227/230 councils declared

NOC = No overall control

NOC = No overall control

The losses of Swindon and Bracknell Forest to Labour are indicative of the Conservatives' poor showing in the south of England. Winning Stratford-on-Avon from the Tories was one of several eye-catching victories for the resurgent Lib Dems. Labour has secured coveted victories in High Peak and Middlesbrough, the latter a stronghold for almost 50 years that fell to NOC in 2019. The Green party has taken control of its first ever council in Mid Suffolk, a victory that can be interpreted in the context of their successful strategy of targeting rural seats.

227/230 councils declared

* councils with ward boundary changes and/or seat number changes

On 4 May, 230 English councils are holding elections with more than 8,000 seats being contested. Some are for metropolitan boroughs such as Liverpool city council and others for unitary authorities such as Herefordshire or North Somerset. Both structures are single-tier authorities with responsibility for the whole range of council services, including education, social care, rubbish collection and parks.

There are also elections for 152 district councils, lower-tier authorities whose responsibilities are more limited, but include planning, housing and recycling. District councils typically elect a third of their seats each year on a four-yearly cycle, and elect the upper tier council (usually the county council) in the fourth year.

These results come from the PA Media newswire. PA release results for each council when its count is complete, but it is possible that a council鈥檚 overall result can be known before the final seat is awarded. In addition, PA tracks changes in council seats from just before the election, including any byelections or defections that may have happened. Some results by other media track changes against the last time the seats were up for election, which in this case is usually 2019.

There are also frequent changes in ward boundaries, sometimes accompanied by changes in the number of councillors overall, so it is possible in some cases for all parties to lose seats at the same time.