It is important to read the notes contained within each spreadsheet. These explain the meaning of the different categories and labels.
This spreadsheet contains party vote, share, wards and seats contested for each election since 1973. Data are calculated by type of authority (county, district etc) with separate sheets for each year: Summary data by year and type of authority
Annual election data for local electorates, percentage turnout, candidates, numbers of women candidates, incumbents etc. by type of authority are shown here: Electorate, turnout, candidates.
The file District level authority results provides summary data for each election year at the authority and district level. This file contains a summary for each separate authority, i.e. county council, district council, metropolitan borough etc. In two-tier areas, for example, the shire counties and districts, summary data at the district level is available for the upper-tier authorities.
Authority and district level data on electorates, turnout, contestation and other variables may be obtained here. As before, in the case of counties/districts, the data are summarised at both the authority (county) level and also for the districts contained within the county areas.