The Local Government Act 1972 created a two-tier system of metropolitan counties and districts covering Greater Manchester, Merseyside, South Yorkshire, Tyne and Wear, the West Midlands, and West Yorkshire starting in 1974. Calderdale was a district of the West Yorkshire metropolitan county.^[1] The Local Government Act 1985 abolished the metropolitan counties, with metropolitan districts taking on most of their powers as metropolitan boroughs. The West Yorkshire Combined Authority was established in 2014 and began electing the mayor of West Yorkshire in 2021.^[2]

Calderdale Council was under no overall control with Conservative, Liberal Democrat and Labour leaders until the Labour Party achieved a majority of seats in the 2019 election, when they gained four seats to hold 28 of the council's 51 seats. In the most recent election in 2022, seventeen seats were up for election. Labour won eleven seats, the Conservatives won 4 seats, and the Liberal Democrats and Greens both won one seat.

Positions up for election in 2023 were last elected in 2019. In that election, Labour won ten seats, the Conservatives won four, the Liberal Democrats won two and independent candidates won one seat.

The council elects its councillors in thirds, with a third being up for election for three consecutive years and no election in the fourth year.^[3][4] The election used first-past-the-post voting, with wards generally being represented by three councillors, with one elected in each election year to serve a four-year term.

All registered electors (British, Irish, Commonwealth and European Union citizens) living in Calderdale aged 18 or over were entitled to vote in the election. People who live at two addresses in different councils, such as university students with different term-time and holiday addresses, are entitled to be registered for and vote in elections in both local authorities. Voting in-person at polling stations took place from 07:00 to 22:00 on election day, and voters were able to apply for postal votes or proxy votes in advance of the election.

The 2012 Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council election took place on 3 May 2012 to elect members of Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council in West Yorkshire, England.^[5] This was on the same day as other 2012 United Kingdom local elections. After the election the council continued to have no overall control and continue to be run by a coalition between the Labour Party and the Liberal Democrats.

The Warley Councillor Keith Hutson stepped down in 2012 due to health reasons. A by-election was held on 19 July 2012. The seat was held by the Liberal Democrats with James Baker winning the seat.^[6]

In this year Councillor Nader Fekri for Calder ward defected to Labour from the Liberal Democrats in 2012 saying that he could no longer support the coalition in the national parliament with the Conservatives.^[7]

In April 2013 the coalition between Labour and the Liberal Democrats collapsed as Labour pulled out over disagreements over benefit cuts.^[8] Labour continued to run the council as a minority administration.^[9]

Prior to the election the composition of the council was:

After the election the composition of the council was: