# 1996 United Kingdom local elections

The 1996 United Kingdom local elections were held on 2 May 1996. They were the last local elections until 2010 to show a decline in the number of Conservative councillors and an increase in the number of Labour councillors.
The main opposition Labour Party gained 468 seats, bringing their number of councillors to 10,929. Their share of the vote was projected to be 43%, 4% down on the 1995 local elections.
The governing Conservative Party lost 607 seats and were left with 4,276 councillors - still in third place behind the Liberal Democrats. The Conservatives' projected share of the vote was 29%, a 4% increase since the previous local elections in 1995.
The Liberal Democrats gained 136 seats and had 5,078 councillors after the elections.

## Summary of results

| Party | Party | Councils | Councils | Councils | Councils | Councillors | Councillors | Councillors | Councillors |
| Party | Party | Gain | Loss | Change | Total | Gain | Loss | Change | Total |
| | Labour | | | +11 | 87 | | | +466 | 1,744 |
| | Liberal Democrats | | | +5 | 23 | | | +150 | 641 |
| | Conservative | | | -1 | 3 | | | -577 | 518 |
| | Other | 0 | 0 | +3 | 3 | | | -39 | 127 |
| | No overall control | +1 | -16 | -15 | 34 | — | — | — | — |
Source: Parliamentary Research Briefing on 1996 Local Election

## England
### Metropolitan boroughs

All 36 metropolitan borough councils had one third of their seats up for election.
| Council | Previous control | Result | Details |
| Barnsley | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Birmingham | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Bolton | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Bradford | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Bury | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Calderdale | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Coventry | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Doncaster | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Dudley | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Gateshead | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Kirklees | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Knowsley | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Leeds | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Liverpool | No overall control | Labour gain | Details |
| Manchester | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Newcastle upon Tyne | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| North Tyneside | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Oldham | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Rochdale | No overall control | Labour gain | Details |
| Rotherham | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Salford | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Sandwell | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Sefton | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |
| Sheffield | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Solihull | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |
| South Tyneside | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| St Helens | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Stockport | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |
| Sunderland | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Tameside | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Trafford | No overall control | Labour gain | Details |
| Wakefield | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Walsall | Labour | No overall control gain | Details |
| Wigan | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Wirral | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Wolverhampton | Labour | Labour hold | Details |

### Unitary authorities
#### Whole council

These were the first elections to 13 more unitary authorities established by the Local Government Commission for England (1992). They acted as "shadow authorities" until 1 April 1997.
| Council | Previous control | Result | Details |
| Bournemouth | New Council | No overall control | Details |
| Brighton and Hove | New Council | Labour | Details |
| Darlington | New Council | Labour | Details |
| Derby | New Council | Labour | Details |
| Leicester | New Council | Labour | Details |
| Luton | New Council | Labour | Details |
| Milton Keynes ‡ | New Council | Labour | Details |
| Poole | New Council | Liberal Democrats | Details |
| Portsmouth | New Council | Labour | Details |
| Rutland | New Council | Independent | Details |
| Southampton | New Council | Labour | Details |
| Stoke-on-Trent | New Council | Labour | Details |
| Thamesdown | New Council | Labour | Details |
‡ New ward boundaries from predecessor authorities

#### Third of council

In 1 unitary authority one third of the council was up for election.
| Council | Previous control | Previous control | Result | Result | Details |
| Hartlepool | | Labour | | Labour hold | Details |

### District councils

In 100 districts one third of the council was up for election.
These were the last elections to the district councils of Blackburn, Halton, Peterborough, Reading, Slough, Southend-on-Sea, Thurrock and Wokingham before they became unitary authorities by the Local Government Commission for England (1992).
These were also the last elections to the district councils of Gillingham, Hereford, Leominster and South Herefordshire before they were abolished and replaced by unitary authorities by the Local Government Commission for England (1992).
| Council | Previous control | Result | Details |
| Adur | Liberal Democrats | Liberal Democrats hold | Details |
| Amber Valley | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Barrow-in-Furness | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Basildon | No overall control | Labour gain | Details |
| Basingstoke and Deane | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |
| Bassetlaw | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Bedford | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |
| Blackburn | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Brentwood | Liberal Democrats | Liberal Democrats hold | Details |
| Broadland | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |
| Broxbourne | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Burnley | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Cambridge | No overall control | Labour gain | Details |
| Cannock Chase | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Carlisle | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Cheltenham | Liberal Democrats | Liberal Democrats hold | Details |
| Cherwell | No overall control | Labour gain | Details |
| Chester | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |
| Chorley | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Colchester | Liberal Democrats | Liberal Democrats hold | Details |
| Congleton | Liberal Democrats | Liberal Democrats hold | Details |
| Craven | No overall control | Liberal Democrats gain | Details |
| Crawley | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Crewe and Nantwich | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Daventry | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |
| Eastbourne | Liberal Democrats | Liberal Democrats hold | Details |
| Eastleigh | Liberal Democrats | Liberal Democrats hold | Details |
| Ellesmere Port and Neston | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Elmbridge | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |
| Epping Forest | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |
| Exeter | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Fareham | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |
| Gillingham | Liberal Democrats | Liberal Democrats hold | Details |
| Gloucester | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Gosport | Liberal Democrats | Liberal Democrats hold | Details |
| Great Yarmouth | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Halton | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Harlow | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Harrogate | Liberal Democrats | Liberal Democrats hold | Details |
| Hart | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |
| Hastings | No overall control | Liberal Democrats gain | Details |
| Havant | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |
| Hereford | Liberal Democrats | Liberal Democrats hold | Details |
| Hertsmere | No overall control | Labour gain | Details |
| Huntingdonshire | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Hyndburn | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Ipswich | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Leominster | No overall control | Independent gain | Details |
| Lincoln | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Macclesfield | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Maidstone | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |
| Mole Valley | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |
| Newcastle-under-Lyme | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| North Hertfordshire | No overall control | Labour gain | Details |
| Norwich | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Nuneaton and Bedworth | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Oxford | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Pendle | Liberal Democrats | Liberal Democrats hold | Details |
| Penwith | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |
| Peterborough | No overall control | Labour gain | Details |
| Preston | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Purbeck | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |
| Reading | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Redditch | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Reigate and Banstead | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |
| Rochford | Liberal Democrats | Liberal Democrats hold | Details |
| Rossendale | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Rugby | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |
| Runnymede | Conservative | No overall control gain | Details |
| Rushmoor | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |
| Shrewsbury and Atcham | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |
| Slough | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| South Bedfordshire | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |
| South Cambridgeshire | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |
| South Herefordshire | Independent | Independent hold | Details |
| South Lakeland | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |
| Southend-on-Sea | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |
| St Albans | Liberal Democrats | Liberal Democrats hold | Details |
| Stevenage | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Stratford-on-Avon | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |
| Stroud | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |
| Swale | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |
| Tamworth | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Tandridge | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |
| Three Rivers | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |
| Thurrock | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Tunbridge Wells | No overall control | Liberal Democrats gain | Details |
| Watford | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Waveney | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Welwyn Hatfield | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| West Lancashire | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| West Lindsey | No overall control | Liberal Democrats gain | Details |
| West Oxfordshire | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |
| Weymouth and Portland | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |
| Winchester | Liberal Democrats | Liberal Democrats hold | Details |
| Woking | No overall control | Liberal Democrats gain | Details |
| Wokingham | No overall control | Liberal Democrats gain | Details |
| Worcester | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Worthing | Liberal Democrats | Liberal Democrats hold | Details |
| Wyre Forest | No overall control | Labour gain | Details |