2026 Knowsley Council election

2026 Knowsley Council election
7 May 2026 (2026-05-07)
16 out of 45 seats to Knowsley Council
(including 1 by-election)
23 seats needed for a majority
  Majority party Minority party Third party
 
Leader Graham Morgan Kai Taylor N/A
Party Labour Green Independent
Leader's seat Swanside Prescot South N/A
Last election 31 seats, 63.1% 7 seats, 23.2% 4 seats, 9.7%
Seats before 30[1] 8[a] 4
Seats won 4 3 4
Seats after 24 8 6
Seat change Decrease 6 Steady Increase 2
Popular vote 11,790 8,324 4,261
Percentage 31.3% 22.1% 11.3%
Swing Decrease 31.8% Decrease 0.9% Increase 1.6%
  Fourth party Fifth party
 
Leader Alexander Hitchmough Mark Burke
Party Reform Liberal Democrats
Leader's seat Northwood Prescot North
Last election 0 seats, 0.4% 3 seats, 3.8%
Seats before 0 3
Seats won 4 1
Seats after 4 3
Seat change Increase 4 Steady
Popular vote 11,529 1,059
Percentage 30.4% 2.8%
Swing Increase 30.0% Decrease 1.0%
Winner of each seat at the 2026 Knowsley Council election.
Leader before election

Graham Morgan
Labour

 Leader after election

Graham Morgan
Labour

The 2026 Knowsley Council election took place on Thursday 7 May 2026, alongside other local elections in the United Kingdom. One third of the 45 members of Knowsley Council in Merseyside were elected.

Summary

Background

Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council was created in 1974. Like much of Merseyside, Labour have always performed well in local elections, forming majority administrations for the entirety of the council's existence.[3] The party have always held over 60% of the seats;[4] this includes a period between 2012 and 2016 when every seat was held by Labour.

The Conservatives formed the principal opposition from 1974 to 1994, when they were overtaken by independents. From 1996 to 2012, the Liberal Democrats formed the main opposition.[4] 2021 saw the Green Party overtake the Liberal Democrats, and they have formed the principal opposition since.[5]

The seats up for election this year were last contested in 2022. That election saw Labour take 10 seats (down two), the Greens take 2 (up 1), independents take 2 (up 1), and the Liberal Democrats take 1 (steady).[6]

Electoral process

The council elects its councillors in thirds, with a third being up for election in three years out of every four, with no election in the fourth year.[7][8] One seat in each of the borough's fifteen wards was up for election in 2026, being the class of councillors last elected in 2022, with an additional seat contested in Roby ward following the resignation of a sitting councillor.[9] The election was held using first-past-the-post voting, with electors able to vote for one candidate in each of the fourteen single-member wards, or up to two candidates in Roby.

All registered electors (British, Irish, Commonwealth and European Union citizens) living in Knowsley aged 18 or over were 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 took place from 07:00 to 22:00 on election day, and voters were able to apply for postal votes or proxy votes in advance of the election.

Election result

Knowsley Council composition following election
2026 Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council election[10]
Party This election Full council This election
Candidates Seats Net Seats % Other Total Total % Votes Votes % +/−
  Labour {{{candidates}}} 4 Decrease 6 25.0 20 24 53.3 11,790 31.3 –31.8
  Green {{{candidates}}} 3 Steady 18.8 5 8 17.8 8,324 22.1 –0.9
  Independent {{{candidates}}} 4 Increase 2 25.0 2 6 13.3 4,261 11.3 +1.6
  Reform {{{candidates}}} 4 Increase 4 25.0 0 4 8.9 11,429 30.4 +30.0
  Liberal Democrats {{{candidates}}} 1 Steady 6.3 2 3 6.7 1,059 2.8 –1.0
  TUSC {{{candidates}}} 0 Steady 0.0 0 0 0.0 409 1.1 +0.2
  Conservative {{{candidates}}} 0 Steady 0.0 0 0 0.0 374 1.0 –0.3

Council composition

After 2024 election Before 2026 election After 2026 election
Party Seats Party Seats Party Seats
Labour 31 Labour 30 Labour 24
Green 7 Green 7 Green 8
Liberal Democrats 3 Liberal Democrats 3 Liberal Democrats 3
Independent 4 Independent 4 Independent 6
Reform - Reform - Reform 4
Vacant N/A Vacant 1 Vacant N/A

Incumbents

Ward Incumbent councillor Party Re-standing
Cherryfield David Lonergan Labour No
Halewood North Terry Powell Labour Yes
Halewood South Joanne Harvey Independent Yes
Northwood Harry Bell Labour No
Page Moss Robert Austin Labour Yes
Prescot North Frances Wynn Liberal Democrats Yes
Prescot South Kai Taylor Green Yes
Roby Kevin Bannon Labour Yes
Shevington Tommy Rowe Labour Yes
St Gabriels Cath Golding Green Yes
St Michaels Tony Ely Labour No
Stockbridge Dennis Baum Labour Yes
Swanside Colin Dever Labour Yes
Whiston & Cronton Denise Allen Labour Yes
Whitefield Brian Johns[b] Independent Yes

Ward results

Councillors that were standing for re-election are marked with an asterisk (*).[9][11]

Cherryfield

Cherryfield
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Independent David Hitchmough 628 30.9 N/A
Reform Josie Annesley 605 29.8 N/A
Labour Co-op Louise Harbour 572 28.1 N/A
Green Ebony Higham 227 11.2 N/A
Majority 23 1.1
Turnout 2,041 25.7 +5.4
Registered electors ~7,938
Independent gain from Labour

Halewood North

Halewood North
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Reform Brian Beddows 765 28.4 N/A
Labour Terry Powell* 708 26.3 –37.2
Green Kian Houltram 562 20.9 N/A
Independent David Hooton 553 20.6 N/A
Conservative Mark Salmon 101 3.8 N/A
Majority 57 2.1
Turnout 2,694 33.1 +8.9
Registered electors ~8,148
Reform gain from Labour

Halewood South

Halewood South
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Independent Joanne Harvey* 1,204 44.8 –9.9
Labour Peter Bradley 750 29.2 N/A
Reform Paula Johnson 617 24.0 N/A
Majority 454 17.7
Turnout 2,577 28.7 +3.4
Registered electors ~8,990
Independent hold

Northwood

Northwood
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Reform Alexander Hitchmough 849 40.0 N/A
Labour Marie Roughley 583 27.5 N/A
TUSC Neill Dunne 409 19.3 +1.1
Green David Matthew Kirwan 271 12.8 +2.1
Majority 266 12.6
Turnout 2,120 24.4 +5.3
Registered electors ~8,691
Reform gain from Labour

Page Moss

Page Moss
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Green Ria Rembadi 703 37.6 +9.8
Labour Co-op Robert Austin* 593 31.7 –34.7
Reform Jacob Maguire 574 30.7 N/A
Majority 110 5.9
Turnout 1,887 21.3 +1.2
Registered electors ~8,863
Green gain from Labour

Prescot North

Prescot North
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats Frances Wynn* 1,059 36.2 –14.4
Reform Tony Cummins 980 33.5 N/A
Labour Tommy Grierson 770 26.4 –17.0
Conservative Peter Stanley Leadbeater 113 3.9 N/A
Majority 79 2.7
Turnout 2,940 31.5 +5.7
Registered electors ~9,335
Liberal Democrats hold

Prescot South

Prescot South
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Green Kai Taylor* 1,212 50.5 –8.4
Reform Mark John Phillips 658 27.4 N/A
Labour Diane Sedman 448 18.7 N/A
Conservative Martins Otaniyen Iserhienrhien 82 3.4 N/A
Majority 554 23.1
Turnout 2,406 32.7 +3.0
Registered electors ~7,362
Green hold

Roby

Roby (2 seats due to by-election)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Kevin Bannon* 1,237 45.6 –4.6
Labour Co-op Gary See 959 35.3 N/A
Green Ste Murray 833 30.7 N/A
Reform Sue Cockerill 814 30.0 N/A
Reform Gary Robertson 804 29.6 N/A
Green Alan McKenzie 781 28.8 N/A
Turnout ~2,726 37.9 +5.4
Registered electors ~7,199
Labour hold
Labour gain from Green

The additional Roby vacancy arose after Green councillor Paul Woodruff resigned on 17 March 2026, citing the deaths of both his parents and treatment for a serious health condition.[12]

Shevington

Shevington
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Independent Steve Guy 870 38.5 N/A
Labour Tommy Rowe* 610 27.0 –37.5
Reform Claire Louise Morton 568 25.1 N/A
Green Lee Verdun Clark 211 9.3 N/A
Majority 260 11.5
Turnout 2,261 27.6 +4.6
Registered electors ~8,185
Independent gain from Labour

St Gabriels

St Gabriels
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Green Cath Golding* 958 43.8 –8.7
Reform Alan James Cockerill 693 31.7 N/A
Labour Vanessa Boateng 535 24.5 N/A
Majority 265 12.1
Turnout 2,198 30.4 +3.5
Registered electors ~7,238
Green hold

St Michaels

St Michaels
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Co-op Matt Costello 862 47.1 N/A
Reform Cameron McClymont 611 33.4 N/A
Green Crispin Evans 359 19.6 N/A
Majority 251 13.7
Turnout 1,842 26.7 +3.0
Registered electors ~6,887
Labour hold

Stockbridge

Stockbridge
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Reform Josh Culley 802 39.1 N/A
Green Lauren Buckley 596 29.1 N/A
Labour Dennis Baum* 574 28.0 –51.6
Conservative Olusoji Obayemi Arosanyin 78 3.8 N/A
Majority 206 10.0
Turnout 2,060 23.2 +5.8
Registered electors ~8,874
Reform gain from Labour

Swanside

Swanside
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Colin Dever* 1,187 51.6 –28.4
Reform Stephen Dunne 678 29.5 N/A
Green Ant Canavan 434 18.9 N/A
Majority 509 22.1
Turnout 2,308 30.7 +3.3
Registered electors ~7,513
Labour hold

Whiston & Cronton

Whiston & Cronton
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Reform David Gilbertson 920 36.3 N/A
Green Sandra Gaffney 865 34.1 N/A
Labour Denise Allen* 752 29.6 –24.0
Majority 55 2.2
Turnout 2,558 31.6 +1.9
Registered electors ~8,105
Reform gain from Labour

Whitefield

Whitefield
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Independent Brian Johns* 1,006 44.8 N/A
Labour Robert Owens 650 28.9 N/A
Reform Claude Chonzi 591 26.3 N/A
Majority 356 15.8
Turnout 2,259 28.0 Steady
Registered electors ~8,054
Independent hold

References

  1. ↑ Including vacant seat in Roby last held by the Greens.[2]
  2. ↑ Elected at the 2024 Whitefield by-election.
  1. ↑ "Knowsley Council Composition: Latest". opencouncildata.co.uk. Open Council Data UK. Archived from the original on 8 February 2026. Retrieved 8 February 2026.
  2. ↑ Jessett, Elliot (18 March 2026). "Green Party councillor for Roby resigns after 'series of tragedies'". Liverpool Echo. Archived from the original on 6 August 2026. Retrieved 7 August 2026.
  3. ↑ "BBC News - Election 2011 - England council elections - Knowsley". BBC News. Archived from the original on 6 August 2026. Retrieved 9 January 2026.
  4. 1 2 "Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council Election Results 1973-2012" (PDF). Elections Centre. Archived (PDF) from the original on 6 August 2026. Retrieved 9 January 2026.
  5. ↑ McKeon, Christopher (7 May 2021). "Knowsley deputy leader loses seat as opposition make gains". Liverpool Echo. Archived from the original on 6 August 2026. Retrieved 9 January 2026.
  6. ↑ "Knowsley result - Local Elections 2022". BBC News. Archived from the original on 6 August 2026. Retrieved 9 January 2026.
  7. ↑ "Local government structure and elections". GOV.UK. Retrieved 2018-04-27.
  8. ↑ "Election Timetable in England" (PDF).
  9. 1 2 "Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council Election Notices". Knowsley MBC Website. Archived from the original on 6 August 2026. Retrieved 9 April 2026.
  10. ↑ "Local Elections 2026". Knowsley News. Archived from the original on 6 August 2026. Retrieved 9 May 2026.
  11. ↑ "Knowsley Council Composition". Open Council Data. Archived from the original on 6 August 2026. Retrieved 19 April 2026.
  12. ↑ Jessett, Elliot (18 March 2026). "Green Party councillor for Roby resigns after 'series of tragedies'". Liverpool Echo. Archived from the original on 6 August 2026. Retrieved 7 August 2026.
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