Local Council Political Compositions after the elections of May 2003

This page shows the composition of councils after 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 Authorities

Keith Edkins - recreated and © 14/05/2022

Executive types shown for England (Local Government Act 2000):
LC = Leader & Cabinet MC = Mayor & Cabinet MM = Mayor & Council Manager
AA = Alternative Arrangements under Section 31 (councils with less than 85,000 population), or Section 27(2)(b) Fallback proposals after the defeat of a Mayoral Referendum

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	27	44	5	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	26	24	19	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			1020	704	410	80

Unitary Authorities
	Exec	Control	Con	Labour	LibDem	Others
Bath & N.E. Somerset	LC	LD/Con/Ind	26	6	29	4
Blackburn with Darwen	LC	Lab	16	37	8	1
Blackpool	LC	Lab	13	25	4
Bournemouth	LC	LDm	16	3	33	2
Bracknell Forest	LC	Con	35	6	1
Brighton & Hove	AA	Lab (minority)	20	24	3	7
Bristol	LC	All party (3)	11	31	28
Darlington	LC	Lab	16	35	2
Derby	LC	LD/Con/Ind	12	25	13	1
East Riding of Yorkshire	LC	Con/LD/Ind	28	8	23	8
Halton	LC	Lab	2	47	7
Hartlepool	MC	Ind mayor	7	22	11	7
Herefordshire	LC	LD/Lab/Ind	21	4	16	17
Isle of Wight	LC	LD + Ind	13	4	19	12
Kingston upon Hull	LC	Lab (minority)	2	28	21	8
Leicester	LC	LD/Con	9	20	25
Luton	LC	LD (minority)	4	23	20	1
Medway Towns	LC	Con	30	17	6	2
Middlesbrough	MC	Ind mayor	7	31	6	4
Milton Keynes	LC	LDm	7	16	27	1
North East Lincolnshire	LC	Con + LD	16	7	15	4
North Lincolnshire	LC	Con	22	21
North Somerset	LC	Con + LD	24	10	23	4
Nottingham	LC	Lab	8	36	11
Peterborough	LC	Con	30	18	4	5
Plymouth	LC	Lab	18	36	3
Poole	LC	Con	26		16
Portsmouth	LC	LD (minority)	15	11	16
Reading	LC	Lab	4	35	6
Redcar & Cleveland	LC	Con/LD/Ind	13	23	15	8
Rutland	LC	Con	16		5	6
Slough	LC	Lab	6	26	1	8
South Gloucestershire	LC	All Party (3)	21	16	33
Southampton	LC	LD + Ind	12	16	18	2
Southend-on-Sea	LC	Con	32	10	8	1
Stockton-on-Tees	LC	Lab	13	28	6	8
Stoke-on-Trent	MM	Ind mayor	5	27	8	19
Swindon	LC	Con (minority)	29	22	8
Telford & Wrekin	LC	Lab	13	29	6	6
Thurrock	LC	Lab	9	37	1	2
Torbay	LC	LDm	9		27
Warrington	LC	Lab	4	41	15
West Berkshire	LC	LD (CV)	26		26
Windsor & Maidenhead	LC	LDm	15	1	34	7
Wokingham	LC	Con	33	1	20
York	LC	LDm		15	29	3
Unitary Totals			715	877	656	158

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	32	37	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)	31	27	7
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	33		3
Newham	MC	Lab mayor		59		1
Redbridge	LC	Con	33	21	9
Richmond upon Thames	LC	Con	39		15
Southwark	LC	LD (minority)	6	28	29
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			651	866	310	34

Metropolitan Borough Councils
	Exec	Control	Con	Labour	LibDem	Others
Barnsley	LC	Lab	5	47	4	10
Birmingham	LC	Lab mayor	35	57	23	2
Bolton	LC	Lab (minority)	19	27	14
Bradford	LC	Con/Lab/LD	36	36	14	4
Bury	LC	Lab	16	28	4
Calderdale	LC	Con (minority)	25	10	16	3
Coventry	LC	Lab (minority)	23	24	2	5
Doncaster	MC	Lab mayor	7	46	8	2
Dudley	LC	Con (minority)	31	30	10	1
Gateshead	LC	Lab		46	19	1
Kirklees	LC	LD + Green	16	22	30	4
Knowsley	LC	Lab		55	11
Leeds	LC	Lab	22	52	20	5
Liverpool	LC	LDm		31	63	5
Manchester	LC	Lab		71	27	1
Newcastle upon Tyne	LC	Lab		54	24
North Tyneside	MC	Con mayor	21	31	8
Oldham	LC	Lab	2	33	25
Rochdale	LC	Lab (minority)	8	30	22
Rotherham	LC	Lab	4	59		3
St Helens	LC	Lab	6	33	15
Salford	LC	Lab	3	51	5	1
Sandwell	LC	Lab	9	55	6	2
Sefton	LC	Lab/LD/Con	18	23	22	3
Sheffield	LC	Lab	1	49	37
Solihull	LC	Con	28	13	10
South Tyneside	LC	Lab	1	49	5	5
Stockport	LC	LDm	9	17	33	4
Sunderland	LC	Lab	9	63	1	2
Tameside	LC	Lab	6	47	2	2
Trafford	LC	Lab (minority)	29	31	3
Wakefield	LC	Lab	7	50	3	3
Walsall	LC		25	27	7
Wigan	LC	Lab	3	60	4	5
Wirral	LC	Lab/Con/LD	23	26	16	1
Wolverhampton	LC	Lab	21	34	5
Metropolitan Totals			468	1417	518	74

District Councils
	Exec	Control	Con	Labour	LibDem	Others
Adur	AA	Con	27	8		4
Allerdale	LC	Lab (minority)	15	27	5	9
Alnwick	AA	Ind/Con	3	2	10	14
Amber Valley	LC	Con	25	20
Arun	LC	Con	36	8	11	1
Ashfield	LC	Lab (minority)	1	16		16
Ashford	LC	Con	25	4	5	9
Aylesbury Vale	LC	Con	30		25	4
Babergh	AA	Con/LD/Ind	11	6	18	8
Barrow-in-Furness	AA	Lab	14	21		3
Basildon	LC	Con	23	14	3	2
Basingstoke & Deane	LC	Lab + LD	26	15	15	4
Bassetlaw	LC	Lab	19	25	2	2
Bedford	MC	Ind mayor	18	13	12	11
Berwick-upon-Tweed	AA	Con/LD/Ind	12	1	9	7
Blaby	LC	Con	25	4	9	1
Blyth Valley	LC	Lab	3	35	9	3
Bolsover	LC	Lab		31		6
Boston	LC	Con/LD/Ind	12	11	4	5
Braintree	LC	Con + Ind	27	20	4	9
Breckland	LC	Con	42	8		4
Brentwood	AA	LD/Lab	16	3	18
Bridgnorth	AA	Con/Ind/LD	10	2	8	14
Broadland	LC	Con	27	3	12	7
Bromsgrove	LC	Con	26	8		5
Broxbourne	AA	Con	34	2		2
Broxtowe	LC	Lab + LD	14	15	13	2
Burnley	LC	Lab	3	24	7	11
Cambridge	LC	LDm	2	14	26
Cannock Chase	LC	LD + Con	9	19	12	1
Canterbury	LC	LD + Lab	24	7	19
Caradon	LC	Ind	4	1	15	22
Carlisle	LC		23	22	5	2
Carrick	LC	LDm	11	1	29	6
Castle Morpeth	AA		9	10	6	7
Castle Point	AA	Con	39	2		1
Charnwood	LC	Lab + LD	24	22	6
Chelmsford	LC	Con	35	2	20
Cheltenham	LC	LDm	13	2	21	4
Cherwell	LC	Con	34	12	4
Chester	LC	LD + Lab	18	20	21	1
Chester-le-Street	LC	Lab	1	29		4
Chesterfield	LC	LDm		12	36
Chichester	LC	Con	26		21	1
Chiltern	LC	Con	27		12	1
Chorley	LC	Lab/LD/Ind	18	22	4	3
Christchurch	AA	Con	14		8	2
Colchester	LC	Con/LD	24	4	25	7
Congleton	LC	Con	27	2	12	7
Copeland	LC	Lab	16	31	1	3
Corby	AA	Lab	9	18	2
Cotswold	AA	Con	24		8	12
Craven	AA	Ind/LD	11		9	10
Crawley	LC	Lab	8	22	2
Crewe & Nantwich	LC	Lab + Ind	21	22	5	8
Dacorum	LC	Con	32	14	6
Dartford	LC	Con + Ind	21	16		7
Daventry	AA	Con	33	4
Derbyshire Dales	AA	Con	24	5	9	1
Derwentside	LC	Lab		38	1	16
Dover	LC	Con (minority)	22	20	3
Durham	LC	LDm		17	30	3
Easington	LC	Lab		42	2	5
East Cambridgeshire	AA	All party (3)	15		18	6
East Devon	LC	Con	35		18	6
East Dorset	AA	Con	24		11	1
East Hampshire	LC	Con	26		18
East Hertfordshire	LC	Con	41		7	2
East Lindsey	LC	All party (4)	15	12	6	27
East Northamptonshire	AA	Con	33	3
East Staffordshire	LC	Con	22	16	1
Eastbourne	LC	LDm	13		14
Eastleigh	LC	LDm	10	4	30
Eden	AA	Ind	5		5	28
Ellesmere Port & Neston	AA	Lab	10	31	2
Elmbridge	LC	Residents	21		8	31
Epping Forest	LC		24	8	15	11
Epsom & Ewell	AA	Residents	2	3	6	27
Erewash	LC	Con	26	19	4	2
Exeter	LC	Lab (minority)	6	20	10	4
Fareham	LC	Con	17		13	1
Fenland	LC	Con	36	3		1
Forest Heath	AA	Con	21			6
Forest of Dean	LC	All party (4)	17	16	4	11
Fylde	AA	Con	27		2	22
Gedling	LC	Con/Lab/LD	21	21	7	1
Gloucester	LC	Lab + LD	14	11	11
Gosport	AA	Lab (minority)	10	12	12
Gravesham	LC	Lab	21	23
Great Yarmouth	LC	Con	26	22
Guildford	LC	Con	26	2	19	1
Hambleton	LC	Con	36	1	3	4
Harborough	LC		16	1	18	2
Harlow	AA	Con/LD	12	9	12
Harrogate	LC	Con (minority)	27		25	2
Hart	LC	Con	22	10	3
Hastings	LC	Lab	9	21	1
Havant	LC	Con	23	8	7
Hertsmere	LC	Con	25	8	6
High Peak	LC	Con/LD/Ind	12	18	7	6
Hinckley & Bosworth	LC	Con	20	6	8
Horsham	LC	Con (minority)	22		20	2
Huntingdonshire	LC	Con	36		14	3
Hyndburn	LC	Con	18	17
Ipswich	LC	Lab	12	31	5
Kennet	AA	Con	27	1	3	12
Kerrier	LC	Ind	4	5	10	25
Kettering	LC	Con	30	13		2
King's Lynn & W. Norfolk	LC	Con	34	15	7	6
Lancaster	LC	Lab/LD/Grn	10	20	8	22
Lewes	LC	LDm	11		28	2
Lichfield	LC	Con	35	16	5
Lincoln	LC	Lab	6	27
Macclesfield	LC	Con	36	6	14	4
Maidstone	LC	LD/Lab/Ind	21	10	21	3
Maldon	LC	Con	21	2		8
Malvern Hills	LC	LD/Grn/Ind	13		19	6
Mansfield	MC	Ind mayor	2	15	4	25
Melton	AA	Con	19	4		5
Mendip	LC	Con	31		11	4
Mid Bedfordshire	LC	Con	38	1	9	5
Mid Devon	AA	Ind	11	1	8	22
Mid Suffolk	LC	Con	21	2	11	6
Mid Sussex	LC	Con	28	2	24
Mole Valley	AA	Con (minority)	18	1	16	6
New Forest	LC	Con	32		27	1
Newark & Sherwood	LC	Lab/Ind/LD	23	13	4	6
Newcastle-under-Lyme	LC	Lab/LD/Con	12	29	18	1
North Cornwall	AA	Ind	3		13	20
North Devon	LC	LDm	10		22	11
North Dorset	LC	Con + Ind	15		11	7
North East Derbyshire	LC	Lab	8	36	5	4
North Hertfordshire	LC	Con	27	16	6
North Kesteven	LC	Con + Ind	18	4	5	13
North Norfolk	LC	LDm	16		28	4
North Shropshire	AA		15	4	1	20
North Warwickshire	AA	LD/Con	15	16	4
North West Leicestershire	LC	Lab	12	20	4	2
North Wiltshire	LC	LD + Lab	25	1	26	1
Northampton	LC	Con (minority)	19	11	17
Norwich	LC	LDm	1	14	30	3
Nuneaton & Bedworth	LC	Lab	8	26
Oadby & Wigston	AA	LDm	9		17
Oswestry	LC	Con + Ind	11	1	6	11
Oxford	LC	Lab		29	15	4
Pendle	LC	Lab/LD/Con	11	14	23	1
Penwith	AA	Ind/LD/Con	10	2	11	11
Preston	LC	Lab (minority)	18	25	11	3
Purbeck	AA	Con	13		8	3
Redditch	LC	All party (3)	14	10	5
Reigate & Banstead	LC	Con	33	5	7	6
Restormel	LC	LD/Ind/Con	9		22	14
Ribble Valley	AA	Con	22	1	15	2
Richmondshire	AA		11		8	15
Rochford	AA	Con	30	3	4	2
Rossendale	AA		17	18	1
Rother	LC	Con	25	3	8	2
Rugby	LC	Con/Lab/LD	18	16	10	4
Runnymede	AA	Con	32	4		6
Rushcliffe	LC	Con	34	4	10	2
Rushmoor	LC	Con	25	6	10	1
Ryedale	LC	Con/LD/Ind	13		8	9
St Albans	LC	LD/Con/Lab	21	13	23	1
St Edmundsbury	LC	Con	28	12	2	3
Salisbury	LC	Con	31	11	9	4
Scarborough	LC	Con	27	8	2	13
Sedgefield	LC	Lab	1	35	7	7
Sedgemoor	LC	Con	35	14	1
Selby	AA	Con	23	14	1	3
Sevenoaks	LC	Con	33	10	8	3
Shepway	LC	LDm	16	1	29
Shrewsbury & Atcham	LC	Con	22	9	6	3
South Bedfordshire	LC	Con	31	6	13
South Bucks	LC	Con	33		1	6
South Cambridgeshire	LC	All party (4)	23	4	16	12
South Derbyshire	AA	Lab	15	21
South Hams	LC	Con	28	3	7	2
South Holland	LC	Con	26	1		11
South Kesteven	LC	Con	31	10	5	12
South Lakeland	LC	LD/Con/Lab	18	9	23	2
South Norfolk	LC	LDm	18		28
South Northamptonshire	LC	Con	30	4	1	7
South Oxfordshire	LC	Con	27	4	9	8
South Ribble	LC	Lab + LD	19	17	15	4
South Shropshire	LD	All party (4)	10		14	10
South Somerset	LC	LDm	17		36	7
South Staffordshire	LC	Con	35	8	1	5
Spelthorne	LC	Con	35		4
Stafford	LC	Con	40	14	5
Staffordshire Moorlands	LC		21	7	11	17
Stevenage	LC	Lab	3	33	3
Stratford-on-Avon	LC	Con	27	1	22	3
Stroud	LC	Con	27	11	6	7
Suffolk Coastal	LC	Con	43	2	10
Surrey Heath	LC	Con	22	3	13	2
Swale	LC	Con	25	11	11
Tamworth	LC	Lab	11	18		1
Tandridge	AA	Con	28	3	10	1
Taunton Deane	LC	Con	31	5	15	3
Teesdale	AA	Ind	3	9		20
Teignbridge	LC	LD + Ind	14		16	16
Tendring	LC		25	11	13	11
Test Valley	LC	Con	30		16	2
Tewkesbury	AA	Con (minority)	18	3	9	8
Thanet	LC	Con	31	23	1	1
Three Rivers	LC	LDm	14	7	27
Tonbridge & Malling	LC	Con	33	7	13
Torridge	AA	Ind	1		7	28
Tunbridge Wells	LC	Con	33	3	12
Tynedale	AA	Con	27	9	11	5
Uttlesford	AA	LDm	10		31	3
Vale of White Horse	LC	LDm	21		29	1
Vale Royal	LC	Con + LD	22	21	12	2
Wansbeck	LC	Lab		36	9
Warwick	LC	Lab + LD	16	14	10	6
Watford	MC	LD mayor	7	8	20	1
Waveney	LC	Con (minority)	21	19	3	5
Waverley	LC	LDm	27		30
Wealden	LC	Con	34		15	6
Wear Valley	AA	Lab		25	9	6
Wellingborough	AA	Con	27	9
Welwyn Hatfield	LC	Con	27	21
West Devon	AA	Con + Ind	12		8	11
West Dorset	LC	Con	25		12	11
West Lancashire	LC	Con	28	26
West Lindsey	AA		17	1	14	6
West Oxfordshire	LC	Con	29	2	12	6
West Somerset	LC	Con	18	2	2	9
West Wiltshire	LC	Con + Ind	19	2	19	4
Weymouth & Portland	AA		6	13	11	5
Winchester	LC	LDm	18	5	29	5
Woking	LC	Con (minority)	17	6	12	1
Worcester	LC	Con	19	10	2	5
Worthing	LC	LD (minority)	18		18
Wychavon	LC	Con	31	2	12
Wycombe	LC	Con	46	9	2	3
Wyre	LC	Con	33	21	1
Wyre Forest	LC	Ind	9	4	2	27
District Totals			4707	2277	2383	1227

Scottish Unitary Authorities
	Control	Con	Labour	LibDem	SNP	Others
Aberdeen City		3	14	20	6
Aberdeenshire		11		28	18	11
Angus	SNP	2	1	3	17	6
Argyll & Bute	Ind	3		8	3	22
Clackmannanshire	Lab	1	10		6	1
Dumfries & Galloway		11	14	5	5	12
Dundee		5	10	2	11	1
East Ayrshire	Lab	1	23		8
East Dunbartonshire		3	9	12
East Lothian	Lab	4	17	1		1
East Renfrewshire		7	8	3		2
Edinburgh	Lab	13	30	15
Falkirk		2	14		9	7
Fife		2	36	23	11	6
Glasgow	Lab	1	71	3	3	1
Highland	Ind		8	9	6	57
Inverclyde	LDm		6	13		1
Midlothian	Lab		15	2		1
Moray	Ind	1	5	1	3	16
North Ayrshire	Lab	4	21		3	2
North Lanarkshire	Lab		54		13	3
Orkney	Ind					21
Perth & Kinross		10	5	9	15	2
Renfrewshire	Lab	1	21	3	15
Scottish Borders		10		8	1	15
Shetland	Ind			5		17
South Ayrshire		15	15
South Lanarkshire	Lab	2	50	2	10	3
Stirling	Lab	10	12
West Dunbartonshire	Lab		17		3	2
West Lothian	Lab	1	18		12	1
Western Isles	Ind		4		3	24
Scotland Totals		123	508	175	181	235

Welsh Unitary Authorities
	Control	Con	Labour	LibDem	Pl.Cym	Others
Blaenau Gwent	Lab		32	4		6
Bridgend	Lab	1	40	6	2	5
Caerphilly	PlC		29	3	38	3
Cardiff	Lab	6	49	18	1	1
Carmarthenshire	Ind + PlC		29	1	14	30
Ceredigion	Ind + LD		1	8	13	22
Conwy	Multiparty	5	20	13	8	13
Denbighshire	Con/DAW/Ind/PlC	2	14	1	8	22
Flintshire	Lab	1	43	7		19
Gwynedd	PlC		12	6	44	21
Isle of Anglesey	Ind	1	4		9	26
Merthyr Tydfil	Lab (minority)		16		4	13
Monmouthshire	Lab (minority)	18	19	2		3
Neath & Port Talbot	Lab		40	2	10	11
Newport	Lab	5	40			2
Pembrokeshire	Ind	4	13	3	2	38
Powys	Ind	1	6	8		58
Rhondda Cynon Taff	PlC		26	2	42	5
Swansea	Lab	5	46	10	2	9
Torfaen	Lab	1	38	2		3
Vale of Glamorgan	Con (minority)	22	19	1	5
Wrexham	All party (4)	4	24	10		14
Wales Totals		76	560	107	202	324

England, Scotland & Wales Totals	Con	Labour	LibDem	SNP	Pl.Cym	Others
	7760	7209	4559	181	202	2132

Local Council Political Compositions after the elections of May 2003

County Councils

Unitary Authorities

London Borough Councils

Metropolitan Borough Councils

District Councils

Scottish Unitary Authorities

Welsh Unitary Authorities

England, Scotland & Wales Totals