The 2024 Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council election was held on 2 May 2024, alongside the other local elections in the United Kingdom on the same day. No seats changed party at the election, and so Labour retained its majority on the council.
Background
The Local Government Act 1972 created a two-tier system of metropolitan counties and districts covering Greater Manchester, Merseyside, South Yorkshire, Tyne and Wear, the West Midlands, and West Yorkshire starting in 1974. Knowsley was a district of the Merseyside metropolitan county. The Local Government Act 1985 abolished the metropolitan counties, with metropolitan districts taking on most of their powers as metropolitan boroughs. The Liverpool City Region Combined Authority was created in 2014 and began electing the mayor of the Liverpool City Region from 2017. The body was given strategic powers covering a region that encompassed the former Merseyside metropolitan county with the addition of Halton Borough Council.
Since its formation, Knowsley has continuously been under Labour control. The Liberal Democrats had become the main opposition party by the late 1990s, and continued to win seats on the council until the 2010 election, when Labour won every seat. Labour continued to win every seat in subsequent elections until the 2016 election, when three Liberal Democrats were elected. The first Green Party councillor was elected to the borough in the 2018 election, with the Green Party winning a further two seats in each of the 2019 election and 2021 election to become the council's main opposition. After the 2023 election, Labour held 31 seats, the Greens held seven, independent councillors held four and the Liberal Democrats held three.
The positions up for election in 2024 were last elected in 2021. That election was originally scheduled to take place in 2020, but was delayed by a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In that election, Labour won twelve seats on 55.3% of the vote, the Green Party and independents won two seats each on 23.1% and 9.8% respectively and the Liberal Democrats won one seat on 5.9% of the vote.
Electoral process Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council elected its councillors in thirds, with one councillor in each of the fifteen wards elected for a four-year term in three years out of every four. The 2024 election therefore elected fifteen of the council’s forty-five councillors. The election used first-past-the-post voting, with each elector able to vote for one candidate in their ward and the candidate receiving the most votes being elected.
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 lived at two addresses in different council areas, such as university students with separate term-time and holiday addresses, were entitled to register 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 electors could apply for postal or proxy votes in advance.
Previous council composition
After 2023 election Before 2024 election After 2024 election Party Seats Party Seats Party Seats 31 31 31 7 7 7 4 4 4 3 3 3
Result
Ward results The results for each ward were: and in a combined results document.
Cherryfield
Halewood North
Halewood South
Northwood
Page Moss
Prescot North
Prescot South
Roby
Shevington
St Gabriels
St Michaels
Stockbridge
Swanside
Whiston and Cronton
Whitefield
References