No scheduled Elections for Wakefield Council in May 2025

You may have seen some national campaign adverts and other information reminding you to make sure you are registered to vote in the May 2025. However, there is no district election in Wakefield this year because of our scheduling.

Wakefield Council has district elections by thirds. A third of the councillors are elected every year for three years, with no elections in the fourth year. This year is the fourth year in a cycle. 

The last year that should not have had district election was 2021, four years ago. The reason we held a district election in 2021 was because the 2020 elections were all postponed. Before that, the last year there were no district election was 2017. 

This isn't as a result of a council decision, but stems from the way that district councils were set up under the Local Government Act 1972.

The next scheduled district elections are in May 2026. They will be on new ward boundaries drawn up after a review by the Local Government Boundary Commission. Details of that review and the new boundaries can be found on the Local Government Boundary Commission website.

In 2026, we will be holding ‘all-out’ elections because of the boundary changes. There will still be 21 wards with three councillors in each, but all 63 seats will be contested because of the new boundaries. The three candidates with the highest number of votes in the election will serve a four-, two- or one-year term of office. This depends on whether they finish first, second or third in the election. This was decided as part of the review.