Local elections 2025

On Thursday 01 May the UK will see its first set of local elections in this Parliament. You can find out from the BBC whether an election will be held in your area. 

1,641 council seats will be contested across 24 local authorities, including seats on 14 county councils, eight unitary authorities in England and the Council of the Isles of Scilly. Elections in some parts of England have been postponed pending local government reorganisation. Six mayors will be directly elected, including for the first time in Greater Lincoln and Hull and East Yorkshire, and following the resignation of Mike Amesbury MP (Lab) a by-election will be held in the constituency of Runcorn and Helsby. 

This year’s local elections fall after nearly a year of Labour in power, a resurgence in support for the Liberal Democrats, new leadership for the Conservatives, improved representation for the Greens and a parliamentary debut for Reform UK. 

The Countryside Alliance continues to campaign extensively in local authorities across the UK. In addition to our successful attempts to prevent fringe activists from banning legal trail hunting activity on council-owned land and our campaigns to support local farmers and oppose blanket bans on meat, we have also led a growing town hall rebellion against the Chancellor’s hated Family Farm Tax. 

We are keen as ever to encourage members and supporters to consider carefully the policies and positions of their local election candidates on rural issues, as well as their susceptibility to lobbying from extremists seeking to undermine the rural way of life.  

When voting at a polling station, don’t forget to bring an accepted form of photo ID.