2012 United Kingdom local elections

{{Short description|Elections that were held across England, Scotland and Wales}}

{{Infobox election

| election_name = 2012 United Kingdom local elections

| country = United Kingdom

| type = parliamentary

| ongoing = no

| party_colour =

| previous_election = 2011 United Kingdom local elections

| previous_year = 2011

| next_election = 2013 United Kingdom local elections

| next_year = 2013

| seats_for_election = All 36 metropolitan boroughs, 18 out of 55 unitary authorities,
74 out of 201 district councils, all 32 Scottish council areas,
21 out of 22 Welsh principal councils, and 3 directly elected mayors

| election_date = 3 May 2012

| 1blank = Projected vote-share

| 2blank = Councils

| 3blank = Councils +/–

| 4blank = Councillors

| 5blank = Councillors +/–

| image1 =File:Ed Miliband election infobox.jpg

| colour1 =

| leader1 = {{nowrap|Ed Miliband}}

| leader_since1 = {{nowrap|25 September 2010}}

| leaders_seat1 =

| party1 = Labour Party (UK)

| last_election1 =

| seats1 =

| seat_change1 =

| 1data1 = 38%

| swing1 = {{increase}}1%

| 2data1 = 75

| 3data1 = {{increase}}32

| 4data1 = 2,158

| 5data1 = {{increase}}823

| image2 = File:David Cameron official.jpg

| colour2 =

| leader2 = {{nowrap|David Cameron}}

| leader_since2 = {{nowrap|6 December 2005}}

| leaders_seat2 =

| party2 = Conservative Party (UK)

| last_election2 =

| seats2 =

| seat_change2 =

| 1data2 = 31%

| swing2 = {{decrease}}4%

| 2data2 = 42

| 3data2 = {{decrease}}12

| 4data2 = 1,005

| 5data2 = {{decrease}}405

| image3 = File:Nick Clegg official portrait.jpg

| colour3 =

| leader3 = {{nowrap|Nick Clegg}}

| leader_since3 = {{nowrap|18 December 2007}}

| leaders_seat3 =

| party3 = Liberal Democrats (UK)

| last_election3 =

| seats3 =

| seat_change3 =

| 1data3 = 16%

| swing3 = {{increase}}1%

| 2data3 = 6

| 3data3 = {{decrease}}1

| 4data3 = 431

| 5data3 = {{decrease}}336

| image4 = File:Alex Salmond, First Minister of Scotland (cropped).jpg

| colour4 =

| leader4 = {{nowrap|Alex Salmond}}

| leader_since4 = 3 September 2004

| leaders_seat4 =

| party4 = Scottish National Party

| seats_before4 =

| seats4 =

| seat_change4 =

| popular_vote4 =

| swing4 =

| 1data4 = 2

| 2data4 = {{increase}}2

| 3data4 = 424

| 4data4 = {{increase}}57

| 5data4 =

| 6data4 =

| image5 = 160x160px

| colour5 =

| leader5 = {{nowrap|Leanne Wood}}

| leader_since5 = 16 March 2012

| leaders_seat5 =

| seats_before5 =

| party5 = Plaid Cymru

| seats5 =

| seat_change5 =

| popular_vote5 =

| swing5 =

| 1data5 = 0

| 2data5 = {{decrease}}1

| 3data5 = 158

| 4data5 = {{decrease}}41

| 5data5 =

| 6data5 =

| map_image = United Kingdom local elections, 2012.svg

| map_size = 300px

| map_caption = Colours denote the winning party, as shown in the main table of results.

}}

The 2012 United Kingdom local elections were held across England, Scotland and Wales on 3 May 2012.{{cite web|url=http://www.conservativecouncillors.com/event/local-elections-2012 |title=Local Elections 2012 |access-date=15 November 2011|publisher=Conservative Councillors Association}} Elections were held in 128 English local authorities,{{cite report |url=http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0018/150903/England-local-elections-data-report.pdf |title=Local Elections in England 2012 |author=Colin Rallings and Michael Thrashe |publisher=Electoral Commission |date=August 2012 |access-date=10 May 2016}} all 32 Scottish local authorities and 21 of the 22 Welsh unitary authorities, alongside three mayoral elections including the London mayoralty and the London Assembly. Referendums were also held in 11 English cities to determine whether or not to introduce directly elected mayors.{{cite web|url=http://www.communities.gov.uk/news/newsroom/2044052 |title=Greg Clark: Date set for elected city mayors |date=5 December 2011|access-date=8 December 2011|publisher=Department of Communities and Local Government}}

The BBC's projected national vote share put Labour on 38%, the Conservatives on 31%, the Liberal Democrats on 16% and others on 15%.{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-17946745|title=At-a-glance: Elections 2012|date=4 May 2012|website=BBC News}} Rallings and Thrasher of Plymouth University estimated 39% for Labour, 33% for the Conservatives, 15% for the Liberal Democrats, and 13% for others.{{cite web |title=Local elections 2016 |url=https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-7596/CBP-7596.pdf |publisher=House of Commons Library |access-date=7 July 2021}}

The inaugural election of police and crime commissioners for 41 of the 43 territorial police forces in England and Wales took place separately, in November 2012.

Electoral process

All registered electors (British, Irish, Commonwealth and European Union citizens) who were aged 18 or over on Thursday 3 May 2012 were entitled to vote in the local elections. Those who were temporarily away from their ordinary address (for example, away working, on holiday, in student accommodation or in hospital) were also entitled to vote in the local elections,{{cite web|url=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2006/1694/schedule/made|title=The Representation of the People (Form of Canvass) (England and Wales) Regulations 2006, Schedule Part 1|date=13 October 2011|publisher=Legislation.gov.uk|access-date=18 April 2012}} although those who had moved abroad and registered as overseas electors cannot vote in the local elections. It is possible to register to vote at more than one address (such as a university student who had a term-time address and lives at home during holidays) at the discretion of the local Electoral Register Office, but it remains an offence to vote more than once in the same local government election.{{cite web|url=http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/faq/voting-and-registration/i-have-two-homes.-can-i-register-to-vote-at-both-addresses|title=I have two homes. Can I register at both addresses?|publisher=The Electoral Commission|access-date=5 January 2011|archive-date=15 November 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081115141233/http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/faq/voting-and-registration/i-have-two-homes.-can-i-register-to-vote-at-both-addresses|url-status=dead}}

The deadline to register to vote in the election was midnight on Wednesday 18 April 2012,The deadline for the receipt of electoral registration applications is the eleventh working day before election day. though anyone who qualified as an anonymous elector had until midnight on Thursday 26 April 2012 to register.The deadline for the receipt and determination of anonymous electoral registration applications was the same as the publication date of the notice of alteration to the Electoral Register (i.e. the fifth working day before election day).

Results

=Overall results - Great Britain=

class="wikitable" style="text-align:right; font-size:95%;"
colspan="2" rowspan="2" \| Party ! colspan="2" \| Councils{{cite web\|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-17270000\|title=BBC News - Vote 2012\|date=8 May 2012\|work=BBC News}} ! colspan="2" \| Councillors
style="text-align: right;" valign="top" \| Number ! valign="top" \| Change ! style="text-align: right;" valign="top" \| Number ! style="text-align: right;" valign="top" \| Change
{{Party name with colour\|Labour Party (UK)}} \|75 \| {{increase}}32 \| 2,158 \| {{increase}}823
{{Party name with colour\|Conservative Party (UK)}} \|32 \| {{decrease}}12 \|1,005 \| {{decrease}}405
{{Party name with colour\|Liberal Democrats (UK)}} \|6 \| {{decrease}}1 \|431 \| {{decrease}}336
{{Party name with colour\|Scottish National Party}} \|2 \| {{increase}}2 \|424 \| {{increase}}57
{{Party name with colour\|Plaid Cymru}} \|0 \| {{decrease}}1 \|158 \| {{decrease}}41
{{Party name with colour\|Green Party of England and Wales}} \|0 \| {{nochange}} \| 26 \| {{increase}}5
{{Party name with colour\|Residents Association}} \|0 \| {{nochange}} \| 21 \| {{increase}}5
{{Party name with colour\|Scottish Green Party}} \|0 \| {{nochange}} \| 14 \| {{increase}}6
{{Party name with colour\|UK Independence Party}} \|0 \| {{nochange}} \| 9 \| {{nochange}}
{{Party name with colour\|Independent Kidderminster Hospital and Health Concern}} \|0 \| {{nochange}} \| 5 \| {{increase}}3
{{Party name with colour\|Respect Party}} \|0 \| {{nochange}} \| 5 \| {{increase}}5
{{Party name with colour\|Liberal Party (UK, 1989)}} \|0 \| {{nochange}} \| 4 \| {{decrease}}6
\| style="text-align:left;" \| Others \|5 \| {{decrease}}2 \| 596 \| {{decrease}}151
{{Party name with colour\|No overall control}} \| 51 \| {{decrease}}18 \|n/a \|n/a

class="wikitable" style="text-align:right; font-size:95%;"

colspan="2" rowspan="2" | Party

! colspan="2" | Councils{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-17270000|title=BBC News - Vote 2012|date=8 May 2012|work=BBC News}}

! colspan="2" | Councillors

style="text-align: right;" valign="top" | Number

! valign="top" | Change

! style="text-align: right;" valign="top" | Number

! style="text-align: right;" valign="top" | Change

|75

| {{increase}}32

| 2,158

| {{increase}}823

|32

| {{decrease}}12

|1,005

| {{decrease}}405

| {{decrease}}1

|431

| {{decrease}}336

| {{increase}}2

|424

| {{increase}}57

| {{decrease}}1

|158

| {{decrease}}41

| {{nochange}}

| 26

| {{increase}}5

| {{nochange}}

| 21

| {{increase}}5

| {{nochange}}

| 14

| {{increase}}6

| {{nochange}}

| 9

| {{nochange}}

{{Party name with colour|Independent Kidderminster Hospital and Health Concern}}

| {{nochange}}

| 5

| {{increase}}3

| {{nochange}}

| 5

| {{increase}}5

| {{nochange}}

| 4

| {{decrease}}6

| style="text-align:left;" | Others

| {{decrease}}2

| 596

| {{decrease}}151

| 51

| {{decrease}}18

|n/a

England

File:English council results 2012.svg, whilst white indicates area where no elections took place.]]

The local authorities having elections in 2012 (excluding mayoral elections) covered about 40% of the total English electorate, with 15.9 million electors entitled to vote. Turnout overall was 31.0%.

In summary, the accumulated local authority vote and seats won by political party was:

colspan=2 \| Party \|\| Vote \|\| Seats
class="wikitable" \|+ English National vote and seat share
{{Party name with colour\|Labour Party (UK)}}	43.1%	49.4%
{{Party name with colour\|Conservative Party (UK)}}	27.5%	32.5%
{{Party name with colour\|Liberal Democrats (UK)}}	14.0%	11.9%
{{Party name with colour\|Green Party of England and Wales}}	4.2%	1.1%
{{Party name with colour\|Independent (politician)}}	3.2%	2.8%
{{Party name with colour no link\|Other}}	8.0%	2.3%

Note the equivalent of these figures may not be commonly available for other election years.

They represent the actual numbers of votes cast and should not be falsely compared to the more

commonly available figures based on the projections for the whole of Great Britain.

=Metropolitan boroughs=

All 36 Metropolitan boroughs had one third of their seats up for election.

class="wikitable"
scope="col" \| Council ! colspan=2 \| Previous control ! colspan=2 \| Result ! scope="col" class="unsortable" \| Details
scope="row" style="text-align: left;" \| Barnsley \| {{Party name with colour\|Labour Party (UK)}} \| {{Party name with colour\|Labour Party (UK)}} hold \| Details
scope="row" style="text-align: left;" \| Birmingham \| {{Party name with colour\|No overall control}} \| {{Party name with colour\|Labour Party (UK)}} gain \| Details
scope="row" style="text-align: left;" \| Bolton \| {{Party name with colour\|Labour Party (UK)}} \| {{Party name with colour\|Labour Party (UK)}} hold \| Details
scope="row" style="text-align: left;" \| Bradford \| {{Party name with colour\|No overall control}} \| {{Party name with colour\|No overall control}} hold (Labour Minority with Green support) \|Details
scope="row" style="text-align: left;" \| Bury \| {{Party name with colour\|Labour Party (UK)}} \| {{Party name with colour\|Labour Party (UK)}} hold \|Details
scope="row" style="text-align: left;" \| Calderdale \| {{Party name with colour\|No overall control}} \| {{Party name with colour\|No overall control}} hold \|Details
scope="row" style="text-align: left;" \| Coventry \| {{Party name with colour\|Labour Party (UK)}} \| {{Party name with colour\|Labour Party (UK)}} hold \|Details
scope="row" style="text-align: left;" \| Doncaster \| {{Party name with colour\|Labour Party (UK)}} \| {{Party name with colour\|Labour Party (UK)}} hold \|Details
scope="row" style="text-align: left;" \| Dudley \| {{Party name with colour\|Conservative Party (UK)}} \| {{Party name with colour\|Labour Party (UK)}} gain \|Details
scope="row" style="text-align: left;" \| Gateshead \| {{Party name with colour\|Labour Party (UK)}} \| {{Party name with colour\|Labour Party (UK)}} hold \|Details
scope="row" style="text-align: left;" \| Kirklees \| {{Party name with colour\|No overall control}} \| {{Party name with colour\|No overall control}} hold \|Details
scope="row" style="text-align: left;" \| Knowsley \| {{Party name with colour\|Labour Party (UK)}} \| {{Party name with colour\|Labour Party (UK)}} hold \|Details
scope="row" style="text-align: left;" \| Leeds \| {{Party name with colour\|Labour Party (UK)}} \| {{Party name with colour\|Labour Party (UK)}} hold \|Details
scope="row" style="text-align: left;" \| Liverpool \| {{Party name with colour\|Labour Party (UK)}} \| {{Party name with colour\|Labour Party (UK)}} hold \|Details
scope="row" style="text-align: left;" \| Manchester \| {{Party name with colour\|Labour Party (UK)}} \| {{Party name with colour\|Labour Party (UK)}} hold \|Details
scope="row" style="text-align: left;" \| Newcastle upon Tyne \| {{Party name with colour\|Labour Party (UK)}} \| {{Party name with colour\|Labour Party (UK)}} hold \|Details
scope="row" style="text-align: left;" \| North Tyneside \| {{Party name with colour\|Labour Party (UK)}} \| {{Party name with colour\|Labour Party (UK)}} hold \|Details
scope="row" style="text-align: left;" \| Oldham \| {{Party name with colour\|Labour Party (UK)}} \| {{Party name with colour\|Labour Party (UK)}} hold \|Details
scope="row" style="text-align: left;" \| Rochdale \| {{Party name with colour\|Labour Party (UK)}} \| {{Party name with colour\|Labour Party (UK)}} hold \|Details
scope="row" style="text-align: left;" \| Rotherham \| {{Party name with colour\|Labour Party (UK)}} \| {{Party name with colour\|Labour Party (UK)}} hold \|Details
scope="row" style="text-align: left;" \| St Helens \| {{Party name with colour\|Labour Party (UK)}} \| {{Party name with colour\|Labour Party (UK)}} hold \|Details
scope="row" style="text-align: left;" \| Salford \| {{Party name with colour\|Labour Party (UK)}} \| {{Party name with colour\|Labour Party (UK)}} hold \|Details
scope="row" style="text-align: left;" \| Sandwell \| {{Party name with colour\|Labour Party (UK)}} \| {{Party name with colour\|Labour Party (UK)}} hold \|Details
scope="row" style="text-align: left;" \| Sefton \| {{Party name with colour\|No overall control}} \| {{Party name with colour\|Labour Party (UK)}} gain \|Details
scope="row" style="text-align: left;" \| Sheffield \| {{Party name with colour\|Labour Party (UK)}} \| {{Party name with colour\|Labour Party (UK)}} hold \|Details
scope="row" style="text-align: left;" \| Solihull \| {{Party name with colour\|Conservative Party (UK)}} \| {{Party name with colour\|Conservative Party (UK)}} hold \|Details
scope="row" style="text-align: left;" \| South Tyneside \| {{Party name with colour\|Labour Party (UK)}} \| {{Party name with colour\|Labour Party (UK)}} hold \|Details
scope="row" style="text-align: left;" \| Stockport \| {{Party name with colour\|No overall control}} \| {{Party name with colour\|No overall control}} hold (Lib Dem Minority) \|Details
scope="row" style="text-align: left;" \| Sunderland \| {{Party name with colour\|Labour Party (UK)}} \| {{Party name with colour\|Labour Party (UK)}} hold \|Details
scope="row" style="text-align: left;" \| Tameside \| {{Party name with colour\|Labour Party (UK)}} \| {{Party name with colour\|Labour Party (UK)}} hold \|Details
scope="row" style="text-align: left;" \| Trafford \| {{Party name with colour\|Conservative Party (UK)}} \| {{Party name with colour\|Conservative Party (UK)}} hold \|Details
scope="row" style="text-align: left;" \| Wakefield \| {{Party name with colour\|Labour Party (UK)}} \| {{Party name with colour\|Labour Party (UK)}} hold \|Details
scope="row" style="text-align: left;" \| Walsall \| {{Party name with colour\|No overall control}} \| {{Party name with colour\|No overall control}} hold (Conservative Minority with Lib Dem Support) \|Details
scope="row" style="text-align: left;" \| Wigan \| {{Party name with colour\|Labour Party (UK)}} \| {{Party name with colour\|Labour Party (UK)}} hold \|Details
scope="row" style="text-align: left;" \| Wirral \| {{Party name with colour\|No overall control}} \| {{Party name with colour\|Labour Party (UK)}} gain \|Details
scope="row" style="text-align: left;" \| Wolverhampton \| {{Party name with colour\|Labour Party (UK)}} \| {{Party name with colour\|Labour Party (UK)}} hold \|Details

class="wikitable"

scope="col" | Council

! colspan=2 | Previous control

! colspan=2 | Result

! scope="col" class="unsortable" | Details

scope="row" style="text-align: left;" | Barnsley

| {{Party name with colour|Labour Party (UK)}}

| {{Party name with colour|Labour Party (UK)}} hold

| Details

scope="row" style="text-align: left;" | Birmingham

| {{Party name with colour|No overall control}}

| {{Party name with colour|Labour Party (UK)}} gain

| Details

scope="row" style="text-align: left;" | Bolton

| {{Party name with colour|Labour Party (UK)}}

| {{Party name with colour|Labour Party (UK)}} hold

| Details

scope="row" style="text-align: left;" | Bradford

| {{Party name with colour|No overall control}}

| {{Party name with colour|No overall control}} hold (Labour Minority with Green support)

2012 United Kingdom local elections

Electoral process

Results

=Overall results - Great Britain=

England

=Metropolitan boroughs=

=Unitary authorities=

==Whole council up for election==

==One third of council up for election==

=District councils=

==Whole council up for election==

==Half of council up for election==

==One third of council up for election==

=Mayoral elections=

=Mayoral referendums=

Scotland

Wales

See also

References