2021 United Kingdom local elections

A pandemic of a new strand of coronavirus spread across the world from February 2020. On 1 March, Health Secretary Matt Hancock issued a warning that "all options" were being considered if the virus spread further, including delaying the local elections, for the first time since the 2001 elections which were delayed by a month due to the foot-and-mouth outbreak.[11] On 12 March, the Association of Electoral Administrators asked the government to consider postponing the elections should the situation in the UK deteriorate.[12] The same day, the Electoral Commission recommended that the elections be delayed till the autumn.[13]

A day later, Prime Minister Boris Johnson decided to postpone the 2020 UK local elections until May 2021.[3][14] This decision was legislated for in the Coronavirus Act 2020, which was enacted on 25 March.[15] The bill gave the government the power to postpone any elections, including by-elections.[16] To preserve the four-year electoral cycle, those elected in 2021 would serve three-year terms.[17]

On 4 November 2020, the Cabinet Office ruled out any further delays to local elections, after suggestions from some local authorities to defer the elections by a couple of weeks, in order to allow enough time to get the electoral roll in order without having to knock on doors during the second wave of the pandemic.[18] After the country went into a second national lockdown in January 2021, the County Councils Network called on Johnson to declare "as soon as possible" whether the elections would go ahead as planned. Suggestions had been put forward include delaying the elections until June or July; delaying them until the Autumn; and conducting them in May but entirely via postal voting.[19][20] On 9 January election officials stated that the local elections will take place as planned. However Johnson said this remains "under review".[21] It was confirmed in February by Chloe Smith and the Cabinet Office that the elections would in fact take place in line with the government’s target to vaccinate all over 50s by the beginning of May. [22]

In January 2021, government guidance on activity during the national lockdown was clarified by the Minister of State for the Constitution and Devolution, Chloe Smith, stating that door-to-door campaigning or leafleting by individual political party activists was not possible under the restriction "You must not leave, or be outside of your home except where necessary".[23] Labour suspended leafleting and urged other parties to do the same, but the Liberal Democrats leader Ed Davey defended the party's leafleting activities, arguing that the party had taken legal advice and that leafleting was allowed under an exemption for volunteer organisations.[24]

County councils are elected in full every four years, with the last election having been in 2017. County councils are the upper part of a two-tier system of local government, with the area each covers subdivided into district councils with different responsibilities. These are first-past-the-post elections with a mixture of single-member and multi-member electoral divisions.

There were previously twenty-six county councils, but there will only be twenty-four by the time of the election. Buckinghamshire County Council was replaced with a unitary authority, Buckinghamshire Council, on 1 April 2020.[33] Northamptonshire County Council "declared itself effectively bankrupt" in February 2018[34] and two new unitary authorities, North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire, are due to replace it on 1 April 2021.[35]

There are thirty-six metropolitan boroughs, which are single-tier local authorities. Thirty-three of them elect a third of their councillors every year for three years, with no election in each fourth year. These councils hold their elections on the same timetable, and were due to hold an election in 2020 but not in 2021. However, due to the coronavirus pandemic, the May 2020 elections were postponed to May 2021. The remaining three metropolitan boroughs elect their councillors in full every four years. Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council was due to hold an election for all councillors in May 2020, but this was postponed to 2021. Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council was due to elect their councillors in 2021. Birmingham City Council holds its elections on a four-year cycle from 2018, so is not due to hold an election until 2022.

Due to boundary changes, Salford City Council is also to elect all of its councillors in 2021, before returning to the thirds schedule. The remaining thirty-two metropolitan borough councils that elect their councillors in thirds will do so as usual at this election.

There were previously fifty-five unitary authorities, but three more are due to be created by the May elections. Buckinghamshire County Council was replaced with a unitary authority, Buckinghamshire Council, on 1 April 2020;[36] the first election to the new unitary authority was scheduled for May 2020, but due to the coronavirus pandemic was rescheduled for May 2021. Subsequent elections are due to be held every four years from 2025.[33] Northamptonshire County Council is due to be replaced with two unitary authorities, North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire on 1 April 2021.[37] The first elections to the shadow authorities (temporary council structures before the council formally begins) were planned to be held in May 2020, but due to the coronavirus pandemic have been rescheduled to May 2021. Subsequent elections will be held every four years from 2025.[35]

Of the resulting fifty-eight unitary authorities, thirty elect all their councillors every four years on the cycle from 2019, so are not due to hold elections until 2023. Six elect their councillors every four years and were originally planning to elect in 2021. The three new unitary authorities were scheduled to hold their elections in 2020 and then every four years from 2025, before the 2020 local elections were postponed to 2021. Two unitary authorities were scheduled to elect all their councillors in 2020 but these have also been postponed to 2021. Seventeen unitary authorities elect a third of their councillors every year for three years including 2020 but not 2021, and these elections have been postponed to 2021. Two of these, Halton and Hartlepool, have had boundary changes that mean they are electing all of their councillors in 2021.[38][39]

62 out of the 182 non-metropolitan district councils will hold council elections.

Two district councils have all of their seats up for election. These seats were last up for election in 2016, and were due to be contested in 2020.[40]

Seven have half of their seats up for election. These seats were last up for election in 2018, and were due to be contested in 2020.[41]

53 non-metropolitan district councils have one-third of their seats up for election. These seats were last up for election in 2016, and were due to be contested in 2020.[42]

The London Assembly consists of twenty-five elected members and acts as a scrutiny panel to the mayor. Members are elected using the additional member system, which elects members using both constituencies and a London-wide electoral region.

The Court of Common Council is the main decision-making body of the City of London Corporation, which governs the City of London. The 100 councillors are elected across twenty-five wards. As a result of the Coronavirus outbreak, the City of London Common Council elections have been delayed to March 2022.[43]

The Council of the Isles of Scilly is the local government authority for the Isles of Scilly. It has sixteen seats, which in the previous 2017 election were all won by independent candidates.

The Mayor of London is normally elected for four years, although due to the rescheduling of the 2020 election, the election in 2021 will be for a three-year term. The incumbent mayor Sadiq Khan, who is seeking re-election, will serve a five-year term ending in 2021.

Seven combined authority mayors are up for election.

Five single authority mayors are up for election.

Thirty-six police and crime commissioners in England are up for election; four are police, fire and crime commissioners.

Elections will take place to elect all 60 members of the Senedd, which changed its name from the National Assembly for Wales in 2020.[27] Voting rights will be extended to foreign nationals that live in Wales, and residents aged 16 or over.[44][27]

All four police and crime commissioners in Wales are up for election, to represent the four police force areas of Dyfed-Powys, Gwent, North Wales and South Wales.