2022 Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council election

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2022 Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council election

← 2021 5 May 2022 (2022-05-05) 2023 →

All 60 seats to Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council
31 seats needed for a majority
  First party Second party
  Blank Blank
Leader Neil Emmott Ashley Dearnley
Party Labour Conservative
Last election 45 seats, 49.4% 9 seats, 31.5%
Seats before 45 11
Seats won 42 10
Seat change Decrease 3 Increase 1
Popular vote 75,197 30,060
Percentage 50.8% 20.3%
Swing Increase 1.4% Decrease 10.2%

  Third party Fourth party
  Blank Blank
Leader Unknown Andy Kelly
Party Middleton Ind. Liberal Democrats
Last election N/A 3 seats, 12.3%
Seats before 0 3
Seats won 5 3
Seat change Increase 5 Steady
Popular vote 13,511 25,569
Percentage 9.1% 17.3%
Swing N/A Increase 5.0%

Winner of each seat at the 2022 Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council election

Council control before election


Labour

Council control after election


Labour

The 2022 Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council election took place as of 5 May 2022. Due to boundary changes, all 60 councillors were elected at the same time. 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 45 seats after the election. The Conservatives formed the main opposition with nine seats, with the Liberal Democrats on four councillors and three independent councillors.

Background[edit]

Result of the 2021 council election

The Local Government Act 1972 created a two-tier system of metropolitan counties and districts covering Greater Manchester, Merseyside, South Yorkshire, Tyne and Wear, the West Midlands, and West Yorkshire starting in 1974. Rochdale was a district of the Greater Manchester metropolitan county.[1] The Local Government Act 1985 abolished the metropolitan counties, with metropolitan districts taking on most of their powers as metropolitan boroughs. The Greater Manchester Combined Authority was created in 2011 and began electing the mayor of Greater Manchester from 2017, which was given strategic powers covering a region coterminous with the former Greater Manchester metropolitan county.[2]

Since its formation, Rochdale has variously been under Labour control, Liberal Democrat control, Conservative control and no overall control. Councillors have predominantly been elected from the Labour Party, Liberal Democrats and the Conservative Party, with some independent councillors also serving. The council has had an overall Labour majority since the 2011. In the most recent election in 2021, Labour won sixteen seats with 49.4% of the vote, the Conservatives won three seats with 31.5% of the vote and the Liberal Democrats won one with 12.3% of the vote.[3]

Two councillors for the West Heywood ward, Jacqui Beswich and Alan McCarthy, had been originally elected as Labour candidates. They left the Labour Party in 2019 to sit as an independent councillor and a Brexit Party councillor. In June 2021 they both joined the Conservative Party.[4]

Bury council underwent boundary changes ahead of this election. The Local Government Boundary Commission for England determined that the council should continue to elect 60 councillors and designed new election boundaries to reflect population change. The new boundaries include twenty three-member wards.[5]

Electoral process[edit]

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.[6][7] However, due to a boundary review, all sixty councillors were elected at the same time. The election used plurality block voting, with each ward electing three councillors. Electors were able to vote for up to three candidates, and the three candidates with the most votes in each ward were elected.

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

Campaign[edit]

Bernard Wynne, Peter Shore and Simon Footitt established the Middleton Independents Party to contest the election.[8] They said that Middleton was sidelined in favour of Rochdale, and advocated regenerating the town centre and supporting local businesses. In a meeting, they said that if their candidates meant more Conservatives got elected, it "would not be a bad thing". Their application for electoral registration as a party was submitted after the Electoral Commission's deadline.[9]

Previous council composition[edit]

After 2021 election Before 2022 election
Party Seats Party Seats
Labour 45 Labour 45
Conservative 9 Conservative 11
Liberal Democrats 3 Liberal Democrats 3
Independent 3 Independent 1

Results[edit]

2022 Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council election
Party Seats Gains Losses Net gain/loss Seats % Votes % Votes +/−
  Labour 42 Decrease3 70.00 50.76 75,197
  Conservative 10 Increase1 16.67 20.29 30,060
  Middleton Ind. 5 Increase5 8.33 9.12 13,511
  Liberal Democrats 3 Steady 5.00 17.26 25,569
  Green 0 Steady 0.00 2.18 3,233
  Independent 0 Decrease3 0.00 0.29 431
  Freedom Alliance 0 Steady 0.00 0.10 142

Ward Results[edit]

Balderstone & Kirkholt[edit]

Balderstone & Kirkholt (3)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Philip Massey 1,225 57.1
Labour Daniel Meredith 1,224 57.1
Labour Elsie-Jane Wraighte 1,062 49.5
Conservative Mudassar Razzaq 505 23.5
Conservative Michael Smith 473 22.1
Green Jordan Eves 324 15.1
Liberal Democrats Judith Jones 313 14.6
Freedom Alliance Laura Grabowska 142 6.6
Turnout 2,145
Labour win (new seat)
Labour win (new seat)
Labour win (new seat)

Bamford[edit]

Bamford (3)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Angela Smith 1,683 51.7
Conservative Patricia Sullivan 1,553 47.7
Conservative Steve Anstee 1,549 47.6
Labour Sultan Ali 1,066 32.7
Labour Rosie Choudhury 1,066 32.7
Labour Brian Meredith 1,014 31.1
Liberal Democrats Siobhane Cunnane 406 12.5
Liberal Democrats Peter Diestler 380 11.7
Green Edward Whittaker 307 9.4
Liberal Democrats Zarah Kauser 269 8.3
Turnout 3,257
Conservative win (new seat)
Conservative win (new seat)
Conservative win (new seat)

Castleton[edit]

Castleton (3)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Billy Sheerin 1,424 58.2
Labour Aisling-Blaise Gallagher 1,214 49.7
Labour Aasim Rashid 1,095 44.8
Conservative David Jones 664 27.2
Conservative Stephen Sanderson 629 25.7
Conservative Darren Bayman 584 23.9
Liberal Democrats Beverley Heyworth 401 16.4
Liberal Democrats Sarah Kisa-Smith 294 12.0
Liberal Democrats Sajid Hashmi 236 9.7
Turnout 2,445
Labour win (new seat)
Labour win (new seat)
Labour win (new seat)

Central Rochdale[edit]

Central Rochdale (3)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Iftikhar Ahmed 2,598 61.6
Labour Ali Ahmed 2,518 59.7
Labour Sameena Zaheer 2,193 52.0
Liberal Democrats Mohammed Sheraz 1,499 35.6
Liberal Democrats Zulfiqar Ali 1,306 31.0
Liberal Democrats Zaheer Abbas 1,280 30.4
Conservative Leonard Branton 170 4.0
Conservative Steven Scholes 159 3.8
Turnout 4,215
Labour win (new seat)
Labour win (new seat)
Labour win (new seat)

East Middleton[edit]

East Middleton (3)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Middleton Ind. Paul Beswick 1,300 47.0
Middleton Ind. Dylan Williams 1,257 45.5
Middleton Ind. Bernard Wynne 1,245 45.0
Labour Kathryn Bromfield 1,193 43.2
Labour Elizabeth Atewologun 1,189 43.0
Labour Terry Smith 1,166 42.2
Green Connor Hibbert 269 9.7
Turnout 2,764
Middleton Ind. win (new seat)
Middleton Ind. win (new seat)
Middleton Ind. win (new seat)

Healey[edit]

Healey (3)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Sean O'Neill 1,582 52.6
Labour Shah Wazir 1,562 52.0
Labour Tricia Ayrton 1,533 51.0
Conservative Andrew Neilson 962 32.0
Liberal Democrats Mark Alcock 563 18.7
Liberal Democrats Shin Ingram 446 14.8
Liberal Democrats Safina Kauser 365 12.1
Turnout 3,006
Labour win (new seat)
Labour win (new seat)
Labour win (new seat)

Hopwood Hall[edit]

Hopwood Hall (3)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Susan Emmott 1,304 50.5
Labour Carol Wardle 1,226 47.5
Labour Peter Hodgkinson 1,209 46.8
Conservative Jacqueline Beswick 755 29.2
Conservative Alan McCarthy 674 26.1
Conservative Matthew Roughsedge 669 25.9
Middleton Ind. Matthew Glaysher 447 17.3
Middleton Ind. Caitlin O'Mara 433 16.8
Middleton Ind. Gavin Vitler 424 16.4
Turnout 2,582
Labour win (new seat)
Labour win (new seat)
Labour win (new seat)

Kingsway[edit]

Kingsway (3)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Shakil Ahmed 1,737 63.0
Labour Daalat Ali 1,584 57.5
Labour Rachel Massey 1,548 56.2
Conservative Ibrahim Khalil 655 23.8
Liberal Democrats Sharon Taylor 355 12.9
Green Mark Hollinrake 333 12.1
Liberal Democrats Barrie Nicholson 251 9.1
Liberal Democrats Chariss Peacock 197 7.2
Turnout 2,755
Labour win (new seat)
Labour win (new seat)
Labour win (new seat)

Littleborough Lakeside[edit]

Littleborough Lakeside (3)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Janet Emsley 1,349 47.8
Labour Tom Besford 1,287 45.6
Conservative Peter Reed 1,185 41.9
Conservative Lynn Butterworth 1,083 38.3
Conservative Daniel Nuttall 931 33.0
Labour Julian Farnell 889 31.5
Liberal Democrats Kate Clegg 434 15.4
Green Guy Otten 434 15.4
Turnout 2,825
Labour win (new seat)
Labour win (new seat)
Conservative win (new seat)

Milkstone & Deeplish[edit]

Milkstone & Deeplish (3)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Mohammad Arshad 1,726 53.9
Labour Shahid Mohammed 1,642 51.2
Labour Aiza Rashid 1,539 48.0
Liberal Democrats Mohammed Zaman 1,192 37.2
Liberal Democrats Salina Javid 1,182 36.9
Liberal Democrats Hassan Ali 1,107 34.6
Conservative Paul Ellison 141 4.4
Conservative Jacqueline Holt 131 4.1
Turnout 3,204
Labour win (new seat)
Labour win (new seat)
Labour win (new seat)

Milnrow & Newhey[edit]

Milnrow & Newhey (3)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats Irene Davidson 1,942 64.2
Liberal Democrats Andy Kelly 1,903 62.9
Liberal Democrats David Bamford 1,660 54.9
Labour Allen Brett 741 24.5
Labour Leanne Greenwood 583 19.3
Labour Alexander Royle 509 16.8
Conservative Steve Endacott 487 16.1
Turnout 3,025
Liberal Democrats win (new seat)
Liberal Democrats win (new seat)
Liberal Democrats win (new seat)

Norden[edit]

Norden (3)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative James Gartside 1,704 55.7
Conservative Peter Winkler 1,579 51.6
Conservative Mike Holly 1,511 49.4
Labour Tony Bennett 913 29.8
Labour Iain MacDonald 840 27.5
Labour Farhat Kazmi 637 20.8
Liberal Democrats Stephanie Robertson 568 18.6
Liberal Democrats Anne Colgan 482 15.8
Liberal Democrats Colette Duszczyk 433 14.2
Turnout 3,059
Conservative win (new seat)
Conservative win (new seat)
Conservative win (new seat)

North Heywood[edit]

North Heywood (3)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Liam O'Rourke 1,205 68.1
Labour Peter Rush 1,166 65.9
Labour Bev Place 1,121 63.4
Liberal Democrats Jennifer Kelly 368 20.8
Liberal Democrats Iain Donaldson 325 18.4
Liberal Democrats Richard Eden-Maughan 280 15.8
Turnout 1,769
Labour win (new seat)
Labour win (new seat)
Labour win (new seat)

North Middleton[edit]

North Middleton (3)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Middleton Ind. Peter Allonby 1,140 41.7
Labour Sara Rowbotham 1,118 40.9
Middleton Ind. Lee Wolf 1,059 38.8
Middleton Ind. Keely O'Mara 1,059 38.8
Labour Donna Williams 1,029 37.7
Labour Neil Butterworth 886 32.4
Conservative David Bold 381 14.0
Green Alan Godson 282 10.3
Turnout 2,731
Middleton Ind. win (new seat)
Labour win (new seat)
Middleton Ind. win (new seat)

Smallbridge & Firgrove[edit]

Smallbridge & Firgrove (3)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Aftab Hussain 1,343 51.3
Labour John Blundell 1,312 50.1
Labour Amna Mir 1,269 48.4
Liberal Democrats Latafat Hussain 812 31.0
Liberal Democrats Eleanor Kelly 798 30.5
Liberal Democrats Dean Larder 695 26.5
Conservative Eileen Taylor 476 18.2
Turnout 2,620
Labour win (new seat)
Labour win (new seat)
Labour win (new seat)

South Middleton[edit]

South Middleton (3)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Peter Williams 1,540 45.9
Labour June West 1,473 43.9
Labour Patricia Dale 1,404 41.9
Middleton Ind. Adam Cornett 1,350 40.3
Middleton Ind. Emma Hezelgrave-Whitworth 1,046 31.2
Middleton Ind. Jo Hezelgrave-Whitworth 959 28.6
Conservative Bernard Braiden 809 24.1
Conservative Aaron Slack 567 16.9
Turnout 3,354
Labour win (new seat)
Labour win (new seat)
Labour win (new seat)

Spotland & Falinge[edit]

Spotland & Falinge (3)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Iram Faisal 1,832 53.3
Labour Faisal Rana 1,815 52.8
Labour Amber Nisa 1,681 48.9
Liberal Democrats Rabina Asghar 1,053 30.6
Liberal Democrats John Swarbrick 743 21.6
Liberal Democrats Hammas Majid 678 19.7
Independent Carl Faulkner 431 12.5
Green Mick Coats 388 11.3
Conservative John Kershaw 372 10.8
Green Neil Rutter 269 7.8
Turnout 3,436
Labour win (new seat)
Labour win (new seat)
Labour win (new seat)

Wardle, Shore & West Littleborough[edit]

Wardle, Shore & West Littleborough (3)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Ashley Dearnley 1,881 67.6
Conservative Rina Paolucci 1,493 53.7
Conservative John Taylor 1,482 53.3
Labour Barbara Miller 652 23.4
Labour Mike Radanovic 564 20.3
Labour Muhammad Islam 454 16.3
Green Jules Howliston 375 13.5
Liberal Democrats Vickie Mason 275 9.9
Green Hannah MacGuire 252 9.1
Turnout 2,781
Conservative win (new seat)
Conservative win (new seat)
Conservative win (new seat)

West Heywood[edit]

West Heywood (3)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Angela Brown 1,241 60.7
Labour Peter Malcolm 1,102 53.9
Labour Linda Robinson 1,021 49.9
Conservative Christopher Harris 706 34.5
Conservative Ian Kilgannon 630 30.8
Conservative Martin Orson 621 30.4
Turnout 2,046
Labour win (new seat)
Labour win (new seat)
Labour win (new seat)

West Middleton[edit]

West Middleton (3)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Philip Burke 1,029 55.9
Labour Susan Smith 937 50.9
Labour Neil Emmott 816 44.3
Middleton Ind. Joan Aspinall 656 35.6
Middleton Ind. Peter Shore 587 31.9
Middleton Ind. Simon Footitt 549 29.8
Conservative Jordan Short 206 11.2
Liberal Democrats Nikki Edwards 78 4.2
Turnout 1,841
Labour win (new seat)
Labour win (new seat)
Labour win (new seat)

References[edit]

  1. ^ Local Government in England and Wales: A Guide to the New System. London: HMSO. 1974. p. 7. ISBN 0-11-750847-0.
  2. ^ "The Greater Manchester Combined Authority Order 2011". Legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
  3. ^ "Rochdale Online - Local Election 2021 - Results". www.rochdaleonline.co.uk. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
  4. ^ "Labour councillor hits out at former colleagues for joining Conservatives". www.rochdaleonline.co.uk. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
  5. ^ "LGBCE | Rochdale | LGBCE Site". www.lgbce.org.uk. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
  6. ^ "Local government structure and elections". GOV.UK. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  7. ^ "Election Timetable in England" (PDF).
  8. ^ Statham, Nick (15 March 2022). "Fledgling political party registered ahead of 'all out' election fight". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
  9. ^ Statham, Nick (4 March 2022). "'Oliver Twist begging for crumbs': The town being 'swallowed' by its neighbour". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 26 March 2022.