Editing Leicester (section)

===Political control===
The current directly elected mayor is Sir Peter Soulsby of the Labour Party.<ref>{{Cite news |date=6 May 2011 |title=BBC |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-13309051 |access-date=16 August 2011 |archive-date=19 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719185517/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-13309051 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Sir Peter Soulsby |url=http://www.cabinet.leicester.gov.uk:8071/mgUserInfo.aspx?UID=955 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181107023414/http://www.cabinet.leicester.gov.uk:8071/mgUserInfo.aspx?UID=955 |archive-date=7 November 2018 |access-date=16 August 2020 |website=Leicester City Council}}</ref>

After a long period of Labour administration (since 1979), the city council from May 2003 was run by a [[Liberal Democrats (UK)|Liberal Democrat]]/[[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] coalition under [[Roger Blackmore]], which collapsed in November 2004. The minority Labour group ran the city until May 2005, under Ross Willmott, when the Liberal Democrats and Conservatives formed a new coalition, again under the leadership of Roger Blackmore.

In the local government elections of 3 May 2007, Leicester's Labour Party once again took control of the council in what can be described as a [[landslide victory]]. Gaining 18 new councillors, Labour polled on the day 38 councillors, creating a governing majority of +20. Significantly however, the Green Party gained its first councillors in the Castle Ward, after losing on the drawing of lots in 2003, though one of these subsequently resigned and the seat was lost to Labour in a by-election on 10 September 2009.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.leicester.gov.uk/councillors-democracy-and-elections/elections-and-electoral-registration/elections/ |title=Leicester City Council - Elections |access-date=17 February 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100204234623/https://www.leicester.gov.uk/councillors-democracy-and-elections/elections-and-electoral-registration/elections/ |archive-date=4 February 2010}}</ref> The Conservative Party saw a decrease in their representation. The Liberal Democrat Party was the major loser, dropping from 25 councillors in 2003 to only 6 in 2007. This was in part due to the local party splitting, with a number of councillors standing for the [[Liberal Party (UK, 1989)|Liberal Party]].

In the local government elections of 5 May 2011 and those of May 2015, Labour won 52 of the city's 54 seats, with the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats winning one seat each.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.leicester.gov.uk/elections2011/wardResults.aspx |title=Elections and voting |access-date=7 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110509042623/http://www.leicester.gov.uk/elections2011/wardResults.aspx |archive-date=9 May 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref> In the 2019 local elections, the Labour Party gained the sole Conservative held ward of Knighton leaving [[Nigel Porter]] of the Liberal Democrats as the only opposition member on the city council.

The current composition of Leicester City Council is as follows:
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! colspan="2" rowspan="1" align="center" valign="top" | '''Party'''
! valign="top"| '''Seats'''<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/topics/cgmxywxe9nzt/leicester-city-council |title=Leicester City Council |work=BBC News |access-date=10 May 2023 |archive-date=14 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190414122720/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/topics/cgmxywxe9nzt/leicester-city-council |url-status=live }}</ref><br />
|-
|{{Party name with color|Labour Party (UK)}}
| 31
|-
|{{Party name with color|Conservative Party (UK)}}
| 14
|-
|{{Party name with color|Liberal Democrats (UK)}}
| 3
|-
|{{Party name with color|Green Party of England and Wales}}
| 3
|-
|{{Party name with color|Independent}}
|3
|}

There have been four changes in party affiliation since the last full council election in May 2023. Councillor Diane Cank left the Labour group in August 2023. Councillor Sanjay Modhwadia, the Conservative Party candidate in the [[Mayor of Leicester|2024 Leicester mayoral election]], was suspended from the Conservative Party following an argument with group leader Deepak Bajaj in a public car park over who should be the next group leader.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/news/leicester-news/leicester-councillor-suspended-party-after-9189720 |title=Councillor suspended after accusations of threatening behaviour |date=26 March 2024 |access-date=26 March 2024 |archive-date=26 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240326194917/https://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/news/leicester-news/leicester-councillor-suspended-party-after-9189720 |url-status=live }}</ref> Conservative group leader Deepak Bajaj subsequently defected to the Labour Party on 8 April, lambasting a culture of violence, racism, religious divides, threats and bullying within the Conservative Party in Leicester.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://leicestertimes.com/leicester-news/conservative-group-leader-quits-party-and-rejoins-labour-amid-bullying-allegations/44788/ |title=Conservative Group Leader quits party and rejoins Labour amid 'bullying' allegations – Leicester Times &#124; Weekly Newspaper &#124; Leicester News |date=8 April 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/news/leicester-news/leader-leicesters-conservative-party-returns-9211872 |title=City's Conservative Party leader returns to Labour fold |date=8 April 2024 |access-date=12 April 2024 |archive-date=12 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240412071055/https://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/news/leicester-news/leader-leicesters-conservative-party-returns-9211872 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c2v90dqd1p6o |title=Leader of Leicester's Conservative Party returns to Labour |date=8 April 2024 |access-date=12 April 2024 |archive-date=11 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240411083859/https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c2v90dqd1p6o |url-status=live }}</ref> The conservative group was further reduced in June 2024 when councillor Nagarjun "Nags" Agath quit the party to stand as an independent candidate in [[Leicester East]] in the [[2024 United Kingdom general election]]. Agath cited displeasure in the choice of the Conservative candidate, Shivani Raja, as his reason to stand, branding her as an "inexperienced candidate" that had been "dumped" on the city.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Statement of Persons Nominated Notice of Poll Leicester East |url=https://www.leicester.gov.uk/media/twmb2lev/statement-of-persons-nominated-notice-of-poll-leicester-east.pdf |website=www.leicester.gov.uk |access-date=7 June 2024 |archive-date=7 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240607161353/https://www.leicester.gov.uk/media/twmb2lev/statement-of-persons-nominated-notice-of-poll-leicester-east.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/news/leicester-news/leicester-conservative-councillor-quits-party-9330340 |title=Tory councillor quits party to run for Leicester East seat |date=7 June 2024}}</ref>