2022 Leeds City Council election

Result of the 2021 council election

The Local Government Act 1972 created a two-tier system of metropolitan counties and districts covering Greater Manchester, Merseyside, South Yorkshire, Tyne and Wear, the West Midlands, and West Yorkshire starting in 1974. Leeds was a district of the West Yorkshire metropolitan county.[1] The Local Government Act 1985 abolished the metropolitan counties, with metropolitan districts taking on most of their powers as metropolitan boroughs. The West Yorkshire Combined Authority was established in 2014 and began electing the mayor of West Yorkshire in 2021.[2]

Since its formation, Leeds has variously been under Labour control, Conservative control and no overall control. Labour had a majority of seats from 1980 until the 2004 election, when the council entered a period of no overall control with a Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition. Labour formed a minority administration after gaining seats in the 2010 election before gaining an overall majority in the 2011 election, which it has subsequently maintained. In the most recent election in 2021, Labour won 19 seats with 42.4% of the vote, the Conservatives won 9 seats with 31.8% of the vote, the Liberal Democrats and Morley Borough Independents won two seats each with 8.7% and 2.3% of the vote respectively, and the Green Party and Garforth and Swillington Independents won one seat each with 9.2% and 2.9% of the vote respectively.[3]

The Local Government Boundary Commission for England produced new boundaries for Leeds ahead of the 2018 election, meaning that the 2018 elections were all-out, with all councillors being elected before returning to electing by thirds. Candidates up for re-election in 2022 are those who came first in each ward in 2018.

The council elects its councillors in thirds, with a third being up for election every year for three years, with no election in the fourth year.[4][5] The election will take place by first-past-the-post voting, with wards generally being represented by three councillors, with one elected in each election year to serve a four-year term.

All registered electors (British, Irish, Commonwealth and European Union citizens) living in Leeds aged 18 or over will be entitled to vote in the election. People who live at two addresses in different councils, such as university students with different term-time and holiday addresses, are entitled to be registered for and vote in elections in both local authorities. Voting in-person at polling stations will take place from 07:00 to 22:00 on election day, and voters will be able to apply for postal votes or proxy votes in advance of the election.