Local and devolved elections 2026: Who won, who lost and what next?

Local and devolved elections 2026: Who won, who lost and what next?

From Institute for Government by Institute for Government

May 11, 2026 · 1h 7m

About this episode

The episode discusses the results and implications of the local and devolved elections in the UK.

With a crucial set of local and devolved elections taking place in England, Scotland and Wales on Thursday 7 May, the Institute for Government devolution team hosted an expert webinar the day after to discuss the results so far. What is the likely composition of the new governments in Edinburgh and Cardiff and what will be their policy priorities? What are the implications for UK-devolved relations? And what do election results in county councils, London boroughs, district and unitary authorities across England mean for the government’s local government reorganisation and devolution plans? To discuss these questions and more, including from the live online audience, were the IfG’s expert devolution and local government team: Matthew Fright, Senior Researcher for Devolution at the Institute for Government Megan Isaac, Research Assistant for Devolution at the Institute for Government Harriet Shaw, Researcher for Devolution at the Institute for Government This event was chaired by Akash Paun, Programme Director for Devolution at the Institute for Government.

People in this episode

Host: Akash Paun

Guests: Matthew Fright, Megan Isaac, Harriet Shaw

Topics covered

  • local elections
  • devolved elections
  • UK politics
  • government policy
  • devolution
  • local government reorganisation

Keywords

  • local elections
  • devolved elections
  • UK government
  • policy priorities
  • devolution
  • local government

Mentioned in this episode

Places: England, Scotland, Wales

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