England’s previous local elections show what’s wrong with our voting system

Time and time again, England’s local elections repeatedly produce results that simply don’t reflect how people vote.

If you live in England, you might be casting a vote for your councillors in a local election on Thursday 7th May 2026. In these areas, voters will be expressing their desire for who runs the that shape their everyday life. From housing and planning, to social care, green spaces, and even bin collections – these are services we all rely on.

For elections with such a direct impact on our communities, you might expect the results to reflect what voters actually think. But past elections have shown that the voting system, First Past the Post, delivers outcomes that bear little resemblance to how people voted – leaving many without a meaningful voice in the decisions that affect them.

When votes don’t match seats

In many of the areas voting next week, their last local elections told a familiar story: First Past the Post produced councils that didn’t match the way people voted.

One of the starkest examples was in Lewisham in 2022, where Labour won every single seat on the Council from just over half (52.2%) of votes. Nearly half of the votes cast were for other parties, yet they received zero representation in the council chamber. In effect, a large portion of the community was left without a voice, and the council without meaningful scrutiny from opposition perspectives.

This is not an isolated case. Other Councils saw parties control large majorities on under half the share of the vote. In Kingston upon Thames also in 2022, the Liberal Democrats gained 91.7% seats from just 43.9% of the vote. And in Suffolk in 2021, the Conservatives secured 73.3% of the seats from 47.3% of the vote.

A system that is warping the results

But how is this happening? The problem lies with the voting system: First Past the Post.

Used for all local elections in England, First Past the Post works by electing councillors ward by ward. The candidate with the most votes wins – even if most voters voted for other candidates. When these results are added together across a council, the overall picture can look very different from how people actually voted.

Rather than simply representing the strength of support for the different parties in their area, as councils in Scotland and Northern Ireland do, England’s councils fail to represent their local communities and the votes of those who live there.

A tried and tested alternative

But the good news is that it doesn’t have to be this way. There is a clear alternative to the unfair results we continue to see across England – and we don’t have to look far to find it. Both Scotland and Northern Ireland already use the fairer Single Transferable Vote (STV) system.

Under this system, seats more closely match votes. Results are not skewed or exaggerated; instead, if a party wins around a third of the vote, it will win roughly a third of the seats. This form of proportional representation can breathe new life into our local democracy.

Since STV was introduced in Scotland in 2007, it’s put an end to councils dominated by a single party, and these authorities reflect the diversity of opinions in each area. As Professor Sir John Curtice illustrated in his 2022 report on the impact of STV in Scottish Local Elections, the Scottish system is a powerful example of how local democracy can put power into peoples’ hands.

It’s time for fair votes in our local councils

The evidence from England’s past local elections is hard to ignore. Time and again, First Past the Post produces councils that don’t match the way people vote.

Looking at the national picture too, we see a system that is continually under strain. This outdated system simply cannot cope with how people are expressing their democratic preferences in 2026.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. A fairer, more proportional system is not just possible – it’s already in place elsewhere. The question is why England should continue to settle for less.