Coming to terms with political balance

Over the last month, members and officers in no overall control (NOC) councils have been slowly, and sometimes painfully, navigating their way through the political impasse left by May's local elections.For a few, establishing a new council leadership has been reasonably unproblematic because the precise arithmetic limited the range of available options. In others, a culture of cooperation and low partisanship in the council, and access to existing experience of managing without overall control, have eased the process.For many, however, establishing who would be in charge for the coming year has been more challenging, involving discussions behind the scenes and, for quite a few, adjourned annual meetings. In two, coincidentally adjacent, authorities (Kirklees and Oldham) a way forward has still to be identified, and their chief executives find themselves managing statutory business and protocols until members are able to resolve the impasse.In May, 64 of the councils holding elections resulted in indecisive outcomes (there are other NOC councils, not electing this year, that are not included in this analysis). Of those, 20 have constructed coalitions or pacts to enable what is hoped will prove to be stable cross-party working, and 11 have agreed looser arrangements to support minority control. Frequently, the latter will be underpinned through novel governance approaches.The remaining 31 – almost precisely half – have resorted to minority control either because other groups have been unable to assemble sufficient numbers to wrest collective control or groups preferred to avoid any form of alliances and, instead, concentrate on the influence they can have by focusing on issue-by-issue voting in the council chamber (see chart 1).It may be helpful to explain the terminology used in this analysis since the categories themselves are difficult to define with precision. The term ‘coalition' or ‘pact' is probably the most straightforward. It is used here to denote a formal and clearly-articulated agreement between groups resulting in: an identified leader, the sharing of cabinet portfolios (generally in approximate proportion to party strengths), often a designated deputy from one of the other groups involved in the pact, and even agreed policy commitments.The label ‘supported minority' has been applied where there has been positive support (perhaps in the form of a ‘confidence and support' commitment) for the party forming the minority administration, usually in return for other governance concessions. Frequently, these involve enhanced scrutiny arrangements, more chair roles on scrutiny committees and similar.‘Default minority' indicates that outcomes have largely emerged by default, or abstentions, and without any particular concessions being sought or obtained. In a few cases, other groups or individuals have voted tactically but have made it clear that doing so should not imply any future commitments.The atmosphere at annual meetings has ranged from orderly and collegial to heated and bad tempered.It is interesting that 15 of the 20 councils forming coalitions entered the election with a balanced arrangement already in place. Notably, 13 of the 20 councils forming coalitions are scheduled to disappear through local government reorganisation (LGR) in the next couple of years.One feature that has facilitated co-operative approaches is the existence of committee-based governance structures. While now limited in number to just 36, and due to reduce even further as a result of LGR and the phasing out of others under the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act 2026, such systems have clearly eased alliances and joint working.Leader/cabinet models bring merit in their clarity, accountability and speed of decision-making but, as some have argued, committee systems more easily accommodate the requirements of multi-party politics.Political groups have approached NOC situations differently – both in terms of the kind of deals considered and with whom parties would be prepared to work. Unsurprisingly, Liberal Democrats and Greens have been most proactive, while Reform councillors have been least attracted by any form of deal or alliance.Even in those very rare circumstances where Reform has secured some form of tacit support, or they have enabled others to take control, they have been at pains to stress that this did not imply any kind of formal deal. Equally, where Reform itself has taken on the role of minority leadership, it has almost invariably resulted from the abstention of other groups, ie ‘default minority control'.However, while Reform took control in Norfolk as a result of Great Yarmouth First members abstaining, the latter group was subsequently offered the chair of the council's influential scrutiny committee.As a result, party political involvement in the 20 coalition deals is skewed, with Lib Dems involved in all but two, Green, Labour and Independents (mainly local resident and community groupings) in approxiately half, and Conservatives in just two (see chart 2).As previous studies have shown, the precise configuration of cross-party negotiations is affected by a number of circumstances, including previous political control. It can be a natural inclination for parties to ally in order to displace ruling groups after long periods of one-party domination. This is evident in London where Greens and Lib Dems have made deals.Elsewhere, the patterns (both of coalitions and supported minority control) are varied, although two- or multi-party configurations drawn from Lib Dem, Labour and Green parties (to some extent reflecting overlapping policy stances) are most frequent. There are eight multi-party or ‘rainbow' coalitions. Local parties also feature strongly in alliances, sometimes appearing almost as proxy ‘brokers' facilitating deals.In terms of which parties achieve most from being NOC, there is no single or simple measure. With regard to leadership, visibility and participation, as usual, Lib Dems and Greens have been most proactive and secured leadership through alliances. By contrast, Labour and Reform feature more strongly in assuming default minority control (see chart 3).However, obtaining leadership roles and portfolios is only one form of payoff. Local politicians have become increasingly discerning in their approach to being NOC, looking instead at the scrutiny and policy impact to be secured from an indecisive outcome. Voting on an issue-by-issue basis may well yield a better ‘political return' in the long term.Negotiations have highlighted marked interest in how being NOC can bring about enhanced scrutiny, greater transparency and better-informed policies.In Barnet, for example, the electoral stalemate (31 Conservatives, 31 Labour and one Green) was resolved by a co-operation agreement where Labour retained control but with the Conservative leader attending the Cabinet as a non-executive member ‘to allow opposition input into decisions'. Conservatives will also chair key overview and scrutiny committees.Other councils have expressed similar sentiments and indicated their own intention to improve the scrutiny and the quality of decision-making alongside the commitment to ‘prioritise the interests of residents and communities'.In Newcastle-upon-Tyne, for example, Greens have signed a deal supporting the Lib Dem minority leadership as an independent but ‘co-operative opposition'. As in Barnet, the opposition party will have a seat as an observer at the Cabinet and a cross-party coordination working group will be established to ‘debate and enhance' city-wide interests.The test for all these councils, of course, will be whether such laudable aspirations will be realised over the coming months.Putting in place governance arrangements is, of course, simply the first stage of coping with being NOC. For those that have resorted to default minorities, it might prove to be a case of other parties simply ‘keeping their powder dry'.Trust is vital in any deal – and it will be important that chief officers understand the motives, the policies, and even the personalities of the key players. They also need to maintain their own visible independence in order to retain trust.Working in a NOC council is always challenging and, this year, a more fragmented political landscape, alongside so many members new to local government, has made the task of reaching agreements even more difficult. One experienced chief optimistically observed that it can be frustrating, but it can also be invigorating. Now the hard work starts.Colin Mellors is emeritus professor at the University of York

Title

ELECTIONS

Coming to terms with political balance

By Colin Mellors | 24 June 2026

Popular articles by Colin Mellors

SUBSCRIBE TO CONTINUE READING

Popular articles by Colin Mellors