Local Elections 2026: What the Results Mean for Councils – and How Sharpe Pritchard Can Help

The local elections this week have delivered a striking set of results: significant churn in council leadership, a clear trend towards multi‑party competition, and a growing number of authorities operating with no overall control. For council leaders, chief executives and monitoring officers, the politics is important—but the operational implications matter even more: maintaining momentum on major programmes, re-setting priorities, and ensuring that governance and decision-making remain robust during a period of change.

Nationally, the picture is one of fragmentation. With results largely declared, Reform UK has made major gains in England, winning control of several councils, while Labour and the Conservatives have both lost significant numbers of seats; the Liberal Democrats and Greens have also increased their representation and taken control in some areas. Many councils have moved into no overall control, meaning coalitions, confidence-and-supply arrangements and issue-by-issue decision making will become more common features of local government in the year ahead.

What changes in political control mean in practice

In my experience, a change in political control (or a move to no overall control) creates a predictable set of pressures – often at pace:

• Governance reset: updating schemes of delegation, committee memberships and terms of reference; re-confirming decision pathways; ensuring officer delegations are clear and current.
• Programme continuity: safeguarding delivery on live projects (regeneration, housing, highways, waste, IT, leisure) while new administrations review priorities and risk appetite.
• Budget and savings decisions: maintaining lawful and transparent decision-making where financial pressures and service redesign are front and centre.
• Procurement and contract management: keeping procurements on track, handling bidder challenge risk, and managing critical supplier relationships—particularly where political priorities shift mid‑process.
• Communications and stakeholder management: ensuring that external messages align with what can lawfully be said and done, and that consultation and equalities duties are properly considered.

The first 100 days: priorities that reduce risk and maintain momentum

Whether an authority has a new administration, a new leadership team, or a new balance of power, the early weeks set the tone. The aim is not to slow everything down, but to make sure that decisions are being taken through the right route, with the right evidence, and with a clear audit trail, especially where a council is operating in a more politically complex environment.

• Confirm decision-making arrangements: review delegations, urgency procedures, access to information and standards arrangements.
• Stress-test the forward plan: identify which key decisions are time-critical (budget, statutory consultations, procurement gateways, land transactions) and which can sensibly pause for political review.
• Re-validate business cases: ensure that major programme decisions remain supported by up-to-date financial and delivery assumptions.
• Map contractual “pinch points”: extensions, variations, break points, performance issues and re-procurements that could become sensitive as priorities shift.
• Plan lawful engagement: keep consultation, equalities and public law considerations in view, particularly where new policies affect groups differently.

How Sharpe Pritchard works with councils during periods of change

At Sharpe Pritchard, we work with councils across the country on the legal and governance issues that matter most when priorities shift and scrutiny increases: getting decisions right first time, maintaining delivery, and reducing litigation and procurement challenge risk.

• Governance, standards and constitutional support: member training, decision-making pathways, delegations and committee structures, access to information and elections-related issues.
• Public law and judicial review risk: advice on consultation, vires, equalities duties and defensible decision-making, including urgent support where time is tight.
• Procurement and complex projects: end-to-end support on compliant and deliverable procurements (including evaluation design), contract drafting and negotiations, and support through to award and mobilisation.
• Major programmes: regeneration and development arrangements, infrastructure, waste, leisure and social infrastructure projects, including governance and delivery structures.
• Devolution and local government reorganisation (LGR): helping councils navigate changing structures and powers, and manage transition risks where reorganisation is in scope.
• Dispute resolution: pragmatic options for resolving issues with suppliers, developers and stakeholders – before they become headline problems.

Our approach is practical and collaborative: we work as an extension of in-house legal and governance teams, and we are used to supporting elected members and senior officers in politically sensitive environments. If your authority is working through a change of administration, or simply adjusting to a more complex political landscape – please do get in touch. We would be happy to talk through your immediate priorities and where targeted legal support could add the most value.

Looking ahead

Whatever the electoral picture in any given area, councils remain focused on delivering for their communities, often under significant financial and operational pressure. The best outcomes follow when governance is clear, decision-making is disciplined, and major programmes are kept moving. Those are the foundations that enable political debate to translate into practical delivery.

Tim Farr is a Managing Partner at Sharpe Pritchard LLP.

---

For further insight and resources on local government legal issues from Sharpe Pritchard, please visit the SharpeEdge page by clicking on the banner below.

 

 

Visit Sharpe Pritchard's new Building Safety Hub, focusing on The Building Safety Act 2022 and its wide-ranging impact.

This article is for general awareness only and does not constitute legal or professional advice. The law may have changed since this page was first published. If you would like further advice and assistance in relation to any issue raised in this article, please contact us by telephone or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..