The 2022 St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council election took place on 5 May 2022. Due to boundary changes, all 48 councillors were elected at the same time, with the council moving to a system of all-out elections every four years. The election took place alongside other local elections across the United Kingdom.
In the previous council election in 2021, Labour maintained its control of the council, holding 35 seats after the election. The Liberal Democrats where the Opposition with 4 Seats while the Greens, Conservatives and Rainhill Independents had 3 Each, Earlestown Independents had 1.
Since its formation, St Helens has continuously been under Labour control apart from a period of no overall control from 2004 to 2010. Labour continued to run the council from 2004 until the 2005 election, when the Liberal Democrats formed a coalition with the Conservatives in an arrangement that lasted until Labour regained control of the council in the 2010 election. In the most recent election in 2021, Labour lost three seats but maintained their majority. Of the seventeen seats up for election—sixteen on the normal thirds schedule and one by-election on the same date—Labour won twelve, independent candidates won two and the Liberal Democrats, Conservatives and Greens won one seat each.[3]
St Helens council underwent boundary changes ahead of this election. The Local Government Boundary Commission for England determined that the council should continue to elect 48 councillors and designed new election boundaries to reflect population change. The new boundaries include thirteen three-member wards, four two-member wards and one single-member ward. The new boundaries will be used for all-out elections every four years instead of the previous model of election a third of councillors in each of three years out of four.[4]
Electoral process
The council previously elected its councillors in thirds, with a third being up for election every year for three years, with no election in the fourth year.[5][6] However, following a boundary review, all forty-eight councillors were elected at the same time. The election took place by multi-member first-past-the-post voting, with each ward being represented by up to three councillors. Electors were able to vote for as many candidates as there were seats to fill, and the candidates with the most votes in each ward were elected.
All registered electors (British, Irish, Commonwealth and European Union citizens) living in St Helens aged 18 or over were entitled to vote in the election. People who lived at two addresses in different councils, such as university students with different term-time and holiday addresses, were entitled to be registered for and vote in elections in both local authorities. Voting in-person at polling stations took place from 07:00 to 22:00 on election day, and voters were able to apply for postal votes or proxy votes in advance of the election.
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