Salford City Council
Greater Manchester metropolitan borough council; Reform UK took a ward by-election seat from Labour in April 2026.
Last refreshed: 26 April 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
Does Reform UK's Salford by-election win signal structural penetration of Labour's northern urban strongholds?
Timeline for Salford City Council
Mentioned in: Reform projected to 2,342 council seats
UK Local Elections 2026Declared Reform UK gain from Labour
UK Local Elections 2026: Reform takes Salford ward off Labour- Who won the Salford by-election in April 2026?
- Reform UK's Michael James Felse won the Barton and Winton ward by-election on Salford City Council in April 2026, defeating Labour's Catherine Goodyer.Source: Lowdown
- Why did Reform UK win a Salford by-election in 2026?
- Reform UK candidate Michael James Felse won the Barton and Winton ward by-election on 22 April 2026, defeating Labour 676-643 on 17.82% turnout. The seat was vacant following the death of Labour councillor David Lancaster MBE.Source: Salford City Council
- Does Reform UK winning in Salford mean they can win in Labour's heartlands?
- The Salford result is cited as early evidence of Reform UK translating polls into votes in Labour's northern urban strongholds. However, it was a low-turnout by-election in a single ward rather than a full council result.Source: PollCheck
Background
Salford City Council is the local authority for the City of Salford, one of the ten metropolitan boroughs of Greater Manchester. It covers an area including Salford city centre, Eccles, Swinton, and Worsley. Labour has controlled Salford continuously since the metropolitan county was created in 1974, making it one of England's safest Labour strongholds at local level.
In April 2026, a by-election was held in the Barton and Winton ward following the death of Labour councillor David Lancaster MBE in February 2026. Reform UK candidate Michael James Felse won the seat from Labour with 676-643 votes (Reform 34.9%, Labour 33.2%), on 17.82% turnout — the first Reform UK gain on Salford City Council. The result was cited alongside PollCheck projections for Sunderland and Wakefield as evidence that Reform's polling was translating into real by-election wins in Labour's industrial northern heartlands, beyond the initial projection of rural Leave county council gains.
The full 7 May 2026 local elections will see Salford City Council defend the entirety of its remaining seats, making it one of many Greater Manchester councils where Reform's post-by-election momentum will face its first full electoral test.
