The 2026 Bury Metropolitan Borough Council election will take place on Thursday 7 May 2026, alongside other local elections in the United Kingdom. One third of the 51 members of Bury Metropolitan Borough Council in Greater Manchester will be elected.
Changes 2024âÂÂ2026:
Bury Metropolitan Borough Council was created in 1974. The Conservatives controlled the council until 1986, when Labour formed their first majority on the council. Following a period of no overall control beginning in 2006, the Conservatives formed a majority in 2008, but this was lost at the next election. Labour retook majority control in 2011 and have formed majority administrations since. Labour expanded their majority in 2024 by gaining one seat from the Conservatives.
Following the 2024 election, the Conservative group faced internal difficulties. Conservative group leader Russell Bernstein was deselected and faced disciplinary measures by the party. Bernstein and three other councillors left the party to form Together for Bury, which was registered in December 2025.
A new set of ward boundaries was used for the 2022 election. This election will be for the councillors elected with the highest number of votes in each of the seventeen three-member wards. Labour are defending nine seats, the Conservatives are defending four, Radcliffe First are defending three, and independents are defending one.