2026 Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council election
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7 May 2026
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20 out of 60 seats to Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council 31 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 2026 Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council election will take place on Thursday 7 May 2026, alongside other local elections in the United Kingdom. One third of the 60 members of Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council in Greater Manchester will be elected.
| After 2024 election | Before 2026 election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Seats | Party | Seats | ||
| Labour | 44 | Labour | 43 | ||
| Conservative | 9 | Conservative | 8 | ||
| Liberal Democrats | 3 | Liberal Democrats | 3 | ||
| Middleton Ind. | 2 | Middleton Ind. | 2 | ||
| Workers Party | 2 | Workers Party | 2 | ||
| Reform | 0 | Reform | 2 | ||
Changes 2024–2026:
- August 2024: John Taylor (Conservative) leaves party to sit as an independent[2]
- September 2024: Peter Allonby (Middleton Independents) disqualified due to non-attendance – by-election held October 2024[3]
- October 2024: Keeley O'Mara (Middleton Independents) wins by-election[4]
- March 2025: Elsie Blundell (Labour) resigns – by-election held May 2025[5]
- May 2025: Jordan Tarrant-Short (Reform) gains by-election from Labour[6]
- July 2025: John Taylor (Independent) joins Reform[7]
Background
Like much of Greater Manchester, Labour has historically been strong in Rochdale. The Conservatives briefly held a majority in 1976,[8] and the Liberal Democrats were the largest party from 2004 to 2011 Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council election; aside from these periods, Labour has formed the administration of the council as either a majority or minority.[9] The 2024 election saw Labour lose two seats to the Workers Party of Britain, following on from George Galloway's victory in the parliamentary by-election earlier in 2024, and retain a seat gained through a defection from the Middleton Independents Party.[10] No other seats changed hands.[11]
A new set of ward boundaries was used for the 2022 election. This election will be for the councillors elected with the highest number of votes in each of the twenty three-member wards.[12] Labour are defending fourteen seats, the Conservatives are defending three, the Middleton Independents are defending two, and the Liberal Democrats are defending one.
