One third of Leeds City Council in the City of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England is elected each year, followed by no election in one year out of every four years. A total of 99 councillors have been elected from 33 electoral wards across Leeds since 1980.[1]
Political control
From 1889 until 1974 Leeds was a county borough, independent from any county council. Under the Local Government Act 1972 it had its territory enlarged and became a metropolitan borough, with West Yorkshire County Council providing county-level services. The first election to the reconstituted city council was held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority before coming into its revised powers on 1 April 1974. West Yorkshire County Council was abolished in 1986 and Leeds became a unitary authority. Political control of the council since 1973 has been held by the following parties:[2][3]
| Party in control | Years | |
|---|---|---|
| No overall control (Labour minority) | 1973–1976 | |
| Conservative | 1976–1979 | |
| No overall control (Conservative minority) | 1979–1980 | |
| Labour | 1980–2004 | |
| No overall control (Lib Dem-Conservative-Green Party coalition) | 2004–2010 | |
| No overall control (Labour minority) | 2010–2011 | |
| Labour | 2011–present | |
Leadership
The first leader of the reformed council in 1974, Albert King, had been the last leader of the old county borough of Leeds. The leaders of the council since 1974 have been:[4]
| Councillor | Party | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albert King | Labour | 1974 | 1975 | |
| Irwin Bellow | Conservative | 1975 | 1979 | |
| Peter Sparling | Conservative | 1979 | 1980 | |
| George Mudie | Labour | 1980 | 1989 | |
| Jon Trickett | Labour | 1989 | 1996 | |
| Brian Walker | Labour | 1996 | 2003 | |
| Keith Wakefield | Labour | May 2003 | 28 June 2004 | |
| Mark Harris | Liberal Democrats | 28 June 2004 | 30 November 2004 | |
| Andrew Carter | Conservative | 1 December 2004 | 23 May 2005 | |
| Mark Harris | Liberal Democrats | 24 May 2005 | 30 November 2005 | |
| Andrew Carter | Conservative | 1 December 2005 | 22 May 2006 | |
| Mark Harris | Liberal Democrats | 23 May 2006 | 30 November 2006 | |
| Andrew Carter | Conservative | 1 December 2006 | 21 May 2007 | |
| Mark Harris | Liberal Democrats | 24 May 2007 | 30 November 2007 | |
| Andrew Carter | Conservative | 1 December 2007 | 22 May 2008 | |
| Richard Brett | Liberal Democrats | 22 May 2008 | 30 November 2008 | |
| Andrew Carter | Conservative | 1 December 2008 | 21 May 2009 | |
| Richard Brett | Liberal Democrats | 21 May 2009 | 30 November 2009 | |
| Andrew Carter | Conservative | 1 December 2009 | 27 May 2010 | |
| Keith Wakefield | Labour | 27 May 2010 | 21 May 2015 | |
| Judith Blake | Labour | 21 May 2015 | 24 February 2021 | |
| James Lewis | Labour | 24 February 2021 | incumbent | |
From 2004 until 2010 a coalition agreement between the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats saw the leadership alternate every six months between their party leaders.
Council elections
Summary of the council composition after council elections, click on the year for full details of each election. Boundary changes took place for the 1980 election which increased the number of seats by 3, leading to the whole council being elected in that year. Further boundary changes made in 2004 again required the full council to be elected.[5]
| Year | Labour | Conservative | Liberal Democrats | Independent | Greens | Morley Borough Independents | SDP | BNP | ||||||||
| 1973 | 44 | 38 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| 1975 | 41 | 43 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| 1976 | 38 | 50 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| 1978 | 39 | 50 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| 1979 | 44 | 45 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| 1980 | 62 | 29 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| 1982 | 56 | 32 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| 1983 | 54 | 33 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| 1984 | 53 | 33 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| 1986 | 58 | 28 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| 1987 | 58 | 25 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| 1988 | 59 | 25 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| 1990 | 66 | 21 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| 1991 | 68 | 21 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| 1992 | 67 | 23 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| 1994 | 67 | 23 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| 1995 | 75 | 15 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| 1996 | 83 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| 1998 | 80 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| 1999 | 71 | 12 | 14 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| 2000 | 61 | 16 | 19 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| 2002 | 57 | 18 | 20 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| 2003 | 52 | 22 | 20 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| 2004 | 40 | 24 | 26 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| 2006 | 40 | 24 | 26 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 1 | ||||||||
| 2007 | 43 | 22 | 24 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 1 | ||||||||
| 2008 | 43 | 22 | 24 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 1 | ||||||||
| 2010 | 48 | 22 | 21 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| 2011 | 55 | 21 | 16 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| 2012 | 63 | 19 | 10 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| 2014 | 63 | 18 | 9 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| 2015 | 63 | 19 | 9 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| 2016 | 63 | 19 | 9 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| 2018 | 61 | 22 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| 2019 | 57 | 23 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| 2021 | 54 | 24 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| 2022 | 58 | 21 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 0 | ||||||||
| 2023 | 61 | 18 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 0 | ||||||||
| 2024 | 61 | 15 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 0 | ||||||||
Borough result maps
1980 results map, with new ward boundaries
1982 results map
1983 results map
1984 results map
1986 results map
1987 results map
1988 results map
1990 results map
1991 results map
1992 results map
1994 results map
1995 results map
1996 results map
1998 results map, with first Green councillor
1999 results map
2000 results map
2002 results map
2003 results map
2004 results map, with new ward boundaries
2006 results map
2007 results map
2008 results map
2010 results map
2011 results map
2012 results map
2014 results map
2015 results map
2016 results map
2018 results map, with new ward boundaries
2019 results map
2021 results map
2022 results map
2023 results map
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By-election results
Following the death, removal or resignation of an incumbent councillor between council elections, by-elections occur to elect a successor to fill the vacant council seat. The most recent by-election took place on 12 December 2019 after the death of incumbent Wetherby ward councillor, Gerald Wilkinson, in October 2019.[6][7]