Local elections 2023: Where are they taking place in May 2023 and why isn’t my council having them?

With the local elections set to take place this week, voters will be heading out to the polling station to select their preferred candidates. In England, the Conservatives will be preoccupied with damage control whereas Labour have their sights on becoming the largest party in local government.

An early prediction from YouGov, using data gathered from over 6,000 people voting across 18 councils, saw the Conservatives lose significant seats across a number of key councils. Meanwhile, the poll projects a strong showing from Labour and Liberal Democrats, who could take control of a number of councils, from Tory hands.

While local elections tend to catch national attention, only some areas will hold them. We’ve attempted to clear up any confusion surrounding the upcoming elections including what they are, where they’re taking place, when they’re happening and why your council isn’t having them.

You can also use our interactive tool to search for your local authority and see what proportion of seats are up for grabs and which party currently has control of the council.

What elections are taking place in May 2023?

The type of election taking place in May 2023 across the UK are local elections. Local government elections take place at least every 4 years but not all local government elections take place at the same time.

According to the government, local bodies will do one of the following:

• elect all the local councillors every 4 years
• elect half the local councillors every 2 years
• elect one third of the local councillors every year for 3 years and hold no elections in the 4th year

The only demographic this affects slightly differently are people who inhabit two different local authority areas. Students, for example, can apply to vote in both areas. Therefore, the volume of areas in which they vote could be greater or the frequency of elections in which they are eligible to vote for may be greater.

Where are the local elections in 2023 taking place? 

Local elections are taking place across England and Northern Ireland in May 2023. More than 8,000 seats will be contested at 230 councils in England whereas 11 council elections are being held in Northern Ireland.

When are the local elections taking place in 2023?

Local election seats in England will be contested on May 4. The deadline for registering to vote in England has now passed.

In Northern Ireland, the deadline to register to vote by post or proxy is 26 April, or 28 April to vote in person.

Is my local council having elections in 2023?

You can check whether your council has scheduled elections for May 2023 in our interactive table below...

Why isn’t my local council having elections?

If you live in Scotland and Wales, there will be no local elections taking place due to all local bodies observing a different date. The last local elections for Scottish and Welsh seats took place on May 5, 2022.

On May 4, more than two-thirds of English councils will contest seats. If there isn’t a local election occuring in your constituency, it’s likely that voters elect representatives at a different time to other councils.