The Liberal Democrats were the clear victors in Stockport this Local Election – but their dreams of a majority were dashed at the last hurdle.
With all 63 seats up for grabs the party gained key seats while their local Labour rivals made costly missteps.
Labour traded with the Liberal Democrats but lost seats to the Green Party.
Before the results were announced, Green Party’s Michael Padfield said: “Our main target is to get three councillors elected in Reddish South.
“We’re quite confident we’ll achieve that.”
The Green Party’s efforts paid of with them holding Reddish South, but Labour’s biggest misstep came in Edgeley, where they lost to a newly formed party.
The Edgeley Community Association, formed by Matt Wynne – a former Labour Councillor who was deselected from running again this election, managed to win all three seats in the ward.
By making gains elsewhere, such as in the key ward of Offerton, Labour managed to walk away with the same number of seats as they entered.
No party in Stockport has had majority control since 2011, and though it came close that wasn’t changed today.
The Liberal Democrats took every current Conservative seat, knocking them completely out of the council, but failed to gain a majority as they lost the two necessary seats in Offerton in the final moments.
