← All councils

Durham

Every election cycle we have data for, most recent first.

4 cycles in our data
8.8% all-time seats elected below the quota (31 of 352)
17.9% all-time seats unfairly awarded (63 of 352 across 4 cycles)

Cycles

Council composition as of 2025

98 councillors, by party. One square per seat. Source: opencouncildata annual snapshot — reflects the council at the end of 2025 (after that year's elections, by-elections and defections). Hover any seat for the party.

Most recent election (2025)

In 2025, 98 seats were up across 51 wards. The table below shows what each party actually won — alongside what they would have won if the 98 seats had been shared in proportion to votes received (how, with caveats). The Δ column is the actual seat count minus the proportional seat count — positive numbers are parties First-Past-the-Post over-represented; negative are parties it under-represented.

PartyVotesVote %Seats won% of seatsProportional seatsProportional %Δ
Reform UK110,00240.8%6566.3%4141.8%+24
Labour Party61,37922.8%44.1%2323.5%-19
Liberal Democrats32,25212.0%1414.3%1212.2%+2
Independent31,04611.5%1212.2%1111.2%+1
Conservative Party16,9116.3%11.0%66.1%-5
Green Party9,9193.7%22.0%33.1%-1
Derwentside Independents4,0401.5%00.0%11.0%-1
Seaham Community Party2,9681.1%00.0%11.0%-1
The North East Party1,0580.4%00.0%00.0%0
Social Democratic Party830.0%00.0%00.0%0
UK Independence Party (UKIP)330.0%00.0%00.0%0
Total269,691100.0%98100.0%98100.0%0

Vote share vs seats won

The top bar is each party's share of votes cast in this council. Below, one square per seat, coloured by the party that won it — first the actual First-Past-the-Post result, then what a proportional method would have produced from the same vote totals. Divergence between the bar and the actual grid is the indictment of the method.

Vote share
Actual seats
Proportional seats

Full ward-by-ward results for 2025 →

Composition history

One row per opencouncildata annual snapshot — the council at the end of each year (after that year's elections, by-elections and defections). Newest first; hover any seat for the party.

2025
2024
2023
2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
2017
2016

Ward by ward

Each row is a ward, each column a cycle. Each cell shows the top-of-poll candidate's party (swatch) and their share of valid ballots. Wards are matched by name across cycles — boundary reviews can mean a ward of the same name is a slightly different area in a later cycle.

Ward2017201920212025
Annfield Plain52%44%
Annfield Plain and Tanfield47%
Aycliffe East52%54%
Aycliffe North and Middridge48%51%34%
Aycliffe South44%
Aycliffe West47%41%
Barnard Castle31%
Barnard Castle East61%64%
Barnard Castle West81%76%
Belmont46%39%39%
Benfieldside56%40%34%
Bishop Auckland47%
Bishop Auckland Town39%70%
Bishop Middleham and Cornforth45%43%
Blackhalls73%73%
Blackhalls and Hesledens45%
Bowburn and Coxhoe42%
Brandon68%44%34%
Burnopfield and Dipton48%44%
Castle Eden and Passfield53%
Chester-le-Street East33%42%
Chester-le-Street North54%50%37%
Chester-le-Street South33%62%50%
Chester-le-Street West Central51%44%
Chilton68%44%47%
Consett North56%46%48%
Consett South51%38%55%
Coundon60%53%
Coxhoe62%57%
Craghead and South Moor62%61%59%
Crook62%50%52%
Dalton and Dawdon39%
Dawdon54%57%
Deerness64%49%40%
Delves Lane59%52%50%
Deneside57%52%
Derwent and Pont Valley40%
Durham South47%40%
Easington67%62%
Easington and Shotton52%
Elvet and Gilesgate64%48%
Elvet, Gilesgate and Shincliffe39%
Esh and Witton Gilbert62%59%
Evenwood52%63%49%
Ferryhill56%55%40%
Framwellgate and Newton Hall64%59%53%
Horden52%66%
Horden and Dene House55%
Lanchester48%47%
Lanchester and Burnhope36%
Langley and Esh48%
Leadgate and Medomsley65%50%
Lower Teesdale37%
Lumley59%62%
Lumley and West Rainton54%
Murton59%73%45%
Neville's Cross45%53%
Nevilles Cross54%
North Lodge52%63%58%
Passfield34%42%
Pelton81%68%47%
Peterlee52%
Peterlee East50%50%
Peterlee West53%40%
Pittington and Sherburn36%
Sacriston73%60%
Sacriston and Witton Gilbert42%
Seaham41%43%41%
Sedgefield40%47%44%
Sherburn64%59%
Shildon and Dene Valley53%43%43%57%
Shotton and South Hetton50%59%
Spennymoor40%19%40%38%
Stanley61%59%55%
Tanfield50%46%
Thornley and Wheatley Hill65%
Tow Law47%56%
Trimdon and Thornley73%70%
Trimdon and Wingate50%
Tudhoe42%44%41%
Upper Teesdale46%
Weardale76%54%37%
West Auckland54%47%52%
Willington and Hunwick70%52%49%
Wingate74%70%
Woodhouse Close74%43%