In England, data from the 2010 census suggests that 4% of Councillors are from ethnic minority background with the highest percentage of ethnic minority councillors are in London at 15%.

In Wales. it was reported in 2004 that 99.2% of councillors were white and 0.8% had an ethnic minority background.

In Scotland , the percentage of non-white councillors was similar to that of its population at 3.4%.

Just over 30% of councillors in England are women, but minority ethnic women are particularly under-represented. The 2010 census of councillors found around 2% of women councillors were non-white, this is around half the 4% rate for men.

Of the 25 members of the Greater London Assembly, there are five ethnic minority members (Jennette Arnold, James Cleverly, Murad Qureshi and Navin Shah, Onkar Sahota).