Conservative Party › 2026
Conservative Party in 2026
Polling day: 7 May 2026. 136 councils held elections.
Summary
- Contested in 136 of 136 councils; ran for 5,031 seats.
- Won 800 seats (15.9% of seats up) on 18.6% of the vote.
- Net change vs each council's last appearance in this dataset: -427 seats across 28 councils up, 73 councils down, 33 flat, 2 new to the window.
- Council-control change: 7 gained, 13 lost.
Same votes, different counting rule
Compare the seats Conservative Party actually won under FPTP with a proportional re-count of the same council-level votes. Positive means seats unfairly awarded by FPTP; negative means seats the party was denied by FPTP.
Where Conservative Party led, as of 2026
Councils where Conservative Party was the largest single party in the most recent composition snapshot at or before 2026. Greens ring councils gained at this election; reds ring those lost. Click any hex to drill in.
As of 2026
121 councils led
+7 gained this cycle
−13 lost this cycle
Grey hexes are councils where another party led, or where we don't have a snapshot for that year.
Council-control changes
Councils where the largest party in the running composition changed at this election. How a flip is defined →
Gained (7)
- Barnet from Labour Party
- Swindon from Labour Party
- Wandsworth from Labour Party
- Westminster from Labour Party
- Enfield from Labour Party
- Basildon from Labour Party
- Gosport from Liberal Democrats
Lost (13)
- Essex to Reform UK
- Walsall to Reform UK
- Suffolk to Reform UK
- East Sussex to Reform UK
- Norfolk to Reform UK
- Newcastle-under-Lyme to Reform UK
- West Sussex to Liberal Democrats
- Basingstoke and Deane to Other
- North East Lincolnshire to Reform UK
- Huntingdonshire to Liberal Democrats
- Havant to Reform UK
- Pendle to Other
- Brentwood to Liberal Democrats
Where the seats came from
Per-council net seat change vs each council's prior appearance in our dataset (typically that council's previous all-out election or its last by-thirds slice). "Debut" rows are councils whose first cycle in our window is 2026 — usually the result of a boundary reorganisation or being a county outside our 2021 LEH coverage.
Seats gained (28 councils)
| Council | Won | Last cycle | Net | Vote share | Seat share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Swindon | 23 | 6 (2024) | +17 | 29.7% | 40.4% |
| Bradford | 18 | 4 (2024) | +14 | 17.4% | 20.7% |
| Solihull | 24 | 11 (2024) | +13 | 35.4% | 47.1% |
| Harrow | 41 | 31 (2022) | +10 | 47.0% | 77.4% |
| Westminster | 32 | 23 (2022) | +9 | 35.1% | 59.3% |
| Barnet | 31 | 22 (2022) | +9 | 35.4% | 49.2% |
| Milton Keynes | 12 | 4 (2024) | +8 | 20.5% | 20.0% |
| Wandsworth | 29 | 22 (2022) | +7 | 31.2% | 50.0% |
| Hounslow | 17 | 10 (2022) | +7 | 26.8% | 27.4% |
| Enfield | 31 | 25 (2022) | +6 | 35.4% | 49.2% |
| Brent | 11 | 5 (2022) | +6 | 20.6% | 19.3% |
| Kirklees | 9 | 5 (2024) | +4 | 15.0% | 13.0% |
| Three Rivers | 7 | 4 (2024) | +3 | 31.6% | 53.8% |
| West Oxfordshire | 7 | 4 (2024) | +3 | 30.4% | 43.8% |
| Peterborough | 6 | 3 (2024) | +3 | 23.3% | 33.3% |
| Coventry | 6 | 3 (2024) | +3 | 16.5% | 11.1% |
| Greenwich | 6 | 3 (2022) | +3 | 15.5% | 10.9% |
| Trafford | 5 | 2 (2024) | +3 | 23.2% | 23.8% |
| Reading | 3 | 0 (2024) | +3 | 17.5% | 17.6% |
| Hammersmith and Fulham | 12 | 10 (2022) | +2 | 26.8% | 24.0% |
| Leeds | 7 | 5 (2024) | +2 | 16.1% | 19.4% |
| Waltham Forest | 14 | 13 (2022) | +1 | 15.6% | 23.3% |
| Hackney | 6 | 5 (2022) | +1 | 11.1% | 10.5% |
| Welwyn Hatfield | 5 | 4 (2024) | +1 | 23.3% | 29.4% |
| Rushmoor | 4 | 3 (2024) | +1 | 23.7% | 28.6% |
| St Albans | 2 | 1 (2024) | +1 | 18.4% | 9.1% |
| Thurrock | 2 | 1 (2024) | +1 | 14.1% | 4.1% |
| Wakefield | 1 | 0 (2024) | +1 | 8.0% | 1.6% |
Seats lost (73 councils)
| Council | Won | Last cycle | Net | Vote share | Seat share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Norfolk | 8 | 58 (2021) | -50 | 19.8% | 9.5% |
| Suffolk | 9 | 55 (2021) | -46 | 22.1% | 12.9% |
| Essex | 13 | 52 (2021) | -39 | 25.2% | 16.9% |
| West Sussex | 11 | 48 (2021) | -37 | 22.4% | 15.7% |
| Dudley | 2 | 34 (2024) | -32 | 21.9% | 8.0% |
| Hampshire | 27 | 56 (2021) | -29 | 27.6% | 34.6% |
| Epping Forest | 4 | 29 (2024) | -25 | 26.3% | 22.2% |
| East Sussex | 3 | 27 (2021) | -24 | 17.8% | 6.0% |
| Havering | 0 | 23 (2022) | -23 | 13.7% | 0.0% |
| Sutton | 0 | 20 (2022) | -20 | 17.0% | 0.0% |
| Brentwood | 3 | 19 (2024) | -16 | 25.2% | 21.4% |
| Isle of Wight | 2 | 18 (2021) | -16 | 18.8% | 5.1% |
| Nuneaton and Bedworth | 0 | 16 (2024) | -16 | 20.6% | 0.0% |
| Wokingham | 6 | 19 (2024) | -13 | 29.3% | 31.6% |
| Havant | 0 | 13 (2024) | -13 | 25.9% | 0.0% |
| Fareham | 11 | 22 (2024) | -11 | 39.0% | 68.8% |
| Newcastle-under-Lyme | 15 | 25 (2022) | -10 | 26.7% | 34.1% |
| Basildon | 3 | 13 (2024) | -10 | 25.4% | 21.4% |
| Cannock Chase | 0 | 10 (2024) | -10 | 16.9% | 0.0% |
| Birmingham | 16 | 22 (2022) | -6 | 15.5% | 15.8% |
| Harlow | 11 | 17 (2024) | -6 | 56.7% | 100.0% |
| South Cambridgeshire | 2 | 8 (2022) | -6 | 17.3% | 4.4% |
| North Tyneside | 2 | 8 (2024) | -6 | 14.4% | 10.0% |
| Croydon | 28 | 33 (2022) | -5 | 26.6% | 40.0% |
| Tunbridge Wells | 2 | 7 (2024) | -5 | 23.3% | 13.3% |
| Southend-on-Sea | 2 | 7 (2024) | -5 | 18.5% | 11.8% |
| Redditch | 0 | 5 (2024) | -5 | 19.6% | 0.0% |
| Bexley | 29 | 33 (2022) | -4 | 36.5% | 64.4% |
| Huntingdonshire | 15 | 18 (2022) | -3 | 25.4% | 28.8% |
| Merton | 4 | 7 (2022) | -3 | 15.3% | 7.0% |
| Pendle | 1 | 4 (2024) | -3 | 17.6% | 10.0% |
| Rochford | 0 | 3 (2024) | -3 | 23.9% | 0.0% |
| Worthing | 0 | 3 (2024) | -3 | 18.4% | 0.0% |
| North East Lincolnshire | 0 | 3 (2024) | -3 | 18.0% | 0.0% |
| Southampton | 0 | 3 (2024) | -3 | 16.7% | 0.0% |
| Burnley | 0 | 3 (2024) | -3 | 10.9% | 0.0% |
| Sunderland | 0 | 3 (2024) | -3 | 10.6% | 0.0% |
| Tameside | 0 | 3 (2024) | -3 | 10.0% | 0.0% |
| Calderdale | 0 | 3 (2024) | -3 | 9.6% | 0.0% |
| Walsall | 10 | 12 (2024) | -2 | 22.8% | 16.7% |
| Broxbourne | 7 | 9 (2024) | -2 | 39.6% | 70.0% |
| Colchester | 5 | 7 (2024) | -2 | 21.2% | 29.4% |
| Rugby | 4 | 6 (2024) | -2 | 25.7% | 26.7% |
| West Lancashire | 3 | 5 (2024) | -2 | 17.3% | 20.0% |
| Hart | 2 | 4 (2024) | -2 | 25.6% | 18.2% |
| Winchester | 0 | 2 (2024) | -2 | 22.2% | 0.0% |
| Crawley | 0 | 2 (2024) | -2 | 20.8% | 0.0% |
| Ipswich | 0 | 2 (2024) | -2 | 14.3% | 0.0% |
| Bury | 0 | 2 (2024) | -2 | 13.6% | 0.0% |
| Stevenage | 0 | 2 (2024) | -2 | 13.3% | 0.0% |
| Blackburn with Darwen | 0 | 2 (2024) | -2 | 10.9% | 0.0% |
| Hastings | 0 | 2 (2024) | -2 | 9.5% | 0.0% |
| Oldham | 0 | 2 (2024) | -2 | 3.9% | 0.0% |
| Bromley | 35 | 36 (2022) | -1 | 36.2% | 60.3% |
| Kensington and Chelsea | 34 | 35 (2022) | -1 | 50.4% | 68.0% |
| Gosport | 5 | 6 (2024) | -1 | 29.9% | 35.7% |
| Basingstoke and Deane | 3 | 4 (2024) | -1 | 21.2% | 15.8% |
| Wolverhampton | 3 | 4 (2024) | -1 | 18.1% | 14.3% |
| Kingston upon Thames | 2 | 3 (2022) | -1 | 15.0% | 4.2% |
| Rochdale | 2 | 3 (2024) | -1 | 10.9% | 10.0% |
| Salford | 1 | 2 (2024) | -1 | 9.8% | 4.8% |
| St Helens | 1 | 2 (2022) | -1 | 4.0% | 2.2% |
| Richmond upon Thames | 0 | 1 (2022) | -1 | 18.1% | 0.0% |
| Tamworth | 0 | 1 (2024) | -1 | 17.9% | 0.0% |
| Eastleigh | 0 | 1 (2024) | -1 | 15.2% | 0.0% |
| Lincoln | 0 | 1 (2024) | -1 | 12.9% | 0.0% |
| Adur | 0 | 1 (2024) | -1 | 11.4% | 0.0% |
| Exeter | 0 | 1 (2024) | -1 | 10.9% | 0.0% |
| Preston | 0 | 1 (2024) | -1 | 10.8% | 0.0% |
| Sandwell | 0 | 1 (2024) | -1 | 10.6% | 0.0% |
| Hartlepool | 0 | 1 (2024) | -1 | 9.9% | 0.0% |
| Sefton | 0 | 1 (2024) | -1 | 8.1% | 0.0% |
| Newcastle upon Tyne | 0 | 1 (2024) | -1 | 3.7% | 0.0% |
Debut councils (2)
| Council | Won | Vote share | Seat share |
|---|---|---|---|
| West Surrey | 20 | 24.9% | 22.2% |
| East Surrey | 10 | 22.3% | 13.9% |
No change (33)
- Hillingdon 30 seats (unchanged from 2022)
- Ealing 5 seats (unchanged from 2022)
- Redbridge 5 seats (unchanged from 2022)
- Bolton 3 seats (unchanged from 2024)
- Camden 3 seats (unchanged from 2022)
- Cherwell 2 seats (unchanged from 2024)
- Hyndburn 1 seats (unchanged from 2024)
- Chorley 1 seats (unchanged from 2024)
- Plymouth 1 seats (unchanged from 2024)
- Portsmouth 1 seats (unchanged from 2024)
- Tower Hamlets 1 seats (unchanged from 2022)
- Cheltenham 0 seats (unchanged from 2024)
- Barking and Dagenham 0 seats (unchanged from 2022)
- Stockport 0 seats (unchanged from 2024)
- Watford 0 seats (unchanged from 2024)
- Newham 0 seats (unchanged from 2022)
- Wigan 0 seats (unchanged from 2024)
- Lambeth 0 seats (unchanged from 2022)
- Cambridge 0 seats (unchanged from 2024)
- Southwark 0 seats (unchanged from 2022)
- Islington 0 seats (unchanged from 2022)
- Haringey 0 seats (unchanged from 2022)
- Lewisham 0 seats (unchanged from 2022)
- Oxford 0 seats (unchanged from 2024)
- Norwich 0 seats (unchanged from 2024)
- Halton 0 seats (unchanged from 2024)
- Barnsley 0 seats (unchanged from 2024)
- Sheffield 0 seats (unchanged from 2024)
- Manchester 0 seats (unchanged from 2024)
- Kingston upon Hull 0 seats (unchanged from 2024)
- South Tyneside 0 seats (unchanged from 2024)
- Gateshead 0 seats (unchanged from 2024)
- Knowsley 0 seats (unchanged from 2024)
Net-change comparisons are versus each council's most recent appearance in our dataset (2021–2026). For all-out councils that's the previous all-out cycle (typically four years prior); for by-thirds councils it's last year's slice. Cross-cycle ward boundary changes can produce small artefacts — see methodology.