Dover
Every election cycle we have data for, most recent first.
Cycles
Council composition as of 2025
32 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 (2023)
In 2023, 32 seats were up across 17 wards. The table below shows what each party actually won — alongside what they would have won if the 32 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour Party | 22,011 | 40.7% | 17 | 53.1% | 13 | 40.6% | +4 |
| Conservative Party | 20,449 | 37.8% | 14 | 43.8% | 13 | 40.6% | +1 |
| Green Party | 4,929 | 9.1% | 0 | 0.0% | 3 | 9.4% | -3 |
| Liberal Democrats | 3,474 | 6.4% | 0 | 0.0% | 2 | 6.3% | -2 |
| Independent | 2,746 | 5.1% | 1 | 3.1% | 1 | 3.1% | 0 |
| Heritage Party | 230 | 0.4% | 0 | 0.0% | 0 | 0.0% | 0 |
| Reform UK | 205 | 0.4% | 0 | 0.0% | 0 | 0.0% | 0 |
| Total | 54,044 | 100.0% | 32 | 100.0% | 32 | 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 2023 →
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 | 2019 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| Alkham and Capel-le-Ferne | 52% | 50% |
| Aylesham, Eythorne and Shepherdswell | 51% | 61% |
| Buckland | 46% | 68% |
| Dover Downs and River | 58% | 45% |
| Eastry Rural | 56% | 43% |
| Guston, Kingsdown and St Margaret's-at-Cliffe | 58% | 43% |
| Little Stour and Ashstone | 63% | 58% |
| Maxton and Elms Vale | 45% | 41% |
| Middle Deal | 42% | 61% |
| Mill Hill | 43% | 60% |
| North Deal | 47% | 63% |
| Sandwich | 47% | 53% |
| St Radigunds | 50% | 54% |
| Tower Hamlets | 47% | 75% |
| Town and Castle | 34% | 46% |
| Walmer | 49% | 46% |
| Whitfield | 62% | 52% |