Professors Colin Rallings and Michael Thrasher

On 2 May, 107 councils across England go to the polls, with more than 2,600 seats at stake. 

At the very end of February, the Conservatives made a gain from the Liberal Democrats, their first since November 2022.  

The last month produced a small crop of by-elections but two-thirds of them saw a seat change hands amid some surprising results.  

The face of local government in England is undergoing incremental yet quite radical change.

Losing more than 1,000 councillors last May, and suffering regular by-election defeats, the Conservatives must be hoping fortunes improve as the next General Election looms.

Labour’s victory in the Rutherglen and Hamilton West parliamentary by-election ensures that the imminent contests in Mid Bedfordshire and Tamworth will be examined for further evidence of a resurgence.

Almost half of the local by-election contests held over the summer resulted in a seat changing hands.

In the latest batch of by-elections, the Greens continued to make gains, one each from Labour and Conservative, but lost a seat of their own.

These latest by-elections, which include some county contests held on 4 May, largely support the general pattern of voting seen in the main local elections.