2019 United Kingdom local elections

2019 United Kingdom local elections

← 2018 2 May 2019 2021 →
33 out of 36 metropolitan boroughs, 47 out of 55 unitary authorities, 168 out of 192 district councils, all 11 Northern Irish councils and 6 directly elected mayors
First party Second party Third party   Leader Theresa May Jeremy Corbyn Vince Cable Party Conservative Labour Liberal Democrats Leader since 11 July 2016 12 September 2015 20 July 2017 Last election 5,521 seats 163 councils 2,278 seats 74 councils 702 seats 4 councils Projected vote-share[n 1] 28% 28% 19% Swing[n 2] 7pp 7pp 3pp Councils 93 84 18 Councils +/– 44 6 10 Councillors 3,564 2,021 1,351 Councillors +/– 1,330 84 704   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   Leader Jonathan Bartley and Siân Berry Arlene Foster Michelle O'Neill[n 4] Party Green DUP Sinn Féin Leader since 4 September 2018 17 September 2015 10 February 2018 Last election 87 seats[2] Seats before 130 105 Seats won 273[n 3] 122 105 Seat change 198 8
Map showing council control in England and largest parties by council in Northern Ireland following the election. Areas of England in pale cream did not hold an election, those in light grey are other parts of the United Kingdom which also did not hold elections. Black indicates a council in no overall control; all councils in Northern Ireland are in no overall control.
Map showing the party with the most votes by ward.

The 2019 United Kingdom local elections took place on Thursday 2 May 2019, with 248 English local councils, six directly elected mayors in England, and all 11 local councils in Northern Ireland being contested.^[3]

A total of 8,886 councillors were elected: terms were up for 8,861 seats, but eight elections for a total of 14 seats were postponed due to the death of a candidate;^[4][5] there were also casual vacancies to be filled: 38 in England (including on nine councils with no other elections) and one on Dundee City Council in Scotland.^[6]

With the exception of areas whose electoral cycle has temporarily changed (due to a boundary review) or permanently changed, or that have been reorganised, the seats up for election in England were last contested in the 2015 local elections, on the same day as the general election of that year. The seats in Northern Ireland were last regularly contested in 2014.

The biggest winners were the Liberal Democrats, who gained 704 seats to make a total of 1,351 councillors. The biggest losers were the Conservative Party down 1,333 from their previous total to 3,561 seats. Labour also lost seats, down by 84 to 2,021 seats. The Green Party gained 194 seats for a total of 265 seats. UKIP lost 145 seats, having only 31 councillors elected.

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