2025 Gloucestershire County Council election

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2025 Gloucestershire County Council election

 2021
1 May 2025
2029 

All 55 seats to Gloucestershire County Council
28 seats needed for a majority
  First party Second party Third party
 
Leader Lisa Spivey none Cate Cody
(retiring)
Party Liberal Democrats Reform Green
Last election 16 seats, 24.8% 0 seats, 0.2% 4 seats, 13.0%
Seats before 16 1 4
Seats won 27 11 9
Seat change Increase 11 Increase 10 Increase 5
Popular vote 49,565 45,904 27,110
Percentage 27.2% 25.2% 14.9%
Swing Increase 2.4 pp Increase 25.0 pp Increase 1.9 pp

  Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party
 
Leader Stephen Davies John Bloxsom
(defeated)
none
Party Conservative Labour Independent
Last election 28 seats, 43.9% 5 seats, 15.4% 0 seat, 2.2%
Seats before 26 5 1
Seats won 6 1 1
Seat change Decrease 20 Decrease 4 Steady
Popular vote 37,815 15,432 5,079
Percentage 20.8% 8.5% 2.8%
Swing Decrease 23.1 pp Decrease 6.9 pp Increase 0.6 pp

Winner of each seat at the 2025 Gloucestershire County Council election.

Leader before election

Stephen Davies
Conservative
No overall control

Leader after election

Lisa Spivey
Liberal Democrats
No overall control

The 2025 Gloucestershire County Council election took place on 1 May 2025 to elect members to Gloucestershire County Council in England.[1] New boundaries applied and 55 seats were elected, two more than previously. This occurred on the same day as other local elections. The council was under no overall control prior to the election, being run by a Conservative minority administration. Following the election, the council remained under no overall control, but with the Liberal Democrats as the largest party. A minority Liberal Democrat administration subsequently formed to run the council.

In the 2021 election, the Conservatives won 28 seats, giving them a slim majority and control of the council. The Liberal Democrats were the second biggest party with 16 seats, followed by Labour with 5 seats and the Greens with 4 seats.[2]

One by-election took place between the 2021 and 2025 elections:

  Conservative

By-election
Division Date Incumbent Winner Cause Ref.
Highnam 4 May 2023 Phil Awford Paul McLain Death [3][4]

In February 2022, councillor Alastair Chambers of Coney Hill and Matson left the Conservative Party following legal proceedings alleging he had breached the Animal Welfare Act, serving the rest of his term as an independent conservative.[5] In May 2024, councillor Sue Williams of Bisley and Painswick left the Conservatives and joined the Green Party, citing disagreements on key policy positions such as the treatment of asylum seekers and the inaccessibility of the benefits system.[6] Williams' resignation reduced the Conservatives to 26 seats and brought the council into no overall control.[7] Williams rejoined the Conservatives in February 2025.[8]

In the 2024 general election, the Conservatives lost all but one of their Gloucestershire seats, retaining North Cotswolds and losing five seats to Labour, who gained Forest of Dean, Gloucester and Stroud, and the Liberal Democrats, who gained Cheltenham and Tewkesbury as well as winning the new South Cotswolds seat.[9][10] In October 2024, councillor Nick Housden of Stonehouse was suspended from the Conservative Party following undisclosed serious allegations against him, which he has denied.[11] It was claimed that he had moved to the Netherlands, but in December, Housden refused to resign and stated that he was considering standing for election again, but that he was undecided where he would run and for what party.[12][13]

The Local Government Boundary Commission for England began a review in 2023, since there was excessive variation in the number of electors per councillor. Their recommendations, which came into effect at the 2025 election, increased the number of councillors from 53 to 55 and changed the boundaries of 39 electoral divisions.[14]

Previous council composition

Summary

Prior to the election the council was under no overall control, being run by a Conservative minority administration led by Stephen Davies.[23] The council remained under no overall control following the election, but with the Liberal Democrats becoming the largest party. The Conservatives were left with just six seats, falling back to be the fourth largest party on the council after the Liberal Democrats, Reform UK and the Green Party. A minority Liberal Democrat administration formed with informal support from Labour (whose only councillor was made chairman of the council) and the Greens.[24] Liberal Democrat councillor Lisa Spivey was formally appointed as the new leader of the council at the subsequent annual council meeting on 21 May 2025.[25]

Election result

2025 Gloucestershire County Council election
Party Candidates Seats Gains Losses Net gain/loss Seats % Votes % Votes +/−
  Liberal Democrats 55 27 11 0 Increase 11 49.1 27.2 49,565 +2.4
  Reform 55 11 11 0 Increase 11 20.0 25.2 45,904 +25.0
  Green 53 9 5 0 Increase 5 16.4 14.9 27,110 +1.9
  Conservative 55 6 0 24 Decrease 22 10.9 20.8 37,815 –23.1
  Labour 55 1 0 4 Decrease 4 1.8 8.5 15,432 –6.9
  Independent 20 1 1 0 Increase 1 1.8 2.8 5,079 +0.6
  Tewkesbury and Twyning Independents 1 0 0 0 Steady 0.0 0.4 785 N/A
  TUSC 9 0 0 0 Steady 0.0 0.1 201 ±0.0
  CPA 1 0 0 0 Steady 0.0 <0.1 22 N/A
  Socialist Labour 1 0 0 0 Steady 0.0 <0.1 30 N/A
  Socialist (GB) 1 0 0 0 Steady 0.0 <0.1 25 N/A
  Workers Party 1 0 0 0 Steady 0.0 <0.1 34 N/A

[26]

Results by district

See also

References

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