See main article: Chorley Borough Council elections.
Elections to Chorley Borough Council were held on 3 May 2012. One third of the council was up for election and the Labour Party won majority control from the Conservative-Liberal Democrat Coalition. Labour gaining control of this council was notable as David Cameron visited the town in 2006 when the Conservative Party gained control saying "this is the beginning."[1] Nick Robinson of the BBC asked on the election coverage, "then what is it now?"
After the election, the composition of the council was:
| Party | Seats | Current Council (2012) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Labour | 15 | 20 | 24 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Conservative | 27 | 23 | 20 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Independent | 2 | 2 | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lib Dems | 3 | 2 | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
N.B. Percentage change is taken from when a Snape last faced the electorate.