Wear Valley District Council elections were generally held every four years between the council's creation in 1974 and its abolition in 2009. Wear Valley was a non-metropolitan district in County Durham, England. On 1 April 2009 the council's functions passed to Durham County Council, which became a unitary authority.
The first election to the council was held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority before coming into its powers on 1 April 1974. Political control of the council from 1973 until its abolition in 2009 was held by the following parties:[1]
| Party in control | Years | |
|---|---|---|
| 1973–1976 | ||
| 1976–1979 | ||
| 1979–1991 | ||
| 1991–1995 | ||
| 1995–2007 | ||
| 2007–2009 | ||
The leaders of the council from 1995 until its abolition in 2009 were:[2]
| Councillor | Party | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Olive Brown | 1995 | 4 May 2005 | ||
| Neil Stonehouse | 4 May 2005 | 7 May 2008 | ||
| Tommy Taylor | 7 May 2008 | 7 Jul 2008 | ||
| Neil Harrison | 7 Jul 2008 | 31 Mar 2009 | ||
| Election | Labour | Liberal Democrat[3] | Conservative | Independent | Total | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1973[4] | 21 | 9 | 0 | 11[5] | 41 | ||
| 1976[6] | 17 | 11 | 2 | 11[7] | 41 | ||
| 1979[8] | 25 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 41 | ||
| 1983[9] | 28 | 2[10] | 3 | 7[11] | 40 | New ward boundaries[12] | |
| 1987[13] | 26 | 3[14] | 3 | 8 | 40 | ||
| 1991[15] | 8 | 28 | 0 | 4 | 40 | ||
| 1995[16] | 35 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 40 | ||
| 1999[17] | 30 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 40 | ||
| 2003[18] | 25 | 9 | 0 | 6 | 40 | New ward boundaries[19] | |
| 2007[20] | 19 | 16 | 0 | 5 | 40 | ||
The following is an incomplete list of by-elections to Wear Valley District Council.