On Thursday, May 4, Britons went to the polls to decide who should lead the local councils across England. Plus, mayoral elections across Bedford, Leicester, Mansfield, and Middlesbrough were held, too.
For the first time, voters were asked to show photo ID before they could vote in person, which received a lot of mixed reactions from the public.
The polls closed at 10pm and, thus far, the counting has revealed major council losses for The Conservatives, with Labour taking control of Plymouth, Stoke-on-Trent, Medway, and more. Similarly, the Lib Dems have seized control of Maidenhead and Windsor.
But could the results lead to No Overall Control councils or a hung parliament? Here is a look at what these key terms mean.
What does No Overall Control mean?
No Overall Control councils are councils that have no single political party achieving the majority of the seats, resulting in neither party being able to claim overall control. In these situations, the political groups with more seats will look to create a coalition.
A council is considered to be a No Overall Control council if there isn’t a single party with more than 50 per cent of the seats.
According to the Local Government Information Unit (LGIU), which is a not-for-profit, non-partisan organisation, No Overall Control councils can be very efficient as they will focus more on local issues and less on party politics.
Prior to the recent local elections, LGIU found that 75 out of the 230 English councils were No Overall Control councils. The council furthest away from a single party forming a majority was the Lancaster City Council, with the largest party, Labour, only holding 16 out of the 60 seats.
What is a hung parliament?
A hung parliament is when there is no single political party holding the majority of the seats in the House of Commons. It is another term used for No Overall Control.
If the parliament is hung, the Prime Minister will get three options to pick from. They can build a coalition government with another party or parties, they can try to rule through their minority MP seats, or they can resign if they fail to create a sustainable government.
