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Over 200 Muslim councillors elected in local elections
6-12-2019
Over 200 Muslim councillors are estimated to have been elected in the English local elections held on May 2, according to data exclusively compiled by The Muslim News.
And over half (132) of the 248 councils in England which held elections had at least one Muslim candidate standing for election. Luton Council had the highest number of Muslim candidates (50) and the highest number of elected Muslim councillors (19).
Political party breakdown
The majority of newly elected Muslim councillors are Labour councillors (159), 131 more than the Conservatives (28). The Brexit related surge in votes for the Liberal Democrats in these local elections (a net gain of 703 on 2015 figures) means that 21 (40 per cent) of the party’s 53 Muslim candidates were successfully elected.
Gender breakdown
Only 29 per cent of the newly elected Muslim councillors are women. However Muslim women candidates had a higher success rate than their male counterparts. 62 of the 122 Muslim women who stood for seats won their elections, that is a 51 per cent success rate, 14 per cent higher than the success rate of Muslim men. And 52 of the 62 Muslim women elected into councils stood for Labour.
* No Muslim candidate stood in the six mayoral elections held.
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