UKIP fell just short of their plans to force their way through Labour’s Salford stronghold, despite finishing runner-up in NINE wards.
Labour managed to keep hold of every one of their 52 council seats following the local election results, seeing off a strong threat from several UKIP candidates.
Ensure you follow MM’s live blog of all the results across Greater Manchester here.
Prior to the election, there had been much talk that UKIP may be able to force their way into the current set-up.
And they very nearly did, pushing their way into second place in Broughton, Claremont, Irwell Riverside, Kersal, Langworthy, Pendlebury, Swinton North, Swinton South and Walkden North.
UKIP candidate for Pendlebury, Paul Doyle, felt particularly confident going into the elections.
He told MM: “Three years ago, nobody knew who UKIP were and obviously that’s paying dividends, not just on a national level, it’s also resonating into local level as well.
LET DOWN: UKIP Pendlebury candidate, Paul Doyle said people’s trust in politicians have gone
“People are voting UKIP because they feel let down. They feel let down by the existing establishment in Salford, which is Labour.
“We can bring a bit of positivity for the people of Salford and belief back in local politics because a lot people don’t trust local politicians right now, a lot of people don’t even know who their local councillors are.
“There’s certainly no trust and we’re looking to bring that trust back to Salford.”
UKIP beat the Conservatives in nine of Salford’s 20 wards, and six of their candidates gained fewer votes than representatives of the Green Party and Trade Unionists & Socialists Against Cuts (TUSC), as well as one independent candidate.
Mary Ferrer, the UKIP candidate for Claremont, came particularly close in with 904 – obliterating the Conservative candidate Bob Goodall’s haul of 446, but falling short of Labour’s Sareda Dirir’s take of 1230
The figure was also a huge jump from the party’s 234 votes in the ward in 2012.
Speaking prior to the results, Goodall told MM he did not think Ferrer would take the seat.
“Its mid-term elections – so you have to expect a protest vote [for UKIP]. I don’t think UKIP will get Claremont, I think Labour may hold it with a very much reduced margin,” said Goodall.
“I knew there was going to be a protest; I knew the government might be blamed for all the ills. But we’re here and are trying to provide solutions – and our local candidates will be doing just that.
“The Conservatives are trying to build a party in the area and we’ve been well received, so I hope we’re going to do rather well and be encouraged by that vote.”
The three Conservatives running for re-election all held onto their seats, despite concerns that national government policy would cost them dear.
It was a close affair for Councillor Les Turner, deputy leader of the Salford Conservatives, who was re-elected in Walkden South by a mere 81 votes from Labour’s Robert Sharpe.
ECSTATIC: Conservative candidate for Claremont, Bob Goodall was delighted with victory
In reaction to the result, Mr Turner told MM: “I’m ecstatic. It’s the eighth year in Walkden South for me, and I’m so pleased that the people have given me their vote again.
“I didn’t expect it to be quite so close,” he added. “I’ve kept my seat, which I think was more on what I’ve done in the community than the political part.
“I will be trying to get the things done that people want me to do, whether it’s favourable or not to the administration.”
Salford’s results reflected the national pattern of local election results to some extent, with the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats performing poorly across the board.
The latter party had only two candidates in the running, garnering a mere 439 votes between them.
And it was not only UKIP who upset the Conservative apple cart.
Tory candidates gained fewer votes than the Green Party in Broughton, Irwell Riverside and Ordsall, TUSC in Little Hulton, independent candidate Paul Doyle in Winton, and their Irlam candidate Noel Gaskell was just 23 votes ahead of Jackie Anderson, of the newly-formed Reality Party.
The Reality Party, started by Happy Mondays maraca player Mark Berry, also known as Bez, came into the elections with realistic expectations, given that they only started the party two months ago.
FIGHTING FOR OUR FUTURE: Bez said the future could be ‘terrible’
“The launch eight weeks ago was really good – there were a lot of different people and people came from all over the country, which was quite surprising,” Bez told MM.
“People are actually listening to what we’ve got to say and our ideals.”
Speaking before the results were announced, Jackie said: “Irrespective of what happens today, we’ve only just started so by the time we get to the local and national elections next year and this is the first proper day of our campaign.”
Voting turnouts for the election were some of the lowest in the region, with 29.58% of the electorate turning out to vote, casting 52,860 votes
Salford’s mayor, Ian Stewart, was particularly disappointed with voter turn-outs.
DISAPPOINTED: Mayor Stewart said the turnouts are worrying
He told MM: “If we have turnouts like this in a general election, then we’re in real trouble as a country.
“It’s not uncommon in places like Salford in local elections to have very low turnouts, so it’s not a bad turnout, though it could have been better. That’s for us as politicians to raise awareness of the importance of voting for the people of this city.
“To be blunt, if people don’t vote then they don’t have a great shout when things are decided by politicians they don’t like.
“If they’ve voted for the politicians and they don’t like it then they can vote the politicians out at the next election.”
The results of the European elections will be made available on Sunday.
Barton (Labour hold)
David Jolley LAB 1534
Hilary Brunyee CON 498
Susan Wright TUSC 484
Boothstown and Ellenbrook (Conservative hold)
Jillian Collinson CON 1117
Mike Pevitt LAB 723
David Wibberley UKIP 554
Diana Battersby GRN 258
Broughton (Labour hold)
John Merry LAB 1662
Chavi Odze UKIP 685
David Jones GRN 189
Glenis Purcell CON 183
Alan Metcalfe TUSC 57
Cadishead (Labour hold)
Christine Hudson LAB 1353
Dorothy Chapman CON 519
Brenda Leather BNP 397
Diane Cawood TUSC 187
Claremont (Labour hold)
Sareda Dirir LAB 1230
Mary Ferrer UKIP 904
Bob Goodall CON 446
Rene Iacopini GRN 163
Ronnie Benjamin LD 142
Matthew Kilsby TUSC 52
Eccles (Labour hold)
Michael Wheeler LAB 1861
Julie Fensome CON 827
Val Kelly LD 297
Irlam(Labour hold)
Roger Jones LAB 1177
Noel Gaskell CON 393
Jackie Anderson Reality 370
Glenn Croston IND 147
Irwell Riverside (Labour hold)
Jane Hamilton LAB 1044
Janice Taylor UKIP 464
Emma Van Dyke GRN 233
Helen Vaudrey CON 194
Graham Cooper TUSC 110
Gary Tumulty BNP 73
Kersal (Labour hold)
Ann-Marie Humphreys LAB 1549
Shneur Odze UKIP 781
Christopher Davies CON 504
Langworthy (Labour hold)
John Warmisham LAB 1250
Andy Olsen UKIP 884
Arnold Saunders CON 207
Kay Pollitt BNP 86
Mike Yarwood Motor 50
Little Hulton (Labour hold)
Eric Burgoyne LAB 1331
Terry Simmons TUSC 460
Alexandra Paterson CON 401
Ordsall (Labour hold)
Tanya Burch LAB 1468
Jim Alayo-Arnabat GRN 518
Nicolette Turner CON 457
Sally Griffiths TUSC 206
Pendlebury (Labour hold)
Bernard Lea LAB 1360
Paul Doyle UKIP 872
James Macdonald CON 410
Eddy O’Sullivan BNP 122
Swinton North (Labour hold)
Bill Hinds LAB) 1336
Glyn Wright UKIP 770
Sharon Bulmer CON 479
Paul Officer ED 115
Swinton South (Labour hold)
Howard Balkind LAB 1004
Joe O’Neill UKIP 874
Anne Broomhead CON 435
Steve Cullen TUSC 108
Walkden North (Labour hold)
Adrian Brocklehurst LAB 1144
Bernard Gill UKIP 717
Daniel Hill CON 261
Tom Dylan GRN 116
Laurence Depares (ED) 84
Paul Woodburn (IND) 31
Walkden South (Conservative hold)
Les Turner CON 1186
Robert Sharpe LAB 1105
Albert Redshaw UKIP 626
Matthew Clark GRN 145
Paul Whitelegg (ED) 55
Weaste and Seedley (Labour hold)
Ronnie Wilson LAB 1401
Adam Kennaugh CON 578
Paul Quinn TUSC 486
Winton (Labour hold)
Margaret Morris LAB 1363
Paul Doyle IND 527
Andrew Darlington CON 405
Wayne Tomlinson (BNP) 323
Worsley(Conservative hold)
Graham Compton CON 1520
Amy Coffey LAB 718
Andrew Townsend UKIP 609
Christopher Bertenshaw GRN 262
Main image courtesy of SalfordCityCouncil, with thanks. Additional images courtesy of Mike Taylor, with thanks.
