Local elections in Wales are to be held on 6 May 2027 to elect members to the twenty-two local authorities. They will take place alongside other local elections in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, as well as an election to the Northern Ireland Assembly. The previous elections were held in 2022.
Background The 2022 Welsh local elections saw the Labour party increase its seat and vote share, while the Conservatives lost over a third of their seats. Plaid Cymru gained control of a further 4 councils, however lost 6 seats overall. 2026 Senedd election The 2026 Senedd election saw the Labour party lose a Senedd election for the first time since its establishment in 1999, falling to third place, with incumbent First Minister Eluned Morgan losing her seat. Rhun ap Iorwerth became the first First Minister not to come from the Labour Party, and the first Welsh nationalist to hold the post, running a minority government with Plaid Cymru.
Electoral system All eligible voters will be automatically registered to vote in this election. The following requirements are in place to be eligible to vote: Aged 16 or over Be registered to vote Be registered at an address within the area you want to vote in Not be legally excluded from voting
Furthermore, people wishing to vote must also be one of the following: A British citizen An Irish or an EU citizen A qualifying commonwealth citizen A citizen of another country who has permission to live in the UK, or who does not require permission
All 1,234 council seats will be elected through the first-past-the-post system of voting if in single-member wards, or through plurality block voting if in multi-member wards.
Following the Local Government and Elections Act (Wales) 2021, all 22 Welsh councils will have the option to change to a different method of voting, although this law was not implemented quick enough for use in the 2022 local elections, and will not be used in the 2027 elections as the deadline to authorise the change has elapsed, with no local authority voting to change their electoral system.
Councils Bolding and shading denotes control of each council. Council Seats Previous election Current council control Election details Council control after election Lab PC Con LD Ref Grn Other Lab PC Con LD Ref Grn OtherBlaenau Gwent33202219113DetailsBridgend512022251124DetailsCaerphilly692022411917DetailsCardiff792022502910116DetailsCarmarthenshire75202214381120DetailsCeredigion38202221710DetailsConwy55202268842126DetailsDenbighshire48202214781216DetailsFlintshire6720222614826DetailsGwynedd69202245123DetailsIsle of Anglesey3520223181112DetailsMerthyr Tydfil3020221515DetailsMonmouthshire462022191917DetailsNeath Port Talbot60202222113123DetailsNewport512022336129DetailsPembrokeshire60202293122133DetailsPowys6820229413233115DetailsRhondda Cynon Taf752022578217DetailsSwansea75202244514111DetailsTorfaen4020222848DetailsVale of Glamorgan542022248139DetailsWrexham5620221477127Details All councils 1,234 472 200 104 70 23 14 347
Overall results
Party 2022 vote share Votes % +/- 2022 councils Councils +/- 2022 seats Seats +/- 34.0%8526 21.8%0307 16.87%4202 15.28%0111 6.97%069 2.27%08 2.84%09 n/a n/a n/a n/a10 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a
References