[1] Direct elections were held to all 32 London boroughs, all 36 metropolitan boroughs, 76 second-tier district authorities, 20 unitary authorities and various Mayoral posts, all in England.

The results provided some comfort to the Labour Party,[citation needed] losing the general election on the same day, as it was the first time Conservative councillor numbers declined since 1996.

[citation needed] Source: [1] All seats in the 32 London Boroughs were up for election.

The elections in Stoke-on-Trent had originally been cancelled following a referendum result which decided to abolish the existing Mayor and Cabinet system of governance, with replacement elections to take place in 2011 following a review of the council by the Boundary Committee for England.

[2] However, it was later decided to hold elections to one-third of the council in 2010 as planned.