2026 Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council election
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7 May 2026
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21 out of 63 seats to Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council 32 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 2026 Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council election will take place on Thursday 7 May 2026, alongside other local elections in the United Kingdom. One third of the 63 members of Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council in Greater Manchester will be elected.
| After 2024 election | Before 2026 election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Seats | Party | Seats | ||
| Liberal Democrats | 31 | Liberal Democrats | 30 | ||
| Labour | 22 | Labour | 19 | ||
| Community Association | 3[b] | Community Association | 3[b] | ||
| Green | 3 | Green | 3 | ||
| Heald Green Ratepayers | 3 | Heald Green Ratepayers | 3 | ||
| Conservative | 0 | Conservative | 1 | ||
| Independent | 1 | Independent | 4 | ||
Changes 2024–2026:
- August 2024: Aron Thornley (Independent) joins Labour[3]
- September 2024: Tom Morrison (Liberal Democrats), Ian Powney (Liberal Democrats), and Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrats) resign – by-elections held October 2024[4][5]
- October 2024: Rachel Bresnahan (Liberal Democrats) and Huma Khan (Liberal Democrats) hold by-elections,[6][7] and Peter Crossen (Conservative) gains by-election from Liberal Democrats[8]
- February 2025: Holly McCormack (Labour) and David Sedgwick (Labour) suspended from party[b][9]
- September 2025: Joe Barratt (Labour) and Rosemary Barratt (Labour) leave party to sit as independents[c][10]
Summary
Background
Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council was created in 1974. The Conservatives saw early success, controlling the council as a majority from its creation until 1983.[11] 1988 saw the what was then the SLD become the largest party; since then council control has been contested between the Liberal Democrats and Labour.[12] The Liberal Democrats formed their first majority administration in 1999 after a decade of no overall control, which lasted until 2011. The first Labour-led administration was formed in 2016 as a minority.[13] The Liberal Democrats again became the largest group in 2021, but it was not until 2022 that they formed a minority administration.[14][15]
A new set of ward boundaries was used for the 2023 election. As such, this election will be for the councillors elected with the second highest number of votes in each of the 21 three-member wards.[16] The Liberal Democrats will be defending 11 seats, Labour will be defending 7, and the Greens, Heald Green Ratepayers, and Edgeley Community Association will be defending 1 each.
Election result
| 2026 Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council election | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | This election | Full council | This election | |||||||
| Seats | Net | Seats % | Other | Total | Total % | Votes | Votes % | +/− | ||
| Liberal Democrats | 20 | |||||||||
| Labour | 12 | |||||||||
| Independent | 3 | |||||||||
| Green | 2 | |||||||||
| Heald Green Ratepayers | 2 | |||||||||
| Community Association | 2 | |||||||||
| Conservative | 1 | |||||||||
| Reform UK | 0 | |||||||||
