Conservative Party
Conservative Party across the UK local-election cycles in our dataset (2021–2026 election results, plus chamber composition rolled forward to 2026 from opencouncildata snapshots).
Headline
- 43 council-control gains and 127 losses across this window (net -84).
- Footprint share moved from 42.3% (2016) to 24.8% (2026) — a −17.5 pts shift across 418 councils.
- Largest party in 121 of 418 councils as of 2026 (28.9%).
Where Conservative Party leads
Councils where Conservative Party is the largest single party in the most recent composition snapshot. Hover any hex for the council name and seat count; click to drill in.
Currently largest in
121 councils
From the most recent composition snapshot per council. Grey hexes are councils where another party leads (or where we don't yet have a snapshot).
Cycles
Click into any cycle for a full breakdown — councils gained, lost, and where the seats came from.
2026
800 of 5,031 seats won
19% → 16% −3 pts
Control: +7 / −12 councils
136 councils contested
2025
320 of 1,640 seats won
23% → 20% −3 pts
Control: +4 / −7 councils
115 councils contested
2024
516 of 2,659 seats won
26% → 19% −6 pts
Control: +0 / −17 councils
107 councils contested
2023
2,270 of 8,031 seats won
31% → 28% −3 pts
Control: +7 / −55 councils
230 councils contested
2022
1,376 of 6,660 seats won
27% → 21% −6 pts
Control: +3 / −18 councils
196 councils contested
2021
2,336 of 4,729 seats won
41% → 49% +9 pts
Control: +15 / −4 councils
227 councils contested
2019
3,428 of 8,283 seats won
34% → 41% +7 pts
Control: +3 / −11 councils
255 councils contested
2018
1,334 of 4,417 seats won
31% → 30% −1 pts
Control: +4 / −3 councils
154 councils contested
2017
1,650 of 3,588 seats won
41% → 46% +5 pts
112 councils contested
2016
849 of 2,798 seats won
27% → 30% +3 pts
150 councils contested
Votes vs seats, by cycle
For each cycle this party contested, the bars show vote share (filled) against seat share (outlined). The signed gap is the disproportionality.
Four-year movement
Vote share across each cycle pair (same councils, four years apart).
−8 pts
−18 pts
−3 pts
Cumulative footprint
Share of all UK council seats held. Across all councils in our dataset, including those not polling this year. Comparable across the full window because composition rolls forward year-on-year.
By election
| Year | Seats up | Won | Vote share | Seat share | Footprint share | Largest in | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 5,031 | 800 | 18.6% | 15.9% | 24.8% | 121 / 418 | Details → |
| 2025 | 1,640 | 320 | 22.9% | 19.5% | 26.9% | 125 / 418 | Details → |
| 2024 | 2,659 | 516 | 25.6% | 19.4% | 30.4% | 144 / 416 | Details → |
| 2023 | 8,031 | 2,270 | 31.0% | 28.3% | 32.6% | 162 / 416 | Details → |
| 2022 | 6,660 | 1,376 | 26.7% | 20.7% | 38.0% | 206 / 416 | Details → |
| 2021 | 4,729 | 2,336 | 40.9% | 49.4% | 40.5% | 227 / 414 | Details → |
| 2020 | — | — | — | — | 38.7% | 216 / 412 | |
| 2019 | 8,283 | 3,428 | 34.4% | 41.4% | 38.9% | 214 / 412 | Details → |
| 2018 | 4,417 | 1,334 | 31.4% | 30.2% | 44.7% | 235 / 407 | Details → |
| 2017 | 3,588 | 1,650 | 41.0% | 46.0% | 45.2% | 235 / 407 | Details → |
| 2016 | 2,798 | 849 | 27.4% | 30.3% | 42.3% | 221 / 407 | Details → |
See methodology for how we normalise party names, why "Labour and Co-operative" collapses to "Labour Party", and the bloc-vote vote-share caveat for multi-member wards.