Labour loses overall control of council after 47 years in charge

Reform UK swept aside 47 years of Labour control at Tameside Council overnight winning 18 out of  the 19 seats up for grabs.

Labour supporters shed tears as a slew of long-serving councillors, including deputy leader Taf Sharif and former council leader Brenda Warrington lost their seats. 

Their despair was in stark contrast to the jubilant scenes in the Reform UK camp at Dukinfield Town Hall. As the ballot boxes flooded in and the votes were counted, Nigel Farage’s party became more and more raucous as they sensed a historic victory.

The results leave the council in no overall control but with Labour still as the largest party and Reform as the official opposition.
One third of seats were up for grabs last night and Reform UK won all but one. However Labour still has the majority of councillors. Tameside Reform’s chairman Rob Barrowcliffe has ambitions to take over the council entirely at the local elections in 2027.

When Coun Allan Hopwood became Reform’s first elected Greater Manchester politician last year in the Longdendale by-election, he said he was ‘the first of many’. That statement has now become a reality.

Coun Hopwood said: “I am ecstatic, we’ve done remarkably well. But we knew we were going to do well. “All the results coming through were just Reform, Reform, Reform. We just knew it was going that way and we felt that all night.“What we’ve done this evening is basically cleared out ex-leader Roy Oldham’s old junkbox. I think Tameside council stagnated.“We’ve got new faces here now, new ideas, political will. And we’re going to make it work.”

The current makeup of Tameside council is now Labour as the leading group with 24 councillors and Reform UK as the official opposition party with 19 councillors. The Conservatives now has five councillors, the Tameside Independent Group have four, with a further four independents also still in office.

The only ward Reform UK didn’t win was St Peter’s – a consolation prize for Labour’s newest councillor Atta Ul-Rasool.
Mr Barrowcliffe said: “Next year if we replicate this result we can take overall control. The council is now in no overall control, which is a precarious situation for the leading group.

“Our guys have zero political experience and people see that as a negative thing. I see it as a complete positive.
“In fact, we selected for that because they don’t have prior experience in politics, but they do have competency in all areas of life. These are experienced professional people that are now entering the realm of politics, not for self-benefit or self-gain.“It’s from a genuine desire to see change in their area and pass on a better Tameside to their children.” It was clear early on that it was a tough night for Labour, with a number of red rosettes leaving the town hall early. As the cheers grew louder for Reform, more and more Labour members exited.

It was a long night for council leader Eleanor Wills, who could be seen consoling visibly upset councillors and activists. She lost her deputy leader as well as a number of friends and colleagues.

Speaking over background cheers from Reform, Coun Wills said: “It’s huge sadness for the candidates and sitting councillors that aren’t returning to serve the residents of Tameside. We’ve collectively got over 100 years of experience across the board, people at the heart of Tameside.
“Tameside is worse off for not having them around the table. This means a delay in progress. 

“We’re divided in our community at the moment. I am tasked with, morally and as leader of Tameside, how we bring our community back together.
Coun Wills remains as council leader, but she believes they will have to work collectively going forward ‘if at all possible’. The Labour leader felt national politics dominated their conversations on the doorstep.