2022 Manchester City Council election

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. Manchester 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, Manchester City Council has continuously been under Labour control. In the most recent council election in 2021, Labour won 31 of the 32 seats up for election with 65.4% of the vote, and the Green Party won the other seat with 11.5% of the vote across the borough. The Conservatives received 10.8% of the vote and the Liberal Democrats won 10.4% of the vote but neither party won any seats.[3]

The Local Government Boundary Commission for England produced new boundaries for Manchester ahead of the 2018 election, meaning that the 2018 elections were all-out, with all councillors being elected before returning to electing by thirds. Candidates up for re-election in 2022 are those who came first in each ward in 2018.

On 7 September 2021 Richard Leese announced his retirement after 38 years as a councillor and 25 years as the council leader.[4] He was succeeded as leader on 1 December 2021 by Bev Craig and resigned from the council on 4 January 2022.[5][6] Two by-elections have been called since the 2021 election: One in Chorlton, held on 14 October 2021, following the resignation of Matt Strong, which was won by Mathew Benham for Labour, and one in Ancoats & Beswick, held on 3 February 2022, following the resignation of Marcia Hutchinson, which was won by Alan Good for the Liberal Democrats.[7] [8] [9]

The following councillors are not standing for re-election:

Note: The incumbent councillor, Thomas Robinson, was elected in May 2021.

Note: The incumbent councillor, Ali Ilyas, was elected in May 2019

Conservative candidate Alexander Bramham was suspended from the Conservative party on 25 April after sending tweets linking trans and black people with Nazis.[13][14] As he was validly nominated as a Conservative candidate at the close of the nomination period, he will still be described as a "The Conservative Party Candidate" on the ballot paper.