The 2017 United Kingdom local elections were held on Thursday 4 May 2017. Local elections were held across Great Britain, with elections to 35 English local authorities and all councils in Scotland and Wales.

Quick Facts All 27 county councils, all 32 Scottish council areas,all 22 Welsh principal councils, 6 out of 55 unitary authorities,1 out of 36 metropolitan boroughs, 1 sui generis authority, and 8 directly elected mayors, Turnout ...

2017 United Kingdom local elections

← 2016 4 May 2017 2018 →
All 27 county councils, all 32 Scottish council areas, all 22 Welsh principal councils, 6 out of 55 unitary authorities, 1 out of 36 metropolitan boroughs, 1 sui generis authority, and 8 directly elected mayors
Turnout	35%[1]
Leader Theresa May Jeremy Corbyn Tim Farron Party Conservative Labour Liberal Democrats Leader since 11 July 2016 12 September 2015 16 July 2015 Popular vote[n 1] 38% 27% 18% Swing[n 2] 8% 4% 3% Councils 28 9 0 Councils +/– 11 7 Councillors 1,899 1,152 441 Councillors +/– 563 382 42   Leader Nicola Sturgeon Leanne Wood Party SNP Plaid Cymru Leader since 14 November 2014 16 March 2012 Councils 0 1 Councils +/– 1 1 Councillors 431 208 Councillors +/– 7[2] 38
Map showing council control (left) and largest party by ward or division (right) following the election.   Conservative   Labour   Liberal Democrats      Scottish National Party      Plaid Cymru   UKIP   Majority of independent councillors   No overall control   No election on 4 May 2017

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Newly created combined authority mayors were directly elected in six areas of England: Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, Greater Manchester, the Liverpool City Region, Tees Valley, the West Midlands, and the West of England.^[3] In addition, Doncaster and North Tyneside re-elected local authority mayors.^[3] Local by-elections for 107 council seats also took place on 4 May.^[4]

The Conservative Party led under Prime Minister Theresa May enjoyed the best local election performance in a decade, making significant gains at the expense of the Labour Party.^[5] The UK Independence Party lost every seat they were defending, but gained just one seat at the expense of the Labour Party.^[5] The Liberal Democrats lost 41 seats, despite their vote share increasing.^[6][7][8] The Conservatives won four out of six metro-mayoral areas,^[9] including in the traditionally Labour-voting Tees Valley and West Midlands.

The local elections were followed by a general election on 8 June.

All registered electors (British, Irish, Commonwealth and European Union citizens) who were aged 18 or over (or aged 16 or over in Scotland)^[10] on polling day were entitled to vote in the local elections.^[11] A person who had two homes (such as a university student having a term-time address and living at home during holidays) could register to vote at both addresses as long as they were not in the same electoral area, and could vote in the local elections for the two different local councils.^[12]

Individuals had to be registered to vote by midnight twelve working days before polling day (13 April 2017 in England and Wales; 17 April 2017 in Scotland).^[13][14] Anyone qualifying as an anonymous elector had until midnight on 25 April 2017 to register.^[15]

In total, 4,851 council seats were up for election in 88 councils; additionally six new mayors were directly elected.^[16] Approximately 10,000 people were candidates for election.^[17] All 32 councils in Scotland (1,227 seats) and all 22 councils in Wales (1,254 seats) were up for election; an additional 34 councils (2,370 seats) in England were up for election.^[16] Of the 35 English councils up for election, 27 were county councils, seven were unitary authorities, and one was the Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council.^[18]

According to a BBC News estimate, taking into account boundary changes, the major political parties were effectively defending the following notional results in council seats on election day:

• Labour – 1,535 seats
• Conservatives – 1,336 seats
• Lib Dems – 484 seats
• SNP – 438 seats
• Plaid Cymru – 170 seats
• UKIP – 146 seats
• Green Party – 34 seats

There were also 687 independent councillors and 4 Mebyon Kernow councillors. The remaining 217 seats were held by residents' associations and minor parties.^[19] A by-election for the parliamentary constituency of Manchester Gorton (caused by the death of Sir Gerald Kaufman, the sitting MP) was due to be held on the same day as the local election, but the by-election was cancelled after the general election was called for the following month.^[17]

† In 2014, the only Welsh Liberal Democrat cabinet member defected to Welsh Labour; thus the Liberal Democrats left the coalition.^[55]

In 2015, several Independent councillors created their own group within the council called Conwy First. This group later on went to support the council^{[clarification needed]} instead of the remaining five independent councillors, so that the coalition was then made up of Plaid Cymru, Welsh Labour and Conwy First.^[56]

‡ The Welsh Liberal Democrats later lost their only seat on the Council, thereby leaving the coalition.^[57][58]

†† At the original election Plaid Cymru won exactly half the seats; they later took control of the council by winning a by-election.

• 2017 City of London Corporation election