Local Government Chronicle

4 days ago | lgcplus.com | Sarah Calkin

Local elections on 1 May broke a number of records, most of them bad news for the two main political parties. LGC editor Sarah Calkin draws on our exclusive elections analysis to sum up the new landscape. Vote shareThe average share of the vote needed to win a seat fell to 40.7%, four points lower than the previous record in 2013, the most successful local elections year for Nigel Farage’s previous party, UKIP.

4 days ago | lgcplus.com | Sarah Calkin

Districts and unitaries            Two-tier counties            London boroughsLGC's interactive council control maps, produced using data from psephologists Colin Rallings and Michael Thrasher, detail the political make up of every council in the UK. They are produced with support from Cratus Group. While only 23 councils had elections on 1 May 2025, more councils have changed control over the past 12 months due to defections and by-elections. The colour of a council denotes its political control.

1 week ago | lgcplus.com | Kirsty Weakley

The Conservatives will retain the chairmanship of the County Councils Network, but with a significantly reduced share as Reform surged into second place. After last week's elections, which saw the Conservative party lose around two thirds of the seats it was defending, the new political balance for CCN has been calculated. The Conservatives have 32.5%, down from 60% in 2023, when it was last calculated.

1 week ago | lgcplus.com | Kirsty Weakley |Sarah Calkin

Updated government feedback for some two-tier areas working on local government reorganisation has removed a suggestion they benchmark proposals against a 500,000 population option. LGC understands that three areas have this week received a revised feedback letter, just a week after an initial letter from the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government in response to the councils' LGR proposals. The revised letter came after officials engaged with councils about their progress.

1 week ago | lgcplus.com | Kirsty Weakley

Camden LBC is expected to appoint its executive director of corporate services Jon Rowney as its next chief executive. Jenny Rowlands is due to leave in July and the council will be asked to approve Mr Rowney’s appointment later this month. Mr Rowney has worked for Camden since 2015, when he joined as director of finance. Richard Olszewski (Lab), Camden leader, said: “When we began the search for our next chief executive, I was looking for a visionary, purpose-led leader.