Election timetable in England
Updated 31 January 2023
Applies to England
Type of Authority | Number | Cycle | Election Years |
---|---|---|---|
County councils | 21 | All councillors elected once every 4 years (whole council elections). | 2025, 2029, and every 4th year |
London Boroughs | 32 | All councillors elected once every 4 years (whole council elections). | 2026, 2030, and every 4th year |
Metropolitan Districts | 30 | Councillors elected for a 4 year term by thirds (at each election a third of the council is elected). Elections are held every year except the county council year. | 2023, 2024, 2026, 2027 and so on |
Metropolitan Districts | 2 | All councillors elected once every 4 years (whole council elections). | 2023, 2027 and every 4th year |
Metropolitan District - Doncaster | 1 | All councillors elected once every 4 years (whole council elections). | 2025, 2029 and every 4th year |
Metropolitan District - Rotherham | 1 | All councillors elected once every 4 years (whole council elections). | 2024, 2028 and every 4th year |
Metropolitan Districts | 2 | All councillors elected once every 4 years (whole council elections). | 2026, 2030 and every 4th year |
Districts | 103 | All councillors elected once every 4 years (whole council elections). | 2023, 2027 and every 4th year |
Districts | 49* | Councillors elected for a 4 year term by thirds (at each election a third of the council is elected). Elections are held every year except the county council year. | 2023, 2024, 2026, 2027 and so on |
Districts | 2* | All councillors elected once every 4 years (whole council elections). | 2024, 2028 and every 4th year |
Districts | 3 | All councillors elected once every 4 years (whole council elections). | 2026, 2030 and every 4th year |
Districts | 7 | Councillors elected for a 4 year term in halves (at each election a half of the council is elected). Elections held every 2 years. | 2024, 2026 and every alternate year |
Unitary authorities | 31 | All councillors elected once every 4 years (whole council elections). | 2023, 2027, and every 4th year |
Unitary authorities | 4 | All councillors elected in 2022 then once every 4 years (whole council elections) from 2027. | 2022, 2027 and every 4th year |
Unitary authorities | 9 | All councillors elected once every 4 years (whole council elections). | 2025, 2029 and every 4th year |
Unitary authorities | 2 | All councillors elected once every 4 years (whole council elections). | 2024, 2028 and every 4th year |
Unitary authority - Dorset | 1 | All councillors elected in 2024 then once every 4 years (whole council elections) from 2029. | 2024, 2029 and every 4th year |
Unitary authorities | 15 | Councillors elected for a 4 year term by thirds (at each election a third of the council is elected). Elections are held every year except the county council year. | 2023, 2024, 2026, 2027 and so on |
Isles of Scilly and City of London | 2 | All councillors elected once every 4 years (whole council elections). | 2025, 2029, and every 4th year |
*From 2024, North Hertfordshire district will change from electing by thirds to electing all councillors once every 4 years.
Notes: The list reflects the local government re-structuring changes that take effect from 1 April 2023. In addition, boundary changes can mean that some councils that normally elect by thirds may elect all councillors at an election. Some councils may also resolve to change their scheme of election.
County councils
All 21 councils hold whole council elections in 2025, 2029 and every 4th year.
- Cambridgeshire
- Derbyshire
- Devon
- East Sussex
- Essex
- Gloucestershire
- Hampshire
- Hertfordshire
- Kent
- Lancashire
- Leicestershire
- Lincolnshire
- Norfolk
- Nottinghamshire
- Oxfordshire
- Staffordshire
- Suffolk
- Surrey
- Warwickshire
- West Sussex
- Worcestershire
London boroughs
All 32 councils hold whole council elections in 2026, 2030 and every 4th year.
- Barking and Dagenham
- Barnet
- Bexley
- Brent
- Bromley
- Camden
- Croydon
- Ealing
- Enfield
- Greenwich
- Hackney
- Hammersmith and Fulham
- Haringey
- Harrow
- Havering
- Hillingdon
- Hounslow
- Islington
- Kensington and Chelsea
- Kingston upon Thames
- Lambeth
- Lewisham
- Merton
- Newham
- Redbridge
- Richmond upon Thames
- Southwark
- Sutton
- Tower Hamlets
- Waltham Forest
- Wandsworth
- Westminster
Metropolitan districts
These 30 metropolitan district councils elect by thirds in 2023, 2024, 2026, 2027 and so on. Elections are held every year except the county council year.
- Barnsley
- Bolton
- Bradford
- Bury
- Calderdale
- Coventry
- Dudley
- Gateshead
- Kirklees
- Knowsley
- Leeds
- Manchester
- Newcastle Upon Tyne
- North Tyneside
- Oldham
- Rochdale
- Salford
- Sandwell
- Sefton
- Sheffield
- Solihull
- South Tyneside
- Stockport
- Sunderland
- Tameside
- Trafford
- Wakefield
- Walsall
- Wigan
- Wolverhampton
These 2 Metropolitan District Councils hold whole council elections in 2023, 2027 and every 4th year.
- Liverpool
- Wirral
These 2 Metropolitan District Councils hold whole council elections in 2026, 2030 and every 4th year.
- Birmingham
- St Helens
District councils
These 103 district councils hold whole council elections in 2023, 2027 and every 4th year.
- Amber Valley
- Arun
- Ashfield
- Ashford
- Babergh
- Bassetlaw
- Blaby
- Bolsover
- Boston
- Braintree
- Breckland
- Broadland
- Bromsgrove
- Broxtowe
- Canterbury City
- Charnwood
- Chelmsford
- Chesterfield
- Chichester
- Cotswold
- Dacorum
- Dartford
- Derbyshire Dales
- Dover
- East Cambridgeshire
- East Devon
- East Hampshire
- East Hertfordshire
- East Lindsey
- East Staffordshire
- East Suffolk
- Eastbourne
- Epsom and Ewell
- Erewash
- Fenland
- Folkestone and Hythe
- Forest of Dean
- Fylde
- Gedling
- Gravesham
- Great Yarmouth
- Guildford
- Harborough
- Hertsmere
- High Peak
- Hinckley and Bosworth
- Horsham
- King’s Lynn and West Norfolk
- Lancaster City
- Lewes
- Lichfield
- Maldon
- Malvern Hills
- Mansfield
- Melton
- Mid Devon
- Mid Suffolk
- Mid Sussex
- New Forest
- Newark and Sherwood
- North Devon
- North East Derbyshire
- North Kesteven
- North Norfolk
- North Warwickshire
- North West Leicestershire
- Oadby and Wigston
- Ribble Valley
- Rother
- Rushcliffe
- Sevenoaks
- South Derbyshire
- South Hams
- South Holland
- South Kesteven
- South Norfolk
- South Oxfordshire
- South Ribble
- South Staffordshire
- Spelthorne
- Stafford
- Staffordshire Moorlands
- Stratford upon Avon
- Surrey Heath
- Swale
- Teignbridge
- Tendring
- Test Valley
- Tewkesbury
- Thanet
- Tonbridge and Malling
- Torridge
- Uttlesford
- Vale Of White Horse
- Warwick
- Waverley
- Wealden
- West Devon
- West Lindsey
- West Suffolk
- Wychavon
- Wyre
- Wyre Forest
These 49 district councils elect by thirds in 2023, 2024, 2026, 2027 and so on. Elections are held every year except the county council year.
- Basildon
- Basingstoke and Deane
- Brentwood
- Broxbourne
- Burnley
- Cambridge
- Cannock Chase
- Castle Point
- Cherwell
- Chorley
- Colchester
- Crawley
- Eastleigh
- Elmbridge
- Epping Forest
- Exeter
- Harlow
- Hart
- Havant
- Hyndburn
- Ipswich
- Lincoln
- Maidstone
- Mole Valley
- North Hertfordshire (from 2024, North Hertfordshire district will change from electing by thirds to electing all councillors elected once every 4 years)
- Norwich
- Pendle
- Preston
- Redditch
- Reigate and Banstead
- Rochford
- Rossendale
- Rugby
- Runnymede
- Rushmoor
- St Albans
- Stevenage
- Tamworth
- Tandridge
- Three Rivers
- Tunbridge Wells
- Watford
- Welwyn Hatfield
- West Lancashire
- West Oxfordshire
- Winchester
- Woking
- Worcester
- Worthing
These 2 district councils hold whole council elections in 2024, 2028 and every 4th year.
- Gloucester
- Stroud
These 3 district councils hold whole council elections in 2026, 2030 and every 4th year.
- Huntingdonshire
- Newcastle-under-Lyme
- South Cambridgeshire
These 7 district councils elect by halves in 2024, 2026, 2028, and every alternate year.
- Adur
- Cheltenham
- Fareham
- Gosport
- Hastings
- Nuneaton and Bedworth
- Oxford
Unitary authorities
These 31 unitary authorities hold whole council elections in 2023, 2027, and every 4th year.
- Bath and North East Somerset
- Bedford
- Blackpool
- Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole
- Bracknell Forest
- Brighton and Hove
- Central Bedfordshire
- Cheshire East
- Cheshire West and Chester
- Darlington
- Derby
- East Riding of Yorkshire
- Herefordshire
- Leicester
- Luton
- Medway
- Middlesbrough
- North Lincolnshire
- North Somerset
- Nottingham
- Redcar and Cleveland
- Rutland
- Slough
- South Gloucestershire
- Stockton-on-Tees
- Stoke-on-Trent
- Telford and The Wrekin
- Torbay
- West Berkshire
- Windsor and Maidenhead
- York
- Cumberland
- North Yorkshire
- Somerset
- Westmorland and Furness
- Buckinghamshire
- Cornwall
- County Durham
- Isle of Wight
- North Northamptonshire
- Northumberland
- Shropshire
- West Northamptonshire
- Wiltshire
- Bristol
- Warrington
- Blackburn with Darwen
- Halton
- Hartlepool
- Hull
- Milton Keynes
- North East Lincolnshire
- Peterborough
- Plymouth
- Portsmouth
- Reading
- Southampton
- Southend
- Swindon
- Thurrock
- Wokingham
Local Authorities (unitary councils, and district councils in two-tier county areas) can identify when, and to which town and parish councils, in their area, elections will take place.