Liberal Democrats › 2018
Liberal Democrats in 2018
Polling day: 3 May 2018. 154 councils held elections.
Summary
- Contested in 143 of 154 councils; ran for 4,259 seats.
- Won 539 seats (12.7% of seats up) on 14.2% of the vote.
- Net change vs each council's last appearance in this dataset: +191 seats across 47 councils up, 23 councils down, 48 flat, 25 new to the window.
- Council-control change: 1 gained, 0 lost.
Where Liberal Democrats led, as of 2018
Councils where Liberal Democrats was the largest single party in the most recent composition snapshot at or before 2018. Greens ring councils gained at this election; reds ring those lost. Click any hex to drill in.
As of 2018
12 councils led
+1 gained 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)
- South Cambridgeshire from 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 2018 — usually the result of a boundary reorganisation or being a county outside our 2021 LEH coverage.
Seats gained (47 councils)
| Council | Won | Last cycle | Net | Vote share | Seat share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eastleigh | 32 | 1 (2017) | +31 | 51.1% | 82.1% |
| South Cambridgeshire | 30 | 0 (2017) | +30 | 38.4% | 66.7% |
| South Lakeland | 29 | 1 (2017) | +28 | 41.0% | 56.9% |
| Cheltenham | 17 | 1 (2017) | +16 | 45.6% | 81.0% |
| Kingston upon Hull | 24 | 9 (2016) | +15 | 36.4% | 42.1% |
| Southwark | 14 | 0 (2016) | +14 | 22.5% | 22.2% |
| Newcastle upon Tyne | 19 | 7 (2016) | +12 | 24.2% | 24.4% |
| Sheffield | 9 | 0 (2017) | +9 | 24.5% | 32.1% |
| Watford | 9 | 2 (2017) | +7 | 43.7% | 75.0% |
| Birmingham | 8 | 1 (2017) | +7 | 14.0% | 7.9% |
| Huntingdonshire | 7 | 0 (2017) | +7 | 17.0% | 13.5% |
| Harrogate | 7 | 1 (2016) | +6 | 26.0% | 17.5% |
| Maidstone | 6 | 0 (2017) | +6 | 29.2% | 33.3% |
| Welwyn Hatfield | 6 | 0 (2017) | +6 | 24.7% | 31.6% |
| Merton | 6 | 0 (2016) | +6 | 14.6% | 10.0% |
| Cambridge | 5 | 0 (2017) | +5 | 31.9% | 33.3% |
| Oxford | 5 | 0 (2017) | +5 | 23.3% | 20.8% |
| Gosport | 9 | 5 (2016) | +4 | 23.8% | 50.0% |
| West Oxfordshire | 4 | 0 (2017) | +4 | 21.3% | 23.5% |
| St Albans | 9 | 6 (2016) | +3 | 34.9% | 45.0% |
| Leeds | 6 | 3 (2016) | +3 | 9.8% | 6.1% |
| North Hertfordshire | 3 | 0 (2017) | +3 | 20.1% | 15.8% |
| Camden | 3 | 0 (2017) | +3 | 17.2% | 5.6% |
| Liverpool | 3 | 0 (2017) | +3 | 16.3% | 9.7% |
| Rugby | 3 | 0 (2017) | +3 | 15.3% | 21.4% |
| Sunderland | 3 | 1 (2016) | +2 | 12.1% | 12.0% |
| Preston | 2 | 0 (2017) | +2 | 15.3% | 10.0% |
| Stevenage | 2 | 0 (2017) | +2 | 15.3% | 15.4% |
| Manchester | 2 | 0 (2017) | +2 | 12.8% | 2.1% |
| Wirral | 2 | 0 (2017) | +2 | 10.0% | 8.7% |
| Bradford | 2 | 0 (2017) | +2 | 9.7% | 6.7% |
| Mole Valley | 6 | 5 (2016) | +1 | 37.5% | 42.9% |
| Milton Keynes | 6 | 5 (2016) | +1 | 19.2% | 30.0% |
| Wokingham | 4 | 3 (2016) | +1 | 31.9% | 22.2% |
| Newcastle-under-Lyme | 3 | 2 (2016) | +1 | 5.5% | 6.8% |
| Basingstoke and Deane | 2 | 1 (2016) | +1 | 17.0% | 10.0% |
| Bolton | 2 | 1 (2016) | +1 | 13.9% | 9.5% |
| Havant | 1 | 0 (2017) | +1 | 14.9% | 6.7% |
| Rushmoor | 1 | 0 (2017) | +1 | 13.0% | 7.1% |
| Kensington and Chelsea | 1 | 0 (2016) | +1 | 12.4% | 2.0% |
| Ipswich | 1 | 0 (2017) | +1 | 10.1% | 6.3% |
| Cherwell | 1 | 0 (2016) | +1 | 10.0% | 5.9% |
| Bury | 1 | 0 (2017) | +1 | 9.7% | 5.9% |
| Exeter | 1 | 0 (2017) | +1 | 9.3% | 7.7% |
| Wyre Forest | 1 | 0 (2017) | +1 | 8.6% | 9.1% |
| Cannock Chase | 1 | 0 (2016) | +1 | 4.4% | 7.7% |
| Blackburn with Darwen | 1 | 0 (2017) | +1 | 3.3% | 2.0% |
Seats lost (23 councils)
| Council | Won | Last cycle | Net | Vote share | Seat share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colchester | 2 | 15 (2016) | -13 | 19.9% | 11.8% |
| Winchester | 9 | 20 (2016) | -11 | 41.2% | 60.0% |
| Warwickshire | 0 | 7 (2017) | -7 | 1.4% | 0.0% |
| Sefton | 2 | 7 (2016) | -5 | 15.6% | 8.7% |
| Portsmouth | 4 | 8 (2016) | -4 | 25.3% | 28.6% |
| Woking | 3 | 7 (2016) | -4 | 29.2% | 30.0% |
| Elmbridge | 3 | 7 (2016) | -4 | 16.1% | 18.8% |
| Peterborough | 3 | 7 (2016) | -4 | 10.7% | 16.7% |
| Rochford | 1 | 4 (2016) | -3 | 11.4% | 7.1% |
| Burnley | 3 | 5 (2016) | -2 | 15.3% | 20.0% |
| Solihull | 1 | 3 (2016) | -2 | 12.5% | 5.9% |
| Knowsley | 1 | 3 (2016) | -2 | 6.8% | 6.7% |
| Walsall | 0 | 2 (2016) | -2 | 4.0% | 0.0% |
| Stockport | 8 | 9 (2016) | -1 | 31.6% | 38.1% |
| Gateshead | 4 | 5 (2016) | -1 | 24.7% | 17.4% |
| Tandridge | 4 | 5 (2016) | -1 | 20.1% | 28.6% |
| Pendle | 3 | 4 (2016) | -1 | 15.1% | 18.8% |
| Oldham | 2 | 3 (2016) | -1 | 15.3% | 9.1% |
| Calderdale | 2 | 3 (2016) | -1 | 10.8% | 11.8% |
| North East Lincolnshire | 1 | 2 (2016) | -1 | 6.2% | 6.3% |
| Reigate and Banstead | 0 | 1 (2016) | -1 | 12.0% | 0.0% |
| Reading | 0 | 1 (2016) | -1 | 10.4% | 0.0% |
| North Tyneside | 0 | 1 (2016) | -1 | 5.9% | 0.0% |
Debut councils (25)
| Council | Won | Vote share | Seat share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kingston upon Thames | 39 | 51.7% | 81.3% |
| Richmond upon Thames | 39 | 46.7% | 72.2% |
| Sutton | 33 | 38.8% | 61.1% |
| Haringey | 15 | 23.9% | 26.3% |
| Ealing | 4 | 12.2% | 5.8% |
| Barnsley | 1 | 9.7% | 4.8% |
| Bromley | 0 | 15.4% | 0.0% |
| Islington | 0 | 12.3% | 0.0% |
| Lewisham | 0 | 12.0% | 0.0% |
| Lambeth | 0 | 12.0% | 0.0% |
| Hammersmith and Fulham | 0 | 11.2% | 0.0% |
| Waltham Forest | 0 | 10.3% | 0.0% |
| Broxbourne | 0 | 8.9% | 0.0% |
| Tower Hamlets | 0 | 8.6% | 0.0% |
| Wandsworth | 0 | 8.5% | 0.0% |
| Hounslow | 0 | 8.1% | 0.0% |
| Harrow | 0 | 6.4% | 0.0% |
| Salford | 0 | 5.5% | 0.0% |
| Enfield | 0 | 4.2% | 0.0% |
| Newham | 0 | 3.6% | 0.0% |
| Bexley | 0 | 2.7% | 0.0% |
| South Tyneside | 0 | 2.3% | 0.0% |
| Hillingdon | 0 | 1.6% | 0.0% |
| Tamworth | 0 | 1.0% | 0.0% |
| West Lancashire | 0 | 0.4% | 0.0% |
No change (48)
- Three Rivers 8 seats (unchanged from 2016)
- Brentwood 4 seats (unchanged from 2016)
- Fareham 3 seats (unchanged from 2016)
- Hart 3 seats (unchanged from 2016)
- Kirklees 3 seats (unchanged from 2016)
- Tunbridge Wells 2 seats (unchanged from 2016)
- Derby 2 seats (unchanged from 2016)
- Epping Forest 1 seats (unchanged from 2016)
- Worthing 1 seats (unchanged from 2016)
- Rochdale 1 seats (unchanged from 2016)
- Southend-on-Sea 1 seats (unchanged from 2016)
- Norwich 1 seats (unchanged from 2016)
- St Helens 1 seats (unchanged from 2016)
- Swindon 1 seats (unchanged from 2016)
- Halton 1 seats (unchanged from 2016)
- Daventry 0 seats (unchanged from 2017)
- St Edmundsbury 0 seats (unchanged from 2016)
- Brent 0 seats (unchanged from 2016)
- Westminster 0 seats (unchanged from 2016)
- Barnet 0 seats (unchanged from 2016)
- Hackney 0 seats (unchanged from 2016)
- Greenwich 0 seats (unchanged from 2016)
- Hastings 0 seats (unchanged from 2016)
- Lincoln 0 seats (unchanged from 2016)
- Worcester 0 seats (unchanged from 2016)
- Southampton 0 seats (unchanged from 2016)
- Trafford 0 seats (unchanged from 2017)
- Adur 0 seats (unchanged from 2016)
- Runnymede 0 seats (unchanged from 2017)
- Croydon 0 seats (unchanged from 2016)
- Plymouth 0 seats (unchanged from 2016)
- Wakefield 0 seats (unchanged from 2016)
- Amber Valley 0 seats (unchanged from 2016)
- Carlisle 0 seats (unchanged from 2017)
- Wolverhampton 0 seats (unchanged from 2016)
- Crawley 0 seats (unchanged from 2017)
- Wigan 0 seats (unchanged from 2016)
- Redbridge 0 seats (unchanged from 2016)
- Coventry 0 seats (unchanged from 2016)
- Redditch 0 seats (unchanged from 2016)
- Slough 0 seats (unchanged from 2017)
- Chorley 0 seats (unchanged from 2016)
- Dudley 0 seats (unchanged from 2016)
- Harlow 0 seats (unchanged from 2016)
- Havering 0 seats (unchanged from 2016)
- Tameside 0 seats (unchanged from 2016)
- Castle Point 0 seats (unchanged from 2016)
- Sandwell 0 seats (unchanged from 2016)
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.