Lancaster City Council is a Labour led administration. However, the party has not held a majority since 1999. Labour had great success in the 2011 City Council elections, nearly doubling its representation on the council, while the Conservatives also made gains, adding an extra 5 councillors. Of the 60 seats on the Council, Labour hold 21, there are 15 Conservatives, 10 Green Councillors, and the rest are independents in a variety of groupings.
Two Westminster seats cover the authority area: Lancaster and Fleetwood; and Morecambe and Lunesdale. Both were long-time Labour seats until the Conservatives narrowly gained them with small majorities in 2010.
Since 2012, the Labour party has invested heavily in Lancaster as a key general election target area and polling suggests they are on course to win large majorities in both seats. This could result in a significant increase of Labour councillors. However, with a strong presence in the city already, any sign of a Green ‘surge’ could still prevent them from gaining an overall majority.
