2026 Burnley Borough Council election
2026 English local election
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The 2026 Burnley Borough Council election will take place on 7 May 2026 to elect members of Burnley Borough Council in Lancashire, England.[2] This was on the same day as other local elections.
Registered67,774
Turnout26,491
39.1%
39.1%
7 May 2026
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15 out of 45 seats to Burnley Borough Council 23 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Registered | 67,774 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Turnout | 26,491 39.1% | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Results by ward | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Summary
Council composition
| After 2024 election | Before 2026 election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Seats | Party | Seats | ||
| Labour | 15 | Labour | 13 | ||
| Conservative | 8 | Conservative | 7 | ||
| Liberal Democrats | 7 | Liberal Democrats | 7 | ||
| Green | 5 | Green | 5 | ||
| Reform | 0 | Reform | 2 | ||
| Independent | 10 | Independent | 11 | ||
Changes 2024–2026:
- February 2025: Charlie Briggs (Labour, elected as BAPIP) leaves party to sit as an independent[3]
- June 2025: Alan Hosker (Conservative) leaves party to sit as an independent[4]
- August 2025:
- September 2025: Fiona Wild (Independent) and Syeda Kazmi (Independent, elected as Labour) resign – by-elections held November 2025[9][10]
- November 2025: Shiraz Ahmed (Independent) and Musharaf Parvez (Independent) gain by-elections from Labour[11][12]
Incumbents
| Ward | Incumbent councillor | Party | Re-standing | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bank Hall | Afrasiab Anwar[c] | Independent | Yes | |
| Briercliffe | Gordon Lishman | Liberal Democrats | No | |
| Brunshaw | Christine Sollis[c] | Independent | No | |
| Cliviger with Worsthorne | Jack Launer | Green | Yes[d] | |
| Coalclough with Deerplay | Gordon Birtwistle | Liberal Democrats | Yes | |
| Daneshouse with Stoneyholme | Shah Hussain[c] | Independent | Yes | |
| Gannow | Neil Mottershead[e] | Conservative | Yes | |
| Gawthorpe | Alun Lewis | Labour | Yes | |
| Hapton with Park | Jamie McGowan | Conservative | Yes | |
| Lanehead | Sue Graham | Labour | Yes | |
| Queensgate | Musharaf Parvez[f] | Independent | No | |
| Rosegrove with Lowerhouse | Gail Barton | Labour | No | |
| Rosehill with Burnley Wood | Jeff Sumner[g] | Reform | Yes | |
| Trinity | Alex Hall[h] | Green | No | |
| Whittlefield with Ightenhall | Mike Steel | Conservative | Yes | |
Election result
- Council composition after the 2024 election
- Council composition after the 2026 election
| 2026 Burnley Borough Council election[13] | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | This election | Full council | This election | |||||||
| Seats | Net | Seats % | Other | Total | Total % | Votes | Votes % | +/− | ||
| Reform | 11 | 73.33 | 1 | 12 | 26.67 | 11,440 | 43.27 | |||
| Independent | 3 | 20.00 | 7 | 10 | 22.22 | 3,575 | 13.52 | |||
| Liberal Democrats | 1 | 6.67 | 5 | 6 | 13.33 | 3,126 | 11.83 | |||
| Labour | 0 | 0.00 | 10 | 10 | 22.22 | 3,242 | 12.26 | |||
| Conservative | 0 | 0.00 | 4 | 4 | 8.89 | 2,792 | 10.56 | |||
| Green | 0 | 0.00 | 3 | 3 | 6.67 | 2,264 | 8.56 | |||
| BAPIP | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | |||
Ward results
Bank Hall
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | Afrasiab Anwar* | 906 | 56.2 | ||
| Reform | Trevor Williams | 500 | 31.0 | ||
| Labour | Mohammed Ali | 206 | 12.8 | ||
| Majority | 406 | 25.2 | |||
| Rejected ballots | 12 | ||||
| Turnout | 1,624 | 37.6 | |||
| Registered electors | 4,316 | ||||
| Independent gain from Labour | Swing | ||||
Briercliffe
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reform | Mark Poulton | 1,003 | 51.0 | ||
| Liberal Democrats | Pippa Lishman | 788 | 40.1 | ||
| Labour | Pete Coles | 122 | 6.2 | ||
| Conservative | Susan Nutter | 54 | 2.7 | ||
| Majority | 215 | 10.9 | |||
| Rejected ballots | 4 | ||||
| Turnout | 1,971 | 45.8 | |||
| Registered electors | 4,305 | ||||
| Reform gain from Liberal Democrats | Swing | ||||
Brunshaw
Cliviger with Worsthorne
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reform | Gavin Theaker | 1,215 | 51.6 | ||
| Conservative | Simon Bonney | 514 | 21.8 | ||
| Green | Affan Burki | 263 | 11.2 | ||
| Liberal Democrats | Frank Bartram | 187 | 7.9 | ||
| Labour | Gail Barton | 176 | 7.5 | ||
| Majority | 701 | 29.8 | |||
| Rejected ballots | 5 | ||||
| Turnout | 2,361 | 52.6 | |||
| Registered electors | 4,486 | ||||
| Reform gain from Green | Swing | ||||
Coalclough with Deerplay
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal Democrats | Gordon Birtwistle* | 751 | 44.6 | ||
| Reform | Tom Pickup | 669 | 39.8 | ||
| Labour | Jeffrey Slee | 161 | 9.6 | ||
| Conservative | Abbey Hartley | 101 | 6.0 | ||
| Majority | 82 | 4.8 | |||
| Rejected ballots | 2 | ||||
| Turnout | 1,684 | 41.3 | |||
| Registered electors | 4,082 | ||||
| Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | ||||
Daneshouse with Stoneyholme
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | Shah Hussain* | 1,092 | 57.1 | ||
| Liberal Democrats | Muhammad Shahid Mahmood | 564 | 29.5 | ||
| Labour | James Harrison | 157 | 8.2 | ||
| Reform | Eddie Kutavicius | 99 | 5.2 | ||
| Majority | 528 | ||||
| Rejected ballots | 9 | ||||
| Turnout | 1,921 | 38.1 | |||
| Registered electors | 5,045 | ||||
| Independent gain from Labour | Swing | ||||
Gannow
Gawthorpe
Hapton with Park
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reform | Steve Keogh | 883 | 46.0 | ||
| Conservative | Jamie McGowan* | 659 | 34.4 | ||
| Labour | Elaine Cotterell | 195 | 10.2 | ||
| Green | Sue Price | 181 | 9.4 | ||
| Majority | 224 | 31.6 | |||
| Rejected ballots | 14 | ||||
| Turnout | 1,932 | 39.7 | |||
| Registered electors | 4,867 | ||||
| Reform gain from Conservative | Swing | ||||
Lanehead
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reform | James Halstead | 681 | 32.1 | ||
| Independent | Raf Ali | 513 | 24.2 | ||
| Liberal Democrats | Asif Raja | 495 | 23.4 | ||
| Labour | Sue Graham* | 285 | 13.4 | ||
| Green | Andrew Newhouse | 145 | 6.8 | ||
| Majority | 168 | 7.9 | |||
| Rejected ballots | 15 | ||||
| Turnout | 2,134 | 45.1 | |||
| Registered electors | 4,736 | ||||
| Reform gain from Labour | Swing | ||||
Queensgate
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | Zulkernehn Hayat | 936 | 54.9 | ||
| Reform | Felix Nowell | 415 | 24.4 | ||
| Labour | Carol Lukey | 239 | 14.0 | ||
| Liberal Democrats | Javad Mokhammad | 114 | 6.7 | ||
| Majority | 521 | 30.5 | |||
| Rejected ballots | 11 | ||||
| Turnout | 1,715 | 37.5 | |||
| Registered electors | 4,572 | ||||
| Independent gain from Labour | Swing | ||||
Rosegrove with Lowerhouse
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reform | Liam Thomson | 907 | 56.9 | ||
| Labour | Daniel Tierney | 302 | 18.9 | ||
| Green | Christopher Bridges | 159 | 10.0 | ||
| Conservative | Kate Mottershead | 146 | 9.2 | ||
| Liberal Democrats | Arthur Lishman | 81 | 5.1 | ||
| Majority | 605 | 38.0 | |||
| Rejected ballots | 0 | ||||
| Turnout | 1,595 | 32.5 | |||
| Registered electors | 4,907 | ||||
| Reform gain from Labour | Swing | ||||
Rosehill with Burnley Wood
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reform | Jeff Sumner* | 902 | 57.0 | ||
| Green | Fin Hewitt | 242 | 15.3 | ||
| Labour | Laura Coles | 189 | 11.9 | ||
| Liberal Democrats | Kathryn Haworth | 146 | 9.2 | ||
| Conservative | Dale Ferrier | 104 | 6.6 | ||
| Majority | 660 | 41.7 | |||
| Rejected ballots | 4 | ||||
| Turnout | 1,587 | 35.3 | |||
| Registered electors | 4,495 | ||||
| Reform gain from Liberal Democrats | Swing | ||||
Trinity
Whittlefield with Ightenhill
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reform | Chris Weekes | 1,017 | 47.8 | ||
| Conservative | Mike Steel* | 583 | 27.4 | ||
| Green | Janet Hall | 215 | 10.1 | ||
| Labour | Charlie Hindle | 186 | 8.7 | ||
| Independent | Helen Heap | 128 | 6.0 | ||
| Majority | 434 | 20.4 | |||
| Rejected ballots | 6 | ||||
| Turnout | 2,085 | 46.0 | |||
| Registered electors | 4,535 | ||||
| Reform gain from Conservative | Swing | ||||