An all-out election with the ability to change the composition of Trafford Council is two weeks away.
All the seats across all the wards in the borough are up for election when the polls open next month.
Currently, the Labour Group is in overall control of the council with 40 seats. It held one more than this after the last local elections, but lost one councillor who is now an independent.
The Conservative Group was in overall control of the council until 2018, but collapsed, while the Green Group and Lib Dems are on the rise in the areas of Altrincham and Timperley.
READ MORE: Trafford Council local elections – the list of candidates.
Here are some storylines to watch when the polls open next month.
Conservative Collapse
In an interview over the weekend Conservative Party chairman Greg Hands said the party is on track to lose more than 1000 seats nationwide next month.
It comes after chaos at Number 10, with two changes of Prime Minister in two months last year, and issues such as the cost of living crisis taking their toll.
As a council once led by the Conservatives, and with a bigger contingent of Conservatives than a lot of authorities in Greater Manchester, a lot of eyes will be on Trafford Council to see if this prediction by Mr Hands will come true.
Changing of the Guard
After the election in 2022, the Labour Group had never been so big and the Conservative Group had never been so small.
Although the history of Trafford Council suggests the trend will stop and will swing the other way, this is not set in stone.
If anything it seems the Green Group – who have three candidates in every ward – and the Lib Dems are the likeliest to make inroads into their majority.
All-Out Fallout
The all-out election is due to alterations to the boundaries between wards.
The number of seats and wards is the same but there are new wards such as Davyhulme, Lostock and Barton, Timperley Central, Timperley North and Hale Barns and Timperley South.
The impact of these alterations to the boundaries between wards remains to be seen on the day of the results but there is the potential for it to be a talking point or even a turning point.
This article was written by Jack Tooth. To contact him, email jack.tooth@newsquest.co.uk or follow @JTRTooth on Twitter.
Share