FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – CCIN Statement on 2026 Local Elections

• 15th May 2026
• Governance

Last week’s Local Election results showed a fragmentation in Britain’s politics like never before, with many local authorities entering ‘No Overall Control’ as multiple political parties and independents secured wins. Whilst this political fragmentation shows an emerging divide politically, it also makes clear the importance that cross-party, cooperative approaches to governance must have in shaping the future of local government.

Our work at CCIN has always been to promote cooperative solutions, working with any political grouping or local authority who share our common cooperative values.

As our Vice-Chair Cllr Paul Cassidy says:

“CCIN has always brought together councils across party lines to deliver practical solutions that deliver for local communities. While political balances have shifted, the commitment to collaborative, community-led government remains strong — and more important than ever as councils face growing pressures to deliver for residents with increasingly stretched resources.

Looking ahead, we see real opportunities to deepen this work by continuing to build cross-party partnerships to advance shared priorities particularly around community wealth building, strengthen local economies and tackling inequality. We will also continue to make an unapologetic case for a cooperative economy that keeps wealth, power and opportunity rooted in local communities.”

Alongside this commitment to the future, we would also like to pay tribute to some of the amazing cooperators who have helped shape our network, and for whom these elections have resulted in them losing their seats.

These included:

Mili Patel, Chair of CCIN Values & Principles Board

Mike Stubbs, Executive Oversight Committee Member

Sam Pallis, Values and Principles Board Member

Our Chair, Cllr Jim Robbins, expressed our thanks to these individuals, and many other cooperators who lost their seats but who did not hold formal roles within CCIN, by saying:

“It has been a tough election for a number of our Member Councils and we are working through the results to really understand them and the impact on the network.

We will be supporting those councils where control has changed, and working to make sure the positive impact of Co-operative policies remain.

We were disappointed to see outstanding Co-operative Councillors lose their seats, and we hope that many will return to politics in time. Our exciting policy labs will remain, and we will be starting more Labs to build back the network and continue to share positive Co-operative policies.”

As we look forward to the future CCIN remains committed to working cross-party to build stronger, more cooperative communities by putting our shared values into practice across local government.

We are excited to work with anyone who shares our values and would like to encourage any new councillors wanting to find out more to visit our website (councils.coop) or contact us at [email protected].

ENDS