1996 United Kingdom local elections

1996 United Kingdom local elections
← 1995 2 May 1996 1997 →
All 36 metropolitan boroughs, 14 out of 25 unitary authorities
and 100 out of 262 English districts
  Majority party Minority party Third party
 
Leader Tony Blair Paddy Ashdown John Major
Party Labour Liberal Democrats Conservative
Leader since 21 July 1994 16 July 1988 27 November 1990
Percentage 43% 26% 29%
Swing Decrease4% Increase3% Increase4%
Councillors 10,929 5,078 4,276
Councillors +/- Increase 468 Increase 136 Decrease 607
Results of the United Kingdom 1996 local elections
Colours denote the winning party, as shown in the table of results.

The 1996 United Kingdom local elections were held on 2 May 1996.[1][2] They were the last local elections until 2010 to show a decline in the number of Conservative councillors and an increase in the number of Labour councillors.

The main opposition Labour Party gained 468 seats, bringing their number of councillors to 10,929. Their share of the vote was projected to be 43%, 4% down on the 1995 local elections.

The governing Conservative Party lost 607 seats and were left with 4,276 councillors - still in third place behind the Liberal Democrats. The Conservatives' projected share of the vote was 29%, a 4% increase since the previous local elections in 1995.

The Liberal Democrats gained 136 seats and had 5,078 councillors after the elections.

  1. ^ Rallings, Colin; Thrasher, Michael. Local Elections Handbook 1996 (PDF). Local Government Chronicle Elections Centre. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
  2. ^ "Council compositions". The Elections Centre. Retrieved 3 May 2016.