Metropolitan Borough Council of Stockport elections from 1973 to 2016
Summary
A total of 62 Metropolitan Borough Council Wards held elections in Stockport between 1973 and 2016. The database holds elections for 33 separate years over the 44 year period.
Stockport held partial council elections with a proportion of seats elected on different years. Unlike whole council elections, this method allows for a gradual change in the composition of the authority. As a result, these councils can appear to be less volatile than those with whole council elections.
Participation
Average participation in Stockport over the 44 years was 43.70%. This was 5.60 percentage points higher than the average for all Metropolitan Borough Council Councils holding elections in the same year (38.10%).
Turnout was higher than the average for Metropolitan Borough Council councils in 1975 when it was 11.17 percentage points higher. Turnout was lower than the average for Metropolitan Borough Council councils in 2003 when it was 2.62 percentage points lower.
The Party System
This section examines the party system in Stockport that existed in terms of number of seats won by each group in each election. In the analysis below, a party is considered to have won an election for the authority if it wins more seats than any other group. The extent to which a single party group wins all of the elections during the period is a measure of the dominance of a single party.
Although Liberal Democrat candidates won most seats in more years than other candidates they by no means dominated the elections held between 1973 and 2016. These candidates won the most seats in 16 of the 33 elections held. After Liberal Democrat candidates, the next most successful group over the 44 years were Conservative candidates. These candidates won the most seats in 12 of the 33 elections held.
Number of Years Party Won Most Seats
| Party Name | Number of Years |
| Liberal Democrat | 16 |
| Conservative | 12 |
| Labour | 5 |
Party Winning Most Seats by Year
| 1973 | 1975 | 1976 | 1978 | 1979 | 1980 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 |
| Conservative | Conservative | Conservative | Conservative | Conservative | Conservative | Conservative | Conservative | Conservative |
|
| 1984 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1994 | 1995 |
| Conservative | Conservative | Liberal Democrat | Conservative | Labour | Liberal Democrat | Conservative | Liberal Democrat | Labour |
|
| 1995 | 1996 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2006 |
| Labour | Liberal Democrat | Labour | Liberal Democrat | Liberal Democrat | Liberal Democrat | Liberal Democrat | Liberal Democrat | Liberal Democrat |
|
| 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 |
| Liberal Democrat | Liberal Democrat | Liberal Democrat | Liberal Democrat | Labour | Liberal Democrat | Liberal Democrat | Labour | Liberal Democrat |
|
| 2016 |
| Liberal Democrat |
|