What no overall control for Tameside council means going forward

Reform UK has ended 47 years of Labour dominance in Tameside. 

The local authority is now in no overall control after Labour only held one seat at the local elections. Reform UK nearly achieved a clean sweep in Dukinfield Town Hall, winning 18 out of 19 available council seats. 

It was a disastrous night for Labour, who dropped from 38 councillors to just 25 – not enough to command a majority in the council chamber.

A total of 29 councillors is required to control the local authority consisting of 57 seats. Although Labour remains the largest party in Tameside, Reform UK is breathing down their necks with 19 councillors in total.

Going forward, this means Labour will have to form a coalition with another political group or operate as a minority administration. A minority would require collaboration with other political parties to get decisions over the line at full council meetings. 

Speaking on what losing overall control means going forward, council leader Eleanor Wills said: “What this means, sadly, is a delay in progress. Over the last 18 months I’ve been able to deliver things people say they want.

“Things like two hours free car parking; town centre regeneration plans; investment in sport and leisure; as well as civic pride returned into our community. Unfortunately, this means we’ll see progress slow down.”

Coun Wills remains as council leader, but she believes they will have to work collectively going forward, ‘if at all possible’. 

Given it is unlikely Labour could expect a coalition with Reform or the Conservatives, the council leader could look to the independents for support. The majority of independents in Tameside have either been in the Labour Party before or have close ties with the red rosettes.

Councillors George Newton and Jack Naylor were removed from the Labour party after their involvement in the ‘Trigger Me Timbers’ WhatsApp scandal, but have since voted with Labour when attending full council meetings. But those two extra votes wouldn’t be enough to get a majority in the chamber for Labour.

It may be that Eleanor Wills has to turn to her predecessor Ged Cooney, who now runs the Tameside Independent Group full of ex-Labour members. The former council leader is still involved with Labour’s trade union movement, but he couldn’t see an alliance with Tameside Labour when speaking at the count last night.

Coun Cooney said: “I am still working with the Labour and trade union movement and I still have that at heart. But we won’t be working with people in alliances.

“The reality is that people are rejecting what is going on. I think people here need to say ‘is there a new way forward’. I don’t have a problem with talking to people about a new way forward in Tameside. 

“We need to talk about policies and how they affect people and campaigning on the right issues, not what we’ve got here at the moment. 

“We’ll talk to everyone, but our members are not happy with Labour.”

If Labour can’t get votes across the line, it will mean slower decision making and further turbulence in the town hall. This is something we’ve seen in Tameside’s neighbouring borough of Oldham since 2024. 

The current make-up of Tameside council is now Labour as the leading group with 25 councillors and Reform UK as the official opposition party with 19 councillors. The Conservatives now have five councillors, the Tameside Independent Group have four, with a further four independents also still in office.