2026 Suffolk County Council election
7 May 2026
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All 70 seats to Suffolk County Council 36 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Map showing the new pattern of electoral divisions for the Suffolk County Council area. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 2026 Suffolk County Council election will take place on 7 May 2026 as part of the 2026 local elections in the United Kingdom.[1]
This election will be first taken after the implementation of a review by Local Government Boundary Commission for England which will reduce the number of councillors from 75 to 70.[2] All 70 councillors are elected from 69 electoral divisions, which return either one or two county councillors each, by first-past-the-post voting.
Beccles and Kessingland is the only two-member ward, with all other wards being one-member. Voters who live in the two-member division are entitled to cast a maximum of two votes, while those living in the divisions only electing one councillor are only entitled to cast one vote.
The election was postponed from 2025 due to the 2024–present structural changes to local government in England.[1]
Previous composition
2021 election
| Party | Seats | |
|---|---|---|
| Conservative | 55 | |
| Green | 9 | |
| Labour | 5 | |
| Liberal Democrats | 4 | |
| Independent | 1 | |
| West Suffolk Independents | 1 | |
| Total | 75 | |
Composition of council seats before election
| Party | Seats | |
|---|---|---|
| Conservative | ||
| Labour | ||
| Liberal Democrats | ||
| Green | ||
| Independent | ||
| West Suffolk Independents | ||
| Reform | ||
| Vacant | ||
| Total | 75 | |
Changes between elections
In between the 2021 election and the 2026 election, the following council seats changed hands:
| Division | Date | Previous party | New party | Cause | Resulting council composition | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Con | Grn | Lab | LD | Ind | WSI | Ref | |||||||
| 2021 Suffolk County Council election | 55 | 9 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||||||
| Felixstowe Coastal[3] | 4 May 2023 | Conservative | Liberal Democrats | Sitting councillor died. Liberal Democrats won by-election. | 54 | 9 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Whitehouse & Whitton | 6 February 2024 | Conservative | Independent | Councillor quit party to sit as an independent member. | 53 | 9 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Pakefield | 4 July 2024 | Conservative | Labour | Won by-election. | 52 | 9 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Belstead Brook[4] | 6 September 2024 | Conservative | Reform | Councillor defected to Reform UK. | 51 | 9 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Eastgate & Moreton Hall[5] | 21 April 2025 | Conservative | Independent | Councillor quit party to sit as an independent member. | 51 | 9 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Whitehouse & Whitton | Independent | Conservative | Councillor rejoined party. | ||||||||||
| Tower | 3 July 2025 | Conservative | Reform | Won by-election. | 50 | 9 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | ||
| Tower | 18 September 2025 | Conservative | Independent | Councillor quit party to sit as an independent member. | 48 | 9 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 3 | ||
| Sudbury East and Waldingfield | Conservative | Reform | Councillor defected. | ||||||||||
| Whitehouse & Whitton | 30 September 2025 | Conservative | Independent | Councillor quit party to sit as an independent member. | 47 | 9 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 3 | ||
| Haverhill Cangle | 7 October 2025 | Conservative | Reform | Councillor defected. | 46 | 9 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 4 | ||
| Pakefield | 23 October 2025 | Conservative | Vacant | Councillor died. | 45 | 9 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 4 | ||
Overall results
| Party | Seats | Gains | Losses | Net gain/loss | Seats % | Votes % | Votes | +/− | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | |||||||||
| Labour | |||||||||
| Liberal Democrats | |||||||||
| Green | |||||||||
| Independent | |||||||||
| West Suffolk Independents | |||||||||
Results summaries by district
Babergh
| Party | Seats | +/- | Votes | % | +/- | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | ||||||
| Liberal Democrat | ||||||
| Labour | ||||||
| Independent | ||||||
| Green | ||||||
| Total | ||||||
East Suffolk
| Party | Seats | +/- | Votes | % | +/- | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | ||||||
| Liberal Democrat | ||||||
| Green | ||||||
| Labour | ||||||
| Total | ||||||
Ipswich
| Party | Seats | +/- | Votes | % | +/- | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | ||||||
| Conservative | ||||||
| Liberal Democrat | ||||||
| Green | ||||||
| Independent | ||||||
| Total | ||||||
Mid Suffolk
| Party | Seats | +/- | Votes | % | +/- | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | ||||||
| Liberal Democrat | ||||||
| Green | ||||||
| Labour | ||||||
| Total | ||||||
West Suffolk
| Party | Seats | +/- | Votes | % | +/- | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | ||||||
| Independent | ||||||
| Labour | ||||||
| Liberal Democrat | ||||||
| West Suffolk Independents | ||||||
| Green | ||||||
| Total | ||||||
Results by ward
References
- ^ a b Irwin, Vikki (5 November 2025). "Local elections 'should go ahead in May'". BBC News.
- ^ "LGBCE | Suffolk County Council | LGBCE Site". www.lgbce.org.uk. Retrieved 2021-05-24.
- ^ "Suffolk County Council councillor of 17 years dies after short illness". bbc.co.uk. BBC. 31 December 2022. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
- ^ "Suffolk councillor Christopher Hudson joins Reform". eadt.co.uk. East Anglian Daily Times. 6 September 2024. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
- ^ Derrick, Paul (19 May 2023). "Former Bury St Edmunds mayor Peter Thompson quits Conservative Party but will carry on as Independent as "there's still work that needs to be done"". Suffolk News. Retrieved 2 January 2024.