| Election Name: | 2024 Manchester City Council election |
| Flag Image: | Arms of the City of Manchester.svg |
| Type: | parliamentary |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 2023 Manchester City Council election |
| Previous Year: | 2023 |
| Next Election: | 2026 Manchester City Council election |
| Next Year: | 2026 |
| Seats For Election: | 33 of 96 seats on Manchester City Council |
| Majority Seats: | 49 |
| Election Date: | 2 May 2024 |
| Leader1: | Bev Craig |
| Party1: | Labour Party (UK) |
| Last Election1: | 30 (64.6%) |
| Seats Before1: | 87 |
| Seats1: | 30 |
| Seats After1: | 87 |
| Leader2: | John Leech |
| Party2: | Liberal Democrats (UK) |
| Last Election2: | 2 (12.2%) |
| Seats Before2: | 4 |
| Seats2: | 1 |
| Seats After2: | 4 |
| Leader3: | Astrid Johnson |
| Party3: | Green Party of England and Wales |
| Last Election3: | 1 (14.0%) |
| Seats Before3: | 4 |
| Seats3: | 1 |
| Seats After3: | 3 |
| Seat Change3: | 1 |
| Party4: | Workers Party of Britain |
| Last Election4: | n/a |
| Seats Before4: | 0 |
| Seats4: | 1 |
| Seats After4: | 1 |
| Seat Change4: | 1 |
| Party5: | Independent politician |
| Seats Before5: | 1 |
| Seats5: | 0 |
| Seats After5: | 1 |
| Map Size: | 150px |
| Leader | |
| Posttitle: | Leader after election |
| Before Election: | Bev Craig |
| Before Party: | Labour Party (UK) |
| After Election: | Bev Craig |
| After Party: | Labour Party (UK) |
The 2024 Manchester City Council elections took place on 2 May 2024, alongside the 2024 Greater Manchester mayoral election and other local elections across England. There were 33 of the 96 seats on Manchester City Council up for election, being the usual third of the seats plus a by-election in Didsbury East ward. Labour retained its majority on the council.
In the previous election in 2023, Labour won 30 of the 33 seats up for election with 64.6% of the vote, the Liberal Democrats won two seats with 12.2% of the vote and the Green Party won one seat with 14% of the vote. The Conservatives received 7.3% of the vote but did not win any seats.
Candidates up for re-election in 2024 are those who were elected in 2021.
In July 2023 councillor Julia Baker Smith resigned her seat in Brooklands following rumours that she was living in on the Isle of Wight, away from her ward.[1] A by-election was held on 7 September 2023, won by Labour's Dave Marsh.[2]
In October 2023 Amna Abdullatif (Ardwick) resigned from the Labour party in the wake of the Labour leadership's stance on the Israeli invasion of Gaza, and now sits as an independent councillor.[3]
In March 2024 James Wilson (Didsbury East) resigned as a councillor; voters in the ward therefore voted for up to 2 candidates with the winner receiving a full 4-year term, and the candidate with the 2nd highest number of votes serving the remainder of Cllr Wilson's 2023-2027 term.
| Councillor | Party | Ward | Held seat since | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hannah Priest | Charlestown | 2016 | ||
| Eve Holt | Chorlton | 2018 | ||
| Zahra Alijah | Fallowfield | 2016 | ||
| Shelley Lanchbury | Higher Blackley | 2012 | ||
| Emily Rowles | Moss Side | 2014 | ||
| Julie Connolly | Moston | 2021 | ||
The council elects its councillors in thirds, with a third being up for election every year for three years, with no election in the fourth year.[4] [5] Councillors are elected via first-past-the-post voting, with each ward represented by three councillors, one elected in each election year to serve a four-year term.
All registered electors (British, Irish, Commonwealth and European Union citizens) living in Manchester aged 18 or over will be entitled to vote in the election. People who live at two addresses in different councils, such as university students with different term-time and holiday addresses, are entitled to be registered for and vote in elections in both local authorities. Voting in-person at polling stations will take place from 07:00 to 22:00 on election day, and voters will be able to apply for postal votes or proxy votes in advance of the election.
After the 2023 election, the composition of the council was:
| 88 | 4 | 4 | |
| Labour | Grn | Lib Dem |
Immediately prior to the election, the composition of the council was:
| 86 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | |
| Labour | Grn | Lib Dem |
Following the election result, the composition of the council became:
| 87 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | |
| Labour | Lib Dem | Grn |
With 87 of the 96 seats on the council before the election, it was not possible for Labour to lose its majority. Their overall number of seats remained the same after the election. They gained one seat from the Greens, but their deputy leader, Luthfur Rahman, was defeated by Shahbaz Sarwar of the Workers Party.[6] [7]
Summary change in vote share compared to the 2023 election; where no figure is shown, the party did not stand candidates in 2023. Change in number of seats compared to the most recent sitting councillor for each ward before the election. The result for the Didsbury East ward has been normalised to account for the 2nd vacancy being filled in this election.
Ward level results are compared to the 2021 election when candidates seeking re-election were last elected on their normal cycle. Incumbent candidates are denoted with an asterisk.[8]
Alan Good was elected in a by-election in 2022; changes in vote share are compared with the regular May 2021 election cycle and on that basis this is a notional Liberal Democrat gain.
Ekua Bayunu was elected as a Labour councillor in 2021 but defected to the Green Party. Changes in vote share reflect the party's vote in 2021 rather than an individual candidate's. On that basis, this ward is a Labour hold.
Phil Brickell (Baguley, elected in 2023) was elected as MP for Bolton West in the July general election and resigned as a councillor; a by-election will take place on 5 September.[9]