Here is our summary of the composition of councillors, by authority-type and party, facing election in May 2011.  This list represents the best of ALDC's knowledge at time of publication but may be subject to change, for example due to by-elections and defections prior to the election.  If you would like to report any amendments to the figures presented here, please let us know by emailing elections2011@aldc.org.

Councillors up in 2011 - At a Glance

Councillors up in 2011 - In Detail

Today (5 August 2011) is nine months to go to the crucial local elections in English District, Unitary and Metropolitan councils on 5th May 2011. 

Nearly 2000 Liberal Democrat councillors will face the electorate in the biggest "round" in the four-year local elections cycle. 

G8 Grants to help your local campaign

ALDC administers the local "G8" grants scheme to help Liberal Democrats win local elections. We're currently looking for applications for Round 1 of the grants scheme for 2011 for campaigning work this Autumn. The deadline to register interest in the grants is 20th August, applications need to be in by 27th August. Register your interest here. 

Training to help you WIN

A busy programme of training is planned for the rest of 2010 to help you win next May. The next major training opportunity is at Liverpool Federal Conference with a combination of 1/2 Campaign Workshops and a whole course of Essential Campaign Techniques. More information here. 

G8 is a grants programme to support local parties campaign in local elections.

G8 is administered by ALDC, with kind support from the Federal, English, Scottish and Welsh Liberal Democrats. If you have local elections in 2011, then we may be able to provide financial support for your campaign in wards where you will be fighting particularly hard campaigns, either to gain the seat or where there is a tricky defence.

The 2011 round of elections is the biggest in the four-year cycle. This means a lot of demand for funding through the “G8” grants process. We want to maximise success so will be aiming to fund as many council areas and wards as possible. Funding will be available in two rounds – offers for the first set of grants being made in late September 2010.

• grants will be in the region of £150 – £250 per target/held ward
• in less well resourced areas funding will be available to help people attend training like the Kickstart weekend
• council areas must make single applications, and must have a Campaign Plan (which we can help you with).

To register your interest, please complete this form by 20^th August and we will send you an application pack which should be returned by 27^th August.

For more information please contact eleanor.ritchie@aldc.org

The Electoral Commission, the independent elections watchdog, has completed its review into why voters in some polling stations were unable to cast their vote before the 10pm deadline on 6 May. The report sets out what needs to be done to avoid a repeat of the problems two weeks ago.
The review found:

• at least 1,200 people were still queuing at 27 polling stations in 16 constituencies at 10pm
• in some areas the numbers of electors allocated to particular polling stations were too high and some polling stations had too few staff
  
• in all the areas affected there were also local government elections taking place (and, in some, Mayoral elections) which meant it took longer for each voter to vote and arrangements to deal with this were inadequate
  
• election officials did not identify and respond quickly enough to the problems that emerged on polling day
  

The report makes the following recommendations:

• the law should be changed to allow people still queuing at polling stations at 10pm to be able to vote
• local authorities and Returning Officers should improve their planning, review their schemes for polling districts and polling stations and make sure they allocate the right numbers of staff and electors to each polling station
  
• the structure for delivering elections in Great Britain should be reformed so that elections are managed more consistently and professionally.
  

The Commission will publish a full report into the UK general election and the English local government elections in July, covering all aspects of the running of these elections. If new information emerges concerning polling station queues, this will be included.
Please complete our review of problems, not simply those involving queuing online here.
To download the full Electoral commission report click here

Liberal Democrats lost net 129 council seats*. In most of these we lost hard working and loyal Liberal Democrat Councillors and ALDC would like to take the opportunity to thank them, and all our candidates last Thursday for this service to the Party. In fact the results were mixed, with gains and holds in most areas. Particular congratulations to colleagues in Burnley, Winchester and Cheltenham who took majority control of their Councils.

We need to learn from these results, and implement what we have learnt.

Almost all of our losses were to Labour. We do know that having the general election on the same day as the local elections had a significant impact. But there are places who were successful in winning against this trend.

If you had local elections in 2010 I would be very grateful if you could help us by filling in our short online survey. Please note this is just about the local elections.  I'm sure other parts of the party will be busy evaluating the General Election. If you didn't have local elections in 2010, but still have ideas on this subject don't hesitate to get in touch.