2013 United Kingdom local elections

Criteria to vote

All registered electors (British, Irish, Commonwealth and European Union citizens) aged 18 or over were entitled to vote in the local elections. Those temporarily away from their ordinary address (for example, away working, on holiday, in student accommodation or in hospital) were also entitled to vote in the local elections, as were those who had moved abroad and registered as overseas electors.

Record choice

The UK Independence Party and the Green Party stood record numbers of candidates.

Results

Labour and UKIP made substantial gains, but the Conservatives won the most councillors and retained control of most councils. The BBC published projected national vote shares, adjusting for which regions are holding local elections and extrapolating to the national situation. These were Labour 29%, Conservatives 25%, UKIP 23% and the Liberal Democrats 14%. This is the lowest figure for the Conservatives since 1982 and the lowest ever figure for the Liberal Democrats. It is also the first time that none of the three main parties in the Commons has scored 30% or more. Rallings & Thrasher separately calculated a projected national vote share of Labour 29%, Conservatives 26%, UKIP 22% and the Liberal Democrats 13%.

The actual votes received were Conservative 34.3%, Labour 21.1%, UKIP 19.9%, Lib Dem 13.8% and Green 3.5%.

Overall, in England, the Conservatives saw 1116 councillors elected (down 335), Labour 538 (up 291), the Liberal Democrats 352 (down 124), independents 165 (up 24), UKIP 147 (up 139), the Greens 22 (up 5), Residents Associations 12 (up 2), Mebyon Kernow 4 (up 1), the Liberal Party 3 (up 1) and Independent Community and Health Concern 2 (no change). The BNP won no seats (down 3).

This was UKIP's highest ever result in a local election.

England

Non-metropolitan county councils

All 27 county councils for areas with a two-tier structure of local governance had all of their seats up for election. These were first-past-the-post elections in a mixture of single-member and multi-member electoral divisions.

†The Conservatives won control of the council in the 2009 elections but lost their majority during its term.

Unitary authorities

Seven single-tier unitary authorities held elections. Seven of these had all of their seats up for election, whilst one, Bristol, elected a third of its seats. These are first-past-the-post elections in a mixture of single-member and multi-member wards.

Isles of Scilly

The Council of the Isles of Scilly was created by the Local Government Act 1888, meaning they lie outside the classifications of authorities used in the rest of England.

Mayoral elections

Two elections for directly elected mayors were held, who act as council leader. These are elected using the Supplementary Vote system. Hartlepool's referendum in November 2012 resulted in the post being abolished from May 2013.

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Wales

In Wales, a single council, the Isle of Anglesey, was up for election. This election was postponed in 2012, when all other Welsh councils were elected, in order to allow an electoral review to take place for the council.

Elections not scheduled to be held in 2013 (other than by-elections)

• The 32 London borough councils (next election 2014)
• The 36 metropolitan district councils (next election 2014)
• The 201 district councils in two-tier authorities (next election 2014 in the 67 councils where members are elected by thirds, and 2015 in the 127 councils where all members are elected together)
• 48 unitary authorities of England (next election 2014 in the 19 councils where members are elected by thirds, excluding Bristol, and 2015 in the 30 councils where all members are elected together)
• The Scottish local councils
• Local councils in Northern Ireland
• The Welsh local councils (except Anglesey)

Notes

References

References

1. "Elections and electoral arrangements". communities.gov.uk.
2. (3 May 2013). "Local elections: Nigel Farage hails results as a 'game changer'". BBC News.
3. Uberoi, Elise. (19 May 2016). "Local elections 2016".
4. (13 October 2011). "The Representation of the People (Form of Canvass) (England and Wales) Regulations 2006, Schedule Part 1". Legislation.gov.uk.
5. "Students – Some things are impossible to do in 3 minutes... Registering to vote isn't one of them.".
6. "I have two homes. Can I register at both addresses?".
7. ''Channel 4 News'', 1 May 2013
8. (1970-01-01). "LIVE: Vote 2013 results and reaction". BBC.
9. ''Sunday Times'', 5 May 2013
10. "Final vote tally from last month's locals shows UKIP in second place in seats contested". politicalbetting.com.
11. (3 May 2013). "English council results". BBC News.
12. Sian Grzeszczyk. (2013-04-29). "Warwickshire elections 2013: Conservatives lose control". BBC.
13. Mulholland, Hélène. (16 November 2012). "Mayor H'Angus the Monkey finally loses his Hartlepool habitat". 16 November 2012.
14. (2013-02-05). "Doncaster mayor quits English Democrats 'because of BNP'". BBC.
15. (17 January 2012). "Anglesey council election postponed for year to 2013". BBC News.