Stockport is up in the air as last night’s election results saw a draw of 26 seats for both Labour and the Liberal Democrats.
It was seen as a spectacularly successful night for the Lib Dems, who had managed to take over control of a few wards from the opposition.
Grace Elizabeth Baynham took a lead of almost 300 votes to claim a Lib Dem win for Stepping Hill from Labour while Lou Ankers was able to take control of a previously-Conservative Hazel Grove.
Ankers secured 1,993 votes, some 633 votes ahead of Conservative’s Julian Anthony Lewis-Booth. Accepting defeat, Lewis-Booth said “thank you for the last four years” to his supporters and mentioned how he had enjoyed fixing things for the area.
Another Lib Dem takeover came in Marple North, where Becky Senior demolished the Conservatives by 1,285 votes.
Attendance for Marple was impressive, with Marple North seeing a 45.7% turnout while Marple South & High Lane had a similarly 45.6% turnout.
Less impressively were turnouts in Brinnington & Central (20.3%) and Davenport & Cale Green (26.9%).
It was a night of minimal drama, with most action before the vote reveal coming from the industrial tank of hot water at the town hall’s makeshift bar. An ice bucket of J20s remained untouched as cups of tea proved to be the drink of choice.
The Council’s decision to segregate the media from those representing, however, was an odd choice. Thanks to a previous incident where a reporter photographed a ballot paper, the press weren’t allowed to stride around the vote count area where those running preferred to hang out.
But social gripes aside, Stockport’s election ran relatively smoothly with only a few minor glitches. The announcement of 2,607 votes for Lib Dem’s Alex Ordnal in Reddish South was met with gasps from the crowd before officials apologised and revealed they had meant to say 267. Labour won that area.
The Lib Dems secured a big win for the area, claiming ten new seats followed by Labour’s eight new seats. The Conservatives could only secure two new seats, suggesting faith in the party may be wading in the area.
Now, the area needs to figure out the next steps for a new dilemma: just who runs Stockport now.
