| Election Name: | 2024 Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council election |
| Country: | Hertfordshire |
| Type: | parliamentary |
| Previous Election: | 2023 Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council election |
| Previous Year: | 2023 |
| Next Election: | 2026 Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council election |
| Next Year: | 2026 |
| Seats For Election: | 16 out of 48 seats to Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council |
| Majority Seats: | 25 |
| Turnout: | 26,848, 32.7% |
| Leader1: | Lynn Chesterman |
| Party1: | Labour Party (UK) |
| Last Election1: | 12 seats, 30.9% |
| Seats Before1: | 12 |
| Seats1: | 8 |
| Seats After1: | 20 |
| Seat Change1: | 8 |
| Popular Vote1: | 8,549 |
| Percentage1: | 31.8% |
| Swing1: | 0.9% |
| Leader2: | Paul Zukowskyj |
| Party2: | Liberal Democrats (UK) |
| Last Election2: | 14 seats, 25.9% |
| Seats Before2: | 14 |
| Seats2: | 4 |
| Seats After2: | 16 |
| Seat Change2: | 2 |
| Popular Vote2: | 5,750 |
| Percentage2: | 21.4% |
| Swing2: | 4.5% |
| Leader3: | Tony Kingsbury |
| Party3: | Conservative Party (UK) |
| Last Election3: | 22 seats, 33.8% |
| Seats Before3: | 22 |
| Seats3: | 4 |
| Seats After3: | 12 |
| Seat Change3: | 10 |
| Popular Vote3: | 9,102 |
| Percentage3: | 33.9% |
| Swing3: | 0.1% |
| Map Size: | 375px |
| Leader | |
| Posttitle: | Leader after election |
| Before Election: | Paul Zukowskyj Liberal Democrat |
| Before Party: | No overall control |
| After Election: | Max Holloway Labour |
| After Party: | No overall control |
As is typical for Welwyn Hatfield's local elections, sixteen seats of the forty-eight total were contested. Of these sixteen, fourteen seats were held by Conservative councillors and two seats were held by Liberal Democrat councillors.
Prior to the election the council was under no overall control, being run by a Liberal Democrat and Labour coalition which formed after the 2023 local elections.[2] [3] The Conservatives, Liberal Democrats, Labour and the Green Party put candidates forward for all contested seats, with Reform UK additionally contesting seven of these seats and no independent candidates standing for any seat.
Following the election, the council remained under no overall control, with Labour the largest party, overtaking both their coalition partners the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives. A Labour and Liberal Democrat coalition continued to run the council after the election. Labour changed their group leader after the election to Max Holloway; he was formally appointed as leader of the council at the subsequent annual council meeting on 20 May 2024.[4]
The Statements of Persons Nominated, which details the candidates standing in each ward, were released by Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council on 8 April 2024 following the close of nominations. The results were announced the day after the election at around mid-day.[5] [6] Sitting councillors standing for re-election are marked with an asterisk (*)