Viral map doesn’t show all councils Reform UK controls

A map supposedly showing “Reform councils in the UK” has been widely shared on social media with the caption “so much for ‘WE’VE TAKEN OVER THE NATION’”.

But this map, which has been shared thousands of times across Facebook, Instagram and X, is misleading and does not show all of the councils currently run by Reform UK following the 7 May local elections and includes some the party won control of last year.

The map mostly shows district or borough councils that Reform UK won control of in the 2026 local elections, such as St Helens, Newcastle-Under-Lyme, Barnsley, Wakefield, Walsall, Gateshead, South Tyneside, Sunderland and Havering as well as the unitary council of Thurrock.

But it doesn’t include Sandwell or Calderdale metropolitan borough councils, or Essex and Suffolk county councils, which Reform UK also won control of last week.

It does highlight West Northamptonshire and North Northamptonshire unitary councils and Durham county council which Reform UK took control of in 2025 (although West Northamptonshire did have a council seat by-election on 7 May 2026, which was won by a Reform councillor).

Many parts of the country operate under a “two-tier” council system, meaning some services are provided by smaller district, borough or city councils, while others are provided by larger county councils which cover several of these smaller councils’ areas. Other parts of the country have only one tier of local government which provides all local services (unitary authorities, London boroughs and Metropolitan boroughs).

Different councils have different voting systems. Some vote by thirds (electing a third of councillors every year over a four year period, with no elections in the fourth year), while others vote by halves (electing half of the councillors every two years), and some, such as all of the London boroughs, have local elections every four years, electing all the councillors at the same time.

At the time of writing, 23 councils are Reform-led and there are three others where Reform is the biggest party.

The map being shared online doesn’t include some of the councils Reform UK won control of last year, including Kent, Lancashire, Nottinghamshire, and Lincolnshire.

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