With local elections prominent in the national news, readers may wonder why it’s so quiet in Leeds.
Leeds City Council has issued a reminder to voters that there are no local elections taking place in the city on Thursday 1 May 2025. As part of the elections cycle, once every four years there are no local elections held. This is called a fallow year, and occurs this year in the Leeds schedule.
How the council election cycle works in Leeds:
Every Leeds City Council ward is represented by three councillors who are each elected to serve a four-year term.
Their terms are staggered so that only one councillor is elected per ward in each local election.
This system is called voting by thirds, because a third of councillors are elected each year, over a four-year cycle.
Leeds had local elections in 2022, 2023 and 2024, so 2025 is the scheduled fallow year.
The next local elections to be held in Leeds are scheduled to take place next year on Thursday 7 May 2026, when the elections cycle resumes with a one-third election and 33 seats on Leeds City Council available.
This post is based on a press release issued by Leeds City Council
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