Guidance

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.

1. Cambridgeshire
2. Derbyshire
3. Devon
4. East Sussex
5. Essex
6. Gloucestershire
7. Hampshire
8. Hertfordshire
9. Kent
10. Lancashire
11. Leicestershire
12. Lincolnshire
13. Norfolk
14. Nottinghamshire
15. Oxfordshire
16. Staffordshire
17. Suffolk
18. Surrey
19. Warwickshire
20. West Sussex
21. Worcestershire

London boroughs

All 32 councils hold whole council elections in 2026, 2030 and every 4th year.

1. Barking and Dagenham
2. Barnet
3. Bexley
4. Brent
5. Bromley
6. Camden
7. Croydon
8. Ealing
9. Enfield
10. Greenwich
11. Hackney
12. Hammersmith and Fulham
13. Haringey
14. Harrow
15. Havering
16. Hillingdon
17. Hounslow
18. Islington
19. Kensington and Chelsea
20. Kingston upon Thames
21. Lambeth
22. Lewisham
23. Merton
24. Newham
25. Redbridge
26. Richmond upon Thames
27. Southwark
28. Sutton
29. Tower Hamlets
30. Waltham Forest
31. Wandsworth
32. 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.

1. Barnsley
2. Bolton
3. Bradford
4. Bury
5. Calderdale
6. Coventry
7. Dudley
8. Gateshead
9. Kirklees
10. Knowsley
11. Leeds
12. Manchester
13. Newcastle Upon Tyne
14. North Tyneside
15. Oldham
16. Rochdale
17. Salford
18. Sandwell
19. Sefton
20. Sheffield
21. Solihull
22. South Tyneside
23. Stockport
24. Sunderland
25. Tameside
26. Trafford
27. Wakefield
28. Walsall
29. Wigan
30. Wolverhampton

These 2 Metropolitan District Councils hold whole council elections in 2023, 2027 and every 4th year.

1. Liverpool
2. Wirral

These 2 Metropolitan District Councils hold whole council elections in 2026, 2030 and every 4th year.

1. Birmingham
2. St Helens

District councils

These 103 district councils hold whole council elections in 2023, 2027 and every 4th year.

1. Amber Valley
2. Arun
3. Ashfield
4. Ashford
5. Babergh
6. Bassetlaw
7. Blaby
8. Bolsover
9. Boston
10. Braintree
11. Breckland
12. Broadland
13. Bromsgrove
14. Broxtowe
15. Canterbury City
16. Charnwood
17. Chelmsford
18. Chesterfield
19. Chichester
20. Cotswold
21. Dacorum
22. Dartford
23. Derbyshire Dales
24. Dover
25. East Cambridgeshire
26. East Devon
27. East Hampshire
28. East Hertfordshire
29. East Lindsey
30. East Staffordshire
31. East Suffolk
32. Eastbourne
33. Epsom and Ewell
34. Erewash
35. Fenland
36. Folkestone and Hythe
37. Forest of Dean
38. Fylde
39. Gedling
40. Gravesham
41. Great Yarmouth
42. Guildford
43. Harborough
44. Hertsmere
45. High Peak
46. Hinckley and Bosworth
47. Horsham
48. King’s Lynn and West Norfolk
49. Lancaster City
50. Lewes
51. Lichfield
52. Maldon
53. Malvern Hills
54. Mansfield
55. Melton
56. Mid Devon
57. Mid Suffolk
58. Mid Sussex
59. New Forest
60. Newark and Sherwood
61. North Devon
62. North East Derbyshire
63. North Kesteven
64. North Norfolk
65. North Warwickshire
66. North West Leicestershire
67. Oadby and Wigston
68. Ribble Valley
69. Rother
70. Rushcliffe
71. Sevenoaks
72. South Derbyshire
73. South Hams
74. South Holland
75. South Kesteven
76. South Norfolk
77. South Oxfordshire
78. South Ribble
79. South Staffordshire
80. Spelthorne
81. Stafford
82. Staffordshire Moorlands
83. Stratford upon Avon
84. Surrey Heath
85. Swale
86. Teignbridge
87. Tendring
88. Test Valley
89. Tewkesbury
90. Thanet
91. Tonbridge and Malling
92. Torridge
93. Uttlesford
94. Vale Of White Horse
95. Warwick
96. Waverley
97. Wealden
98. West Devon
99. West Lindsey
100. West Suffolk
101. Wychavon
102. Wyre
103. 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.

1. Basildon
2. Basingstoke and Deane
3. Brentwood
4. Broxbourne
5. Burnley
6. Cambridge
7. Cannock Chase
8. Castle Point
9. Cherwell
10. Chorley
11. Colchester
12. Crawley
13. Eastleigh
14. Elmbridge
15. Epping Forest
16. Exeter
17. Harlow
18. Hart
19. Havant
20. Hyndburn
21. Ipswich
22. Lincoln
23. Maidstone
24. Mole Valley
25. North Hertfordshire (from 2024, North Hertfordshire district will change from electing by thirds to electing all councillors elected once every 4 years)
26. Norwich
27. Pendle
28. Preston
29. Redditch
30. Reigate and Banstead
31. Rochford
32. Rossendale
33. Rugby
34. Runnymede
35. Rushmoor
36. St Albans
37. Stevenage
38. Tamworth
39. Tandridge
40. Three Rivers
41. Tunbridge Wells
42. Watford
43. Welwyn Hatfield
44. West Lancashire
45. West Oxfordshire
46. Winchester
47. Woking
48. Worcester
49. Worthing

These 2 district councils hold whole council elections in 2024, 2028 and every 4th year.

1. Gloucester
2. Stroud

These 3 district councils hold whole council elections in 2026, 2030 and every 4th year.

1. Huntingdonshire
2. Newcastle-under-Lyme
3. South Cambridgeshire

These 7 district councils elect by halves in 2024, 2026, 2028, and every alternate year.

1. Adur
2. Cheltenham
3. Fareham
4. Gosport
5. Hastings
6. Nuneaton and Bedworth
7. Oxford

Unitary authorities

These 31 unitary authorities hold whole council elections in 2023, 2027, and every 4th year.

1. Bath and North East Somerset
2. Bedford
3. Blackpool
4. Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole
5. Bracknell Forest
6. Brighton and Hove
7. Central Bedfordshire
8. Cheshire East
9. Cheshire West and Chester
10. Darlington
11. Derby
12. East Riding of Yorkshire
13. Herefordshire
14. Leicester
15. Luton
16. Medway
17. Middlesbrough
18. North Lincolnshire
19. North Somerset
20. Nottingham
21. Redcar and Cleveland
22. Rutland
23. Slough
24. South Gloucestershire
25. Stockton-on-Tees
26. Stoke-on-Trent
27. Telford and The Wrekin
28. Torbay
29. West Berkshire
30. Windsor and Maidenhead
31. York

These 4 unitary authorities hold whole council elections in 2022, then 2027 and every 4th year.

1. Cumberland
2. North Yorkshire
3. Somerset
4. Westmorland and Furness

These 9 unitary authorities hold whole council elections in 2025, 2029 and every 4th year.

1. Buckinghamshire
2. Cornwall
3. County Durham
4. Isle of Wight
5. North Northamptonshire
6. Northumberland
7. Shropshire
8. West Northamptonshire
9. Wiltshire

These 2 unitary authorities hold whole council elections in 2024, 2028 and every 4th year.

1. Bristol
2. Warrington

These 15 unitary authorities elect by thirds in 2023, 2024, 2026, 2027 and so on. Elections are held every year except the County Council year.

1. Blackburn with Darwen
2. Halton
3. Hartlepool
4. Hull
5. Milton Keynes
6. North East Lincolnshire
7. Peterborough
8. Plymouth
9. Portsmouth
10. Reading
11. Southampton
12. Southend
13. Swindon
14. Thurrock
15. 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.