Dorset
Every election cycle we have data for, most recent first.
Cycles
- 2024 52 races · 82 seats 11.0% below quota
- 2019 52 races · 82 seats 19.5% below quota
- 2017 40 races · 46 seats 30.4% below quota
Council composition as of 2024
82 councillors, by party. One square per seat. Source: opencouncildata annual snapshot — reflects the council at the end of 2024 (after that year's elections, by-elections and defections). Hover any seat for the party.
Most recent election (2024)
In 2024, 82 seats were up across 52 wards. The table below shows what each party actually won — alongside what they would have won if the 82 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.
| Party | Votes | Vote % | Seats won | % of seats | Proportional seats | Proportional % | Δ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal Democrats | 62,441 | 37.3% | 42 | 51.2% | 31 | 37.8% | +11 |
| Conservative Party | 61,047 | 36.5% | 30 | 36.6% | 31 | 37.8% | -1 |
| Labour Party | 17,172 | 10.3% | 2 | 2.4% | 8 | 9.8% | -6 |
| Green Party | 13,674 | 8.2% | 4 | 4.9% | 7 | 8.5% | -3 |
| Independent | 7,155 | 4.3% | 1 | 1.2% | 3 | 3.7% | -2 |
| IND 4 DORSET | 4,716 | 2.8% | 3 | 3.7% | 2 | 2.4% | +1 |
| Reform UK | 443 | 0.3% | 0 | 0.0% | 0 | 0.0% | 0 |
| UK Independence Party (UKIP) | 220 | 0.1% | 0 | 0.0% | 0 | 0.0% | 0 |
| ND | 204 | 0.1% | 0 | 0.0% | 0 | 0.0% | 0 |
| English Democrats | 204 | 0.1% | 0 | 0.0% | 0 | 0.0% | 0 |
| Social Democratic Party | 81 | 0.0% | 0 | 0.0% | 0 | 0.0% | 0 |
| Total | 167,357 | 100.0% | 82 | 100.0% | 82 | 100.0% | 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.
Full ward-by-ward results for 2024 →
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.
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.
| Ward | 2017 | 2019 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beacon | 64% | 61% | |
| Beaminster | 63% | 48% | 43% |
| Blackmore Vale | 71% | 62% | 50% |
| Blandford | 57% | 55% | |
| Blandford Forum | 43% | ||
| Bridport | 42% | 47% | 44% |
| Broadwey | 45% | ||
| Burton Grange | 66% | ||
| Chalk Valleys | 50% | 48% | |
| Charminster St Mary's | 53% | 65% | |
| Chesil Bank | 39% | 43% | |
| Chickerell | 49% | 56% | |
| Chickerell and Chesil Bank | 65% | ||
| Christchurch Central | 75% | ||
| Colehill and Wimborne Minster East | 60% | 52% | |
| Colehill East and Stapehill | 48% | ||
| Colehill West and Wimborne Minster | 39% | ||
| Commons | 68% | ||
| Corfe Mullen | 51% | 50% | 58% |
| Cranborne and Alderholt | 47% | 54% | |
| Cranborne Chase | 75% | 66% | 65% |
| Crossways | 62% | 57% | |
| Dorchester | 47% | ||
| Dorchester East | 66% | 55% | |
| Dorchester Poundbury | 36% | 54% | |
| Dorchester West | 48% | 67% | |
| Eggardon | 48% | 44% | |
| Ferndown | 70% | ||
| Ferndown North | 56% | 47% | |
| Ferndown South | 43% | 41% | |
| Gillingham | 62% | 46% | 47% |
| Hambledon | 67% | ||
| Hill Forts and Upper Tarrants | 61% | 55% | |
| Linden Lea | 45% | ||
| Littlemoor and Preston | 39% | 62% | |
| Lodmoor | 51% | ||
| Lyme and Charmouth | 40% | 61% | |
| Lytchett Matravers and Upton | 50% | 57% | |
| Lytchett Minster and Upton | 44% | ||
| Marshwood Vale | 61% | 39% | 40% |
| Melcombe Regis | 63% | 49% | |
| Moors | 77% | ||
| Mudeford and Highcliffe | 82% | ||
| North West Purbeck | 59% | ||
| Portland | 42% | 41% | |
| Portland Harbour | 56% | ||
| Portland Tophill | 48% | ||
| Puddletown and Lower Winterborne | 49% | 46% | |
| Radipole | 59% | 72% | |
| Rodwell | 48% | ||
| Rodwell and Wyke | 55% | 49% | |
| Shaftesbury | 49% | ||
| Shaftesbury Town | 54% | 64% | |
| Sherborne East | 50% | 58% | |
| Sherborne Rural | 50% | 53% | 60% |
| Sherborne Town | 47% | ||
| Sherborne West | 54% | 44% | |
| South East Purbeck | 31% | 58% | |
| South Purbeck | 41% | ||
| St Leonards and St Ives | 59% | 66% | |
| Stalbridge and Marnhull | 48% | 51% | |
| Stalbridge and the Beacon | 69% | ||
| Stour and Allen Vale | 43% | 53% | |
| Sturminster Newton | 32% | 67% | |
| Swanage | 58% | 48% | 41% |
| Three Valleys | 57% | ||
| Upwey and Broadwey | 41% | 56% | |
| Verwood | 74% | 68% | 70% |
| Walkford | 81% | ||
| Wareham | 53% | 61% | 72% |
| West Moors and Three Legged Cross | 59% | 53% | |
| West Parley | 63% | 66% | |
| West Purbeck | 50% | 56% | |
| Westham | 45% | 53% | 50% |
| Weymouth Town | 32% | ||
| Wimborne Minster | 67% | 67% | |
| Winterborne | 66% | ||
| Winterborne and Broadmayne | 57% | 62% | |
| Winterborne North | 40% | 55% | |
| Yetminster | 53% | 48% |