23 April 2019

Local elections 2019: Labour’s march on Trafford

After knocking over the Conservative administration last year, Labour is now on course to win overall control of this flagship Tory council in Greater Manchester.

By Eleni Courea

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - MAY 05: Votes are counted for the Greater Manchester mayoral election at Manchester Central on May 5, 2017 in Manchester, England. Six new metro Mayors are being elected in areas including Greater Manchester, West Midlands and the West of England (Photo by Anthony Devlin/Getty Images)

For 14 years, Trafford wasn’t just a Tory-run council. It was a symbol of the Conservatives’ ability to win in the North West and an enduring foothold in England’s second city. When the borough’s boundaries changed in 2004, a Tory councillor gloated that Labour would never win control of Trafford again.

Last year, Labour went some way towards proving him wrong when they unseated four Conservatives and Trafford Borough Council fell into no overall control. Labour now has 30 councillors to the Tories’ 29, and is governing in a confidence-and-supply arrangement with the Liberal Democrats. As Trafford elects a third of its councillors each year, sources from several parties expect Labour to win a majority in May and take full control of the council for the first time since 2003.