The 2024 Manchester City Council elections took place on 2 May 2024, alongside the 2024 Greater Manchester mayoral election and other local elections across England. There were 33 of the 96 seats on Manchester City Council up for election, being the usual third of the seats plus a by-election in Didsbury East ward. Labour retained its majority on the council.

Background

In the previous election in 2023, Labour won 30 of the 33 seats up for election with 64.6% of the vote, the Liberal Democrats won two seats with 12.2% of the vote and the Green Party won one seat with 14% of the vote. The Conservatives received 7.3% of the vote but did not win any seats.

Candidates up for re-election in 2024 are those who were elected in 2021.

Changes since the last election

In July 2023 councillor Julia Baker Smith resigned her seat in Brooklands following rumours that she was living in on the Isle of Wight, 200 miles (320 km) away from her ward. A by-election was held on 7 September 2023, won by Labour's Dave Marsh.

In October 2023 Amna Abdullatif (Ardwick) resigned from the Labour party in the wake of the Labour leadership's stance on the Israeli invasion of Gaza, and now sits as an independent councillor.

In March 2024 James Wilson (Didsbury East) resigned as a councillor; voters in the ward therefore voted for up to 2 candidates with the winner receiving a full 4-year term, and the candidate with the 2nd highest number of votes serving the remainder of Cllr Wilson's 2023-2027 term.

Councillors not seeking re-election

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. Councillors are elected via first-past-the-post voting, with each ward represented by three councillors, one elected in each election year to serve a four-year term.

All registered electors (British, Irish, Commonwealth and European Union citizens) living in Manchester aged 18 or over will be entitled to vote in the election. People who live at two addresses in different councils, such as university students with different term-time and holiday addresses, are entitled to be registered for and vote in elections in both local authorities. Voting in-person at polling stations will take place from 07:00 to 22:00 on election day, and voters will be able to apply for postal votes or proxy votes in advance of the election.

Council composition

After the 2023 election, the composition of the council was:

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

Following the election result, the composition of the council became:

Results

With 87 of the 96 seats on the council before the election, it was not possible for Labour to lose its majority. Their overall number of seats remained the same after the election. They gained one seat from the Greens, but their deputy leader, Luthfur Rahman, was defeated by Shahbaz Sarwar of the Workers Party.

Summary change in vote share compared to the 2023 election; where no figure is shown, the party did not stand candidates in 2023. Change in number of seats compared to the most recent sitting councillor for each ward before the election. The result for the Didsbury East ward has been normalised to account for the 2nd vacancy being filled in this election.

Ward level results are compared to the 2021 election when candidates seeking re-election were last elected on their normal cycle. Incumbent candidates are denoted with an asterisk.

Ancoats and Beswick

Alan Good was elected in a by-election in 2022; changes in vote share are compared with the regular May 2021 election cycle and on that basis this is a notional Liberal Democrat gain.

Ardwick

Baguley

Brooklands

Dave Marsh was elected in a by-election in 2023.

Burnage

Charlestown

Cheetham

Chorlton

Chorlton Park

Clayton and Openshaw

Crumpsall

Deansgate

Didsbury East

Didsbury West

Fallowfield

Gorton and Abbey Hey

Harpurhey

Higher Blackley

Hulme

Ekua Bayunu was elected as a Labour councillor in 2021 but defected to the Green Party. Changes in vote share reflect the party's vote in 2021 rather than an individual candidate's. On that basis, this ward is a Labour hold.

Levenshulme

Longsight

Miles Platting and Newton Heath

Moss Side

Moston

Northenden

Old Moat

Piccadilly

Rusholme

Sharston

Whalley Range

Withington

Woodhouse Park

References