Somerset Council elections are held every four years to elect Somerset Council, the local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England. From 1889 until 2023 the council was called Somerset County Council and it was an upper tier county council, with district-level functions being provided by the area's district councils. The districts were all abolished with effect from 1 April 2023, at which point the county council became a unitary authority, taking on the functions of the abolished district councils. The county council changed its name to Somerset Council to coincide with the change in its powers.[1] There are 110 councillors, elected from 54 wards.[2]
The Conservative Party has been the largest or second-largest party on the council since 1973, and since 1981 has competed with the Liberal Democrats for control; each party has formed several majority administrations in the period since.[3]
In 2009, the Conservative Party UK won 35 seats,[4] a six seat majority, with the Liberal Democrats UK coming second with 21 seats, in 2013 the Conservative Party UK won 29 seats,[5] a one seat majority, with the Liberal Democrats UK coming second with 18 seats and UKIP (a new entrant) coming joint third with Labour Party UK on three seats. In 2017 the Conservative Party UK won back seats and ended up winning 35 seats,[6] gaining them a seven seat majority, in this election, UKIP did not stand and the Liberal Democrats UK continued their loss of seats dropping to 12 (although they remained in second place).
The 2022 local elections in Somerset were fought on new boundaries, with 110 seats available within the new unitary council.[7] In this election the Liberal Democrats UK won 61 seats granting them a five seat majority, the Conservative Party UK came second with 36 seats.[8]