Elections results 2021: Labour holds majority of Greater Manchester councils

Labour has retained control of the majority of councils across Greater Manchester.

The party held on to power in Bury, Manchester, Oldham, Salford, Rochdale, Tameside, Trafford and Wigan.

But Oldham Council's Labour leader Sean Fielding lost his seat to a candidate from a newly-formed party.

In Stockport, the Liberal Democrats replaced Labour as the largest group, while Bolton Council also remained under no overall control.

Mr Fielding lost in Failsworth by 191 votes to Mark Wilkinson, of Failsworth Independent Party, which gained 1,472 votes.

However, the Labour Party regained control of the council as a whole.

Mr Fielding, who had led Oldham Council since 2018, was one of six Labour casualties in the town, where a third of the council was up for grabs.

The Failsworth Independent Party, which already counted independent councillor Brian Hobin among its ranks, also saw its candidate Neil Hindle unseat Labour incumbent Liz Jacques in Failsworth East ward.

In Stockport, no party has an overall majority on the 63-seat council with the Liberal Democrats on 26 seats - one ahead of Labour - while the Tories are the third largest group with nine councillors.

The Lib Dems could now lead a minority administration but it is also possible Labour could form a coalition with the Tories.

Lib Dem leader Mark Hunter said: "There has been a vote for change and we hope to bring new leadership to Stockport."

The Green Party's Gary Lawson said he was "honoured" to be the borough's first Green councillor, citing hard work getting to know residents over a number of years as the reason for his success.

In Manchester, Labour inflicted a major blow on their Liberal Democrat opposition on Manchester council after unseating their deputy leader.

Richard Kilpatrick lost his seat in Didsbury West by 241 votes - cutting the party's number of councillors to just one.

The Green Party also celebrated a closely fought victory over Labour in Woodhouse Park to secure their first seat on the council since 2008.

Rob Nunney won 175 votes ahead of Labour's long-time incumbent Brian O'Neil.

Meanwhile, the Conservatives seem likely to continue leading Bolton Council after they became the largest party after the local elections, the Local Democracy Reporting Service reports.

They won three more seats and lost one and now have 20 councillors of the borough's 60.

Labour also gained a councillor and held on to the seven seats they were defending and now have a total of 19 councillors.

In Salford, Labour have come out stronger after gaining two seats overall, taking their total number of councillors to 52.

In Rochdale and Wigan, Labour also held on to power with no seats changing hands.

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