2024 Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council election

2024 Rochdale Council election

←  2023 2 May 2024 2026 →
20 out of 60 seats of Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council 31 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party Third party   Leader Neil Emmott John Taylor Andy Kelly Party Labour Conservative Liberal Democrats Last election 16 seats, 56.5% 3 seats, 19.6% 1 seat, 11.9% Seats before 46 9 3 Seats won 14 3 1 Seats after 44 9 3 Seat change 2 Popular vote 22,717 10,003 6,345 Percentage 42.1% 18.5% 11.8% Swing 9.1% 3.6% 0.3%   Fourth party Fifth party   Leader Lee Wolf Party Workers Party Middleton Ind. Last election N/A 0 seats, 5.0% Seats before 0 2 Seats won 2 0 Seats after 2 2 Seat change 2 Popular vote 7,234 3,971 Percentage 13.4% 7.4% Swing N/A 0.8%
Winner of each seat at the 2024 Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council election
Leader before election Neil Emmott Labour Leader after election Neil Emmott Labour

The 2024 Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council elections took place on 2 May 2024 alongside the 2024 Greater Manchester mayoral election and other local elections across the United Kingdom. One third of seats (20) on Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council were contested. ^[1] The council remained under Labour majority control.

Background

The council has had an overall Labour majority since 2011. In the previous election in 2023, Labour won 16 seats with 56.5% of the vote gaining three councillors, the Conservatives won three seats with 19.6% of the vote losing one councillor, the Liberal Democrats won 1 seat with 11.9% of the vote, and the Middleton Independents Party won no seats from 5% of the vote losing two councillors. ^[2]

On 19 February 2024, Farooq Ahmed, a Liberal Democrat candidate for Central Ward, was suspended by the party after being photographed campaigning with George Galloway in the 2024 Rochdale by-election. ^[3]

Electoral process

The council generally elects its councillors in thirds, with a third being up for election every year for three years, with no election in the fourth year. ^{[4] [5]} The election will be conducted using the first-past-the-post voting system, with each ward electing one councillor.

All registered electors (British, Irish, Commonwealth and European Union citizens) living in Rochdale 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.

Summary

Labour lost two seats to the Workers Party of Britain, but retained its overall majority on the council. ^[6]

Election result

2024 Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council election
Party		This election			Full council			This election
		Seats	Net	Seats %	Other	Total	Total %	Votes	Votes %	+/−
	Labour	14	2	70.0	30	44	73.3	22,717	42.1	–9.1
	Conservative	3		15.0	6	9	15.0	10,003	18.5	–3.6
	Liberal Democrats	1		5.0	2	3	5.0	6,345	11.8	+0.3
	Workers Party	2	2	10.0	0	2	3.3	7,234	13.4	N/A
	Middleton Ind.	0		0.0	2	2	3.3	3,971	7.4	+0.8
	Green	0		0.0	0	0	0.0	1,640	3.0	–4.2
	Independent	0		0.0	0	0	0.0	1,262	2.3	+1.1
	Reform UK	0		0.0	0	0	0.0	788	1.5	N/A

Ward results

Balderstone & Kirkholt

Balderstone & Kirkholt

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour Co-op	Daniel Joseph Meredith	1,086	52.9	–5.5
	Workers Party	William Howarth	395	19.3	N/A
	Conservative	Leonard Keith Branton	298	14.5	–8.9
	Green	Mick Coats	150	7.3	–2.3
	Liberal Democrats	John Swarbrick	122	5.9	N/A
Majority			691	33.6
Turnout			2,051	24.8
Registered electors			8,277
	Labour Co-op hold

Bamford

Bamford

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Philip Michael Beal	1,394	42.1	–11.7
	Labour Co-op	Lewis Chadwick Woodall	850	25.6	–9.6
	Workers Party	Jamil Akhtar	794	24.0	N/A
	Green	Peter Corby	182	5.5	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	Zarah Kauser	95	2.9	–8.1
Majority			544	16.5
Turnout			3,344	40.9
Registered electors			8,176
	Conservative hold		Swing	1.1

Castleton

Castleton

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Aisling Gallagher*	899	34.8	–4.6
	Independent	David Jones	569	22.0	+2.2
	Conservative	Malcolm Thomas Bywater	413	16.0	–5.1
	Workers Party	Thomas James Byrne	391	15.1	N/A
	Green	Jonathan Edward Kershaw	183	7.1	–2.4
	Liberal Democrats	Sharon Harrison	132	5.1	–5.0
Majority			330	12.8
Turnout			2,602	33.2
Registered electors			7,847
	Labour hold		Swing	3.4

Central Rochdale

Central Rochdale

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Workers Party	Farooq Ahmed	2,016	53.0	N/A
	Labour	Ali Ahmed*	1,541	40.5	–32.4
	Liberal Democrats	Naveed Akhtar	144	3.8	–13.8
	Conservative	Shajan Ali	106	2.8	–6.7
Majority			475	12.5
Turnout			3,855	42.4
Registered electors			9,099
	Workers Party gain from Labour

East Middleton

East Middleton

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Dylan James Williams*	1,974	67.9	+6.2
	Middleton Ind.	Bernard Peter Wynne	709	24.4	–2.7
	Conservative	Gillian Louise Jackson	183	6.3	–4.9
	Liberal Democrats	Barrie Nicholson	40	1.4	N/A
Majority			1,265	43.5
Turnout			2,910	34.4
Registered electors			8,468
	Labour hold		Swing	4.5

Healey

Healey

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Shah Wazir	1,086	37.7	–31.2
	Conservative	Paul Simon Ellison	618	21.5	–1.1
	Workers Party	Amr Nazir	591	20.5	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	Andy Lord	487	16.9	+8.4
	Green	Anja Jungmayr	96	3.3	N/A
Majority			468	16.2
Turnout			2,903	36.7
Registered electors			7,904
	Labour hold		Swing	15.1

Hopwood Hall

Hopwood Hall

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Carol Elizabeth Wardle*	1,220	50.1	–14.8
	Reform UK	Steve Potter	380	15.6	N/A
	Conservative	Claudius Chonzi	346	14.2	–4.5
	Middleton Ind.	Caitlin Victoria O'mara	302	12.4	+0.6
	Liberal Democrats	Iain Donaldson	189	7.8	+3.2
Majority			840	34.5
Turnout			2,462	28.7
Registered electors			8,592
	Labour hold

Kingsway

Kingsway

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Daalat Ali*	1,197	41.6	–27.0
	Workers Party	Haroon Nawaz Khan	811	28.2	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	Saghir Ahmed	323	11.2	+2.9
	Conservative	Lynn Butterworth	297	10.3	–5.7
	Green	Mark Hollinrake	247	8.6	+1.5
Majority			386	13.4
Turnout			2,902	34.8
Registered electors			8,346
	Labour hold

Littleborough Lakeside

Littleborough Lakeside

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour Co-op	Tom Besford*	1,436	54.9	+10.8
	Conservative	Ian Spencer Jackson	946	36.1	–7.8
	Green	Hannah Macguire	182	7.0	–2.6
	Liberal Democrats	Safina Kauser	36	1.4	–1.2
	Workers Party	Uzair Mehmood	17	0.6	N/A
Majority			490	18.8
Turnout			2,640	36.0
Registered electors			7,342
	Labour Co-op hold		Swing	9.3

Milkstone & Deeplish

Milkstone & Deeplish

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Workers Party	Minaam Ellahi	1,812	62.4	N/A
	Labour	Shahid Mohammed*	713	24.5	–55.5
	Liberal Democrats	Rifat Mahmood	152	5.2	–4.6
	Conservative	Philip Edward Starr	118	4.1	–2.1
	Green	Feruz Ali	111	3.8	–0.2
Majority			1,099	37.9
Turnout			2,906	37.4
Registered electors			7,778
	Workers Party gain from Labour

Milnrow & Newhey

Milnrow & Newhey

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Andy Kelly*	1,684	55.6	+8.4
	Labour	Avis Kay Gilmore	936	30.9	–3.1
	Conservative	Aidan James Forshaw	233	7.7	–5.0
	Green	Feruz Ali	111	3.7	–2.4
	Workers Party	Jordan Rashida	64	2.1	N/A
Majority			748	24.7
Turnout			3,050	36.1
Registered electors			8,452
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing	5.8

Norden

Norden

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Peter Winkler*	1,448	48.5	–5.4
	Labour	Sue Moore-Holmes	968	32.4	+8.9
	Liberal Democrats	Stephanie Robertson	233	7.8	–6.3
	Green	Sarah Croke	188	6.3	–2.1
	Workers Party	Sana Aziz	147	4.9	N/A
Majority			480	16.1
Turnout			3,005	37.3
Registered electors			8,050
	Conservative hold		Swing	7.2

North Heywood

North Heywood

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Paul O'Neill	1,009	53.2	–25.4
	Reform UK	Mike Howard	408	21.5	N/A
	Conservative	Jordan Tarrant-Short	305	16.1	–5.3
	Liberal Democrats	Jennifer Kelly	109	5.7	N/A
	Workers Party	Saliah Begum	66	3.5	N/A
Majority			601	31.7
Turnout			1,913	24.1
Registered electors			7,942
	Labour hold

North Middleton

North Middleton

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Kathryn Bromfield	1,294	48.3	–1.7
	Middleton Ind.	Keely O'Mara	1,163	43.4	+2.7
	Conservative	Aaron Slack	177	6.6	–2.6
	Liberal Democrats	Chariss Peacock	46	1.7	N/A
Majority			131	4.9
Turnout			2,690	29.9
Registered electors			8,987
	Labour hold		Swing	2.0

Smallbridge & Firgrove

Smallbridge & Firgrove

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	John Blundell*	1,094	48.0	–3.2
	Liberal Democrats	Zulfiqar Ali	820	36.0	+9.1
	Conservative	Eileen Taylor	365	16.0	+2.9
Majority			274	12.0
Turnout			2,336	27.4
Registered electors			8,516
	Labour hold		Swing	6.2

South Middleton

South Middleton

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	June West*	1,571	51.0	–0.8
	Middleton Ind.	Lee Wolf	1,030	33.4	+1.6
	Conservative	Tracy Furnell	389	12.6	–3.9
	Liberal Democrats	Tony Hughes	91	3.0	N/A
Majority			541	17.6
Turnout			3,103	35.6
Registered electors			8,726
	Labour hold		Swing	1.2

Spotland & Falinge

Spotland & Falinge

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Faisal Rana*	1,297	42.6	–6.7
	Liberal Democrats	Rabina Asghar	849	27.9	–10.2
	Independent	Carl Faulkner	693	22.7	N/A
	Conservative	Ann Conway	208	6.8	+0.2
Majority			448	14.7
Turnout			3,064	35.7
Registered electors			8,585
	Labour hold		Swing	1.8

Wardle, Shore & West Littleborough

Wardle, Shore & West Littleborough

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Adam Branton	1,515	60.3	+0.7
	Labour	Farhat Kazmi	442	17.6	–9.7
	Liberal Democrats	Kim Ho	317	12.6	+6.8
	Green	Martyn Savin	190	7.6	+0.2
	Workers Party	Ali Shahid	49	1.9	N/A
Majority			1,073	42.7
Turnout			2,540	30.7
Registered electors			8,276
	Conservative hold		Swing	5.2

West Heywood

West Heywood

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Peter Joinson	1,080	53.0	–7.4
	Conservative	Stephen Spencer-Jones	490	24.0	–3.7
	Liberal Democrats	Tom Shaw	387	19.0	+7.2
	Workers Party	Umar Malik	81	4.0	N/A
Majority			590	29.0
Turnout			2,064	23.7
Registered electors			8,709
	Labour hold		Swing	1.9

West Middleton

West Middleton

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Susan Smith*	1,024	50.3	–10.6
	Middleton Ind.	Janene Walker	767	37.7	+12.1
	Conservative	Matt Roughsedge	154	7.6	–0.9
	Liberal Democrats	Nikki Edwards	89	4.4	–0.5
Majority			257	12.6
Turnout			2,047	27.4
Registered electors			7,475
	Labour hold		Swing	11.4

Changes 2024-2026

By-elections

North Middleton

North Middleton by-election: 31 October 2024

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Middleton Ind.	Keeley O'Mara	812	51.7	+8.3
	Labour	Donna Martin	572	36.4	–11.9
	Conservative	Sajid Majid	108	6.9	+0.3
	Liberal Democrats	Iain Donaldson	80	5.1	+3.4
Majority			240	15.3	N/A
Turnout			1,577	17.2	–12.7
Registered electors			9,143
	Middleton Ind. hold		Swing	10.1

Balderstone & Kirkholt

Balderstone & Kirkholt by-election: 1 May 2025 ^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Reform UK	Jordan Tarrant-Short	766	32.5	N/A
	Labour	Leanne Greenwood	624	26.5	–26.4
	Workers Party	Laura Pugh	398	16.9	–2.4
	Conservative	Mudassar Razzaq	212	9.0	–5.5
	Independent	Billy Howarth	180	7.6	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	Chariss Peacock	109	4.6	–1.3
	Green	Martyn Savin	65	2.8	–4.5
Majority			142	6.0	N/A
Turnout			2,362
	Reform UK gain from Labour

References

1. "Your next election". rochdale.gov.uk. Rochdale Borough Council. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
2. Scheerhout, John; Tweed, Lyell (4 May 2023). "Rochdale council local elections 2023 results in full". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 20 May 2023.
3. "Lib Dems suspend Rochdale council candidate after LBC reveal he was campaigning for George Galloway". lbc.co.uk. LBC . Retrieved 19 February 2024.
4. "Local government structure and elections". GOV.UK. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
5. "Election Timetable in England" (PDF).
6. Lythgoe, George; Grice, Maisie (2 May 2024). "Rochdale council local election 2024 results in full". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
7. "Balderstone & Kirkholt By-Election - Thursday, 1st May, 2025". Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council. 1 May 2025. Retrieved 1 May 2025.