Parties

Seven national parties active in UK local government. The chart below pairs the votes each party won against the seats they actually got — the gap is the story this site exists to tell.

Who controls what now

Every UK council in our composition data, from its most recent snapshot. Toggle between the largest single group on the council and councils where one group holds an outright majority of seats. Hover any hex for the council and seat split; click to drill in.

Votes vs seats, by cycle

For each recent cycle, the bars show every party's share of valid votes (filled) against its share of the seats actually up (outlined). The signed gap is the disproportionality.

Four-year movement

Vote share (solid) and seat share (dashed), four years apart. Same councils, same cycle. One panel per party with both ends of a comparable cycle in our data.

Cumulative footprint

Share of all UK council seats held. Across all councils in our dataset, including those not polling this year. Weighted by chamber size — bigger councils count for more.

Cumulative vote share

Share of all votes cast in the councils we have results for that year. This is election-year vote share rather than rolled-forward chamber control, so it shows how much of the vote each party actually won when those councils went to the polls.

Definitions and caveats live in the methodology page. UK locals run on a 4-year cycle, with different councils polling in different years — so vote and seat share are only directly comparable between elections four years apart (e.g. 2022 vs 2026, or 2021 vs 2025).

Pick a party

Drill into any party for its full per-cycle history, the councils it gained and lost, and where its footprint shifted.