2021 Manchester City Council election

Elections to Manchester City Council were held on 6 May 2021, as part of the 2021 United Kingdom local elections. They were originally scheduled for 2020 but were suspended for a year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2019 Labour had retained its majority on the council, with 93 seats, with the Liberal Democrats led by former MP John Leech increasing the number of opposition councillors to three, but this had fallen back to two in March 2021 when Councillor Greg Stanton defected to the Labour Party.^[1]

2021 Manchester City Council election

← 2019 6 May 2021 2022 →
32 of 96 seats (One Third) to Manchester City Council 49 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party Third party   Leader Richard Leese John Leech Rob Nunney Party Labour Liberal Democrats Green Leader since 20 May 1996 5 May 2016 6 May 2021 Leader's seat Crumpsall Didsbury West Woodhouse Park Last election 31 1 0 Seats won 31 0 1 Seat change 1 1
Leader of Largest Party before election Richard Leese Labour Leader of Largest Party after election Richard Leese Labour

Background and campaign

The following councillors, last elected in 2018, did not stand for re-election:

• Labour: Kelly Simcock (Didsbury East), Nigel Murphy (Hulme, deselected),^[2] Bernard Stone (Levenshulme), Carl Ollerhead (Moston, suspended by party in June 2020),^[3] Maddy Monaghan (Sharston), Mary Watson (Whalley Range).

One councillor from 2018 to 2021, Labour's Emma Taylor, had previously been elected in Ancoats and Beswick and stood this time in a different ward, Sharston.

Two by-elections were outstanding and were held alongside the scheduled elections of 2021: one for the seat of councillor Sue Murphy (Labour, Brooklands, elected 2019), who had died in April 2020,^[4] and the other for that of Ken Dobson (Independent, Clayton and Openshaw, elected at a by-election in February 2020), who had resigned from the council in October 2020.^[5]

Result

Summary change in vote share compared to the 2019 election. Change in number of seats compared to the composition of the council immediately before the election. Where multiple seats were contested in the same ward due to vacancies the results have been normalised.

Manchester City Council
Party		This election			Full council			This election
		Seats	Net	Seats %	Other	Total	Total %	Votes	Votes %	+/−
	Labour	33/34	1	97.06	61	94	97.92	73,210	65.43	6.83
	Green	1/34	1	2.94	0	1	1.04	12,838	11.47	1.46
	Conservative	0/34		0.00	0	0	0.00	12,120	10.83	4.23
	Liberal Democrats	0/34	1	0.00	1	1	1.04	11,679	10.44	3.58
	Independent	0/4	1	0.00	0	0	0.00	795	0.71	2.22
	Monster Raving Loony	0/3		0.00	0	0	0.00	475	0.42	New
	Reform UK	0/2		0.00	0	0	0.00	387	0.35	New
	Women's Equality	0/3		0.00	0	0	0.00	273	0.24	0.20
	Communist	0/1		0.00	0	0	0.00	80	0.07	New
	SDP	0/1		0.00	0	0	0.00	29	0.03	New

Council composition

After the 2019 election, the composition of the council was:

↓

93	3
Labour	LD

Immediately prior to the election, the composition of the council was:

↓

92	2	2
Labour	LD	[a]

^a Vacant seats previously held by Sue Murphy and Kenneth Dobson

After the election, the composition of the council is:

↓

94	1	1
Labour	LD	GP

Ward results

Asterisks denote incumbent Councillors seeking re-election. Councillors seeking re-election were elected in 2018, and results are compared to that year's polls on that basis.^[6]

Ancoats and Beswick

Ancoats and Beswick

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Marcia Hutchinson	2,052	57.9	5.5
	Liberal Democrats	Alan Good	779	22.0	12.9
	Green	Ryan Johns	384	10.8	6.0
	Conservative	Alexander Bramham	293	8.3	2.5
Majority			1,273	25.9	13.5
Rejected ballots			39	1.1
Turnout			3,547	30.3	9.3
Registered electors			11,702
	Labour hold		Swing	9.2

Ardwick

Ardwick

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Bernard Priest*	2,324	77.2	6.7
	Green	Kate Walsh Benson	280	9.3	4.3
	Conservative	Callum Wood	256	8.5	0.1
	Liberal Democrats	Luke Beamish	150	5.0	2.5
Majority			2,044	66.9
Rejected ballots			39	1.3
Turnout			3,049	24.18	5.1
Registered electors			12,608
	Labour hold		Swing	5.5

Baguley

Baguley

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour Co-op	Tracy Rawlins*	1,622	63.2	7.7
	Conservative	Ezra McGowan	523	20.4	1.3
	Green	Norm Cassidy	262	10.2	6.1
	Liberal Democrats	Seb Bate	104	4.1	1.8
	Monster Raving Loony	Merv the Karaoke Kid	54	2.1	New
Majority			1,099	42.8
Rejected ballots			22
Turnout			2,587	22.6	3.0
Registered electors			11,452
	Labour hold		Swing	4.5

Brooklands

Brooklands

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Julia Baker-Smith	1,686	53.6	2.8
	Labour	Glynn Evans*	1,499	47.7	10.3
	Conservative	Stephen Carlton-Woods	689	21.9	5.1
	Conservative	Ralph Ellerton	672	21.4	3.4
	Green	Grace Buczkowska	385	12.2	1.1
	Green	Maggie Hoffgen	211	6.7	4.4
	Liberal Democrats	Nick Saunders	112	3.6	1.2
	Liberal Democrats	Mark Saunders	75	2.4	2.4
	Monster Raving Loony	Lord Cam	57	1.8	new
Majority
Rejected ballots			27
Turnout			3,145	28.29
Registered electors			11,116
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing

Burnage

Burnage

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Bev Craig*	3,036	72.2	1.8
	Conservative	Shahed Hossain	421	10.0	3.3
	Green	Brian Candeland	341	8.1	4.2
	Liberal Democrats	Jamie Dwan	270	6.4	9.0
	Independent	Andrea Timoney	137	3.3	New
Majority			2,615	62.2
Rejected ballots			43	1.0
Turnout			4,248	30.7
Registered electors			13,045
	Labour hold		Swing	2.6

Charlestown

Charlestown

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Hannah Priest*	1,910	64.1	6.2
	Conservative	Michael Ciotkowski	522	17.5	1.3
	Reform UK	Martin Power	247	8.3	New
	Green	Anne Power	190	6.4	2.5
	Liberal Democrats	Melanie Ncube	109	3.7	1.2
Majority			1388	46.6
Rejected ballots			25	0.8
Turnout			3,003	24.76
Registered electors			12,130
	Labour hold		Swing	3.8

Cheetham

Cheetham

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Shaukat Ali*	3,061	79.7	9.5
	Conservative	Arbab Khan	369	9.6	3.9
	Green	Ben Dundas	250	6.5	3.6
	Liberal Democrats	Roddy Morrison	159	4.1	1.4
Majority			2692	70.1
Rejected ballots			44
Turnout			3,883	29.47	2.2
Registered electors			13,178
	Labour hold		Swing	6.7

Chorlton

Chorlton

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour Co-op	Eve Holt*	3,656	68.0	3.2
	Green	Mary Crumpton	917	17.1	2.4
	Conservative	Kath Fitzgibbon	368	6.8	1.5
	Liberal Democrats	Robin Grayson	291	5.4	5.6
	Women's Equality	Jo Heathcote	141	2.6	0.6
Majority			2739	50.9
Rejected ballots			40	0.7
Turnout			5,413	51.03	4.7
Registered electors			10,608
	Labour Co-op hold		Swing	0.4

Chorlton Park

Chorlton Park

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour Co-op	Mandie Shilton Godwin*	3,819	69.2	6.7
	Green	Richard Walton	773	14.0	6.0
	Conservative	Connor Cooper	472	8.5	4.5
	Liberal Democrats	Amaan Hashmi	457	8.3	17.2
Majority			3046	55.2
Rejected ballots			65	1.2
Turnout			5,586	42.3	1.0
Registered electors			13,218
	Labour Co-op hold		Swing	0.4

Clayton and Openshaw

Clayton and Openshaw

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Donna Ludford*	2,064	69.3
	Labour	Thomas Robinson	1,560	52.4
	Conservative	Keith Berry	389	13.1
	Green	Daniel Kyle	250	8.4
	Liberal Democrats	Diele Nsumbu	218	7.3
	Green	Robyn Schreibke	204	6.9
	Conservative	Ramzi Swaray-Kella	193	6.5
	Liberal Democrats	Martha O'Donoghue	120	4.0
Majority
Rejected ballots			32
Turnout			2,978	23.98
Registered electors			12,553
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour gain from Independent		Swing

Crumpsall

Crumpsall

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Nasrin Ali*	2,341	66.4	14.6
	Conservative	Iftikhar Ahmed Butt	762	21.6	11.8
	Green	Alison Hawdale	291	8.3	3.5
	Liberal Democrats	Michael McKinstry	130	3.7	1.6
Majority			1,579	44.8
Rejected ballots			39	1.1
Turnout			3,563	30.0	4.0
Registered electors			11,583
	Labour hold		Swing	13.2

Deansgate

Deansgate

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour Co-op	Marcus Johns*	1,245	53.9	12.8
	Liberal Democrats	John Bridges	583	25.3	0.6
	Green	Chris Ogden	256	11.1	9.9
	Conservative	James Flanagan	164	7.1	5.0
	Women's Equality	Samantha Days	60	2.6	8.6
Majority			662	32.6	12.2
Rejected ballots			16	0.7
Turnout			2,324	28.9	9.5
Registered electors			8,047
	Labour hold		Swing	6.1

Didsbury East

Didsbury East

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Linda Foley	2,972	51.0	1.2
	Liberal Democrats	John Cameron	2,082	35.7	1.5
	Green	Liberty Franley	503	8.6	4.8
	Conservative	Anjenarra Huque	276	4.7	2.1
Majority			890	15.3
Rejected ballots			32	0.5
Turnout			5,865	52.0	8.4
Registered electors			11,283
	Labour hold		Swing	0.2

Didsbury West

Didsbury West

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Debbie Hilal	2,523	44.9	4.5
	Liberal Democrats	Richard Kilpatrick*	2,282	40.6	3.0
	Green	Jake Welsh	408	7.3	2.8
	Conservative	Luke Bourke Costello	309	5.5	0.3
	Women's Equality	Sarika Paul	72	1.3	New
	SDP	Wendy Andrew	29	0.5	New
Majority			241	4.3
Rejected ballots			31	0.6
Turnout			5,654	45.8	1.7
Registered electors			12,335
	Labour gain from Liberal Democrats		Swing	3.8

Fallowfield

Fallowfield

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Zahra Alijah*	1,583	71.1	7.0
	Green	George Morris	342	15.4	9.2
	Conservative	Sabreena Hossain	209	9.4	2.7
	Liberal Democrats	Paul Jones	92	4.1	5.0
Majority			1,241	55.7
Rejected ballots			23	1.0
Turnout			2,249	19.78	2.8
Registered electors			11,394
	Labour hold		Swing	8.1

Gorton and Abbey Hey

Gorton and Abbey Hey

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour Co-op	Julie Reid*	2,372	70.7	6.0
	Liberal Democrats	Jackie Pearcey	440	13.1	7.6
	Conservative	Ugo Nzeribe	378	11.3	0.3
	Green	Scott Robinson	165	4.9	1.9
Majority			1,932	57.6
Rejected ballots			57	1.7
Turnout			3,412	25.8	1.8
Registered electors			13,243
	Labour Co-op hold		Swing	6.8

Harpurhey

Harpurhey

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Joanne Green*	1,901	68.7	8.8
	Conservative	Gareth Brown	503	18.2	2.1
	Green	Vicky Matthews	228	8.2	3.7
	Liberal Democrats	Celia Craske	136	4.9	New
Majority			1,398	50.5
Rejected ballots			41	1.5
Turnout			2,809	22.1	2.0
Registered electors			12,710
	Labour hold		Swing	5.5

Higher Blackley

Higher Blackley

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Shelley Lanchbury*	1,805	67.8	7.2
	Conservative	Colin Jones	498	18.7	2.0
	Green	Antje Timmermann	164	6.2	2.0
	Liberal Democrats	Peter Matthews	119	4.5	0.4
	Independent	Stephen Moran	75	2.8	New
Majority			1,307	49.1
Rejected ballots			30	1.1
Turnout			2,691	23.8	1.1
Registered electors			11,308
	Labour hold		Swing	4.6

Hulme

Hulme

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Ekua Bayunu	2,313	69.0	4.3
	Green	Lottie Donovan	596	17.8	4.8
	Liberal Democrats	Gary McKenna	223	6.7	0.6
	Conservative	William Watermeyer	219	6.5	0.0
Majority			1,717	51.2
Rejected ballots			38	1.1
Turnout			3,389	26.5	4.2
Registered electors			12,804
	Labour hold		Swing	4.6

Levenshulme

Levenshulme

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Zareen Hussain	3,136	66.3	11.6
	Green	Dick Venes	599	12.7	5.8
	Independent	Jeremy Hoad	540	11.4	New
	Liberal Democrats	Greg Sammons	248	5.2	4.7
	Conservative	Alexandru Stancu	205	4.3	0.5
Majority			2,537	53.6
Rejected ballots			46	1.0
Turnout			4,774	36.4	2.4
Registered electors			13,125
	Labour hold		Swing	9.7

Longsight

Longsight

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Luthfur Rahman*	2,782	71.3	15.2
	Conservative	Usman Arshed	674	17.3	11.7
	Green	Bernard Eckbery	192	4.9	2.7
	Liberal Democrats	Kobe Bibbon	174	4.5	0.3
	Communist	Aaron Andrew	80	2.1	New
Majority			2,108	54.0
Rejected ballots			44	1.1
Turnout			3,946	30.2	1.2
Registered electors			13,086
	Labour hold		Swing	13.5

Miles Platting and Newton Heath

Miles Platting and Newton Heath

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	June Hitchin*	1,997	69.8	10.3
	Conservative	Paul Wan	336	11.7	1.3
	Green	Paul Hodges	269	9.4	5.6
	Reform UK	Derek Brocklehurst	140	4.9	New
	Liberal Democrats	Samuel Olanrewaju	118	4.1	New
Majority			1,661	58.1
Rejected ballots			32	1.1
Turnout			2,892	22.2	0.2
Registered electors			13,032
	Labour hold		Swing	5.8

Moss Side

Moss Side

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Emily Rowles*	2,883	81.8	5.7
	Green	Albie Mayo	294	8.3	4.0
	Conservative	Shaden Jaradat	204	5.8	1.7
	Liberal Democrats	Norman Lewis	142	4.0	0.1
Majority			2,589	73.5
Rejected ballots			53	1.5
Turnout			3,576	26.0	1.9
Registered electors			13,745
	Labour hold		Swing	4.9

Moston

Moston

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Julie Connolly	2,249	65.0	7.2
	Conservative	Stephen Alabi	719	20.8	2.3
	Green	Diane Kosandiak	328	9.5	4.8
	Liberal Democrats	Robbie Cowbury	122	3.5	New
	Independent	Hugo Wils	43	1.2	New
Majority			1,530	44.2
Rejected ballots			27	0.8
Turnout			3,488	26.5	0.5
Registered electors			13,143
	Labour hold		Swing	2.5

Northenden

Northenden

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Sam Lynch*	1,859	60.5	7.5
	Conservative	Stephen McHugh	610	19.9	1.2
	Monster Raving Loony	Sir Oink A-Lot	364	11.9	10.7
	Liberal Democrats	Ellin Saunders	143	4.7	1.9
	Green	Sylvia Buchan	95	3.1	2.4
Majority			1,249	40.6
Rejected ballots			22	0.7
Turnout			3,093	28.0	2.9
Registered electors			11,032
	Labour hold		Swing	4.4

Old Moat

Old Moat

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Gavin White*	2,568	72.4	3.6
	Green	Stacey Wright	476	13.6	3.0
	Liberal Democrats	Jon Martin	238	6.8	7.2
	Conservative	Gary Wilkinson	218	6.2	0.3
Majority			2,092	59.8
Rejected ballots			36	1.0
Turnout			3,536	30.0	2.2
Registered electors			11,774
	Labour hold		Swing	3.3

Piccadilly

Piccadilly

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Jon-Connor Lyons*	1,381	62.1	4.4
	Green	Chris Perriam	438	19.7	4.6
	Liberal Democrats	Chris Northwood	250	11.2	9.3
	Conservative	Siqi Lin	156	7.0	1.3
Majority			943	42.4
Rejected ballots			12	0.5	0.1
Turnout			2,237	28.7	8.6
Registered electors			7,783
	Labour hold		Swing	4.5

Rusholme

Rusholme

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Jill Lovecy*	2,491	75.5	6.7
	Green	Natasha Turner	374	11.3	6.6
	Conservative	Fahim Choudhury	306	9.2	4.7
	Liberal Democrats	Melvin Sowah	127	3.9	4.7
Majority			2,117	64.2
Rejected ballots			19	0.6
Turnout			3,317	26.7	0.5
Registered electors			12,315
	Labour hold		Swing	6.7

Sharston

Sharston

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Emma Taylor	1,866	70.1	5.2
	Conservative	Tony Welch	567	21.3	6.3
	Green	Astrid Johnson	207	7.8	4.1
	Liberal Democrats	Bryn Coombe	23	0.9	5.1
Majority			1,299	48.8
Rejected ballots			25	0.9
Turnout			2,688	23.1	3.3
Registered electors			11,659
	Labour hold		Swing	5.8

Whalley Range

Whalley Range

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Muqaddasah Bano	2,733	68.3	4.1
	Green	Beth McManus	955	23.9	5.2
	Conservative	Andrew Tang	210	5.3	1.7
	Liberal Democrats	Andrew McGuinness	102	2.6	0.5
Majority			1,778	44.4
Rejected ballots			30	0.7
Turnout			4,030	34.6	2.3
Registered electors			11,649
	Labour hold		Swing	4.7

Withington

Withington

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour Co-op	Chris Wills*	2,146	54.2	5.1
	Liberal Democrats	April Preston	1,277	32.3	0.8
	Green	Sam Easterby-Smith	377	9.5	5.9
	Conservative	Cameron Cosh	158	4.0	0.5
Majority			869	21.9
Rejected ballots			23	0.6
Turnout			3,981	34.1	3.6
Registered electors			11,718
	Labour Co-op hold		Swing	3.0

Woodhouse Park

Woodhouse Park

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Green	Rob Nunney	1,355	48.0	45.2
	Labour	Brian O'Neil*	1,180	41.8	32.3
	Conservative	Ken Wedderburn	244	8.6	9.2
	Liberal Democrats	Anna Hablak	42	1.5	3.8
Majority			175	6.2	N/A
Rejected ballots			25	0.9
Turnout			2,846	25.4	6.4
Registered electors			11,185
	Green gain from Labour		Swing	38.8

Changes since this election

Chorlton by-election

On 14 October 2021 councillor Matt Strong resigned from his seat in Chorlton, prompting a by-election that was held on 18 November 2021.^[7]

Changes in the table below are relative to the 2019 election.

By-election: Chorlton - 18th November 2021^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Mathew Benham	1,581	52.1	4.9
	Liberal Democrats	Rosie Hughes	657	21.7	8.9
	Green	Simon Milner-Edwards	608	20.0	1.0
	Conservative	Kathleen Fitzgibbon	93	3.1	1.6
	Women's Equality	Jo Heathcote	66	2.2	1.1
	Independent	Paul Harnett	27	0.9	n/a
Majority			924	30.5	5.2
Rejected ballots			2	0.07	0.6
Turnout			3,032	28.1	22.9
Registered electors			10,795
	Labour hold		Swing	6.9

Ancoats & Beswick by-election

On 30 November 2021 councillor Marcia Hutchinson resigned from her seat in Ancoats & Beswick, citing allegations of bullying and racism within the Labour group.^[9] A by-election was held on 3 February 2022, which was won by the Liberal Democrat candidate Alan Good.^[10]

By-election: Ancoats & Beswick - 3 February 2022^[11][10][12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Alan Good	1,113	53.2	31.0
	Labour	Gareth Worthington	793	37.9	20.6
	Green	Chris Perriam	119	5.7	5.3
	Conservative	Alexander Bramham	66	3.2	5.8
Majority			320	15.3	10.6
Turnout			2,091	17.84	12.5
	Liberal Democrats gain from Labour		Swing	25.6

References

1. "Former Lib Dem Councillor Greg Stanton Joins Labour". manchestergazette.co.uk/. Manchester Gazette. Archived from the original on 28 February 2021. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
2. Griffiths, Niall (18 May 2021). "Former deputy leader joins consultancy firm that is helping put forward controversial development - in his old ward". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
3. Williams, Jennifer (22 June 2020). "Manchester council's finance chief suspended by Labour group over social media allegations". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
4. Williams, Jen (7 April 2020). "Heartbreak and shock as Manchester council's 'kind, compassionate' deputy leader dies". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
5. Griffiths, Niall (13 October 2020). "Councillor who described Covid-19 as a hoax has 'stood down'". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
6. "Your next election". manchester.gov.uk. Manchester City Council. Archived from the original on 4 April 2019. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
7. "Chorlton By-election 2021 notices". Manchester City Council. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
8. "Chorlton By-Election results (18 November 2021)". Manchester City Council. Archived from the original on 19 November 2021. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
9. "Manchester councillor quits after racist bullying claim". BBC News. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
10. @BritainElects (3 February 2022). "Ancoats & Beswick (Manchester) council by-election result" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
11. "NOTICE OF PARTICULARS OF ELECTION AGENTS - LOCAL GOVERNMENT ELECTION, THURSDAY 3 FEBRUARY 2022 - ANCOATS & BESWICK WARD". Manchester City Council. Archived from the original on 7 January 2022. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
12. @josephtiman (3 February 2022). "Ancoats & Beswick by-election results are in: Lib Dem GAIN" (Tweet) – via Twitter.