The 2012 United Kingdom local elections were held across England, Scotland and Wales on 3 May 2012.^[1] Elections were held in 128 English local authorities,^[2] all 32 Scottish local authorities and 21 of the 22 Welsh unitary authorities, alongside three mayoral elections including the London mayoralty and the London Assembly. Referendums were also held in 11 English cities to determine whether or not to introduce directly elected mayors.^[3]

Quick Facts All 36 metropolitan boroughs, 18 out of 55 unitary authorities,74 out of 201 district councils, all 32 Scottish council areas, 21 out of 22 Welsh principal councils, and 3 directly elected mayors, First party ...

2012 United Kingdom local elections

← 2011 3 May 2012 2013 →
All 36 metropolitan boroughs, 18 out of 55 unitary authorities, 74 out of 201 district councils, all 32 Scottish council areas, 21 out of 22 Welsh principal councils, and 3 directly elected mayors
First party Second party Third party   Leader Ed Miliband David Cameron Nick Clegg Party Labour Conservative Liberal Democrats Leader since 25 September 2010 6 December 2005 18 December 2007 Popular vote 38% 31% 16% Swing 1% 4% 1% Councils 75 42 6 Councils +/– 32 12 1 Councillors 2,158 1,005 431 Councillors +/– 823 405 336   Fourth party Fifth party   Leader Alex Salmond Leanne Wood Party SNP Plaid Cymru Leader since 3 September 2004 16 March 2012 Councils 2 0 Councils +/– 2 1 Councillors 424 158 Councillors +/– 57 41
Colours denote the winning party, as shown in the main table of results.

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The BBC's projected national vote share put Labour on 38%, the Conservatives on 31%, the Liberal Democrats on 16% and others on 15%.^[4] Rallings and Thrasher of Plymouth University estimated 39% for Labour, 33% for the Conservatives, 15% for the Liberal Democrats, and 13% for others.^[5]

The inaugural election of police and crime commissioners for 41 of the 43 territorial police forces in England and Wales took place separately, in November 2012.

All registered electors (British, Irish, Commonwealth and European Union citizens) who were aged 18 or over on Thursday 3 May 2012 were entitled to vote in the local elections. Those who were temporarily away from their ordinary address (for example, away working, on holiday, in student accommodation or in hospital) were also entitled to vote in the local elections,^[6] although those who had moved abroad and registered as overseas electors cannot vote in the local elections. It is possible to register to vote at more than one address (such as a university student who had a term-time address and lives at home during holidays) at the discretion of the local Electoral Register Office, but it remains an offence to vote more than once in the same local government election.^[7]

The deadline to register to vote in the election was midnight on Wednesday 18 April 2012,^[8] though anyone who qualified as an anonymous elector had until midnight on Thursday 26 April 2012 to register.^[9]

The local authorities having elections in 2012 (excluding mayoral elections) covered about 40% of the total English electorate, with 15.9 million electors entitled to vote. Turnout overall was 31.0%.^[2]

In summary, the accumulated local authority vote and seats won by political party was:

Note the equivalent of these figures may not be commonly available for other election years. They represent the actual numbers of votes cast and should not be falsely compared to the more commonly available figures based on the projections for the whole of Great Britain.

All council seats were up for election in the 32 Scottish authorities.

More information Party, Votes ...

Party		Votes[19]	%	+/-	Councils	+/-	Seats	+/-
	Labour	304,296	36.0%	9.4%	10	8	577	237
	Plaid Cymru	133,961	15.8%	1.1%	0		158	39
	Conservative	108,365	12.8%	2.8%	0	2	105	67
	Liberal Democrats	68,619	8.1%	4.8%	0		72	92
	Independent/Others	231,026	27.3%	0.7%	2	1	329	40
	No overall control	n/a	n/a	n/a	9	5	n/a	n/a

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In 21 out of 22 Welsh authorities, the whole council was up for election. On 17 January 2012, the Welsh Government announced that elections for Anglesey council have been postponed to May 2013.^[20]

• Political make-up of local councils in the United Kingdom