2026 Bury Metropolitan Borough Council election

2026 Bury Metropolitan Borough Council election

←  2024 7 May 2026 (2026-05-07) 2027 →
17 out of 51 seats to Bury Metropolitan Borough Council 26 seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party Third party   Leader Eamonn O'Brien Mike Smith Shahbaz Arif Party Labour Radcliffe First Conservative Leader's seat St Mary's Radcliffe West Bury West Last election 32 seats, 45.4% 8 seats, 7.8% 10 seats, 25.9% Seats before 32 8 5   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   Party Together For Bury Reform Independent Last election Not formed 0 seats, 1.0% 0 seats, 0.4% Seats before 4 1 1
Leader before election Eamonn O'Brien Labour Leader after election TBD

The 2026 Bury Metropolitan Borough Council election will take place on Thursday 7 May 2026, alongside other local elections in the United Kingdom. One third of the 51 members of Bury Metropolitan Borough Council in Greater Manchester will be elected.

Background

Bury Metropolitan Borough Council was created in 1974. The Conservatives controlled the council until 1986, when Labour formed their first majority on the council. ^[1] Following a period of no overall control beginning in 2006, the Conservatives formed a majority in 2008, but this was lost at the next election. ^[2] Labour retook majority control in 2011 and have formed majority administrations since. Labour expanded their majority in 2024 by gaining one seat from the Conservatives. ^[3]

Following the 2024 election, the Conservative group faced internal difficulties. Conservative group leader Russell Bernstein was deselected and faced disciplinary measures by the party. ^[4] Bernstein and three other councillors left the party to form Together for Bury, which was registered in December 2025. ^[5]

A new set of ward boundaries was used for the 2022 election. This election will be for the councillors elected with the highest number of votes in each of the seventeen three-member wards. ^[6] Labour are defending nine seats, the Conservatives are defending four, Radcliffe First are defending three, and independents are defending one.

Council composition

After 2024 election			Before 2026 election
Party		Seats	Party		Seats
	Labour	32		Labour	32
	Radcliffe First	8		Radcliffe First	8
	Conservative	10		Conservative	5
	Together for Bury	N/A		Together for Bury	4
	Independent	1		Independent	1
	Reform	0		Reform	1

Changes 2024–2026:

• June 2025: Russell Bernstein (Conservative), Jo Lancaster (Conservative), Luis McBriar (Conservative), and Dene Vernon (Conservative) leave party to sit as independents ^[4]
• October 2025: Jack Rydeheard (Conservative) joins Reform ^[7]
• December 2025: Together for Bury formed – Russell Bernstein (Independent), Jo Lancaster (Independent), Luis McBriar (Independent), and Dene Vernon (Independent) join party ^[5]

References

1. "BBC News - Election 2011 - England council elections - Bury". BBC News. Retrieved 1 January 2026.
2. "Bury Metropolitan Borough Council Election Results 1973-2012" (PDF). Elections Centre. Retrieved 1 January 2026.
3. Oldman, Isabel (3 May 2024). "Bury's ruling party celebrates 'strong position' after local elections results". Bury Times. Retrieved 1 January 2026.
4. Gee, Chris (1 July 2025). "Bury Council's opposition leader and 3 other councillors quit Conservatives". Bury Times. Retrieved 1 January 2026.
5. Valentine, Lisa (21 December 2025). "New political party gets the green light from officials". Bury Times. Retrieved 1 January 2026.
6. The Bury (Electoral Changes) Order 2022
7. Murphy, David; Gee, Chris (7 October 2025). "Cllr Jack Rydeheard defects to Reform UK, becoming Bury's first Reform councillor". Roch Valley Radio. Retrieved 1 January 2026.