No overall control
In the context of local authorities in the United Kingdom no overall control (NOC; Welsh: dim rheolaeth gyffredinol)[1] is a situation in which no single political group achieves a majority of seats, comparably to a hung parliament. Of the 248 councils who had members up for election in the 2019 local elections, 73 (over a quarter) resulted in a NOC administration. In the 2021 local elections, 14 resulted in no overall control. Outside of the UK, the term may be applied to other local authorities, such as the local councils of Malta and the General Assembly of Budapest in Hungary.
Administration
[edit]Typically, if no party achieves overall control of a council, the largest grouping will form alliances to create an ad hoc governing coalition. Often local authorities have larger proportions of smaller party and independent members than the House of Commons, and when there is no overall control this often results in minor groups having more influence than their numbers alone would suggest.
In a result of no overall control, the largest party may attempt to govern as a minority administration. Parties may also work together to create a formal deal, which can range from a confidence and supply deal[a] to full coalition. Deals, especially the looser kind, can occur between parties which are not traditionally aligned on a national level. For example, a minority Conservative administration was formed in 2019 in Bolton supported by the Liberal Democrats and UKIP,[2] whilst a Labour-UKIP formal coalition existed in Basildon.[3] Following the 2017 Aberdeen City Council election, all nine Labour councillors were expelled from the party for entering into a coalition with the Conservatives.[4]
It is possible for a council to be under no overall control even when there appears to be an overall majority, in particular in the case of a majority of independents, who commonly have no collective policies when elected. This can also arise when the council members divide on other than party lines. For instance, the 2004 elections to the Isle of Anglesey County Council returned more independents than all others put together, but only Plaid Cymru maintained a party group within the council, and not all of its elected members joined the group. The remainder of the council, including some members of other political parties, formed four non-partisan groups, none of which held a majority. The 2008 elections resulted in a group called the Original Independents gaining an overall majority.[5]
No overall control is more common in Northern Ireland and Scotland, in part due to their usage of single transferable vote as opposed to the plurality block voting system used in England and Wales. Following the 2022 Scottish local elections, twenty-seven of the thirty-two councils were under no overall control, with a further three having a majority of independents.[6] Following the 2023 Northern Ireland local elections, all eleven councils were under no overall control.
Local authorities
[edit]County councils
[edit]Council | Seats | Largest party | Seats | Control[7] | Seats | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cambridgeshire | 61 | Conservative | 22 | Liberal Democrats/Labour/St Neots Independent/Independent coalition | 36 | ||
East Sussex | 50 | Conservative | 24 | Conservative minority | 24 | ||
Gloucestershire | 53 | Conservative | 26 | Conservative minority | 26 | ||
Oxfordshire | 63 | Liberal Democrats | 20 | Liberal Democrats/Green coalition[8] | 23 |
Metropolitan boroughs
[edit]Council | Seats | Largest party | Seats | Control[9] | Seats | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bolton | 60 | Labour | 26 | Labour minority | 26 | ||
Dudley | 72 | Conservative | 34 | Conservative minority | 34 | ||
Kirklees | 69 | Labour | 24 | Labour minority | 24 | ||
Oldham | 60 | Labour | 27 | Labour minority | 27 | ||
Sheffield | 84 | Labour | 36 | Labour/Liberal Democrats/Green coalition | 77 | ||
Stockport | 63 | Liberal Democrats | 31 | Liberal Democrats minority | 31 | ||
Wirral | 66 | Labour | 29 | Labour minority | 29 |
Unitary authorities
[edit]London boroughs
[edit]Council | Seats | Largest party | Seats | Control[12] | Seats | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Croydon | 71 | Conservative | 34 | Conservative mayor | 34 | ||
Labour | 34 | ||||||
Havering | 55 | Havering Residents Association | 22 | Havering Residents Association/Labour coalition | 31 |
Welsh principal areas
[edit]Council | Seats | Largest party | Seats | Control[13] | Seats | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conwy | 55 | Independent | 23 | Independent/Labour/Plaid Cymru coalition[e] | 37 | ||
Denbighshire | 48 | Labour | 15 | Labour/Plaid Cymru coalition | 23 | ||
Flintshire | 67 | Labour | 27 | Labour minority | 27 | ||
Merthyr Tydfil | 30 | Independent | 16 | Independent minority | 15 | ||
Monmouthshire | 46 | Labour | 22 | Labour minority | 22 | ||
Neath Port Talbot | 60 | Labour | 27 | Independent/Plaid Cymru coalition[f] | 29 | ||
Pembrokeshire | 60 | Independent | 35 | Independent/Labour/Liberal Democrats coalition | 29 | ||
Powys | 68 | Liberal Democrats | 22 | Liberal Democrats/Labour coalition | 31 | ||
Vale of Glamorgan | 54 | Labour | 25 | Labour/Llantwit First Independents/Independent coalition | 30 | ||
Wrexham | 56 | Independent | 24 | Independent/Conservative coalition | 30 |
District councils
[edit]See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Confidence votes in local governments do not cause early elections.
- ^ Including the mayor, the Conservatives hold 14 seats.
- ^ 14 including mayor.
- ^ Includes 2 independents who sit with the Conservative Party and Independents Group on the council.
- ^ Conwy's sole Green councillor is in a group with Plaid Cymru.[14]
- ^ Liberal Democrats and Green confidence and supply.[15]
- ^ The Basingstoke & Deane Independents, Green Party, and the independents sit as the Independent Forum group.[17][18]
- ^ The independents sit as the Burnley Independents group.[19]
- ^ Supported by the Green Party.[20]
- ^ Supported by Labour and the Green Party.[21]
- ^ "OGWR". BBC News. May 8, 2007.
- ^ Halliday, Josh; Pidd, Helen (10 May 2019). "Labour loses control of council strongholds of Bolton and Darlington". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
- ^ Chapman, Chloe (24 May 2017). "Ukip and Labour to 'form first coalition'". Echo. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
- ^ "Labour councillors in Aberdeen suspended over Tory coalition". BBC News. 17 May 2017. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
- ^ "Controversial Anglesey Councillor Hangs Up His Hat". Anglesey Hidden Gem. September 2010. Retrieved 2017-12-02.
- ^ "Scottish Council Elections 2022". BBC News. Retrieved 9 April 2023.
- ^ "County Councils". Open Council Data UK. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
- ^ "Oxfordshire Labour group quits council coalition over SEND failures". BBC News. 24 September 2023. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
- ^ "Metropolitan Boroughs". Open Council Data UK. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
- ^ "Unitary Authorities". Open Council Data UK. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
- ^ "Cheshire East Council to be run by coalition after deal is struck". BBC News. 16 May 2023. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
- ^ "London Boroughs". Open Council Data UK. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
- ^ "Welsh Councils". Open Council Data UK. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
- ^ "The Political Make-up of the Council". Conwy County Borough Council. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
- ^ Gregory, Rhys (24 May 2022). "Coalition announced for Neath Port Talbot Council". Wales 247. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
- ^ "District Councils". Open Council Data UK. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
- ^ "Basingstoke & Deane Independent Forum". Retrieved 6 September 2024.
- ^ "Your Councillors". Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
- ^ Jacobs, Bill (8 May 2024). "Three way council coalition agrees to stay in charge as minority rulers". Lancashire Telegraph. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
- ^ Breens, Julia (16 May 2023). "New leader set to be appointed after shock local election results". Leicestershire Live. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
- ^ "New Administration and Cabinet announced following May's local elections". Colchester City Council. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
- ^ Meyler, Piers (14 June 2023). "Councillor who quit after suffering homophobic abuse is now leader of council". Maldon and Burnham Standard. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
- ^ "New alliance administration for North West Leicestershire District Council". North West Leicestershire District Council. Retrieved 5 July 2023.
External links
[edit]- No Overall Control? - Hansard weighs up a hung parliament Guy Aitchison, Our Kingdom