# Preston City Council elections

Preston City Council elections are generally held three years out of every four, with a third of the council elected each time. Preston City Council is the local authority for the non-metropolitan district of Preston in Lancashire, England. Since the last boundary changes in 2019, 48 councillors have been elected from 16 wards.

## Council elections

| Year | | Labour | | Conservative | | Liberal | | Liberal Democrats | | Respect | | Independent |
| 1973 | 38 | 38 | 19 | 19 | 0 | 0 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | 0 | 0 |
| 1974 | 38 | 38 | 19 | 19 | 0 | 0 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | 0 | 0 |
| 1975 | 38 | 38 | 19 | 19 | 0 | 0 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | 0 | 0 |
| 1976 | 13 | 13 | 43 | 43 | 1 | 1 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | 0 | 0 |
| 1978 | 18 | 18 | 37 | 37 | 2 | 2 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | 0 | 0 |
| 1979 | 26 | 26 | 30 | 30 | 1 | 1 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | 0 | 0 |
| 1980 | 31 | 31 | 25 | 25 | 1 | 1 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | 0 | 0 |
| 1982 | 30 | 30 | 24 | 24 | 3 | 3 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | 0 | 0 |
| 1983 | 30 | 30 | 24 | 24 | 3 | 3 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | 0 | 0 |
| 1984 | 31 | 31 | 21 | 21 | 5 | 5 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | 0 | 0 |
| 1985 | 31 | 31 | 21 | 21 | 5 | 5 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | 0 | 0 |
| 1986 | 34 | 34 | 18 | 18 | 5 | 5 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | 0 | 0 |
| 1987 | 35 | 35 | 16 | 16 | 6 | 6 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | 0 | 0 |
| 1988 | 36 | 36 | 16 | 16 | N/A | N/A | 5 | 5 | N/A | N/A | 0 | 0 |
| 1990 | 35 | 35 | 16 | 16 | N/A | N/A | 6 | 6 | N/A | N/A | 0 | 0 |
| 1991 | 34 | 34 | 17 | 17 | N/A | N/A | 6 | 6 | N/A | N/A | 0 | 0 |
| 1992 | 32 | 32 | 20 | 20 | N/A | N/A | 5 | 5 | N/A | N/A | 0 | 0 |
| 1994 | 31 | 31 | 19 | 19 | N/A | N/A | 7 | 7 | N/A | N/A | 0 | 0 |
| 1995 | 31 | 31 | 18 | 18 | N/A | N/A | 8 | 8 | N/A | N/A | 0 | 0 |
| 1996 | 32 | 32 | 13 | 13 | N/A | N/A | 12 | 12 | N/A | N/A | 0 | 0 |
| 1997 | 29 | 29 | 13 | 13 | N/A | N/A | 13 | 13 | N/A | N/A | 2 | 2 |
| 1998 | 30 | 30 | 13 | 13 | N/A | N/A | 13 | 13 | N/A | N/A | 1 | 1 |
| 1999 | 28 | 28 | 13 | 13 | N/A | N/A | 14 | 14 | N/A | N/A | 2 | 2 |
| 2000 | 24 | 24 | 17 | 17 | N/A | N/A | 12 | 12 | N/A | N/A | 4 | 4 |
| 2002 | 25 | 25 | 19 | 19 | N/A | N/A | 11 | 11 | N/A | N/A | 2 | 2 |
| 2003 | 25 | 25 | 18 | 18 | N/A | N/A | 10 | 10 | N/A | N/A | 4 | 4 |
| 2004 | 24 | 24 | 18 | 18 | N/A | N/A | 10 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 |
| 2006 | 24 | 24 | 17 | 17 | N/A | N/A | 12 | 12 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| 2007 | 24 | 24 | 20 | 20 | N/A | N/A | 10 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| 2008 | 24 | 24 | 21 | 21 | N/A | N/A | 9 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| 2010 | 24 | 24 | 22 | 22 | N/A | N/A | 8 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| 2011 | 29 | 29 | 21 | 21 | N/A | N/A | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 2012 | 31 | 31 | 19 | 19 | N/A | N/A | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 2014 | 32 | 32 | 19 | 19 | N/A | N/A | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 2015 | 32 | 32 | 19 | 19 | N/A | N/A | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 2016 | 33 | 33 | 19 | 19 | N/A | N/A | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2018 | 35 | 35 | 17 | 17 | N/A | N/A | 5 | 5 | N/A | N/A | 0 | 0 |
| 2019 | 30 | 30 | 9 | 9 | N/A | N/A | 9 | 9 | N/A | N/A | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | 30 | 30 | 11 | 11 | N/A | N/A | 7 | 7 | N/A | N/A | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | 30 | 30 | 11 | 11 | N/A | N/A | 7 | 7 | N/A | N/A | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | 31 | 31 | 10 | 10 | N/A | N/A | 7 | 7 | N/A | N/A | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | 30 | 30 | 6 | 6 | N/A | N/A | 12 | 12 | N/A | N/A | 0 | 0 |

## District result maps

* 2002 results map
* 2003 results map
* 2004 results map
* 2006 results map
* 2007 results map
* 2008 results map
* 2010 results map
* 2011 results map
* 2019 results map
* 2021 results map
* 2022 results map
* 2023 results map
* 2024 results map

## Changes between elections
### 1990 boundaries

St Matthews By-Election 1 October 1998 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Veronica Afrin | 617 | 41.5 | −28.6 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Anna Riedel | 383 | 25.8 | +13.2 |
| | Independent | Paul Malliband | 278 | 18.7 | N/A |
| | Conservative | Elaine Pugh | 179 | 12.0 | −5.2 |
| | Independent | Gerald Kerrone | 30 | 2.0 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 234 | 15.7 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,487 | 30.1 | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
Central By-Election 20 January 2000 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | John Swindells | 361 | 64.6 | −3.6 |
| | Conservative | David Hammond | 134 | 24.0 | +8.6 |
| | Independent | Bernadette Jones | 64 | 1.5 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 227 | 40.6 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 559 | 8.6 | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
Rural East By-Election 20 January 2000 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Harry Landless | 903 | 82.1 | +2.4 |
| | Liberal Democrats | John Bruton | 153 | 13.9 | +2.9 |
| | Labour | Terry Mattinson | 44 | 4.0 | −5.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 750 | 68.2 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,100 | 21.0 | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
Larches By-Election 29 March 2001 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Peter Ward | 501 | 48.8 | +24.0 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Danny Gallagher | 349 | 34.0 | −23.8 |
| | Conservative | R Turner | 110 | 10.7 | −0.4 |
| | Independent | I Heywood | 67 | 6.5 | +0.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 152 | 14.8 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,027 | 23.7 | |
| | Labour gain from Liberal Democrats | Labour gain from Liberal Democrats | Swing | +23.9 | |

### 2007 boundaries

Tulketh by-election 14 February 2008 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Peter Rankin | 423 | 34.3 | −6.8 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Rick Seymour | 400 | 32.4 | +21.5 |
| | Conservative | Paul Balshaw | 292 | 23.6 | −6.7 |
| | No description | Barry Hill | 84 | 6.8 | N/A |
| | Green | Kizzi Murtagh | 36 | 2.9 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 23 | 1.9 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,235 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | -14.2 | |
Fishwick by-election 1 October 2009 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Jennifer Mein | 656 | 55.7 | +13.2 |
| | Conservative | Sharon Riley | 283 | 24.0 | +3.9 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Luke Bosman | 239 | 20.3 | +1.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 373 | 31.7 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,178 | 30.9 | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +8.6 | |
Riversway by-election 15 July 2010 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour Co-op | Linda Crompton | 890 | 66.72 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Stephen Wilkinson | 388 | 29.09 |
| | Green | Adam Vardey | 56 | 4.20 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 502 | 37.63 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,334 | |
| | Labour gain from Liberal Democrats | Labour gain from Liberal Democrats | Swing | +8.6 |
Cadley by-election 16 September 2010 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | John Potter | 721 | 43.1 | −14.0 |
| | Labour | John Young | 476 | 28.5 | +20.8 |
| | Conservative | David Walker | 465 | 28.4 | −6.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 245 | 14.7 | −141 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,672 | | |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | -3.6 | |
Ashton by-election, 4 May 2017 (term ends 2020) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Liz Atkins | 648 | 47.89 | +3.29 |
| | Conservative | Michael Balshaw | 477 | 35.25 | +2.28 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Jeremy Dable | 166 | 12.27 | +4.15 |
| | UKIP | Simon Platt | 62 | 4.58 | −3.37 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 171 | 12.64 | +1.01 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,353 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +0.51 | |
Preston Rural East by-election, 4 May 2017 (term ends 2018) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Ron Woollam | 987 | 69.46 | −0.84 |
| | Labour | Joshua Mascord | 216 | 15.20 | −14.50 |
| | Liberal Democrats | David Callaghan | 160 | 11.26 | N/A |
| | UKIP | Kieran Aspden | 58 | 4.08 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 771 | 54.26 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,421 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +6.83 | |
Conservative councillor Damien Moore (Greyfriars) resigned from the council in March 2018 (he was elected Member of Parliament for Southport in 2017). The seat (term ending 2019 due to boundary changes trigger a full election) was filled in a double election for Greyfriars on 3 May.

### 2019 boundaries
#### Lea and Larches ward, 2024

A by-election was held for the Lea and Larches ward following the resignation of Labour councillor David Borrow on 24 May 2024, with no official reason being given for the councillor's departure. The by-election was contested on 4 July 2024, the same day as the UK general election.
Lea and Larches by-election, 4 July 2024 (term ends 2026) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Liberal Democrats | Sean Little | 1,210 | 38.8 |
| | Labour | Mark Routledge | 1,077 | 34.5 |
| | Independent | Ann Cowell | 467 | 15.0 |
| | Conservative | Daniel Duckworth | 364 | 11.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 133 | 4.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,118 | |
| | Liberal Democrats gain from Labour | Liberal Democrats gain from Labour | Swing | |