 council Projected vote share[a] 25% 1% 13% 1% Seats won (2024) 515 6 councils 181 0 councils Councillors (after) 5,158 66 councils 838 1 council Net change (notional) 474 10 councils 74 0 councils
Map showing party control of councils following the elections.   No election otherwise seeanalysis table

The2024 United Kingdom local elections took place on 2 May 2024 to choose 2,658 councillors on 107councils in England, 11directly elected mayors in England, the25 members of theLondon Assembly, and 37police and crime commissioners inEngland andWales. The2024 Blackpool South parliamentary by-election was held on the same day.^[4] These local elections were the last set of routine elections before the2024 general election. No local elections were held inScotland orNorthern Ireland.

This election cycle returned to its usual four-year cycle after the majority of these elections were last held in the2021 local elections, having been delayed by a year from 2020 due to theCOVID-19 pandemic. The results were a strong showing for theLabour Party, who finished first at the expense of the governingConservative Party, who finished third and suffered their worst local election defeat since1996, losing over 400 council seats. TheLiberal Democrats finished second for the first time in a local election cycle since2009.^[5]

When local elections were held in 2021 theConservative Party made gains, mainly at the expense of theLabour Party. In the remaining years that proceeded the 2024 general election, the Conservative Party had several high-profilepolitical scandals andcrises and saw a decrease in their popularity inopinion polling. This was reflected in the poor results for the Conservative Party at both the2022 and 2023 local elections. As a result of the 2023 local elections, Labour became the party with most members elected to local government for the first time since2002.^[6]

These were the second set of local elections held under theElections Act 2022, a controversialvoter identification law that requires^[7][8] voters to show photo ID when attending a polling station. This act also meant that the mayoral and police and crime commissioner elections would use afirst-past-the-post voting system rather than the previously usedsupplementary vote system.

These local elections were the last set of routine elections before thegeneral election. For this reason, the results were speculated by the media to influence both the date the general election would be scheduled for and the election strategies for each party.

Some Conservatives suggested framing theLondon Mayoral election as ade facto referendum on theULEZ,^[9] which could impact parties' attitudes towardsenvironmental policy.

In late 2023, Labour suggested persistently high interest rates were going to cause a surge in mortgage costs affecting 630,000 homeowners who would re-mortgage between then and the local elections in May. They described the situation as a "financial time-bomb" and implied this would influence the electorate in the elections.^[10]

Lord Hayward suggested that community activists and smaller parties may drain support away from the three main parties due to the directions of those parties and because the Liberal Democrats "are no longer the obvious choice for voters disillusioned with the two main parties".^[11]

As the elections neared, there were suggestions thatPrime MinisterRishi Sunak's leadership would be challenged if the results went poorly for his party, particularly if the Conservatives lost either theWest Midlands orTees Valley mayoralties.^[12] Sunak quickly sought to insist to his ownMPs that he would still be the Prime Minister after these elections, even if the results were poor for his party.^[13][14]

Deputy Prime MinisterOliver Dowden insisted that the 2024 local elections would be safe from cyberattacks whilst discussingChinese state-linked hacking.^[15]

In March 2024,The Observer reported that the Conservative Party was expected to lose half its seats at this election, explaining that most of these seats were won at the peak of the "vaccine bounce".^[16] Conservative Party chairmanRichard Holden also cited the "vaccine bounce" as a reason to expect these elections to be "much tougher" for his party than the last time they were contested.^[17]

Also in March 2024, Lewis Baston, a political analyst and author, posted that his analysis showed the Conservative Party was due to lose over 50% of their seats which are not changing boundaries. He found that of 613 seats being defended, they would lose 328 based on the swing seen in the2023 local elections, but would gain eight elsewhere.^[18] However, after more work, by 1 April 2024 he said he thought the Conservatives wouldn't lose half their seats because one third of the seats up for election were not last fought in the2021 local elections, but were actually fought in tougher elections in2019,2022, and2023.^[19]

AnalystsMichael Thrasher andColin Rallings also said the Conservative Party was expected to lose half its seats at this election if a similar result to 2023 was repeated. They said the Conservatives would lose around 500 seats while Labour would gain around 300 and theLiberal Democrats andGreen Party would both make gains.^[20][21]

Sky News'Sam Coates quoted Michael Thrasher's prediction that the Conservatives would lose around 500 seats while Labour would gain around 350, but added that they considerGloucester Council likely to switch directly from Conservative to Liberal Democrat-controlled.^[22]

YouGov conducted an MRP poll on 14–29 April 2024. They said their key findings were that they "expected Labour to make significant gains across the country, but that stories will emerge from specific local authorities which could leave every party with pleasing news". They predicted Labour to gain control ofHyndburn andMilton Keynes councils from no overall control, and to make significant gains inNorth East Lincolnshire,Peterborough,Thurrock, andWalsall. The Conservatives were expected to make gains inReigate and Banstead.^[23]

Both Labour and the Conservatives were defending just under 1,000 seats each, the Liberal Democrats about 400 and the Greens just over 100.^[25]

On 20 March 2024, theLiberal Democrats launched their local election campaign inHarpenden,Hertfordshire whereEd Davey turned a giant hourglass which revealed the words "Time's running out Rishi!".^[26][27] Davey said he was confident of toppling the "ToryBlue Wall inSurrey".^[28]

On 22 March 2024,Rishi Sunak launched the Conservative's local election campaign by appearing at a bus depot inHeanor,Derbyshire, alongsideEast Midlands mayoral candidateBen Bradley.^[29][30] Due to "human error" 13 of the 35 Conservative candidates were invalidly nominated forCastle Point Borough Council seats, meaning they would not appear on the ballot.^[31]

On 28 March 2024,Keir Starmer andAngela Rayner launched Labour's campaign for the local elections at an event inDudley.^[32] Starmer's speech mentioned thelevelling-up policy of the government in theBlack Country.^[33]

TheGreen Party of England and Wales officially launched its national campaign at an event in Bristol on 4 April 2024. Co-leadersCarla Denyer andAdrian Ramsay gave speeches at the event with a focus onaffordable housing.^[34][35]

The table below shows the results of these elections, along with the overall number of councillors inGreat Britain for each party following the elections.

Party		Councillors			Councils
		Won	After[3]	+/-[b]	Won	After	+/-
	Labour	1,159	6,570	187	51	107	8
	Conservative	515	5,158	474	6	66	10
	Liberal Democrats	522	3,090	104	12	37	2
	Green	181	838	74	0	1
	SNP	—N/a[c]	426		0	1
	Plaid Cymru	—N/a[d]	204		0	4
	Aspire	—N/a[e]	24		0	1
	Reform	2	14	2	0	0
	Independent	278	2,293	110	1	12	1
	No overall control	—N/a			37	141	1

The Conservatives suffered the worst defeat at a local election by a government since 1996,^[36] losing over 450 seats. The Conservatives only retained control of 6 out of the 107 councils;Broxbourne,Solihull,Walsall,Epping Forest,Fareham andHarlow.^[37] Their only mayoral success was the re-election ofBen Houchen asTees Valley Mayor.^[38]

Labour won the newly created mayoralties ofEast Midlands Combined County Authority and theYork and North Yorkshire Combined Authority.^[39][40] Labour'sRichard Parker gained the West Midlands Combined Authority fromAndy Street.^[41]

BBC analysis of the 2024 United Kingdom local election results said that Labour vote share had fallen 21 percentage points in council wards where more than 20% of residents are Muslim and analysis by Number Cruncher Politics found that Labour lost 33 percentage points in majority-Muslim areas.^[42][43]

The Liberal Democrats gainedTunbridge Wells council^[44] andDorset Council, resulting in the party finishing in second place ahead of the governing Conservative Party.^[45] They have added more council seats than any other party over the last parliament, gaining more than 750 in the last five years, largely insouthern England.^[46]

The Greens had their best ever local election result.^[47] However, they were unable to win a majority inBristol City council, missing a majority of seats by two, while staying the largest party in the council.^[48]

TheWorkers Party of Britain won four seats: two inRochdale,^[49] one inManchester,^[49] and one inCalderdale.^[50]

Reform UK underperformed nationally but did win two seats onHavant Borough Council.^[51]

TheWomen's Equality Party won a seat onBasingstoke and Deane Borough Council, their first ever borough seat in the UK in their nine-year history.^[52]

TheSocial Democratic Party won their third seat on theLeeds City Council in theMiddleton Park ward, defeating the sitting Labour councillor.

Analysis by party

Party[53]		Councillors		Councils
		Number	Diff.	Number	Diff.
	Labour	1,159	187	51	8
	No overall control	—N/a		37	1
	Liberal Democrats	522	104	12	2
	Conservative	515	474	6	10
	Independent	202	67	0
	Green	181	74	0
	Residents	48	11	0
	PIP	24	8	1	1[f]
	Post-election vacancy	24		—N/a
	Workers Party	4	4	0
	Reform	2	2	0
	SDP[54][n 1]	1	1	0
	Women's Equality[55][n 1]	1	1	0

Projected proportion of aggregate votes

Party		BBC[56]			Sky News[57]
			Diff. from			Diff. from
			2023[58]	2021[59]		2023[60]
	Labour	34%	1	5	35%	1
	Conservative	25%	1	11	26%	3
	Liberal Democrats	17%	3	1	16%	2
	Others	24%	5	6	22%	5

A number of seats remained vacant following the elections resulting in a number of post election vacancies:^[61]

• Coventry City Council, Radford ward, death of candidate.^[62]

The table below shows the results of these elections, along with the overall number of councillors in England for each party following the elections.

Party		Councillors			Councils
		Won	After[3]	+/-[b]	Won	After	+/-
	Labour	1,159	5,710	187	51	98	8
	Conservative	515	4,740	474	6	66	10
	Liberal Democrats	522	2,937	104	12	37	2
	Green	181	802	74	0	1
	Aspire	—N/a[e]	24		0	1
	Reform	2	14	2	0	0
	Independent	278	1,869	110	1	9	1
	No overall control	—N/a			37	104	1

There are thirty-six metropolitan boroughs, which are single-tier local authorities. Thirty 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 2024.Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council has held its elections on a four-year cycle from 2016, so was also due to hold an election in 2024.

Due to boundary changes, some other councils which generally elect their councillors in thirds would elect all of their councillors in 2024.

By-elections or uncontested wards can cause the seats up for election to be above or below one third of the council.

There are sixty-two unitary authorities, which are single-tier local authorities. Fifteen 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 2024. Two unitary authorities hold all-out elections on a four-year cycle that includes 2024, and the recently establishedDorset Council held its first election in 2019, with its next election in 2024 and subsequent elections every four years from 2029.

There are 164 district councils, which are the lower tier local authorities in a two-tier system, with county councils above them. Forty-eight elect their councillors in thirds and seven elect their councillors in halves. Three district councils elect all their councillors on a four-year cycle that includes 2024, withNorth Hertfordshire changing from the thirds system for the first time. Due to boundary changes, some other councils which usually elect their councillors in thirds or halves elected all of their councillors in 2024.

Labour incumbentSadiq Khan was re-elected for a third four-year term, with 43.8% of the vote.^[64]

Nine combined authority mayors were up for election. Labour won eight of the mayoral elections, including gaining the West Midlands mayoralty from the Conservatives. The Conservatives held Tees Valley.

One single-authority mayor was up for election.

All 33 police and crime commissioners (PCC; or police, fire, and crime commissioners) in England were up for election. Labour gained ten commissioner positions from the Conservatives.

All fourpolice and crime commissioners in Wales were up for election, to represent the fourpolice force areas ofDyfed-Powys,Gwent,North Wales andSouth Wales. All positions were held by the incumbent parties.

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• 2024 United Kingdom local elections
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