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| Electoral areas | |
|---|---|
| Category | Electoral district |
| Location | United Kingdom |
| Created by | Statutory instrument |
| Possible types |
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Thewards and electoral divisions in the United Kingdom areelectoral districts at sub-national level, represented by one or morecouncillors. Theward is the primary unit of English electoral geography forcivil parishes andborough anddistrict councils, theelectoral ward is the unit used by Welshprincipal councils, while theelectoral division is the unit used by Englishcounty councils and someunitary authorities. Each ward/division has an average electorate of about 5,500 people, but ward population counts can vary substantially.[1] As of 2021 there are 8,694 electoral wards/divisions in the UK. An average area of wards or electoral divisions in the United Kingdom is 28.109 km2 (10.853 sq mi).[2]
TheLondon boroughs,metropolitan boroughs andnon-metropolitan districts (including mostunitary authorities) are divided into wards for local elections. However,county council elections (as well as those for several unitary councils which were formerly county councils, such as theIsle of Wight andShropshire Councils) instead use the termelectoral division. Innon-metropolitan county areas with both wards (used for district council elections) and electoral divisions (used for county council elections), the boundaries of the two types of divisions may sometimes not coincide, but more often the county electoral divisions will be made up of one or more complete wards.
In urban areas, the wards within a local authority area typically each contain roughly the same number of electors, and each elect three councillors. In local authorities with mixed urban and rural areas, the number of councillors may vary from one to three, depending on the size of the electorate. Where civil parishes exist, a ward can be adjacent with a civil parish or consist of groups of civil parishes. Larger civil parishes (such asShrewsbury) can be divided into two or more wards.
TheCity of London has its ownsui generis form of local government and is divided into wards, which are ancient and very long-standing sub-divisions of the city.
TheCouncil of the Isles of Scilly is also asui generis unitary authority, and has five wards, each returning either 1 or (in the case ofSt Mary's) 12 councillors to the Council of the Isles of Scilly.[3]
Civil parishes in England are sometimes divided into wards for elections to theparish council (ortown/city council). They need not bear any relation to wards or electoral divisions at district level, but often do.
The four most northerlyancient counties of England –Cumberland,Westmorland,County Durham andNorthumberland – were historically divided into administrative units called wards instead ofhundreds orwapentakes, as in other counties. Wards were areas originally organised for military purposes, each centred on a castle.[4]
In Wales, the termelectoral ward is used for elections toprincipal councils (county councils orcounty borough councils). These were formally calledelectoral divisions.[5]
Communities in Wales (the equivalent to the civil parish in England) are sometimes divided into wards for elections to the community council.[6]
All of Scotland is divided into over 300 wards for local government elections.[7] Using thesingle transferable vote, most wards elect either three or four councillors. Starting from the2022 Scottish local elections, theScottish Elections (Reform) Act 2020, allows electoral wards to have between one and five councillors.
Districts in Northern Ireland are divided into electoral areas,[8] with each electing between five and seven councillors by single transferable vote. These are themselves sub-divided into wards, but these wards have no official function. Post-1973 wards were first created by theLocal Government (Boundaries) (NI) Order 1972 (No. 131) and DEAs were first created by theLocal Government (District Electoral Areas) Regulations 1973 (No.94)