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2011 United Kingdom local elections

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2011 United Kingdom local elections

← 2010 5 May 2011 2012 →

All 36 metropolitan boroughs, 49 out of 55 unitary authorities,
194 out of 201 district councils, all 26 Northern Irish councils,
and 5 directly elected mayors
  First party Second party Third party
  David Cameron Ed Miliband Nick Clegg
Leader David Cameron Ed Miliband Nick Clegg
Party Conservative Labour Liberal Democrats
Leader since 6 December 2005 25 September 2010 18 December 2007
Swing Steady[2] Increase10% Decrease11%
Projected vote-share 35%[1] 37% 15%
Councils 157[3] 57 10
Councils +/– Increase4 Increase26 Decrease9
Councillors 5,109 2,459 1,098
Councillors +/– Increase86 Increase857 Decrease748

The results in England. Northern Ireland results are not shown. White areas indicate elections were not held here in 2011.

The 2011 United Kingdom local elections were held on Thursday, 5 May. In England, direct elections were held in all 36 metropolitan boroughs, 194 second-tier district authorities, 49 unitary authorities and various mayoral posts, meaning local elections took place within all parts of England with the exceptions of seven unitary authorities (Cornwall, Durham, Northumberland, Isles of Scilly, Shropshire, the Isle of Wight and Wiltshire), and seven districts and boroughs (Adur, Cheltenham, Fareham, Gosport, Hastings, Nuneaton and Bedworth and Oxford). For the majority of English districts and the 25 unitary authorities who were "all-up" for election at the end of their four-year terms, these were the first elections since 2007. In Northern Ireland, there were elections to all 26 local councils. Elections also took place to elect members of most English parish councils.

On the same day, elections to the Scottish Parliament, National Assembly of Wales and Northern Ireland Assembly were held. A UK-wide referendum[4] on whether to adopt the Alternative Vote electoral system for elections to the House of Commons and the Leicester South by-election was also held.

Labour, contesting its first elections under the leadership of Ed Miliband, finished narrowly ahead of the Conservatives. The BBC's projected national vote share put Labour on 37%, the Conservatives on 35% and the Liberal Democrats on 15%.[5] Rallings and Thrasher of Plymouth University put Labour narrowly behind on 37% of the national vote, compared to 38% for the Conservatives and 16% for the Liberal Democrats.[6]

Background

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Elections were due to be held to Scottish councils, but these had been postponed until 2012 to avoid clashing with the elections to the Scottish Parliament, which in 2007 had caused confusion among voters.[7]

British, Irish, Commonwealth and European Union citizens living in the UK who were 18 or over on election day were entitled to vote in the local council and devolved legislatures elections. The deadline for voters in England, Wales and Northern Ireland to register to vote in the 5 May elections was midnight on Thursday 14 April 2011, whilst voters in Scotland had until midnight on Friday 15 April 2011 to register. Anyone in the United Kingdom who qualified as an anonymous elector had until midnight on Tuesday 26 April 2011 to register.[8]

Results

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The Labour Party was described as obtaining "mixed results".[9] Their support recovered following a string of poor local election results during Gordon Brown's tenure and they gained over 800 council seats, mostly off the Liberal Democrats. Labour's gains were overshadowed by the coinciding Scottish Parliament election where they were routed by the Scottish National Party. The Conservatives narrowly obtained more votes than Labour and gained a small number of seats. They were helped by the gaining additional seats from the Liberal Democrats in the south west, south, south east and East Anglia.

The election was a disaster for the Liberal Democrats, who lost 40% of the council seats they were defending (mostly to Labour) and lost majorities in 9 of the 19 councils they controlled, including strongholds in Sheffield and Hull. There were some surprising gains for the Conservatives against the Liberal Democrats, with councils previously considered strongholds for the latter, like North Norfolk, Vale of White Horse and Lewes changing hands. This led to some calls for Nick Clegg to resign.[10] The losses coincided with the landslide rejection of the Alternative Vote referendum which had been supported by the Liberal Democrats and some members of the Labour Party.

UK-wide results

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Party Councillors Councils
Number Change Number Change
Conservative 5,109 Increase86 157 Increase4
Labour 2,459 Increase857 57 Increase26
Liberal Democrats 1,098 Decrease748 10 Decrease9
DUP 175 Decrease3 0 Decrease2
Sinn Féin 138 Increase9 1 Increase1
UUP 99 Decrease16 0 Steady
SDLP 87 Decrease14 0 Steady
Green 79 Increase14 0 Steady
Neighborhood association 48 Decrease3 1 Steady
Alliance 44 Increase14 0 Steady
UKIP 8 Increase1 0 Steady
Liberal 8 Decrease2 0 Steady
TUV 6 Increase6 0 Steady
Green (NI) 3 Steady 0 Steady
BNP 2 Decrease11 0 Steady
PUP 2 Steady 0 Steady
Others 667 Decrease201 0 Steady
No overall control n/a n/a 79 Decrease17

Source:[11] and Vote 2011: Northern Ireland Council Elections

Summary of English result

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Party Councillors Councils
Number Change Number Change
Conservative 5,109 Increase86 157 Increase4
Labour 2,459 Increase857 57 Increase26
Liberal Democrats 1,098 Decrease748 10 Decrease9
Green 79 Increase14 0 Steady
Neighborhood association 48 Decrease3 1 Steady
Liberal 8 Decrease2 0 Steady
UKIP 7 0 0 Steady
BNP 2 Decrease11 0 Steady
Others 640 Decrease207 0 Steady
No overall control n/a n/a 54 Decrease19

Source:[11]

England

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Metropolitan boroughs

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All 36 English Metropolitan borough councils one third of their seats were up for election.

Council Previous control Result Details
Barnsley Labour Labour hold Details
Birmingham No overall control No overall control hold Details
Bolton No overall control Labour gain Details
Bradford No overall control No overall control hold Details
Bury No overall control Labour gain Details
Calderdale No overall control No overall control hold Details
Coventry Labour Labour hold Details
Doncaster Labour Labour hold Details
Dudley Conservative Conservative hold Details
Gateshead Labour Labour hold Details
Kirklees No overall control No overall control hold Details
Knowsley Labour Labour hold Details
Leeds No overall control Labour gain Details
Liverpool Labour Labour hold Details
Manchester Labour Labour hold Details
Newcastle upon Tyne Liberal Democrats Labour gain Details
North Tyneside No overall control Labour gain Details
Oldham No overall control Labour gain Details
Rochdale No overall control No overall control hold Details
Rotherham Labour Labour hold Details
St Helens Labour Labour hold Details
Salford Labour Labour hold Details
Sandwell Labour Labour hold Details
Sefton No overall control No overall control hold Details
Sheffield No overall control Labour gain Details
Solihull No overall control Conservative gain Details
South Tyneside Labour Labour hold Details
Stockport Liberal Democrats No overall control gain Details
Sunderland Labour Labour hold Details
Tameside Labour Labour hold Details
Trafford Conservative Conservative hold Details
Wakefield Labour Labour hold Details
Walsall Conservative No overall control gain Details
Wigan Labour Labour hold Details
Wirral No overall control No overall control hold Details
Wolverhampton No overall control Labour gain Details

Unitary authorities

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Whole council

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In 30 English Unitary authorities the whole council were up for election.

Council Previous control Result Details
Bath and North East Somerset No overall control No overall control hold Details
Bedford No overall control No overall control hold Details
Blackpool Conservative Labour gain Details
Bournemouth Conservative Conservative hold Details
Bracknell Forest Conservative Conservative hold Details
Brighton and Hove No overall control No overall control hold Details
Central Bedfordshire Conservative Conservative hold Details
Cheshire East Conservative Conservative hold Details
Cheshire West and Chester Conservative Conservative hold Details
Darlington Labour Labour hold Details
East Riding of Yorkshire Conservative Conservative hold Details
Herefordshire Conservative Conservative hold Details
Leicester Labour Labour hold Details
Luton Labour Labour hold Details
Medway Conservative Conservative hold Details
Middlesbrough Labour Labour hold Details
North Lincolnshire Labour Conservative gain Details
North Somerset Conservative Conservative hold Details
Nottingham Labour Labour hold Details
Poole Conservative No overall control gain Details
Redcar and Cleveland No overall control Labour gain Details
Rutland Conservative Conservative hold Details
South Gloucestershire No overall control No overall control hold Details
Stockton-on-Tees No overall control No overall control hold Details
Stoke-on-Trent No overall control Labour gain Details
Telford and Wrekin No overall control Labour gain Details
Torbay Conservative Conservative hold Details
West Berkshire Conservative Conservative hold Details
Windsor and Maidenhead Conservative Conservative hold Details
York No overall control Labour gain Details

Third of council

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In 19 English Unitary authorities one third of the council were up for election.

Council Previous control Result Details
Blackburn with Darwen No overall control Labour gain Details
Bristol Liberal Democrats No overall control gain Details
Derby No overall control No overall control hold Details
Halton Labour Labour hold Details
Hartlepool Labour Labour hold Details
Kingston upon Hull Liberal Democrats Labour gain Details
Milton Keynes No overall control No overall control hold Details
North East Lincolnshire No overall control No overall control hold Details
Peterborough Conservative Conservative hold Details
Plymouth Conservative Conservative hold Details
Portsmouth Liberal Democrats Liberal Democrats hold Details
Reading No overall control No overall control hold Details
Slough Labour Labour hold Details
Southampton Conservative Conservative hold Details
Southend-on-Sea Conservative Conservative hold Details
Swindon Conservative Conservative hold Details
Thurrock No overall control No overall control hold Details
Warrington No overall control Labour gain Details
Wokingham Conservative Conservative hold Details

Non-metropolitan districts

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Whole council

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In 127 English district authorities the whole council were up for election.

Council Previous control Result Details
Allerdale No overall control No overall control hold Details
Arun Conservative Conservative hold Details
Ashfield No overall control Labour gain Details
Ashford Conservative Conservative hold Details
Aylesbury Vale Conservative Conservative hold Details
Babergh No overall control No overall control hold Details
Barrow-in-Furness No overall control Labour gain Details
Blaby Conservative Conservative hold Details
Bolsover Labour Labour hold Details
Boston Boston Bypass Independents Conservative gain Details
Braintree Conservative Conservative hold Details
Breckland Conservative Conservative hold Details
Broadland Conservative Conservative hold Details
Bromsgrove Conservative Conservative hold Details
Broxtowe No overall control No overall control hold Details
Canterbury Conservative Conservative hold Details
Charnwood Conservative Conservative hold Details
Chelmsford Conservative Conservative hold Details
Chesterfield Liberal Democrats Labour gain Details
Chichester Conservative Conservative hold Details
Chiltern Conservative Conservative hold Details
Christchurch Conservative Conservative hold Details
Copeland Labour Labour hold Details
Corby Labour Labour hold Details
Cotswold Conservative Conservative hold Details
Dacorum Conservative Conservative hold Details
Dartford Conservative Conservative hold Details
Derbyshire Dales Conservative Conservative hold Details
Dover Conservative Conservative hold Details
Eastbourne Liberal Democrats Liberal Democrats hold Details
East Cambridgeshire Conservative Conservative hold Details
East Devon Conservative Conservative hold Details
East Dorset Conservative Conservative hold Details
East Hampshire Conservative Conservative hold Details
East Hertfordshire Conservative Conservative hold Details
East Lindsey No overall control No overall control hold Details
East Northamptonshire Conservative Conservative hold Details
East Staffordshire Conservative Conservative hold Details
Eden No overall control No overall control Details
Epsom and Ewell Residents Association Residents Association hold Details
Erewash Conservative Conservative hold Details
Fenland Conservative Conservative hold Details
Forest Heath Conservative Conservative hold Details
Forest of Dean Conservative No overall control gain Details
Fylde Conservative Conservative hold Details
Gedling Conservative Labour gain Details
Gravesham Conservative Labour gain Details
Guildford Conservative Conservative hold Details
Hambleton Conservative Conservative hold Details
Harborough Conservative Conservative hold Details
High Peak Conservative No overall control gain Details
Hinckley and Bosworth Liberal Democrats Liberal Democrats hold Details
Horsham Conservative Conservative hold Details
Kettering Conservative Conservative hold Details
King's Lynn and West Norfolk Conservative Conservative hold Details
Lancaster No overall control No overall control hold Details
Lewes Liberal Democrats Conservative gain Details
Lichfield Conservative Conservative hold Details
Maldon Conservative Conservative hold Details
Malvern Hills Conservative Conservative hold Details
Mansfield Independent Labour gain Details
Melton Conservative Conservative hold Details
Mendip No overall control Conservative gain Details
Mid Devon No overall control Conservative gain Details
Mid Suffolk Conservative Conservative hold Details
Mid Sussex Conservative Conservative hold Details
New Forest Conservative Conservative hold Details
Newark and Sherwood Conservative No overall control gain Details
North Devon Conservative No overall control gain Details
North Dorset Conservative Conservative hold Details
North East Derbyshire Labour Labour gain Details
North Kesteven Conservative Conservative hold Details
North Norfolk Liberal Democrats Conservative gain Details
North Warwickshire Conservative Labour gain Details
North West Leicestershire Conservative Conservative hold Details
Northampton Liberal Democrats Conservative gain Details
Oadby and Wigston Liberal Democrats Liberal Democrats hold Details
Ribble Valley Conservative Conservative hold Details
Richmondshire No overall control No overall control hold Details
Rother Conservative Conservative hold Details
Rushcliffe Conservative Conservative hold Details
Ryedale No overall control Conservative gain Details
Scarborough No overall control No overall control hold Details
Sedgemoor Conservative Conservative hold Details
Selby Conservative Conservative hold Details
Sevenoaks Conservative Conservative hold Details
Shepway Conservative Conservative hold Details
South Bucks Conservative Conservative hold Details
South Derbyshire Conservative Conservative hold Details
South Hams Conservative Conservative hold Details
South Holland Conservative Conservative hold Details
South Kesteven Conservative Conservative hold Details
South Norfolk Conservative Conservative hold Details
South Northamptonshire Conservative Conservative hold Details
South Oxfordshire Conservative Conservative hold Details
South Ribble Conservative Conservative hold Details
South Somerset Liberal Democrats Liberal Democrats hold Details
South Staffordshire Conservative Conservative hold Details
Spelthorne Conservative Conservative hold Details
St Edmundsbury Conservative Conservative hold Details
Stafford Conservative Conservative hold Details
Staffordshire Moorlands Conservative No overall control gain Details
Suffolk Coastal Conservative Conservative hold Details
Surrey Heath Conservative Conservative hold Details
Swale Conservative Conservative hold Details
Taunton Deane No overall control No overall control hold Details
Teignbridge No overall control Conservative gain Details
Tendring No overall control Conservative gain Details
Test Valley Conservative Conservative hold Details
Tewkesbury No overall control Conservative gain Details
Thanet Conservative No overall control gain Details
Tonbridge and Malling Conservative Conservative hold Details
Torridge No overall control No overall control hold Details
Uttlesford Conservative Conservative hold Details
Vale of White Horse Liberal Democrats Conservative gain Details
Warwick Conservative Conservative hold Details
Waveney Conservative No overall control gain Details
Waverley Conservative Conservative hold Details
Wealden Conservative Conservative hold Details
Wellingborough Conservative Conservative hold Details
West Devon No overall control Conservative gain Details
West Dorset Conservative Conservative hold Details
West Lindsey Conservative Conservative hold Details
West Somerset Independent Conservative gain Details
Wychavon Conservative Conservative hold Details
Wycombe Conservative Conservative hold Details
Wyre Conservative Conservative hold Details

Third of council

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In 67 English district authorities one third of the council were up for election.

Council Previous control Result Details
Amber Valley Conservative Conservative hold Details
Basildon Conservative Conservative hold Details
Basingstoke and Deane Conservative Conservative hold Details
Bassetlaw No overall control Labour gain Details
Brentwood Conservative Conservative hold Details
Broxbourne Conservative Conservative hold Details
Burnley No overall control No overall control hold Details
Cambridge Liberal Democrats Liberal Democrats hold Details
Cannock Chase No overall control No overall control hold Details
Carlisle No overall control No overall control hold Details
Castle Point Conservative Conservative hold Details
Cherwell Conservative Conservative hold Details
Chorley Conservative No overall control gain Details
Colchester No overall control No overall control hold Details
Craven Conservative Conservative hold Details
Crawley Conservative Conservative hold Details
Daventry Conservative Conservative hold Details
Eastleigh Liberal Democrats Liberal Democrats hold Details
Elmbridge Conservative Conservative hold Details
Epping Forest Conservative Conservative hold Details
Exeter No overall control No overall control hold Details
Gloucester No overall control Conservative gain Details
Great Yarmouth Conservative Conservative hold Details
Harlow Conservative Conservative hold Details
Harrogate Conservative Conservative hold Details
Hart Conservative Conservative hold Details
Havant Conservative Conservative hold Details
Hertsmere Conservative Conservative hold Details
Huntingdonshire Conservative Conservative hold Details
Hyndburn No overall control Labour gain Details
Ipswich No overall control Labour gain Details
Lincoln No overall control Labour gain Details
Maidstone Conservative Conservative hold Details
Mole Valley No overall control No overall control hold Details
Newcastle-under-Lyme No overall control No overall control hold Details
North Hertfordshire Conservative Conservative hold Details
Norwich No overall control No overall control hold Details
Pendle No overall control No overall control hold Details
Preston No overall control Labour gain Details
Purbeck No overall control No overall control hold Details
Redditch Conservative Conservative hold Details
Reigate and Banstead Conservative Conservative hold Details
Rochford Conservative Conservative hold Details
Rossendale Conservative No overall control gain Details
Rugby Conservative Conservative hold Details
Runnymede Conservative Conservative hold Details
Rushmoor Conservative Conservative hold Details
St Albans Liberal Democrats No overall control gain Details
South Cambridgeshire Conservative Conservative hold Details
South Lakeland Liberal Democrats Liberal Democrats hold Details
Stevenage Labour Labour hold Details
Stratford-on-Avon Conservative Conservative hold Details
Stroud Conservative No overall control gain Details
Tamworth Conservative Conservative hold Details
Tandridge Conservative Conservative hold Details
Three Rivers Liberal Democrats Liberal Democrats hold Details
Tunbridge Wells Conservative Conservative hold Details
Watford Liberal Democrats Liberal Democrats hold Details
Welwyn Hatfield Conservative Conservative hold Details
West Lancashire Conservative Conservative hold Details
West Oxfordshire Conservative Conservative hold Details
Weymouth and Portland No overall control No overall control hold Details
Winchester Liberal Democrats No overall control gain Details
Woking No overall control Conservative gain Details
Worcester No overall control Conservative gain Details
Worthing Conservative Conservative hold Details
Wyre Forest Conservative Conservative hold Details

Mayoral elections

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Five direct mayoral elections were held.

Local Authority Previous Mayor Mayor-elect Details
Bedford Dave Hodgson (Liberal Democrats) Dave Hodgson (Liberal Democrats) Details
Leicester None (New post) Sir Peter Soulsby (Labour) Details
Mansfield Tony Egginton (Mansfield Independent Forum) Tony Egginton (Mansfield Independent Forum) Details
Middlesbrough Ray Mallon (Independent) Ray Mallon (Independent) Details
Torbay Nicholas Bye (Conservative) Gordon Oliver (Conservative) Details

Northern Ireland

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Elections were held on the same day to local government in Northern Ireland.[12]

Council Previous control Result Details
Antrim No overall control No overall control Details
Ards DUP No overall control Details
Armagh No overall control No overall control Details
Ballymena DUP DUP Details
Ballymoney DUP DUP Details
Banbridge No overall control No overall control Details
Belfast No overall control No overall control Details
Carrickfergus No overall control No overall control Details
Castlereagh DUP No overall control Details
Coleraine No overall control No overall control Details
Cookstown No overall control No overall control Details
Craigavon No overall control No overall control Details
Derry No overall control No overall control Details
Down No overall control No overall control Details
Dungannon and South Tyrone No overall control No overall control Details
Fermanagh No overall control No overall control Details
Larne No overall control No overall control Details
Limavady No overall control No overall control Details
Lisburn No overall control No overall control Details
Magherafelt Sinn Féin Sinn Féin Details
Moyle No overall control No overall control Details
Newry and Mourne No overall control No overall control Details
Newtownabbey No overall control No overall control Details
North Down No overall control No overall control Details
Omagh No overall control No overall control Details
Strabane Sinn Féin Sinn Féin Details

References

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  1. ^ Sparrow, Andrew (5 May 2011). "Election results 2011 - Thursday 5 May". The Guardian. London.
  2. ^ Compared to the 2010 local elections
  3. ^ "BBC News - Election 2011 - England council elections". BBC News.
  4. ^ "Clegg announces date for AV referendum". BBC Democracy Live. 5 July 2010. Retrieved 7 July 2010.
  5. ^ Hawkins, Ross (6 May 2011). "Polls' impact on party leaders". BBC News.
  6. ^ "Data" (PDF). researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
  7. ^ "Election separation plan passed". BBC News. 17 June 2009. Retrieved 7 July 2010.
  8. ^ The deadline for the receipt and determination of anonymous electoral registration applications is the same as the publication date of the notice of alteration to the Electoral Register (i.e. the fifth working day before election day).
  9. ^ Watt, Nicholas (6 May 2011). "Elections 2011: Ed Miliband puts a brave face on mixed results for Labour". The Guardian. London.
  10. ^ "Vote 2011: Nick Clegg quit calls after council losses". BBC News. 7 May 2011.
  11. ^ a b "BBC News - Election 2011 - England council elections". BBC. 11 June 2011. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
  12. ^ "Plan to cut Northern Ireland councils may be delayed until 2015". Belfast Telegraph. 7 May 2010. Retrieved 7 July 2010.