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Here's the Mancunian Way for today:
Hello,
People up and down the country yesterday popped into churches, community centres and school gyms to vote in this year’s local elections.
With votes still being counted, the reaction will go into the weekend as the full picture starts to become clear but it's not been a great result for the Tories with the party experiencing a 'bruising night' by losing at least 787 seats across the country.
As expected, Labour has maintained its tight grip on Manchester council. We'll get into all of that shortly, but it’s been a different election this year with voter ID becoming the norm for the first time.
Despite many concerns about the concept - which requires people to show photo identification before voting - the Electoral Commission has said the elections with voter ID were 'well run'.
The independent organisation said it will be looking at how the new policy has worked in practice, with some people reporting they were unable to vote because of the new law and one councillor in Manchester calling for the policy to be scrapped altogether.
Manchester councillor Pat Karney said: "One person turned away is a denial of democratic rights. Only the hard work of election staff prevented lots of problems. The new law was badly thought out and hugely expensive. It should be scrapped."
But turnout numbers seem relatively on track with previous years, suggesting it hasn't had a detrimental impact on voting. Caroline Simpson, Chief Executive at Stockport Council, said turnout this year in the borough was at 35.2% compared to 35.7% last year.
In a statement published after polls closed at 10pm, an Electoral Commission spokesperson said: "These were the first set of polls to take place since the voter ID requirement came into force. Our initial assessment is that overall, the elections were well run.”
In today’s Mancunian Way, we’ll be dipping our toes in some of the local election results by looking at a Salford councillor elected hundreds of miles from Manchester, the all-Green team in Wythenshawe and accusations of 'lame ducks'.
A 'terrible night' for some
One thing that’s emerging from the local vote is that it has been a difficult result so far in many places for the Conservatives.
The Tories lost seven seats in both Bolton and Tameside, and struggled to win a majority over Labour in Salford. Further afield, the Tories lost control of Medway Council for the first time in '20 years' whilst there were ‘cheers of jubilation’ as one Tory councillor lost their seat in Thurrock.
In Plymouth, one MP for the city, Johnny Mercer, said it was a 'terrible night for us' as his party lost every seat it contested.
Back in Bolton and the battle lines have already been drawn by Labour leader Nick Peel. When asked if he expected to lead the council, Peel said: “I will say to the independent parties and Lib Dems that the public of Bolton profoundly rejected the Tories.
“Please don’t prop up a lame duck Tory administration that has now been rejected. If they do that then yes I do expect to form an administration.”
It was also a resoundingly successful night for Horwich and Blackrod First Independents, who gained seats from both Labour and Conservatives to win all the six seats up for grabs in that area.
Their leader David Grant suggested the result could indicate that people are falling out of favour with the controlling parties. “The people of Horwich have shown they will not go along with the rhetoric of the main parties,” he said.
“They have put faith in localism as they have seen it work with the two previous councillors and wanted to see what we could do with six. This will give us a platform to get investment into Horwich and Blackrod and give us a bigger say.”
A message heard
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said he has ‘heard a message’ following the bruising local election results for the Conservatives from across the country.
Mr Sunak told Sky News this morning: “It’s always disappointing to lose hard-working Conservative councillors, they’re friends, they’re colleagues and I’m so grateful to them for everything they’ve done.
“In terms of the results, it’s still early, we’ve just had a quarter of the results in, but what I am going to carry on doing is delivering on the people’s priorities – halving inflation, growing the economy, reducing debt, cutting waiting lists and stopping the boats.
“That’s what people want us to do, that’s what I’m going to keep hard at doing.
“Actually we’re making progress in key electoral battlegrounds like Peterborough, Bassetlaw, Sandwell. The message I am hearing tonight is that people want us to focus on their priorities, and they want us to deliver for them.”
Famous last words?
A Salford councillor whose name appeared on ballots in the Cotswolds has won the seat 100 miles away from Greater Manchester.
Chris Twells represents Ordsall on Salford council, having won his seat last May, but earlier this year his name appeared on the ballot paper in the Cotswold District Council election. It led to confusion and concerns from the mayor of Salford Paul Dennett.
Coun Alex Warren, leader of the Lib Dems in Salford, said the fallout was ‘much ado about nothing’ and explained that it was a technicality and Coun Twells’ name had appeared as a paper candidacy only because the Lib Dems were struggling to fill their slate. “He will not win,” Coun Warren said at the time…
But Coun Twells has now won the Cotswolds seat with 267 votes and 38 per cent of the vote. He now holds the rare distinction of being both councillor of Ordsall and Tetbury with Upton in the Cotswolds.
Salford's Mayor did not waste time in posting about the result - urging the councillor to resign immediately.
“Congratulations Councillor Chris Twells & ‘paper candidate’ in the Cotswolds on being elected c. 160 miles away from the City of Salford in Cotswold District Council’s Tetbury with Upton Ward,” he tweeted on Friday morning. “Please now do the right thing by the people of Ordsall and Salford and RESIGN to focus on the Cotswolds.”
Mr Dennett then posted an open letter addressed to Coun Warren. In it, he wrote: "You assured the press that Mr Twells 'put a lot of work in and deserved to win his seat for Ordsall'. Coun Twells has not responded directly to press requests.
"He was clearly always more than a paper candidate - as is evident this morning. As such, I am asking you as leader of your group to do the right thing by our residents and insist that Coun Twells resigns his Ordsall seat."
This afternoon, Coun Twells announced he would be resigning from his Salford ward to focus on his new seat in the Cotswolds.
Speaking to the BBC, he said: "I would like to thank everybody who voted for me. I will be taking some time off over the weekend and speaking to the chief executive of Salford City Council to establish what action I need to take to resign as a councillor, to allow for a by-election to be held in my ward."
Going Green
Anastasia Wiest’s victory in the Woodhouse Park ward has resulted in all three councillors in the Woodhouse Park ward being members of the Green party.
It means that the council ward in Wythenshawe is now without a Labour representative for the first time in years.
Speaking after her win, Ms Wiest said: “I’m really excited about the result, and I’m really happy that the people of Woodhouse Park have put their trust in us again. I hope that we can live up to their hopes.
She joins Astrid Johnson, who won her seat last year, and Rob Nunney, who was elected in 2021. Johnson said of the result: "We are incredibly pleased and grateful that the residents of Woodhouse Park have put their trust in three councillors. It's the first time Manchester has had a ward that's entirely Green.
"It's because people see us out and about all year, taking care of their issues, and that's paid off."
'People joke that Manchester is Labour dominated'
Labour has maintained its tight grip on Manchester council - despite losing seats to the Lib Dems and the Greens at the local elections.
Left with 88 councillors, the ruling party remains the largest Labour group in the country.
Manchester's Labour council leader Bev Craig said she is 'pleased' about Labour's performance in Manchester and across the country, but expressed disappointment over the three seats Labour lost in the city.
She said: "Often people joke that Manchester is Labour dominated, but we live in a democracy. No Labour leader can expect to hold all the seats, all the time.
"It's always sad to see a colleague go, but the Labour group is buoyant. We've had a good result and we're committed to working with colleagues across Greater Manchester and the country to get a Labour government."
Read more on Manchester's results here.
First for three
If an all Green ward wasn't enough boundary breaking for Greater Manchester, another city-region ward has also made history by being the first all-women council in Salford.
While things in the borough were mostly 'as you were', in the words of reporter Damon Wilkinson, as Labour held onto all 18 seats it was defending, with the Conservatives holding three wards, there was some excitement for Blackfriars and Trinity.
With Labour's Emma Cammell holding onto Labour's seat in theward, it meant the council had three women councillors for the first time in Salford's history.
Tweeting about the result, the ward's Labour group said: "We are delighted to welcome Councillor Cammell! Blackfriars and Trinity has become the first ward in Salford with three women councillors.
"Thank you to all our members, residents, family and friends who helped campaign and who gave us their continued support."
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Weather etc
- Saturday: Cloudy changing to sunny intervals by lunchtime.17C.
- Road closures: A662 Pollard Street, New Islington, in both directions closed due to roadworks from Boond Street to A665 Great Ancoats Street. Until May 10.
Manchester headlines
- 'Handel'-ism: Northern Rail has announced it will be playing classical music on 23 stations in a bid to crackdown on anti-social behaviour. The move comes after the train operator trialled the scheme in nine stations in the last year by playing music inspired by Handel and Beethoven. The trial saw a big reduction on loitering, graffiti and vandalism.
- Pubbing it: The Molly House in Manchester's Gay Village has been named CAMRA's Pub of the Year. The pub, a former tailors shop which opened as a bar in 2010, was recognised for its range of craft beers, ales and IPAs, and selection of award-winning local breweries.
- Food hall: A huge food hall has opened inside the Sainsbury's supermarket in Heaton Park. The choices on offer include Slim Chickens, Harry Ramsden’s, Caffe Carluccios, Ed’s Easy Diner and Gourmet Burger Kitchen. Elizabeth Newman, Sainsbury's Director of Commercial Partnerships, said: “We’ve worked hard to create a destination we think our customers will love that gives them the chance to enjoy a meal in-store, or at home, from a great selection of restaurant brands.
- From pillar to post: There was a bit of confusion in Manchester recently when four pillars, installed as a tribute to the long-gone Hacienda nightclub, disappeared from their original standing spot on the Rochdale Canal. But, thankfully, those already mourning the loss of the 'little known' historical slabs will be pleased to know not all is as it seems. Click here to read more.
Worth a read
With the local elections all but done and dusted, all eyes are now on the second big event of the week: the King's Coronation.
The traditional event will take place on Saturday, with a Coronation Concert and street parties being held on Sunday. We'll also get a Bank Holiday on Monday to add to it.
If you want to enjoy the Coronation with a crowd of people, there will be plenty of places across Manchester where you can watch it, such as on a big screen in Piccadilly Gardens. Here's a look at where
Whether you are celebrating the Coronation or not, there will be plenty on to keep families entertained too. Emma Gill has rounded up some of this weekend's events, including a dinosaur experience, a Legoland Coronation party, and live music at RHS Bridgewater.
That's all for today
Thanks for joining me. If you have stories you would like us to look into, email beth.abbit@menmedia.co.uk.
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The answer to today's trivia question is: Shortcrust pastry, raspberry jam, custard, coconut flakes and a Maraschino cherry.
