| Election Name: | 2025 Cornwall Council election |
| Country: | Cornwall |
| Type: | parliamentary |
| Ongoing: | yes |
| Previous Election: | 2021 Cornwall Council election |
| Previous Year: | 2021 |
| Next Election: | 2029 Cornwall Council election |
| Next Year: | 2029 |
| Seats For Election: | All 87 seats in the Cornwall Council |
| Majority Seats: | 44 |
| Party1: | Conservative Party (UK) |
| Seats Before1: | 43 |
| Seats Needed1: | 1 |
| Leader2: | Loic Rich |
| Party2: | Independent |
| Seats Before2: | 20 |
| Seats Needed2: | 24 |
| Leader3: | Colin Martin |
| Party3: | Liberal Democrats (UK) |
| Seats Before3: | 13 |
| Seats Needed3: | 31 |
| Leader4: | Jayne Kirkham |
| Party4: | Labour and Co-operative Party |
| Seats Before4: | 5 |
| Seats Needed4: | 39 |
| Leader5: | Dick Cole |
| Party5: | Mebyon Kernow |
| Seats Before5: | 5 |
| Seats Needed5: | 39 |
| Leader6: | Tamsyn Widdon |
| Party6: | Green Party of England and Wales |
| Seats Before6: | 1 |
| Seats Needed6: | 43 |
| Map Size: | 400px |
| Leader | |
| Posttitle: | Leader before election |
| Before Election: | Linda Taylor |
| Before Party: | Conservative Party (UK) |
The 2025 Cornwall Council election will be held on Thursday 1 May 2025 to elect all 87 councillors to Cornwall Council in England. It will take place on the same day as other council elections in the United Kingdom.[1]
At the previous election in 2021 the Conservatives gained majority control of the council.[2] However, in the years between the elections the Conservatives saw several of their members leave the party, leaving the council under no majority control by the end of July 2024.[3]
Cornwall Council is a unitary authority which has held elections every four years since its creation in 2009.[4] In the previous election in 2021, the Conservative Party won a majority of seats, taking over governance of the council[5] from the previous Liberal Democrat coalition with independent councillors.[6]
Cornwall Council has sought a devolution agreement from the Westminster Government. In 2022 a Level Three Devolution deal, similar to English combined authorities, was offered. This deal would have required a transition from the Leader/Cabinet model, to a Directly-Elected Mayor/Cabinet system.[7] Following decision not to pursue a level three deal, due in part to opposition to a Directly elected mayor for Cornwall, a level two deal was negotiated and passed in late 2023.[8] This deal agreed to devolved powers and additional funding over Adult Education, Green Energy, and Cornish Cultural activities.[9]
In January 2023, Paul Willis, Independent Councillor for the St Columb Major, St Mawgan & St Wenn ward, aligned himself to the Conservative group.[10] [11]
During December 2023, Cllr. Steve Arthur, who represents Perranporth, resigned from the Conservative group.[12] Cllr Arthur, who now sits non-aligned as "Stand Alone Conservative",[13] stated complaints with the strategic planning committee over the approval of a solar farm within his ward.[14]
In the last week of July 2024 the Conservatives lost their majority on the council, after Cllr John Conway (Launceston South ward) resigned from the party following a disciplinary meeting[15] and Cllr Adrian Harvey (St Newlyn East, Cubert and Goonhavern ward) resigned after citing issues with Conservative Leader Linda Taylor’s leadership.
| After 2021 election | Before 2025 election | 2025 election result | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Seats | Party | Seats | Party | Seats | |||
| 47 | 43 | |||||||
| 16 | 20 | |||||||
| 13 | 13 | |||||||
| 5 | 5 | |||||||
| 5 | 5 | |||||||
| 1 | 1 | |||||||
Following the resignation of Conservative councillor Tara Sherfield-Wong, due to health concerns, a by-election was called on 16th of February 2023.[16] [17]
Following the death of Liberal Democrat councillor Edwina Hannaford, due to "an aggressive form of cancer",[18] a by-election was called on 27th of February 2024. The poll took place on Thursday 4 April 2024.[19] The seat was retained by the Liberal Democrats with reduced vote share, securing 44.8% of the vote.[20]