This page shows the composition of councils before the elections of May 2002. 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 AuthoritiesTwo 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 01/02/2002
County Councils | |||||
| Control | Con | Labour | LibDem | Others | |
| Bedfordshire | Con | 26 | 13 | 10 | |
| Buckinghamshire | Con | 40 | 5 | 9 | |
| Cambridgeshire | Con | 34 | 9 | 16 | |
| Cheshire | Con | 28 | 17 | 5 | 1 |
| Cornwall | 9 | 9 | 36 | 25 | |
| Cumbria | Con + LD | 33 | 40 | 10 | 1 |
| Derbyshire | Lab | 13 | 43 | 7 | 1 |
| Devon | 23 | 5 | 21 | 5 | |
| Dorset | Con | 23 | 4 | 14 | 1 |
| Durham | Lab | 2 | 53 | 4 | 2 |
| East Sussex | Con | 24 | 7 | 13 | |
| Essex | Con | 49 | 19 | 10 | 1 |
| Gloucestershire | 27 | 19 | 16 | 1 | |
| Hampshire | Con | 46 | 9 | 19 | |
| Hertfordshire | Con | 40 | 26 | 10 | |
| Kent | Con | 52 | 22 | 10 | |
| Lancashire | Lab | 26 | 44 | 6 | 2 |
| Leicestershire | Con | 29 | 15 | 10 | |
| Lincolnshire | Con | 49 | 21 | 4 | 3 |
| Norfolk | Con | 47 | 26 | 11 | |
| North Yorkshire | Con | 41 | 12 | 17 | 4 |
| Northamptonshire | Lab | 33 | 39 | 1 | |
| Northumberland | Lab | 17 | 38 | 9 | 3 |
| Nottinghamshire | Lab | 20 | 40 | 3 | |
| Oxfordshire | 26 | 24 | 18 | 2 | |
| Shropshire | Lab/LD/Ind | 17 | 11 | 9 | 7 |
| Somerset | 24 | 5 | 29 | ||
| Staffordshire | Lab | 23 | 36 | 3 | |
| Suffolk | 31 | 35 | 12 | 2 | |
| Surrey | Con | 51 | 6 | 13 | 6 |
| Warwickshire | 20 | 28 | 13 | 1 | |
| West Sussex | Con | 42 | 11 | 18 | |
| Wiltshire | Con | 28 | 3 | 14 | 2 |
| Worcestershire | 26 | 14 | 8 | 9 | |
| County Totals | 1019 | 708 | 408 | 79 | |
Unitary Authorities
Control Con Labour LibDem Others
Bath & N.E. Somerset 16 17 30 2
Blackburn with Darwen Lab 19 37 6
Blackpool Lab 15 25 4
Bournemouth 27 6 18 6
Bracknell Forest Con 30 10
Brighton & Hove Lab 26 46 3 3
Bristol Lab 9 40 21
Darlington Lab 15 35 2
Derby Lab 9 29 6
East Riding of Yorkshire 27 12 22 6
Halton Lab 1 45 6 3
Hartlepool 10 22 13 2
Herefordshire 21 5 20 14
Isle of Wight 12 5 19 12
Kingston upon Hull Lab 2 44 10 4
Leicester Lab 10 30 16
Luton Lab 3 36 9
Medway Towns 38 25 15 2
Middlesbrough Lab 4 41 7 1
Milton Keynes 8 22 20 1
North East Lincolnshire Lab 11 23 5 3
North Lincolnshire Lab 19 23
North Somerset Con 31 13 12 5
Nottingham Lab 11 40 4
Peterborough 27 22 3 5
Plymouth Con 39 21
Poole 17 3 19
Portsmouth 16 15 8
Reading Lab 3 36 6
Redcar & Cleveland Lab 14 31 11 3
Rutland 1 1 4 14
Slough Lab 8 26 1 6
South Gloucestershire LDm 10 23 37
Southampton 7 22 16
Southend-on-Sea Con 33 11 7
Stockton-on-Tees Lab 12 38 5
Stoke-on-Trent Lab 6 32 7 15
Swindon 23 28 8
Telford & Wrekin Lab 15 30 4 5
Thurrock Lab 10 37 2
Torbay Con 30 6
Warrington Lab 4 43 13
West Berkshire LDm 25 28 1
Windsor & Maidenhead 29 1 21 7
Wokingham 27 27
York 3 25 24 1
Unitary Totals 733 1076 523 123
London Borough Councils
Control Con Labour LibDem Others
Barking & Dagenham Lab 46 2 3
Barnet 28 26 6
Bexley Con 32 24 6
Brent Lab 19 43 4
Bromley Con 32 6 22
Camden Lab 11 42 6
Croydon Lab 31 38 1
Ealing Lab 16 52 3
Enfield Lab 23 42 1
Greenwich Lab 8 52 2
Hackney Lab 10 32 16 2
Hammersmith & Fulham Lab 14 35 1
Haringey Lab 2 54 3
Harrow Lab 20 32 9 2
Havering 12 31 3 16
Hillingdon 33 32 4
Hounslow Lab 11 43 5 1
Islington LDm 25 27
Kensington & Chelsea Con 39 15
Kingston upon Thames 21 10 19
Lambeth Lab 5 41 18
Lewisham Lab 2 59 4 2
Merton Lab 13 39 2 3
Newham Lab 59 1
Redbridge 24 27 9 2
Richmond upon Thames LDm 14 4 34
Southwark 4 31 27 2
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 1040 299 37
Metropolitan Borough Councils
Control Con Labour LibDem Others
Barnsley Lab 3 52 3 8
Birmingham Lab 27 67 18 5
Bolton Lab 15 34 11
Bradford 37 41 11 1
Bury Lab 13 32 3
Calderdale Con 28 10 15 1
Coventry Lab 15 35 1 3
Doncaster Lab 6 40 9 8
Dudley Lab 18 43 11
Gateshead Lab 47 18 1
Kirklees 15 25 29 3
Knowsley Lab 62 4
Leeds Lab 16 61 19 3
Liverpool LDm 20 69 10
Manchester Lab 78 21
Newcastle upon Tyne Lab 61 17
North Tyneside Lab 17 35 8
Oldham 2 25 30 3
Rochdale Lab 8 31 21
Rotherham Lab 4 60 1 1
St Helens Lab 4 35 15
Salford Lab 3 52 5
Sandwell Lab 6 55 10 1
Sefton 18 23 25
Sheffield LDm 1 36 47 3
Solihull Con 29 14 8
South Tyneside Lab 50 6 4
Stockport LDm 6 22 32 3
Sunderland Lab 8 64 3
Tameside Lab 6 47 2 2
Trafford Lab 27 33 3
Wakefield Lab 6 55 1 1
Walsall 26 27 7
Wigan Lab 1 68 3
Wirral Lab 20 34 12
Wolverhampton Lab 22 33 5
Metropolitan Totals 407 1507 503 61
District Councils
Control Con Labour LibDem Others
Adur Con + Res 18 13 6 2
Allerdale Lab 8 33 8 4
Alnwick 2 2 14 12
Amber Valley Con 32 12 1
Arun Con 37 8 9 2
Ashfield Lab 1 29 1 2
Ashford 24 11 10 4
Aylesbury Vale 26 1 24 7
Babergh 10 5 13 14
Barrow-in-Furness 16 18 4
Basildon 19 20 3
Basingstoke & Deane 24 15 15 3
Bassetlaw Lab 14 31 3 2
Bedford 7 18 16 12
Berwick-upon-Tweed LDm 3 1 18 7
Blaby Con 25 6 8
Blyth Valley Lab 2 36 10 2
Bolsover Lab 32 5
Boston 13 10 3 6
Braintree Lab 16 31 4 9
Breckland Con 34 14 2 3
Brentwood LDm 11 2 24
Bridgnorth 4 4 4 21
Broadland Con 32 7 9 1
Bromsgrove Con 30 7 2
Broxbourne Con 35 3
Broxtowe Lab 11 26 11 1
Burnley Lab 3 25 9 11
Cambridge LDm 3 15 23 1
Cannock Chase Lab 8 27 7
Canterbury 19 13 17
Caradon 2 20 19
Carlisle Con 30 15 5 2
Carrick LDm 9 2 28 6
Castle Morpeth 4 10 7 12
Castle Point Lab 15 24
Charnwood 21 24 6 1
Chelmsford 23 5 26 2
Cheltenham Con 23 2 11 5
Cherwell Con 33 13 4 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 15 24 7 2
Christchurch Con 17 5 3
Colchester 21 14 24 1
Congleton LDm 14 2 32
Copeland Lab 18 30 1 2
Corby Lab 1 27 1
Cotswold 14 1 8 22
Craven 17 5 12
Crawley Lab 6 24 2
Crewe & Nantwich Lab 21 29 4
Dacorum Con 28 20 4
Dartford Lab 14 29 4
Daventry Con 20 13 3 2
Derbyshire Dales Con 21 5 9 4
Derwentside Lab 46 9
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 32 7 9 2
East Lindsey 6 9 8 36
East Northamptonshire Con 20 15 1
East Staffordshire Lab 15 28 3
Eastbourne Con 18 12
Eastleigh LDm 9 7 28
Eden 1 5 32
Ellesmere Port & Neston Lab 6 36 1
Elmbridge 22 1 9 28
Epping Forest 20 12 16 11
Epsom & Ewell Residents 3 9 27
Erewash Lab 16 29 3 4
Exeter Lab 6 25 5 4
Fareham Con 29 2 11
Fenland Con 28 7 1 3
Forest Heath Con 21 1 2 1
Forest of Dean Lab 2 29 6 12
Fylde 22 2 3 22
Gedling Con 29 18 7 3
Gloucester 12 19 8
Gosport 13 11 6
Gravesham Lab 15 29
Great Yarmouth Con 27 21
Guildford 17 6 20 2
Hambleton Con 35 2 4 6
Harborough 16 3 14 4
Harlow Lab 8 26 8
Harrogate LDm 18 1 40
Hart 17 12 6
Hastings Lab 6 18 8
Havant 20 11 8 3
Hertsmere Con 22 12 5
High Peak Lab 10 27 5 2
Hinckley & Bosworth 11 9 14
Horsham Con 24 16 3
Huntingdonshire Con 37 13 3
Hyndburn Con 29 18
Ipswich Lab 15 31 2
Kennet Con 22 4 4 10
Kerrier 4 11 10 19
Kettering Lab 17 23 1 4
King's Lynn & W. Norfolk 26 27 5 3
Lancaster 9 16 7 28
Lewes LDm 17 29 2
Lichfield Con 30 24 2
Lincoln Lab 4 29
Macclesfield Con 36 6 15 3
Maidstone 16 12 22 5
Maldon Con 18 5 7
Malvern Hills 21 12 9
Mansfield Lab 5 39 2
Melton 9 11 6
Mendip 18 10 16 2
Mid Bedfordshire Con 35 7 6 5
Mid Devon 3 1 17 19
Mid Suffolk 14 6 15 5
Mid Sussex Con 29 2 21 2
Mole Valley 19 1 14 7
New Forest Con 29 26 3
Newark & Sherwood 21 25 5 3
Newcastle-under-Lyme Lab 9 30 16 1
North Cornwall 3 11 24
North Devon LDm 5 26 13
North Dorset 16 10 6
North East Derbyshire Lab 9 38 3 3
North Hertfordshire Con 27 19 3
North Kesteven 16 6 10 8
North Norfolk 14 10 12 10
North Shropshire 10 5 3 22
North Warwickshire Lab 9 22 2 1
North West Leicestershire Lab 8 31 1
North Wiltshire 19 4 27 2
Northampton Lab 8 28 11
Norwich Lab 1 26 21
Nuneaton & Bedworth Lab 10 35
Oadby & Wigston LDm 4 22
Oswestry 4 5 5 15
Oxford LibDem + Grn 1 21 22 7
Pendle 9 23 19
Penwith 10 3 7 14
Preston 17 25 11 4
Purbeck Con 16 4 4
Redditch Lab 10 17 2
Reigate & Banstead Con 33 8 4 6
Restormel 13 1 17 13
Ribble Valley 19 18 2
Richmondshire 7 9 18
Rochford 19 9 9 3
Rossendale Con 24 12
Rother Con 28 5 8 4
Rugby 14 18 10 6
Runnymede Con 33 3 6
Rushcliffe Con 30 11 12 1
Rushmoor Con 24 10 10 1
Ryedale 11 1 5 6
St Albans 19 15 23 1
St Edmundsbury Con 23 16 2 3
Salisbury 28 11 16 3
Scarborough 18 11 6 14
Sedgefield Lab 43 3 3
Sedgemoor Con 30 16 3 1
Selby 15 19 2 5
Sevenoaks Con 33 8 9 3
Shepway Con 29 11 16
Shrewsbury & Atcham 16 18 11 3
South Bedfordshire 26 7 17 3
South Bucks Con 30 2 8
South Cambridgeshire 20 5 15 15
South Derbyshire Lab 9 24 1
South Hams Con 29 2 5 4
South Holland 19 3 16
South Kesteven Con 30 11 3 14
South Lakeland 17 9 22 4
South Norfolk LDm 16 2 27 2
South Northamptonshire Con 30 5 3 4
South Oxfordshire 21 7 19 3
South Ribble 18 21 12 3
South Shropshire 1 17 22
South Somerset LDm 13 41 6
South Staffordshire Con 36 9 2 3
Spelthorne Con 27 9 4
Stafford 23 28 8 1
Staffordshire Moorlands 13 15 9 19
Stevenage Lab 3 33 3
Stratford-on-Avon Con 28 2 19 6
Stroud 24 18 5 8
Suffolk Coastal Con 37 7 10 1
Surrey Heath Con 22 7 7
Swale 15 12 22
Tamworth Lab 13 16 1
Tandridge Con 29 3 10
Taunton Deane 21 5 23 5
Teesdale 3 9 19
Teignbridge 20 1 17 20
Tendring 16 21 11 12
Test Valley Con 30 14
Tewkesbury 13 8 4 11
Thanet Lab 18 33 3
Three Rivers LDm 15 7 26
Tonbridge & Malling 27 7 21
Torridge 1 2 12 21
Tunbridge Wells Con 31 5 10 2
Tynedale 23 12 11 6
Uttlesford 15 1 18 8
Vale of White Horse LDm 15 2 33 1
Vale Royal Lab 16 33 8
Wansbeck Lab 25 20
Warwick 10 17 13 5
Watford 8 18 10
Waveney Lab 15 27 3 3
Waverley Con 31 2 24
Wealden Con 36 20 2
Wear Valley Lab 30 5 5
Wellingborough Lab 15 20 1
Welwyn Hatfield Lab 23 25
West Devon 9 8 13
West Dorset 21 4 15 14
West Lancashire Lab 23 31 1
West Lindsey 9 3 16 9
West Oxfordshire Con 26 2 13 8
West Somerset Con 19 5 1 6
West Wiltshire LDm 11 2 26 4
Weymouth & Portland 5 14 11 5
Winchester LDm 11 4 35 5
Woking 15 5 15 1
Worcester 16 15 1 4
Worthing Con 20 16
Wychavon Con 30 4 11 4
Wycombe Con 42 9 7 2
Wyre Con 35 19 2
Wyre Forest 5 11 4 22
District Totals 4066 3049 2391 1246