How Many Councils Does Reform UK Control?
A live breakdown of every council where Reform UK runs the administration, plus the seat totals behind each one.
Reform UK has outright majorities in 24 councils across Great Britain. In a further 10 councils, Reform is the largest party but does not hold a majority of seats - in some of those, the council is run by an opposition coalition rather than by Reform. Reform UK has 2,343 councillors out of 18,728 across the 372 GB councils PollCheck tracks, spread across 13 county councils, 11 metropolitan boroughs, 6 unitary authorities, 1 London borough and 3 district councils.
Where Reform UK runs the council
The wave that delivered most of Reform's council control came at the May 2025 locals, when the party took 10 county councils outright. Subsequent by-elections, defections and the 2026 local elections have added unitary, metropolitan and district authorities to the column.
| Council type | Majority | Largest party | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| County councils | 8 | 5 | 13 |
| Metropolitan boroughs | 10 | 1 | 11 |
| Unitary authorities | 4 | 2 | 6 |
| London boroughs | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| District councils | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Majority + largest party | 24 | 10 | 34 |
The full list
Italicised entries are minority administrations or hung councils where Reform UK is the largest party - the party leads but does not hold a majority of seats.
This page reports council composition by seat count - which parties hold how many seats. It does not track the political arrangement running each council. In some hung councils where Reform UK is the largest single party, the administration is run by an opposition coalition (for example a Conservative-Liberal Democrat-Green grouping) rather than by Reform. PollCheck does not separately log every coalition agreement, leadership vote or no-confidence motion between elections.
- County councils (13)
- Derbyshire
- Essex
- Kent
- Lancashire
- Lincolnshire
- Nottinghamshire
- Staffordshire
- Suffolk
- East Sussex
- Leicestershire
- Norfolk
- Warwickshire
- Worcestershire
- Metropolitan boroughs (11)
- Barnsley
- Calderdale
- Doncaster
- Gateshead
- Sandwell
- South Tyneside
- St Helens
- Sunderland
- Wakefield
- Walsall
- Kirklees
- Unitary authorities (6)
- Durham
- North Northamptonshire
- Thurrock
- West Northamptonshire
- Hartlepool
- Isle of Wight
- London boroughs (1)
- Havering
- District councils (3)
- Newcastle-under-Lyme
- Cannock Chase
- Nuneaton and Bedworth
How Reform UK got here
At the May 2025 local elections Reform UK won its first 10 county councils, gained Greater Lincolnshire and Hull & East Yorkshire as mayoral pickups, and added Doncaster (mayor only). The May 2026 locals delivered most of the metropolitan and London-borough additions, plus four further county pickups. Defections from Conservative and Labour councillors continue to expand the Reform UK councillor headcount.
PollCheck's Council Control Map shows live composition across every GB council, and 2026 Locals projections covers PollCheck's pre-election forecasts for each council. The latest UK polling shows Reform UK polling on the high 20s nationally, ahead of both the Conservatives and Labour.
How many councils does Reform UK control in 2026?
Reform UK has outright majorities in 24 GB councils as of July 2026. In a further 10 councils Reform is the largest party but holds no majority - in some of those, an opposition coalition rather than Reform runs the administration. The bulk of these wins came at the May 2025 local elections, with further pickups at the 2026 locals.
How many councillors does Reform UK have?
Reform UK has 2,343 councillors across the 372 GB councils PollCheck tracks. For comparison: Labour (4,610), Conservatives (3,819), Liberal Democrats (3,344), Greens (1,345), SNP (413), Plaid Cymru (195).
Which county councils does Reform UK control?
Reform UK runs 13 county councils: Derbyshire, Essex, Kent, Lancashire, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, Staffordshire and Suffolk (8 outright majorities); plus East Sussex, Leicestershire, Norfolk, Warwickshire and Worcestershire as minority administrations or hung councils where Reform is the largest party.
Which mayoralties does Reform UK hold?
Reform UK holds the Greater Lincolnshire and Hull & East Yorkshire combined authority mayoralties. Doncaster's directly-elected mayoralty is also Labour-held but Reform took outright control of the council seats at the 2026 locals.
How does this compare with the other parties?
Council control leaders by party - Labour: 118 (64 majority + 54 leading); Liberal Democrats: 75 (42 majority + 33 leading); Conservatives: 57 (26 majority + 31 leading); Reform UK: 34 (24 majority + 10 leading); Greens: 18 (6 majority + 12 leading); SNP: 14 (1 majority + 13 leading); Plaid Cymru: 4 (3 majority + 1 leading). The remaining councils are independent-led or genuinely hung. The full breakdown by party is on PollCheck's Council Control Map.