Durham County Council elections


Elections to Durham County Council are held every four years. The council was created as part of the 1972 local government reforms. The first elections to the new authority were held in 1973 in advance of the council taking office in 1974. As part of changes to local government in 2009, the council became a unitary authority with the first elections to the new council taking place in 2008. Since becoming a unitary authority, 126 councillors have been elected from 63 wards.

Political control

Durham was the first County Council to be controlled by Labour, who took power in 1919. Prior to 1973 political control has been held by the following parties:
County Council
Since 1973 political control of the council has been held by the following parties:
Non-metropolitan county
Unitary authority

County council elections

County result maps

District council elections

Prior to the formation of the unitary authority in 2009, the county was divided into a number of second tier districts. The following articles detail the local elections to those district councils. The Borough of Darlington has formed a unitary authority outside the area covered by the County Council since 1997.
The following is an incomplete list of by-elections to Durham County Council.

1997-2008

2008-2012

2012-2016

2016-present