2026 Trafford Metropolitan Borough Council election
7 May 2026
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21 out of 63 seats to Trafford Metropolitan Borough Council 32 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 2026 Trafford Metropolitan Borough Council elections will be held on Thursday, 7 May 2026 alongside other local elections in the United Kingdom. One third of the 63 seats will be contested, with each successful candidate elected to serve a four-year term of office expiring in 2030.
Council composition
| After 2024 election | Before 2026 election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Seats | Party | Seats | ||
| Labour | 43 | Labour | 41 | ||
| Conservative | 8 | Conservative | 10 | ||
| Liberal Democrats | 6 | Liberal Democrats | 7 | ||
| Green | 6 | Green | 5 | ||
Changes 2024–2026:
- July 2025: Ulrich Savary (Labour) leaves party to sit as an independent[2]
- August 2025: Denise Western (Labour) dies – by-election held October 2025[3]
- September 2025: Ulrich Savary (Independent) joins Liberal Democrats[2]
- October 2025:
- November 2025: Natalie Shalom (Conservative) gains by-election from Greens[6]
Background
The Local Government Act 1972 created a two-tier system of metropolitan counties and districts covering Greater Manchester, Merseyside, South Yorkshire, Tyne and Wear, the West Midlands, and West Yorkshire starting in 1974. Trafford was a district of the Greater Manchester metropolitan county.[7] The Local Government Act 1985 abolished the metropolitan counties, with metropolitan districts taking on most of their powers as metropolitan boroughs. The Greater Manchester Combined Authority was created in 2011 and began electing the mayor of Greater Manchester from 2017, which was given strategic powers covering a region coterminous with the former Greater Manchester metropolitan county.[8]
In June 2022, the Local Government Boundary Commission for England made The Trafford (Electoral Changes) Order 2022, which officially abolished all 21 existing wards and established 21 new wards with new boundaries. All 63 Council seats were contested at the 2023 elections. The elected councillor who received the second-highest number of votes in each ward at the 2023 election had their seat contested in this election.[9]
Electoral process
The council elects its councillors in thirds, with a third being up for election every year for three years, with no election in the fourth year.[10][11] The election will take place by first-past-the-post voting, with wards being represented by three councillors, with one elected in each election year to serve a four-year term.
All registered electors (British, Irish, Commonwealth and European Union citizens) living in Trafford aged 18 or over were entitled to vote in the election. People who lived at two addresses in different local authorities, such as university students with different term-time and holiday addresses, were entitled to be registered for elections in both local authorities. Voting in-person at polling stations will take place from 07:00 to 22:00 on election day, with voters able to apply for postal votes or proxy votes in advance of the election.
Summary
Election result
| 2026 Trafford Metropolitan Borough Council election | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | This election | Full council | This election | |||||||
| Seats | Net | Seats % | Other | Total | Total % | Votes | Votes % | +/− | ||
| Labour | 27 | |||||||||
| Conservative | 7 | |||||||||
| Liberal Democrats | 5 | |||||||||
| Green | 3 | |||||||||
| Reform UK | 0 | |||||||||
Incumbents
| Ward | Incumbent councillor | Party | Re-standing | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Altrincham | Daniel Jerrome | Green | ||
| Ashton upon Mersey | Ben Hartley | Labour | ||
| Bowdon | Shengke Zhi | Conservative | ||
| Broadheath | Amy Whyte | Labour | ||
| Brooklands | Rose Thompson | Labour | ||
| Bucklow-St Martin's | Aidan Williams | Labour | ||
| Davyhulme | Karina Carter | Labour | ||
| Flixton | Dolores O'Sullivan | Labour | ||
| Gorse Hill & Cornbrook | Fianna Hornby | Labour | ||
| Hale | Hannah Spencer | Green | ||
| Hale Barns & Timperley South | Nathan Evans | Conservative | ||
| Longford | Judith Lloyd | Labour | ||
| Lostock & Barton | Mike Cordingly | Labour | ||
| Manor | John Holden | Conservative | ||
| Old Trafford | Emma Hirst | Labour | ||
| Sale Central | Eve Parker | Labour | ||
| Sale Moor | Liz Patel | Labour | ||
| Stretford & Humphrey Park | Jane Slater | Labour | ||
| Timperley Central | Julian Newgrosh | Liberal Democrats | ||
| Timperley North | Will Frass | Liberal Democrats | ||
| Urmston | Catherine Hynes | Labour | ||
References
- ^ "Trafford Council Composition: Latest". opencouncildata.co.uk. Open Council Data UK. Archived from the original on 9 February 2026. Retrieved 9 February 2026.
- ^ a b Jackson, Nick (8 September 2025). "Councillor who quit Labour joins rival political party in town hall". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 8 January 2026.
- ^ Prior, David (22 August 2025). ""A champion of young people": Tributes after Broadheath councillor dies". Altrincham Today. Retrieved 8 January 2026.
- ^ "Local Elections Archive Project — Broadheath Ward". www.andrewteale.me.uk. Retrieved 8 January 2026.
- ^ "By-election announced in Trafford following resignation of councillor". Messenger Newspapers. 22 October 2025. Retrieved 8 January 2026.
- ^ "Local Elections Archive Project — Hale Ward". www.andrewteale.me.uk. Retrieved 8 January 2026.
- ^ Local Government in England and Wales: A Guide to the New System. London: HMSO. 1974. p. 7. ISBN 0-11-750847-0.
- ^ "The Greater Manchester Combined Authority Order 2011". Legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 2015-09-07.
- ^ "The Trafford (Electoral Changes) Order 2022". Retrieved 9 May 2024.
- ^ "Local government structure and elections". GOV.UK. Retrieved 2018-04-27.
- ^ "Election Timetable in England" (PDF).