Liberal Democrats win Stockport Council with 33 of 63 seats

The Liberal Democrats took control of stockport council in the May 7 local elections, winning 33 of 63 seats and ending no overall control for the first time since 2011. Votes were counted in the early hours of May 8 at the town hall, where the result gave the party outright control after years without a majority.

Mark Roberts on Stockport

Mark Roberts, who leads Stockport council and the Stockport Liberal Democrats, called the result a ringing endorsement and said: "It’s a ringing endorsement of the great work the Liberal Democrats do here in Stockport," He added: "I’m really pleased with the result tonight, it’s 15 years in the making to get to this point, it’s built on years of hard work from my predecessor Councillor Mark Hunter and others, so really chuffed."

Roberts also said: "We show time and time again that the Liberal Democrats are the way to beat Reform, and Liberal Democrat areas don’t vote Reform." The party won Labour-held neighbourhoods including Offerton, Davenport and Cale Green, giving it the seats needed to move from the balance of power to full control.

Labour and Reform UK

Labour became the biggest opposition party with 14 councillors after losing seats to both Reform UK and the Liberal Democrats. Christine Carrigan said: "We now know where we stand for next year, and we absolutely intend to make this fight all the way back to 2027."

Reform UK won two councillors in Stockport and took the Manor ward, as well as Brinnington and Stockport Central, both previously held by Labour. Brian Battle, the new Reform UK councillor for the Manor ward, said: "I think it was a seismic night, it was the number of votes cast across the borough, we came second in virtually every ward, we took nearly 26 per cent of the vote across Stockport, we are overjoyed."

Ward gains in Stockport

The result changes who sets the council's direction, because Stockport is no longer under no overall control. For residents, the practical shift is simple: one party now has the numbers to govern without needing support from other groups on routine decisions, while the opposition enters the next cycle with Labour on 14 seats and Reform UK newly represented on the council.