Liberal Democrats › 2021
Liberal Democrats in 2021
Polling day: 6 May 2021. 143 councils held elections.
Summary
- Contested in 138 of 143 councils; ran for 4,653 seats.
- Won 588 seats (12.6% of seats up) on 15.0% of the vote.
- Net change vs each council's last appearance in this dataset: +30 seats across 37 councils up, 49 councils down, 49 flat, 3 new to the window.
- Council-control change: 1 gained, 1 lost.
Same votes, different counting rule
Compare the seats Liberal Democrats 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 Liberal Democrats led, as of 2021
Councils where Liberal Democrats was the largest single party in the most recent composition snapshot at or before 2021. Greens ring councils gained at this election; reds ring those lost. Click any hex to drill in.
As of 2021
29 councils led
+1 gained this cycle
−1 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 (1)
- Oxfordshire from Conservative Party
Lost (1)
- Portsmouth to Conservative Party
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 2021 — usually the result of a boundary reorganisation or being a county outside our 2021 LEH coverage.
Seats gained (37 councils)
| Council | Won | Last cycle | Net | Vote share | Seat share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cambridgeshire | 20 | 1 (2019) | +19 | 28.5% | 32.8% |
| County Durham | 17 | 1 (2019) | +16 | 12.7% | 13.5% |
| Gloucestershire | 16 | 1 (2019) | +15 | 24.8% | 30.2% |
| Buckinghamshire | 15 | 4 (2017) | +11 | 20.1% | 10.2% |
| West Sussex | 10 | 0 (2019) | +10 | 19.4% | 14.3% |
| Oxfordshire | 21 | 13 (2017) | +8 | 25.9% | 33.3% |
| Wiltshire | 27 | 20 (2017) | +7 | 28.1% | 27.6% |
| Kent | 6 | 0 (2019) | +6 | 11.1% | 7.4% |
| Hertfordshire | 23 | 18 (2017) | +5 | 26.5% | 29.5% |
| Surrey | 14 | 9 (2017) | +5 | 24.7% | 17.3% |
| Cambridge | 12 | 7 (2019) | +5 | 25.8% | 28.6% |
| Warwickshire | 5 | 0 (2018) | +5 | 15.3% | 8.8% |
| Oxford | 9 | 5 (2018) | +4 | 18.3% | 18.8% |
| Gloucester | 10 | 7 (2016) | +3 | 27.7% | 25.6% |
| Liverpool | 6 | 3 (2019) | +3 | 20.6% | 19.4% |
| Northumberland | 3 | 0 (2019) | +3 | 8.2% | 4.5% |
| Rotherham | 3 | 0 (2016) | +3 | 7.9% | 5.1% |
| Shropshire | 14 | 12 (2017) | +2 | 22.0% | 19.2% |
| Devon | 9 | 7 (2017) | +2 | 17.9% | 15.0% |
| Tunbridge Wells | 7 | 5 (2019) | +2 | 27.6% | 38.9% |
| Halton | 3 | 1 (2019) | +2 | 11.7% | 5.6% |
| Lincolnshire | 3 | 1 (2017) | +2 | 5.2% | 4.3% |
| Kingston Upon Hull | 10 | 9 (2019) | +1 | 38.9% | 52.6% |
| Essex | 8 | 7 (2017) | +1 | 13.7% | 10.7% |
| Woking | 5 | 4 (2019) | +1 | 36.1% | 50.0% |
| Basingstoke & Deane | 5 | 4 (2019) | +1 | 18.1% | 9.3% |
| West Oxfordshire | 4 | 3 (2019) | +1 | 25.1% | 23.5% |
| Tandridge | 4 | 3 (2019) | +1 | 24.8% | 25.0% |
| Worcestershire | 4 | 3 (2017) | +1 | 10.2% | 7.0% |
| Derbyshire | 4 | 3 (2017) | +1 | 9.0% | 6.3% |
| Bradford | 3 | 2 (2019) | +1 | 7.7% | 9.1% |
| Stroud | 3 | 2 (2016) | +1 | 5.8% | 5.9% |
| North East Lincolnshire | 2 | 1 (2019) | +1 | 9.9% | 14.3% |
| Worcester | 1 | 0 (2019) | +1 | 9.1% | 8.3% |
| Lincoln | 1 | 0 (2019) | +1 | 8.8% | 9.1% |
| Swindon | 1 | 0 (2019) | +1 | 7.7% | 4.8% |
| Salford | 1 | 0 (2019) | +1 | 6.2% | 1.7% |
Seats lost (49 councils)
| Council | Won | Last cycle | Net | Vote share | Seat share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cornwall | 13 | 38 (2017) | -25 | 19.2% | 14.9% |
| Preston | 1 | 9 (2019) | -8 | 14.1% | 6.3% |
| Mole Valley | 5 | 11 (2019) | -6 | 36.9% | 38.5% |
| Leicestershire | 9 | 13 (2017) | -4 | 18.7% | 16.4% |
| North Hertfordshire | 2 | 6 (2019) | -4 | 19.6% | 13.3% |
| Cheltenham | 14 | 17 (2018) | -3 | 42.6% | 70.0% |
| Winchester | 8 | 11 (2019) | -3 | 39.3% | 53.3% |
| Warrington | 8 | 11 (2016) | -3 | 16.0% | 13.8% |
| Norfolk | 8 | 11 (2017) | -3 | 14.9% | 9.5% |
| Gosport | 6 | 9 (2018) | -3 | 35.3% | 35.3% |
| Welwyn Hatfield | 2 | 5 (2019) | -3 | 21.5% | 11.8% |
| Peterborough | 1 | 4 (2019) | -3 | 10.8% | 4.3% |
| Hampshire | 17 | 19 (2017) | -2 | 26.8% | 21.8% |
| Eastleigh | 10 | 12 (2019) | -2 | 44.7% | 83.3% |
| Sheffield | 9 | 11 (2019) | -2 | 20.9% | 31.0% |
| Stockport | 8 | 10 (2019) | -2 | 30.6% | 38.1% |
| Wokingham | 6 | 8 (2019) | -2 | 35.4% | 33.3% |
| Newcastle Upon Tyne | 6 | 8 (2019) | -2 | 19.5% | 21.4% |
| Colchester | 4 | 6 (2019) | -2 | 19.7% | 21.1% |
| Maidstone | 4 | 6 (2019) | -2 | 19.5% | 21.1% |
| Brentwood | 3 | 5 (2019) | -2 | 31.7% | 25.0% |
| Milton Keynes | 3 | 5 (2019) | -2 | 16.3% | 14.3% |
| Sefton | 2 | 4 (2019) | -2 | 14.0% | 8.3% |
| Kirklees | 2 | 4 (2019) | -2 | 10.7% | 8.0% |
| Lancashire | 2 | 4 (2017) | -2 | 9.1% | 2.4% |
| Runnymede | 1 | 3 (2019) | -2 | 14.0% | 7.7% |
| Southend On Sea | 1 | 3 (2019) | -2 | 11.4% | 5.3% |
| Bolton | 1 | 3 (2019) | -2 | 9.7% | 4.8% |
| Reigate & Banstead | 1 | 3 (2019) | -2 | 8.9% | 5.6% |
| Norwich | 1 | 3 (2019) | -2 | 8.9% | 7.7% |
| St Albans | 11 | 12 (2019) | -1 | 41.2% | 55.0% |
| Watford | 9 | 10 (2019) | -1 | 43.9% | 69.2% |
| Suffolk | 4 | 5 (2017) | -1 | 9.9% | 5.3% |
| Hart | 3 | 4 (2019) | -1 | 22.4% | 25.0% |
| Fareham | 2 | 3 (2018) | -1 | 22.0% | 13.3% |
| Derby | 2 | 3 (2019) | -1 | 15.4% | 11.1% |
| Burnley | 2 | 3 (2019) | -1 | 10.4% | 13.3% |
| Leeds | 2 | 3 (2019) | -1 | 8.5% | 5.9% |
| Cherwell | 1 | 2 (2019) | -1 | 15.1% | 6.3% |
| Solihull | 1 | 2 (2019) | -1 | 12.2% | 5.6% |
| St Helens | 1 | 2 (2019) | -1 | 8.6% | 5.9% |
| Trafford | 1 | 2 (2019) | -1 | 8.0% | 4.0% |
| Bury | 1 | 2 (2019) | -1 | 8.0% | 5.3% |
| Isle Of Wight | 1 | 2 (2017) | -1 | 5.2% | 2.6% |
| Rushmoor | 0 | 1 (2019) | -1 | 12.9% | 0.0% |
| Manchester | 0 | 1 (2019) | -1 | 10.2% | 0.0% |
| Exeter | 0 | 1 (2019) | -1 | 8.4% | 0.0% |
| Blackburn With Darwen | 0 | 1 (2019) | -1 | 5.0% | 0.0% |
| Cannock Chase | 0 | 1 (2019) | -1 | 1.6% | 0.0% |
Debut councils (3)
| Council | Won | Vote share | Seat share |
|---|---|---|---|
| West Northamptonshire | 5 | 15.8% | 5.4% |
| North Northamptonshire | 0 | 6.9% | 0.0% |
| Hyndburn | 0 | 0.4% | 0.0% |
No change (49)
- East Sussex 11 seats (unchanged from 2017)
- Three Rivers 8 seats (unchanged from 2019)
- Bristol, City Of 8 seats (unchanged from 2016)
- Portsmouth 6 seats (unchanged from 2019)
- Gateshead 5 seats (unchanged from 2019)
- Pendle 5 seats (unchanged from 2019)
- Sunderland 5 seats (unchanged from 2019)
- Elmbridge 3 seats (unchanged from 2019)
- Rugby 3 seats (unchanged from 2019)
- Oldham 3 seats (unchanged from 2019)
- Barnsley 3 seats (unchanged from 2019)
- Stevenage 2 seats (unchanged from 2019)
- Calderdale 2 seats (unchanged from 2019)
- Wirral 2 seats (unchanged from 2019)
- Rochdale 1 seats (unchanged from 2019)
- Epping Forest 1 seats (unchanged from 2019)
- Rochford 1 seats (unchanged from 2019)
- Worthing 1 seats (unchanged from 2019)
- Reading 1 seats (unchanged from 2019)
- Ipswich 1 seats (unchanged from 2019)
- Knowsley 1 seats (unchanged from 2019)
- Nottinghamshire 1 seats (unchanged from 2017)
- Wakefield 1 seats (unchanged from 2019)
- Havant 0 seats (unchanged from 2019)
- Basildon 0 seats (unchanged from 2019)
- Southampton 0 seats (unchanged from 2019)
- Broxbourne 0 seats (unchanged from 2019)
- North Tyneside 0 seats (unchanged from 2019)
- Adur 0 seats (unchanged from 2018)
- Redditch 0 seats (unchanged from 2019)
- Hastings 0 seats (unchanged from 2018)
- Walsall 0 seats (unchanged from 2019)
- Wigan 0 seats (unchanged from 2019)
- Coventry 0 seats (unchanged from 2019)
- Dudley 0 seats (unchanged from 2019)
- Crawley 0 seats (unchanged from 2019)
- Amber Valley 0 seats (unchanged from 2019)
- Plymouth 0 seats (unchanged from 2019)
- Slough 0 seats (unchanged from 2019)
- West Lancashire 0 seats (unchanged from 2018)
- Wolverhampton 0 seats (unchanged from 2019)
- Staffordshire 0 seats (unchanged from 2017)
- Sandwell 0 seats (unchanged from 2019)
- Harlow 0 seats (unchanged from 2019)
- Chorley 0 seats (unchanged from 2019)
- Castle Point 0 seats (unchanged from 2019)
- Doncaster 0 seats (unchanged from 2017)
- Tameside 0 seats (unchanged from 2019)
- Hartlepool 0 seats (unchanged from 2019)
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.