Wigan

Wigan is a metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, a Labour-controlled council since the abolition of the county borough structure. PollCheck projected in April 2026 that Labour would lose control of Wigan to Reform UK at the 7 May local elections, as part of an expanded forecast covering northern industrial councils alongside Sunderland, Wakefield, and Barnsley.

Wigan district includes Wigan town, Leigh, Atherton, and the surrounding towns of the old Lancashire coalfield. The area voted Leave in 2016 and has experienced the long-term economic pressures associated with deindustrialisation, providing the demographic conditions that polling models associate with Reform support. Like the other projected Labour losses in the north, Wigan represents a type of council that Labour has held since Local Government Reorganisation in 1974.

Wigan's parliamentary geography is also significant: the Makerfield constituency, a Wigan-area seat, was vacated by Josh Simons on 14 May 2026 to create a parliamentary by-election seat for Andy Burnham. The by-election is confirmed for 18 June 2026 and is Labour's primary vehicle for getting Burnham into the Commons to contest the party leadership. Steve Reed, Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, holds responsibility for English northern councils and has been the central government figure handling the LGR programme that also affects councils adjacent to Greater Manchester.