2019 Dorset Council election in the context of Dorset County Council

Dorset is a unitary authority area within the larger ceremonial county of Dorset, South West England. It covers the entire ceremonial county with the exception of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole in the south-east. The largest settlement is Weymouth, and the administrative centre is Dorchester.

The unitary authority area was formed on 1 April 2019 during a local government restructure. Prior to this, Dorset was a non-metropolitan county containing six non-metropolitan districts, and was governed by a county council and six district councils. The unitary authority area was created by abolishing the county, districts, and their councils, and establishing a new non-metropolitan county and a new non-metropolitan district, each with the same area as the former districts of East Dorset, North Dorset, Purbeck, West Dorset, and Weymouth and Portland. The area of the sixth former district, Christchurch, was incorporated into the new unitary authority area of Bournemouth, Christchurch, and Poole. The new Dorset Council was constituted as a non-metropolitan district council with the responsibilities of a non-metropolitan county council. The first elections to the council took place on 2 May 2019.