| Election Name: | 1996 Exeter City Council election |
| Country: | Devon |
| Type: | parliamentary |
| Previous Election: | 1995 Exeter City Council election |
| Previous Year: | 1995 |
| Next Election: | 1998 Exeter City Council election |
| Next Year: | 1998 |
| Seats For Election: | 13 out of 36 seats to Exeter City Council |
| Majority Seats: | 19 |
| Party1: | Labour Party (UK) |
| Last Election1: | 18 seats, 52.0% |
| Seats1: | 9 |
| Seats After1: | 24 |
| Seat Change1: | 6 |
| Popular Vote1: | 11,713 |
| Percentage1: | 45.9% |
| Swing1: | 6.1% |
| Party2: | Liberal Democrats (UK) |
| Last Election2: | 6 seats, 21.2% |
| Seats2: | 2 |
| Seats After2: | 7 |
| Seat Change2: | 1 |
| Popular Vote2: | 5,423 |
| Percentage2: | 21.2 |
| Swing2: | 0.0% |
| Party4: | Liberal Party (UK, 1989) |
| Last Election4: | 2 seats, 4.4% |
| Seats4: | 1 |
| Seats After4: | 3 |
| Seat Change4: | 1 |
| Popular Vote4: | 1,717 |
| Percentage4: | 6.7% |
| Swing4: | 2.3% |
| Party5: | Conservative Party (UK) |
| Last Election5: | 10 seats, 17.9% |
| Seats5: | 0 |
| Seats After5: | 2 |
| Seat Change5: | 8 |
| Popular Vote5: | 6,036 |
| Percentage5: | 23.6% |
| Swing5: | 5.7% |
| Council control | |
| Posttitle: | Council control after election |
| Before Party: | No overall control |
| After Party: | Labour Party (UK) |
The 1996 Exeter City Council election took place on 2 May 1996 to elect members of Exeter City Council in Devon, England.[1] This was on the same day as other local elections.
At the election, the Labour Party gained an overall majority on the council, while the Conservatives suffered their biggest loss of seats in a single election since the local government re-organisation in 1974, with a net loss of eight seats.
Despite improvements in the popular vote (where they came second) and in marginal wards, the Conservatives fell to a record low of two seats and ended up in fourth place, behind the Liberal Party.
Both the Liberal Democrats and Liberal Party made minor gains, each winning an extra seat and obtaining a higher or similar share of the popular vote than the 1995 election. The Liberal Democrats became the official opposition for the first time.