2025 Lancashire County Council election

The 2025 Lancashire County Council election took place on 1 May 2025 to elect members to Lancashire County Council in Lancashire, England. All 84 seats were elected. This was on the same day as other local elections. The council was under Conservative majority control prior to the election. At the election, Reform UK won a majority of the seats on the council.

Background

In the 2021 election, the Conservatives won 48 seats, giving them a majority and control of the council. The Labour Party were the second biggest party with 32 seats, followed by the Liberal Democrats and Greens with 2 seats each.

Previous council composition

Changes 2021–2025

Two by-elections took place between the 2021 and 2025 elections:

In June 2022, councillor Mohammed Iqbal of Brierfield & Nelson West was suspended from the Labour Party following comments, which were alleged to be anti-Semitic, where he compared the actions of Israel in the Gaza war to the Nazis in World War II. In November 2023, councillors Sobia Malik of Burnley Central East, Usman Arif of Burnley North East and Yousuf Motala of Preston City resigned from the Labour Party in protest of party leader Keir Starmer's decision to not call for a ceasefire in the Gaza war. In February 2024, councillor Azhar Ali of Nelson East was suspended from the Labour Party following comments where he claimed that Israel had used the October 7 attacks as a pretext to invade the Gaza Strip.
After the 2024 general election, a casual vacancy opened in Fleetwood East as councillor Lorraine Beavers resigned her council seat after being elected as MP for Blackpool North and Fleetwood. No by-election for her council seat was called for, and so that seat was left vacant until the May 2025 election.

June 2022: Mohammed Iqbal suspended from party
September 2022: Loraine Cox joins Conservatives
June 2023: Keith Iddon dies – by-election held September 2023
September 2023: Alan Whittaker gains by-election from Conservatives; Andy Fewings resigns – by-election held October 2023
October 2023: Scott Cunliffe wins by-election
November 2023: Usman Arif, Sobia Malik, and Yousuf Motala leave party to sit as independents
February 2024: Azhar Ali suspended from party
February 2025: Lorraine Beavers resigns – seat left vacant until 2025 election
March 2025: Matthew Salter and Ged Mirfin join Reform UK

Summary

The Conservatives held a majority on the council prior to the election, but were reduced from 46 seats to just eight. The leader of the council, Philippa Williamson, was one of the Conservatives who lost their seats. Reform UK only had two seats on the council prior to the election, both being former Conservatives who had joined the party in March 2025. Reform won 53 seats on the council at the election, giving them an overall majority.
After the election, Reform chose Stephen Atkinson to be its group leader. He had not been a county councillor prior to the election, but had previously been the Conservative leader of Ribble Valley Borough Council. He had resigned from that post in March 2025 on leaving the Conservatives to join Reform. He was formally appointed the new leader of Lancashire County Council at the subsequent annual council meeting on 22 May 2025.

Candidates

This table was confirmed 3 April 2025.

Candidates by district

District summaries

Seat	Result	Majority
Burnley Central East	Independent GAIN from Labour	268
Burnley Central West	Reform GAIN from Green	617
Burnley North East	Independent GAIN from Labour	1,527
Burnley Rural	Reform GAIN from Conservative	952
Burnley South West	Reform GAIN from Labour	1,071
Padiham & Burnley West	Reform GAIN from Conservative	332

Seat	Result	Majority
Chorley Central	Labour HOLD	7
Chorley North	Reform GAIN from Labour	156
Chorley Rural East	Labour HOLD	404
Chorley Rural West	Reform GAIN from Conservative	365
Chorley South	Reform GAIN from Labour	463
Clayton with Whittle	Labour HOLD	91
Euxton, Buckshaw & Astley	Conservative HOLD	30
Hoghton with Wheelton	Reform GAIN from Conservative	248

Seat	Result	Majority
Fylde East	Reform GAIN from Conservative	494
Fylde South	Reform GAIN from Conservative	184
Fylde West	Conservative HOLD	182
Lytham	Conservative HOLD	352
St Annes North	Conservative HOLD	1
St Annes South	Conservative HOLD	171

Seat	Result	Majority
Accrington North	Reform GAIN from Labour	932
Accrington South	Reform GAIN from Conservative	297
Accrington West & Oswaldtwistle Central	Green GAIN from Labour	133
Great Harwood, Rishton & Clayton-le-Moors	Reform GAIN from Labour	N/A
Great Harwood, Rishton & Clayton-le-Moors	Reform GAIN from Conservative	N/A
Oswaldtwistle	Reform GAIN from Conservative	8

Seat	Result	Majority
Heysham	Reform GAIN from Conservative	727
Lancaster Central	Green HOLD	1,329
Lancaster East	Green GAIN from Labour	972
Lancaster Rural East	Reform GAIN from Conservative	31
Lancaster Rural North	Reform GAIN from Conservative	29
Lancaster South East	Green GAIN from Labour	910
Morecambe Central	Reform GAIN from Labour	185
Morecambe North	Reform GAIN from Conservative	861
Morecambe South	Reform GAIN from Conservative	788
Skerton	Reform GAIN from Labour	328

Seat	Result	Majority
Brierfield & Nelson West	Independent GAIN from Labour	2,396
Nelson East	Independent GAIN from Labour	874
Pendle Central	Reform GAIN from Conservative	549
Pendle Hill	Conservative HOLD	247
Pendle Rural	Liberal Democrat GAIN from Conservative	N/A
Pendle Rural	Reform GAIN from Conservative	N/A

Seat	Result	Majority
Preston Central East	Independent GAIN from Labour	898
Preston Central West	Labour HOLD	86
Preston City	Independent GAIN from Labour	96
Preston East	Reform GAIN from Labour	433
Preston North	Liberal Democrat GAIN from Conservative	663
Preston Rural	Reform GAIN from Conservative	380
Preston South East	Independent GAIN from Labour	36
Preston South West	Liberal Democrat GAIN from Labour	266
Preston West	Liberal Democrat HOLD	502

Seat	Result	Majority
Clitheroe	Reform GAIN from Conservative	417
Longridge with Bowland	Reform GAIN from Conservative	514
Ribble Valley North East	Reform GAIN from Conservative	674
Ribble Valley South West	Reform GAIN from Conservative	1,032

Seat	Result	Majority
Mid Rossendale	Reform GAIN from Labour	603
Rossendale East	Reform GAIN from Labour	1,164
Rossendale South	Reform GAIN from Conservative	490
Rossendale West	Labour HOLD	30
Whitworth & Bacup	Reform GAIN from Conservative	241

Seat	Result	Majority
Leyland Central	Reform GAIN from Labour	440
Leyland South	Reform GAIN from Conservative	497
Lostock Hall & Bamber Bridge	Reform GAIN from Conservative	242
Moss Side & Farington	Reform GAIN from Conservative	175
Penwortham East & Walton-le-Dale	Reform GAIN from Conservative	167
Penwortham West	Liberal Democrat HOLD	1,052
South Ribble East	Reform GAIN from Conservative	578
South Ribble West	Reform GAIN from Conservative	436

Seat	Result	Majority
Burscough & Rufford	Reform GAIN from Conservative	390
Ormskirk	OWL GAIN from Labour	536
Skelmersdale Central	Reform GAIN from Labour	441
Skelmersdale East	Reform GAIN from Labour	590
Skelmersdale West	Reform GAIN from Labour	560
West Lancashire East	OWL GAIN from Conservative	574
West Lancashire North	Conservative HOLD	362
West Lancashire West	Reform GAIN from Conservative	342

Seat	Result	Majority
Cleveleys East	Reform GAIN from Conservative	529
Cleveleys South & Carleton	Reform GAIN from Conservative	823
Fleetwood East	Reform GAIN from Labour	982
Fleetwood West & Cleveleys West	Reform GAIN from Conservative	1,222
Poulton-le-Fylde	Conservative HOLD	634
Thornton & Hambleton	Reform GAIN from Conservative	807
Wyre Rural Central	Reform GAIN from Conservative	179
Wyre Rural East	Reform GAIN from Conservative	370

Division results by district

Burnley

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Chorley

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Fylde

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Hyndburn

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Lancaster

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Pendle

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Preston

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Ribble Valley

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Rossendale

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South Ribble

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West Lancashire

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Wyre

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