Council Control Map

London Boroughs are 33 local authorities that make up Greater London. Each borough council is responsible for all local government functions within its area, including housing, planning, education, social services, waste collection, and libraries. London Boroughs are unitary authorities, meaning they operate as single-tier local government, providing both district and county-level services.

Examples include Westminster, Camden, Islington, and Hackney. Borough councils are elected every four years, with some holding elections for all seats and others using a system where one-third of seats are contested each year.

Metropolitan Boroughs are 36 single-tier local authorities covering major urban areas in England outside London, including Greater Manchester, West Midlands, Merseyside, South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, and Tyne and Wear. These councils provide all local government services, combining the functions of both district and county councils.

Metropolitan boroughs include cities like Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool, and Sheffield. They were created in 1974 as part of local government reorganization, replacing the previous county borough system. Councils are elected using a mix of all-seats and partial-seat election cycles.

Unitary Authorities are 63 single-tier local authorities in England that provide all local government functions in one council. Unlike two-tier areas where district and county councils share responsibilities, unitary authorities combine both roles, handling services like education, social care, housing, planning, waste management, and highways.

Unitary authorities were created in various waves of local government reorganization, particularly in the 1990s and 2000s. Examples include Bristol, Nottingham, Leicester, Plymouth, and Brighton and Hove. They offer streamlined local government with one point of contact for residents.

District Councils are 164 local authorities in England that operate as part of a two-tier system alongside County Councils. District councils handle local services such as housing, planning applications, waste collection, leisure facilities, local licensing, and council tax collection. County councils in the same areas provide larger-scale services like education, social services, libraries, and major highways.

District councils exist in non-metropolitan areas of England and include districts like Cambridge, Oxford, Canterbury, and York. They work alongside their respective county council to provide comprehensive local government coverage.

County Councils are 21 upper-tier local authorities in England that provide strategic services across larger geographic areas. They work alongside district councils in a two-tier system, handling services like education, adult and children's social care, libraries, major highways, public transport, fire services, and trading standards.

Examples include Kent, Essex, Hampshire, Surrey, and Norfolk. County councils cover larger rural and suburban areas, while district councils within their boundaries handle more local services. This division allows for efficient service delivery across different scales.

Scottish Councils are 32 unitary local authorities that provide all local government functions in Scotland. Created in 1996 to replace the previous regions and districts, Scottish councils handle services including education, social care, housing, planning, waste management, roads, and licensing. Each council is elected every four or five years, depending on the electoral cycle.

Scottish councils include Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Dundee, and Highland Council. They operate independently from the Scottish Government but receive funding and guidance on national policy priorities. All Scottish councils use the Single Transferable Vote (STV) electoral system for elections.

Welsh Councils, also known as Principal Areas, are 22 unitary local authorities in Wales that provide all local government services. Created in 1996 and reformed in 2022, these councils handle education, social care, housing, planning, waste management, highways, and cultural services. Welsh councils are elected every five years following recent electoral reforms.

Examples include Cardiff, Swansea, Newport, Wrexham, and Rhondda Cynon Taf. Welsh councils receive funding from the Welsh Government and work within the devolved policy framework. Elections use the first-past-the-post system, with some councils considering adopting proportional representation in future.

Council control is determined by which party or coalition has a majority of seats on the council. If one party holds more than half the seats, they have overall control. If no single party has a majority, councils may be controlled by coalitions (formal agreements between parties), minority administrations (where the largest party governs without a majority), or have no overall control (NOC), meaning decisions require cross-party cooperation.

Control can change through by-elections, defections, or changes in coalition agreements. The control status shown on this map reflects the current composition of each council, including formal coalitions and minority administrations where applicable.

"No Overall Control" (NOC) means that no single party holds a majority of seats on the council. In these situations, councils typically operate through one of three arrangements: a minority administration (where the largest party governs but must seek support from others for key votes), a formal coalition (where parties agree to work together), or informal arrangements where decisions are made on an issue-by-issue basis.

NOC councils require consensus-building and cross-party cooperation to pass policies and budgets. This can lead to more collaborative decision-making but may also result in slower policy implementation compared to councils with clear majority control.

Council election frequency varies by authority type and location. Most English councils hold elections every four years, with some electing all seats at once and others using partial election cycles (e.g., one-third of seats each year). Scottish councils hold elections every five years. Welsh councils recently moved to five-year cycles following electoral reforms.

London Boroughs and Metropolitan Boroughs typically use four-year cycles, while some unitary and district councils use annual or biennial partial elections. By-elections can occur between scheduled elections when a councillor resigns, dies, or is disqualified. The map shows the next scheduled election for each council.