Women Account for Only One-Third of Candidates in UK May Elections, Reform UK Lowest at 23%

*TL;DR: Women represent one‑third of all candidates in the May 7 elections; Reform UK fields the lowest share of female candidates in England’s local races at 23%.

Context The May 7 ballot covers local councils, mayoral contests and devolved assemblies across the United Kingdom. Historically, gender balance has been a benchmark for party performance, yet the latest data shows little movement toward parity.

Key Facts - Across every race, 33% of candidates are women and 67% are men. No party reaches gender parity. - In England’s local elections, which host the bulk of candidates, women make up 34% of the field. The six mayoral contests see only 18% female candidates. - Reform UK fields the smallest proportion of women in England’s local elections, with just 23% female candidates. Labour comes closest to parity at 42%, followed by the Greens at 41%. - The most common first names among candidates are overwhelmingly male; only one female name, Sarah, appears in the top 20, ranking 20th behind 516 Davids and 453 Johns. - Lyanne Nicholl, CEO of 50:50 Parliament, said, “Women are massively underrepresented on our ballot papers. The fact that only one woman’s name scrapes in at number 20 just shows how male‑dominated local politics is.”

What It Means With men outnumbering women by roughly two to one, policy discussions on issues such as social care, housing and local services risk being filtered through a predominantly male lens. Campaign groups argue that the gender gap discourages women from standing, citing online abuse and safety concerns as barriers. The disparity also signals a stalled pipeline: despite women holding 41% of parliamentary seats after the 2024 general election, their representation at the grassroots level remains near a third.

Looking ahead, parties will be under pressure to improve candidate selection ahead of the next election cycle, and watchdogs will monitor whether any shifts occur in the gender composition of future ballots.