Labour retains control of Salford council but concedes three seats to the Tories
- Salford Mayor ‘disappointed’ with loss of three seats
- Turnout was 25%
Labour retained control of Salford Council but lost three seats to the Conservatives.
The Liberal Democrats gained two seats and one seat was taken by an Independent.
Ballot boxes are arriving here in #Salford ready for the count to get underway! #LocalElections2022 pic.twitter.com/tifj4raXcb
— The Northern Quota (@northernquota) May 5, 2022
Turnout was 25%, with 47,009 votes cast, with the last ward being announced at 3.30am.
Returning officer Tom Stannard said: “The people of Salford have had their say on who they want to represent them in their area.
“This was a chance for local people to have their voices heard and I would like to thank all those who voted and put democracy into action.”
As the results flooded in, it was clear some dramatic changes were going to happen.
Labour is still in control of the council. Their losses take their number of seats to 49, with the Tories on eight and Lib Dems on two.
Speaking after the results, Salford mayor Paul Dennett said he was “disappointed.”
He said: “We take no vote for granted. What this has told me is we need to get back to the residents to properly understand what matters to them and actually deliver for those people and deliver for those communities in the Quays and in Ordsall.”
Incumbent Avrohom Walters, who won the seat for the Lib Dems at the last election, kept his spot at the council after standing as an independent.
Thanks to our overnight #Salford team for great work bringing us live results. We’ll be back later today with more #LocalElections22 results from across Greater Manchester and the rest of the country. https://t.co/NbCQ9KHPow pic.twitter.com/MldvbeCE8S
— The Northern Quota (@northernquota) May 6, 2022
One of the seats lost by Labour was in Worsley and Westwood Park, where Conservative Adam Kealey beat Tony Davies by 153 votes.
The Conservatives campaigned against the clean air zone and focussed on the protection of the green belt in this ward where they now hold all three seats.
The Northern Quota will be at the Manchester count today. Follow us on Twitter to get all of the live updates and here on our live blog.