This page shows the composition of councils before the elections of May 2000. Refer to the live compositions page for links to other preserved historical files.
There are five tables for the different types of council in England: County Councils, Unitary Authorities, London Boroughs, Metropolitan Boroughs, and District Councils; followed by tables for Scottish Unitary Authorities, and Welsh Unitary AuthoritiesThis table shows the authorities operating as from 1st April 1998
Two other bodies, the Corporation of the City of London (25 aldermen, 130 councillors), and the Scilly Islands Council (21 councillors), do not fit in any of these classes and have no political groups, so they are not listed.
Councils in Northern Ireland are composed almost entirely of members of Northern Irish or pan-Irish parties and are not included in this tabulation.
Keith Edkins - last updated and © 01/10/2017 to present data as at 27/04/2000
County Councils | |||||
| Ctrl | Con | Labour | LibDem | Others | |
| Bedfordshire | Con | 25 | 14 | 10 | |
| Buckinghamshire | Con | 38 | 5 | 10 | 1 |
| Cambridgeshire | Con | 33 | 10 | 16 | |
| Cheshire | 19 | 19 | 10 | ||
| Cornwall | 8 | 8 | 37 | 26 | |
| Cumbria | Lab | 24 | 43 | 12 | 4 |
| Derbyshire | Lab | 12 | 45 | 6 | 1 |
| Devon | LDm | 15 | 4 | 30 | 5 |
| Dorset | 15 | 5 | 21 | 1 | |
| Durham | Lab | 2 | 52 | 3 | 4 |
| East Sussex | 20 | 7 | 17 | ||
| Essex | 38 | 24 | 16 | 1 | |
| Gloucestershire | 23 | 21 | 22 | 2 | |
| Hampshire | Con | 42 | 8 | 22 | 2 |
| Hertfordshire | Con | 40 | 28 | 9 | |
| Kent | Con | 45 | 23 | 8 | 1 |
| Lancashire | Lab | 23 | 47 | 7 | 1 |
| Leicestershire | 25 | 17 | 11 | 1 | |
| Lincolnshire | Con | 43 | 19 | 11 | 3 |
| Norfolk | 37 | 33 | 13 | 1 | |
| North Yorkshire | 36 | 12 | 20 | 6 | |
| Northamptonshire | Lab | 27 | 37 | 4 | |
| Northumberland | Lab | 14 | 42 | 8 | 2 |
| Nottinghamshire | Lab | 17 | 42 | 4 | |
| Oxfordshire | 27 | 20 | 21 | 2 | |
| Shropshire | 18 | 8 | 12 | 6 | |
| Somerset | LDm | 18 | 3 | 36 | |
| Staffordshire | Lab | 20 | 40 | 2 | |
| Suffolk | 31 | 33 | 15 | 1 | |
| Surrey | Con | 48 | 6 | 16 | 6 |
| Warwickshire | 22 | 31 | 8 | 1 | |
| West Sussex | Con | 38 | 9 | 23 | 1 |
| Wiltshire | Con | 24 | 4 | 18 | 1 |
| Worcestershire | 25 | 22 | 8 | 2 | |
| County Totals | 892 | 741 | 486 | 82 | |
Unitary Authorities
Ctrl Con Labour LibDem Others
Bath & N.E. Somerset 16 17 30 2
Blackburn Lab 16 43 3
Blackpool Lab 8 33 3
Bournemouth 25 6 20 6
Bracknell Forest Con 23 17
Brighton & Hove Lab 27 45 3 3
Bristol Lab 10 36 24
Darlington Lab 15 35 2
Derby Lab 6 34 4
East Riding of Yorkshire 27 12 22 6
Halton Lab 1 46 8
Hartlepool Lab 6 30 10 1
Herefordshire LDm 9 2 31 18
Isle of Wight 15 4 16 13
Kingston upon Hull Lab 1 51 5 4
Leicester Lab 10 30 16
Luton Lab 3 36 9
Medway Towns 20 39 21
Middlesbrough Lab 4 41 7 1
Milton Keynes 4 25 19 3
North East Lincolnshire Lab 11 22 5 4
North Lincolnshire Lab 19 23
North Somerset Con 32 13 11 5
Nottingham Lab 4 49 2 1
Peterborough 24 26 2 5
Plymouth Lab 13 47
Poole 17 3 19
Portsmouth Lab 10 20 9
Reading Lab 3 36 6
Redcar & Cleveland Lab 14 32 11 2
Rutland 1 2 4 13
Slough Lab 6 32 3
South Gloucestershire LDm 8 25 37
Southampton Lab 4 27 14
Southend-on-Sea 19 8 12
Stockton-on-Tees Lab 12 38 5
Stoke-on-Trent Lab 2 48 4 6
Swindon Lab 5 39 10
Telford & Wrekin Lab 10 37 4 3
Thurrock Lab 2 44
Torbay LDm 14 2 20
Warrington Lab 4 45 11
West Berkshire LDm 14 39 1
Windsor & Maidenhead 21 1 29 7
Wokingham Con 30 24
York Lab 3 27 22 1
Unitary Totals 548 1228 553 108
London Borough Councils
Ctrl Con Labour LibDem Others
Barking & Dagenham Lab 48 2 3
Barnet 28 26 6
Bexley Con 32 24 6
Brent Lab 19 43 4
Bromley 29 7 24
Camden Lab 11 42 6
Croydon Lab 31 38 1
Ealing Lab 16 52 3
Enfield Lab 23 43
Greenwich Lab 8 52 2
Hackney 12 29 17 2
Hammersmith & Fulham Lab 14 35 1
Haringey Lab 2 54 3
Harrow Lab 20 32 9 2
Havering 14 29 3 17
Hillingdon 33 32 4
Hounslow Lab 11 44 4 1
Islington LDm 25 27
Kensington & Chelsea Con 39 15
Kingston upon Thames 21 10 19
Lambeth Lab 5 41 18
Lewisham Lab 2 60 4 1
Merton Lab 12 39 3 3
Newham Lab 60
Redbridge 24 29 9
Richmond upon Thames LDm 14 4 34
Southwark Lab 4 33 27
Sutton LDm 5 5 46
Tower Hamlets Lab 41 9
Waltham Forest Lab 14 30 12 1
Wandsworth Con 50 11
Westminster Con 47 13
London Totals 540 1046 302 31
Metropolitan Borough Councils
Ctrl Con Labour LibDem Others
Barnsley Lab 3 58 2 3
Birmingham Lab 20 77 16 3
Bolton Lab 10 41 9
Bradford Lab 26 54 10
Bury Lab 8 36 3 1
Calderdale 19 20 14 1
Coventry Lab 8 44 2
Doncaster Lab 5 37 9 12
Dudley Lab 8 54 10
Gateshead Lab 49 15 2
Kirklees 10 35 24 3
Knowsley Lab 64 2
Leeds Lab 12 70 15 2
Liverpool LDm 28 60 11
Manchester Lab 80 19
Newcastle upon Tyne Lab 64 14
North Tyneside Lab 13 38 8 1
Oldham Lab 1 33 26
Rochdale Lab 6 35 19
Rotherham Lab 2 63 1
St Helens Lab 3 37 14
Salford Lab 56 4
Sandwell Lab 2 59 10 1
Sefton 15 30 24
Sheffield LDm 1 39 46 1
Solihull 24 15 11 1
South Tyneside Lab 51 6 3
Stockport LDm 2 25 32 4
Sunderland Lab 8 64 3
Tameside Lab 4 48 2 3
Trafford Lab 27 33 3
Wakefield Lab 3 57 3
Walsall Lab 21 31 6 2
Wigan Lab 69 3
Wirral Lab 17 39 10
Wolverhampton Lab 17 40 3
Metropolitan Totals 295 1673 453 59
District Councils
Ctrl Con Labour LibDem Others
Adur 9 15 13 2
Allerdale Lab 8 33 7 5
Alnwick 2 2 13 13
Amber Valley Lab 11 32
Arun Con 36 8 10 2
Ashfield Lab 1 29 1 2
Ashford 24 11 10 4
Aylesbury Vale 24 1 26 7
Babergh 10 5 13 14
Barrow-in-Furness 17 18 3
Basildon Lab 11 23 8
Basingstoke & Deane 24 15 14 4
Bassetlaw Lab 12 32 3 3
Bedford 9 19 18 7
Berwick-upon-Tweed LDm 1 1 18 9
Blaby Con 25 6 8
Blyth Valley Lab 2 36 9 3
Bolsover Lab 32 5
Boston 12 11 3 6
Braintree Lab 16 31 4 9
Breckland Con 34 14 2 3
Brentwood LDm 9 2 25 3
Bridgnorth 4 4 4 21
Broadland Con 26 11 9 3
Bromsgrove Con 30 7 2
Broxbourne Con 33 5
Broxtowe Lab 11 26 11 1
Burnley Lab 3 31 9 5
Cambridge 3 20 19
Cannock Chase Lab 3 34 5
Canterbury 18 13 18
Caradon 1 2 18 20
Carlisle Con 28 16 6 2
Carrick LDm 9 2 27 7
Castle Morpeth 4 10 7 12
Castle Point Lab 15 24
Charnwood 21 24 6 1
Chelmsford 22 5 27 2
Cheltenham Con 22 1 15 3
Cherwell 26 19 5 2
Chester 18 22 18 2
Chester-le-Street Lab 1 30 1 1
Chesterfield Lab 28 19
Chichester Con 29 19 2
Chiltern Con 29 19 2
Chorley Lab 9 31 6 2
Christchurch 8 11 6
Colchester 18 15 26 1
Congleton LDm 8 2 38
Copeland Lab 18 30 1 2
Corby Lab 1 27 1
Cotswold 14 2 7 22
Craven Con 19 1 4 10
Crawley Lab 5 25 2
Crewe & Nantwich Lab 20 29 5 2
Dacorum 26 20 6
Dartford Lab 14 28 5
Daventry Con 20 13 3 2
Derbyshire Dales Con 21 5 9 4
Derwentside Lab 47 8
Dover 26 28 1 1
Durham Lab 33 13 3
Easington Lab 45 1 5
East Cambridgeshire LDm 1 4 20 12
East Devon Con 38 1 15 6
East Dorset Con 26 9 1
East Hampshire Con 22 17 3
East Hertfordshire Con 31 8 9 2
East Lindsey 6 9 8 36
East Northamptonshire Con 20 15 1
East Staffordshire Lab 15 28 3
Eastbourne 15 15
Eastleigh LDm 7 8 29
Eden 2 5 31
Ellesmere Port & Neston Lab 5 37 1
Elmbridge 24 6 8 22
Epping Forest 19 14 15 11
Epsom & Ewell Res 3 9 27
Erewash Lab 15 29 4 4
Exeter Lab 3 22 8 3
Fareham 22 5 15 2
Fenland Con 29 6 1 3
Forest Heath Con 21 1 2 1
Forest of Dean Lab 1 30 6 12
Fylde 21 2 3 23
Gedling Con 29 18 7 3
Gloucester Lab 8 23 8
Gosport 10 11 7 2
Gravesham Lab 15 29
Great Yarmouth Lab 19 29
Guildford 17 6 20 2
Hambleton Con 35 2 4 6
Harborough 16 3 14 4
Harlow Lab 4 34 4
Harrogate LDm 15 3 41
Hart 16 14 5
Hastings Lab 3 19 10
Havant 16 8 11 7
Hertsmere Con 20 13 6
High Peak Lab 10 27 5 2
Hinckley & Bosworth 11 9 14
Horsham Con 24 16 3
Huntingdonshire Con 37 14 3
Hyndburn 23 23 1
Ipswich Lab 10 37 1
Kennet Con 22 4 4 10
Kerrier 4 11 10 19
Kettering 18 22 1 4
King's Lynn & W. Norfolk 26 27 5 3
Lancaster 9 17 6 28
Lewes LDm 16 30 2
Lichfield Con 29 24 2 1
Lincoln Lab 2 31
Macclesfield Con 37 7 13 3
Maidstone 15 13 22 5
Maldon Con 17 6 7
Malvern Hills 10 1 21 10
Mansfield Lab 5 39 2
Melton 9 11 6
Mendip 18 10 16 2
Mid Bedfordshire Con 34 7 6 6
Mid Devon 2 1 18 19
Mid Suffolk 15 6 14 5
Mid Sussex Con 29 2 21 2
Mole Valley 17 1 16 7
New Forest Con 30 25 3
Newark & Sherwood 20 26 5 3
Newcastle-under-Lyme Lab 7 36 12 1
North Cornwall 3 10 25
North Devon LDm 5 26 13
North Dorset 16 10 6
North East Derbyshire Lab 9 38 3 3
North Hertfordshire Con 28 18 3
North Kesteven 14 7 10 9
North Norfolk 14 10 12 10
North Shropshire 8 5 2 25
North Warwickshire Lab 9 22 2 1
North West Leicestershire Lab 8 31 1
North Wiltshire 20 4 26 2
Northampton Lab 8 28 11
Norwich Lab 34 14
Nuneaton & Bedworth Lab 5 40
Oadby & Wigston LDm 4 22
Oswestry 4 6 4 15
Oxford Lab 28 16 7
Pendle 7 20 23 1
Penwith 9 5 10 11
Preston 13 28 14 2
Purbeck Con 13 1 5 5
Redditch Lab 6 20 3
Reigate & Banstead 22 13 8 6
Restormel 13 1 17 13
Ribble Valley 19 18 2
Richmondshire 6 9 19
Rochford 11 12 13 4
Rossendale Lab 15 21
Rother Con 28 5 8 4
Rugby 12 21 7 8
Runnymede Con 25 9 2 6
Rushcliffe Con 31 11 11 1
Rushmoor 18 13 14
Ryedale 11 1 5 6
St Albans 21 16 21
St Edmundsbury Con 23 16 2 3
Salisbury 27 11 16 4
Scarborough 17 13 5 14
Sedgefield Lab 43 2 4
Sedgemoor Con 31 16 2 1
Selby 15 19 2 5
Sevenoaks Con 33 9 9 2
Shepway Con 30 13 13
Shrewsbury & Atcham 13 20 11 4
South Bedfordshire 16 15 19 3
South Bucks Con 27 3 10
South Cambridgeshire 15 9 15 16
South Derbyshire Lab 9 24 1
South Hams Con 29 3 4 4
South Holland 19 3 1 15
South Kesteven 29 12 3 14
South Lakeland 15 10 21 6
South Norfolk LDm 16 2 27 2
South Northamptonshire Con 28 7 3 4
South Oxfordshire 20 7 20 3
South Ribble 18 21 12 3
South Shropshire 14 26
South Somerset LDm 13 41 6
South Staffordshire Con 37 10 1 2
Spelthorne Con 27 9 4
Stafford 23 28 8 1
Staffordshire Moorlands 13 15 9 19
Stevenage Lab 3 33 3
Stratford-on-Avon 24 4 20 7
Stroud 17 24 5 9
Suffolk Coastal Con 36 8 10 1
Surrey Heath Con 22 7 7
Swale 9 17 23
Tamworth Lab 2 27 1
Tandridge 18 7 17
Taunton Deane 21 5 23 5
Teesdale 1 10 20
Teignbridge 19 1 17 21
Tendring 16 23 9 12
Test Valley Con 28 15 1
Tewkesbury 13 8 4 11
Thanet Lab 17 34 3
Three Rivers LDm 15 7 26
Tonbridge & Malling 27 7 21
Torridge 1 2 12 21
Tunbridge Wells Con 28 7 12 1
Tynedale 22 14 10 6
Uttlesford 16 2 18 6
Vale of White Horse LDm 15 2 33 1
Vale Royal Lab 16 33 8
Wansbeck Lab 25 19 1
Warwick 10 16 13 6
Watford Lab 7 19 10
Waveney Lab 5 38 3 2
Waverley Con 31 2 24
Wealden Con 34 22 2
Wear Valley Lab 30 5 5
Wellingborough Lab 15 20 1
Welwyn Hatfield 24 24
West Devon 8 8 14
West Dorset 21 4 15 14
West Lancashire Lab 21 32 2
West Lindsey 10 3 16 8
West Oxfordshire 19 7 13 10
West Somerset Con 18 5 1 7
West Wiltshire LDm 10 2 27 4
Weymouth & Portland 2 15 12 6
Winchester LDm 12 4 34 5
Woking 13 7 14 1
Worcester Lab 11 20 2 3
Worthing Con 19 16 1
Wychavon Con 29 5 11 4
Wycombe Con 42 9 7 2
Wyre Con 35 19 2
Wyre Forest 5 18 4 15
District Totals 3715 3326 2445 1265