This page shows the composition of councils before the elections of May 2003. 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 29/04/2003
County Councils
Exec Control Con Labour LibDem Others
Bedfordshire LC Con 26 13 10
Buckinghamshire LC Con 40 5 9
Cambridgeshire LC Con 34 9 16
Cheshire LC Con 28 17 5 1
Cornwall LC All party (4) 9 9 36 25
Cumbria LC Con + LD 33 40 10 1
Derbyshire LC Lab 13 43 7 1
Devon LC Con/LD/Lab/Lib 23 5 21 5
Dorset LC Con 23 4 14 1
Durham LC Lab 2 52 4 3
East Sussex LC Con 24 7 13
Essex LC Con 49 19 10 1
Gloucestershire LC Lab + LD 27 19 16 1
Hampshire LC Con 46 8 20
Hertfordshire LC Con 40 26 10
Kent LC Con 52 22 10
Lancashire LC Lab 26 44 6 2
Leicestershire LC Con 28 15 10 1
Lincolnshire LC Con 49 21 4 3
Norfolk LC Con 47 26 11
North Yorkshire LC Con 41 12 17 4
Northamptonshire LC Lab 33 39 1
Northumberland LC Lab 17 38 9 3
Nottinghamshire LC Lab 21 39 3
Oxfordshire LC Con + LD 25 24 20 1
Shropshire LC Lab/LD/Ind 18 11 9 6
Somerset LC LD (minority) 23 5 29 1
Staffordshire LC Lab 22 36 4
Suffolk LC Lab + LD 32 34 12 2
Surrey LC Con 51 6 13 6
Warwickshire LC Lab (minority) 20 28 13 1
West Sussex LC Con 42 11 18
Wiltshire LC Con 28 3 14 2
Worcestershire LC Con (minority) 26 14 8 9
County Totals 1018 704 412 80
Unitary Authorities
Exec Control Con Labour LibDem Others
Bath & N.E. Somerset LC LD (minority) 16 17 30 2
Blackburn with Darwen LC Lab 16 37 8 1
Blackpool LC Lab 15 25 4
Bournemouth LC Con (minority) 27 6 18 6
Bracknell Forest LC Con 30 10
Brighton & Hove LC Lab 26 46 3 3
Bristol LC Lab 10 36 24
Darlington LC Lab 15 35 2
Derby LC Lab 11 27 12 1
East Riding of Yorkshire LC All party (4) 27 12 22 6
Halton LC Lab 2 47 7
Hartlepool MC Ind mayor 8 23 12 4
Herefordshire LC Multiparty 21 4 21 14
Isle of Wight LC LD + Ind 13 4 19 12
Kingston upon Hull LC LD (minority) 2 24 29 4
Leicester LC Lab 10 29 17
Luton LC Lab 3 36 9
Medway Towns LC Con (minority) 38 25 15 2
Middlesbrough MC Ind mayor 4 41 7 1
Milton Keynes LC LDm 8 16 27
North East Lincolnshire LC Lab 11 23 5 3
North Lincolnshire LC Lab 19 23
North Somerset LC Con 32 11 12 6
Nottingham LC Lab 11 39 5
Peterborough LC Con 30 18 4 5
Plymouth LC Con 37 22 1
Poole LC LD (minority) 17 3 19
Portsmouth LC All party (3) 15 14 13
Reading LC Lab 3 36 6
Redcar & Cleveland LC Lab 14 31 12 2
Rutland LC Ind/Lab/LD/RC 2 1 4 13
Slough LC Lab 6 26 1 8
South Gloucestershire LC LDm 10 23 37
Southampton LC Lab (minority) 11 19 18
Southend-on-Sea LC Con 33 11 7
Stockton-on-Tees LC Lab 12 37 6
Stoke-on-Trent MM Ind mayor 6 21 11 22
Swindon LC Lab (minority) 22 29 8
Telford & Wrekin LC Lab 15 30 4 5
Thurrock LC Lab 9 37 1 2
Torbay LC Con 30 6
Warrington LC Lab 4 41 15
West Berkshire LC LDm 25 28 1
Windsor & Maidenhead LC Con + Ind 29 1 21 7
Wokingham LC Con + Ind 30 1 22 1
York LC Lab (minority) 3 25 24 1
Unitary Totals 738 1022 576 132
London Borough Councils
Exec Control Con Labour LibDem Others
Barking & Dagenham LC Lab 3 41 3 4
Barnet LC Con 33 24 6
Bexley LC Lab 30 32 1
Brent LC Lab 19 35 9
Bromley LC Con 41 6 13
Camden LC Lab 11 35 8
Croydon LC Lab 31 38 1
Ealing LC Lab 17 48 4
Enfield LC Con 39 24
Greenwich LC Lab 9 38 4
Hackney MC Lab mayor 9 45 3
Hammersmith & Fulham LC Lab 17 29
Haringey LC Lab 42 15
Harrow LC Lab (minority) 28 30 3 2
Havering LC Con (minority) 26 10 1 17
Hillingdon LC Con (minority) 30 27 8
Hounslow LC Lab 14 37 5 4
Islington LC LDm 10 38
Kensington & Chelsea LC Con 42 12
Kingston upon Thames LC LDm 15 3 30
Lambeth LC Con + LD 7 28 28
Lewisham MC Lab mayor 2 43 6 3
Merton LC Lab 24 32 4
Newham MC Lab mayor 59 1
Redbridge LC Con 33 21 9
Richmond upon Thames LC Con 39 15
Southwark LC LD (minority) 5 28 30
Sutton LC LDm 8 3 43
Tower Hamlets LC Lab 35 16
Waltham Forest LC Lab + LD 18 29 13
Wandsworth LC Con 50 10
Westminster LC Con 48 12
London Totals 648 866 312 35
Metropolitan Borough Councils
Exec Control Con Labour LibDem Others
Barnsley LC Lab 4 49 3 10
Birmingham LC Lab 31 67 15 4
Bolton LC Lab 16 31 13
Bradford LC Con (minority) 38 38 12 2
Bury LC Lab 12 33 3
Calderdale LC Con/LD/Lab 23 13 15 3
Coventry LC Lab 19 31 1 3
Doncaster MC Lab mayor 7 43 9 4
Dudley LC Lab 24 37 11
Gateshead LC Lab 46 19 1
Kirklees LC LD + Green 15 26 28 3
Knowsley LC Lab 57 9
Leeds LC Lab 18 57 20 4
Liverpool LC LDm 26 66 3
Manchester LC Lab 75 20
Newcastle upon Tyne LC Lab 58 20
North Tyneside MC Con mayor 19 34 7
Oldham LC LD (minority) 2 28 29 1
Rochdale LC Lab 8 31 21
Rotherham LC Lab 4 58 3
St Helens LC Lab 5 34 15
Salford LC Lab 2 52 6
Sandwell LC Lab 9 56 6
Sefton LC All party (3) 16 26 21
Sheffield LC Lab (minority) 2 43 42
Solihull LC Con 28 13 10
South Tyneside LC Lab 50 6 4
Stockport LC LDm 8 19 33 3
Sunderland LC Lab 11 62 1
Tameside LC Lab 6 46 2 3
Trafford LC Lab 28 32 3
Wakefield LC Lab 5 54 2 2
Walsall LC Con + LD 24 28 7
Wigan LC Lab 2 65 3 2
Wirral LC Lab (minority) 20 31 14 1
Wolverhampton LC Lab 21 34 5
Metropolitan Totals 427 1483 497 56
District Councils
Exec Control Con Labour LibDem Others
Adur AA Con 23 11 1 4
Allerdale LC Lab 8 33 8 4
Alnwick AA Ind + Con 2 2 14 12
Amber Valley LC Con 26 19
Arun LC Con 37 8 9 2
Ashfield LC Lab 30 1 2
Ashford LC Con (minority) 24 11 10 4
Aylesbury Vale LC Con + Ind 26 1 24 7
Babergh AA Ind/LD/Con 10 5 13 14
Barrow-in-Furness AA Lab (minority) 15 19 4
Basildon LC 21 16 3 2
Basingstoke & Deane LC LD + Lab 25 15 17 3
Bassetlaw LC Lab 16 28 3 1
Bedford MC Ind mayor 25 14 11 4
Berwick-upon-Tweed AA LDm 3 1 18 7
Blaby LC Con 25 6 8
Blyth Valley LC Lab 2 36 10 2
Bolsover LC Lab 32 5
Boston LC Con + LD 13 10 3 6
Braintree LC Lab 16 31 4 9
Breckland LC Con 34 14 2 3
Brentwood AA LDm 14 2 20 1
Bridgnorth AA Ind 5 4 4 20
Broadland LC Con 26 6 10 7
Bromsgrove LC Con 30 7 2
Broxbourne AA Con 35 2 1
Broxtowe LC Lab 11 26 11 1
Burnley LC Lab 4 27 8 6
Cambridge LC LDm 2 16 24
Cannock Chase LC Lab 9 23 9
Canterbury LC LD (minority) 19 13 17
Caradon LC LD/Ind 1 2 19 19
Carlisle LC Con 27 18 5 2
Carrick LC LDm 8 2 28 7
Castle Morpeth AA Ind + LD 4 10 8 11
Castle Point AA Lab 14 22 2
Charnwood LC Lab/Con/LD 22 23 6 1
Chelmsford LC LD + Ind 22 5 26 3
Cheltenham LC LDm 13 2 21 4
Cherwell LC Con 37 11 2
Chester LC Lab + LD 19 21 19 1
Chester-le-Street LC Lab 1 30 1 1
Chesterfield LC Lab 28 19
Chichester LC Con 29 19 2
Chiltern LC Con 29 19 2
Chorley LC Lab (minority) 16 22 6 3
Christchurch AA Con 17 5 3
Colchester LC LD/Con/Lab 24 7 26 3
Congleton LC Con (minority) 22 3 14 9
Copeland LC Lab 18 30 1 2
Corby AA Lab 2 26 1
Cotswold AA Ind/Con 14 1 8 22
Craven AA Con (minority) 13 9 8
Crawley LC Lab 7 23 2
Crewe & Nantwich LC Lab + Con 22 23 5 6
Dacorum LC Con 27 21 4
Dartford LC Lab 14 28 5
Daventry AA Con 26 9 1 2
Derbyshire Dales AA Con 21 5 9 4
Derwentside LC Lab 46 9
Dover LC Lab (minority) 26 28 1 1
Durham LC Lab 31 13 4
Easington LC Lab 45 1 5
East Cambridgeshire AA LDm 1 4 19 12
East Devon LC Con 39 1 15 5
East Dorset AA Con 26 9 1
East Hampshire LC Con 22 17 3
East Hertfordshire LC Con 32 7 9 2
East Lindsey LC Ind 6 10 8 35
East Northamptonshire AA Con 20 15 1
East Staffordshire LC Lab 15 28 3
Eastbourne LC LDm 12 15
Eastleigh LC LDm 9 4 31
Eden AA Ind 1 5 32
Ellesmere Port & Neston AA Lab 8 33 2
Elmbridge LC Residents 20 1 8 31
Epping Forest LC Multiparty 28 9 15 10
Epsom & Ewell AA Residents 3 9 27
Erewash LC Lab 16 29 3 4
Exeter LC Lab 6 22 8 4
Fareham LC Con 17 14
Fenland LC Con 28 7 1 3
Forest Heath AA Con 21 1 2 1
Forest of Dean LC Lab 2 29 6 12
Fylde AA Multiparty 22 2 3 22
Gedling LC Con 29 18 7 3
Gloucester LC Lab + LD 14 12 10
Gosport AA Lab (minority) 10 12 12
Gravesham LC Lab 15 29
Great Yarmouth LC Con 28 20
Guildford LC LD + Lab 17 6 20 2
Hambleton LC Con 35 2 4 6
Harborough LC Multiparty 17 3 15 4
Harlow AA Con + LD 12 9 12
Harrogate LC LD (minority) 26 27 1
Hart LC Con 22 10 3
Hastings LC Lab 10 21 1
Havant LC Con 23 6 9
Hertsmere LC Con 25 9 5
High Peak LC Lab 10 27 5 2
Hinckley & Bosworth LC LD + Lab 10 9 15
Horsham LC Con 24 16 3
Huntingdonshire LC Con 36 14 3
Hyndburn LC Lab 17 18
Ipswich LC Lab 9 35 4
Kennet AA Con 22 4 4 10
Kerrier LC Ind/Lab/LD/Con 4 11 10 19
Kettering LC Lab 17 23 1 4
King's Lynn & W. Norfolk LC Lab + LD 26 27 5 3
Lancaster LC Ind/Lab/Con/LD/Grn 11 16 7 26
Lewes LC LDm 17 29 2
Lichfield LC Con 30 24 2
Lincoln LC Lab 6 26
Macclesfield LC Con 36 7 13 4
Maidstone LC Multiparty 19 12 21 3
Maldon LC Con 18 5 7
Malvern Hills LC Con 22 11 9
Mansfield MC Ind mayor 5 39 2
Melton AA Con (minority) 9 11 6
Mendip LC LD + Lab 18 10 16 2
Mid Bedfordshire LC Con 36 6 6 5
Mid Devon AA Ind (minority) 3 1 17 19
Mid Suffolk LC LD + Lab 14 6 14 6
Mid Sussex LC Con 29 2 21 2
Mole Valley AA Con (minority) 17 1 16 7
New Forest LC Con (minority) 29 26 3
Newark & Sherwood LC Lab/Con/LD 21 25 5 3
Newcastle-under-Lyme LC Lab (minority) 10 29 21
North Cornwall AA Multiparty 3 11 24
North Devon LC LDm 5 26 13
North Dorset LC Con (minority) 16 10 6
North East Derbyshire LC Lab 9 38 3 3
North Hertfordshire LC Con 28 17 4
North Kesteven LC Con + Ind 16 6 10 8
North Norfolk LC All party (5) 13 10 13 10
North Shropshire AA Ind 10 5 3 22
North Warwickshire AA Lab 9 22 2 1
North West Leicestershire LC Lab 8 31 1
North Wiltshire LC LD (minority) 19 4 27 2
Northampton LC Lab 8 28 11
Norwich LC LDm 1 20 25 2
Nuneaton & Bedworth LC Lab 8 26
Oadby & Wigston AA LDm 4 22
Oswestry AA LD/Lab/PI 5 4 7 13
Oxford LC Lab 29 15 4
Pendle LC Lab (minority) 11 19 19
Penwith AA Ind/Con/LD 10 3 9 12
Preston LC Lab (minority) 19 25 11 2
Purbeck AA Con 16 5 3
Redditch LC All party (3) 12 14 3
Reigate & Banstead LC Con 33 6 6 6
Restormel LC Multiparty 13 1 18 12
Ribble Valley AA Con (minority) 19 18 2
Richmondshire AA Ind 7 9 18
Rochford AA Con 28 4 4 3
Rossendale AA Lab 12 24
Rother LC Con 28 5 8 4
Rugby LC Multiparty 18 16 10 4
Runnymede AA Con 32 4 6
Rushcliffe LC Con 30 11 12 1
Rushmoor LC Con 25 6 10 1
Ryedale LC Multiparty 11 1 5 6
St Albans LC LD/Con/Lab 20 15 21 1
St Edmundsbury LC Con 23 16 2 3
Salisbury LC Con + Ind 28 11 16 3
Scarborough LC All party (4) 18 11 6 14
Sedgefield LC Lab 43 3 3
Sedgemoor LC Con 30 16 3 1
Selby AA Lab (minority) 16 20 5
Sevenoaks LC Con 33 8 9 3
Shepway LC Con 30 10 16
Shrewsbury & Atcham LC Con 22 9 6 3
South Bedfordshire LC Con 28 7 15
South Bucks LC Con 29 2 9
South Cambridgeshire LC Con/LD/Ind/Lab 22 6 16 11
South Derbyshire AA Lab 9 24 1
South Hams LC Con 29 2 5 4
South Holland LC Con (minority) 19 3 16
South Kesteven LC Con 30 11 3 14
South Lakeland LC Multiparty 19 9 21 3
South Norfolk LC LDm 16 2 27 2
South Northamptonshire LC Con 30 5 3 4
South Oxfordshire LC LD + Lab 22 7 18 3
South Ribble LC Lab/Con/LD 19 20 12 3
South Shropshire AA Ind 1 17 22
South Somerset LC LDm 13 41 6
South Staffordshire LC Con 36 10 2 2
Spelthorne LC Con 27 9 4
Stafford LC Lab (minority) 23 28 8 1
Staffordshire Moorlands LC Ind + Con 13 16 9 18
Stevenage LC Lab 3 33 3
Stratford-on-Avon LC 26 2 22 3
Stroud LC Con 29 12 4 6
Suffolk Coastal LC Con 37 7 10 1
Surrey Heath LC Con 21 7 8
Swale LC Con 25 10 12
Tamworth LC Lab 8 22
Tandridge AA Con 29 3 10
Taunton Deane LC LD + Lab 21 5 23 5
Teesdale AA Ind 3 9 19
Teignbridge LC Ind/Con/ILD 20 1 17 20
Tendring LC Con/LD/IndC/Ind 16 21 11 12
Test Valley LC Con 30 14
Tewkesbury AA Con/Ind/Lab 13 8 4 11
Thanet LC Lab 18 33 3
Three Rivers LC LDm 15 7 26
Tonbridge & Malling LC LD + Lab 27 7 21
Torridge AA Ind 1 2 12 21
Tunbridge Wells LC Con 34 3 11
Tynedale AA All party (4) 23 12 11 6
Uttlesford AA Con + Ind 15 1 18 8
Vale of White Horse LC LDm 15 2 33 1
Vale Royal LC Lab 16 33 8
Wansbeck LC Lab 25 20
Warwick LC All party (4) 10 17 13 5
Watford MC LD mayor 6 13 15 2
Waveney LC Lab (minority) 21 21 3 3
Waverley LC Con 32 2 23
Wealden LC Con 35 21 2
Wear Valley AA Lab 30 5 5
Wellingborough AA Lab 15 20 1
Welwyn Hatfield LC Con 26 22
West Devon AA Multiparty 8 9 13
West Dorset LC All party (4) 21 4 15 14
West Lancashire LC Con 30 24
West Lindsey AA All party (4) 13 3 14 7
West Oxfordshire LC Con 32 2 10 5
West Somerset LC Con 19 5 1 6
West Wiltshire LC LDm 11 2 26 4
Weymouth & Portland AA All party (4) 6 14 11 4
Winchester LC LDm 14 3 35 5
Woking LC Con/LD/Lab 17 5 13 1
Worcester LC Con (minority) 18 12 1 5
Worthing LC LDm 17 19
Wychavon LC Con 31 4 10 4
Wycombe LC Con 42 9 7 2
Wyre LC Con 35 19 2
Wyre Forest LC KHHC 7 5 1 29
District Totals 4161 2915 2368 1223