House of Lords written question – answered at on 23 January 2009.
Lord Greaves
Spokesperson for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Spokesperson for Communities and Local Government
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many seats there were in England on principal councils in each of the past 10 years; and how many there will be after the local elections in June.
Baroness Andrews
Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Department for Communities and Local Government, Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Communities and Local Government)
The information requested is as follows:
| Election Date | Number of principal local councils | Total number of councillors on English Principal Local Authorities |
| 1999-May | 19,941 | |
| 2000-May | 19,955 | |
| 2001-June | 19,978 | |
| 2002-May | 19,842 | |
| 2003-May | 388 | 19,702 |
| 2004-June | 19,696 | |
| 2005-May | 19,702 | |
| 2006-May | 19,703 | |
| 2007-May | 19,704 | |
| 2008-May | 19,917 | |
| 2009-June | 353 | 18,317 |
The 2008 figure includes 81 and 72 seats for the Shadow councils of Cheshire East and Cheshire West and Chester respectively.
The June 2009 figure reflects the expectation that, following reviews by the Electoral Commission, the 2009 local elections for Shropshire and Wiltshire Councils will be on the basis of 74 and 98 seats respectively.
While the Electoral Commission is currently consulting on its proposal of 123 seats for the new Cornwall Council, the 2009 figure in the table reflects the current 82 seats for Cornwall County Council. We are taking soundings of those affected in Cornwall as to when and on what basis the 2009 local elections in Cornwall should be held.
The 2009 figure also include the 37 seats for Bedford Borough and the 66 seats for Central Bedfordshire, on which basis the June elections will take place as provided for in the Bedfordshire (Structural Changes) Order 2008—SI 2008/907.
Yes4 people think so
No1 person thinks not
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The house of Lords is the upper chamber of the Houses of Parliament. It is filled with Lords (I.E. Lords, Dukes, Baron/esses, Earls, Marquis/esses, Viscounts, Count/esses, etc.) The Lords consider proposals from the EU or from the commons. They can then reject a bill, accept it, or make amendments. If a bill is rejected, the commons can send it back to the lords for re-discussion. The Lords cannot stop a bill for longer than one parliamentary session. If a bill is accepted, it is forwarded to the Queen, who will then sign it and make it law. If a bill is amended, the amended bill is sent back to the House of Commons for discussion.
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