After more than a decade, change has come to Stockport. Hailed as a victory 15 years in the making, Liberal Democrats emerged victorious in this year's local elections.

Taking a total of 33 seats out of 63, the May 7 vote saw the party snatch Labour-held neighbourhoods such as Offerton as well as Davenport and Cale Green. It means that for the first time since 2011, Stockport council is no longer under no overall control

The borough's Labour group, now the biggest opposition party, was left with 14 councillors, losing seats to both Reform UK and the Lib Dems on the night.

Sombre expressions were painted on councillors' faces as votes were counted at the town hall in the early hours of May 8. Early on, one source admitted it was 'likely' the Lib Dems would win a majority.

As the results were being announced, hardly any Labour councillors were left sitting in the council chamber as cheer after cheer went up from the Lib Dems.

"It's a ringing endorsement of the great work the Liberal Democrats do here in Stockport," said Mark Roberts, leader of Stockport council and Stockport Lib Dems. "The fantastic local champions that the councillors here are that I'm really proud to lead.

"We show time and time again that the Liberal Democrats are the way to beat Reform, and Liberal Democrat areas don't vote Reform.

"I'm really pleased with the result tonight, it's 15 years in the making to get to this point, it's built on years of hard work from my predecessor Councillor Mark Hunter and others, so really chuffed."

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Asked whether having a majority would make life easier for the Lib Dems, Councillor Roberts stressed that 'difficult decisions' would need to be made in future, in a hint at the borough's strained financial position.

Councillor Christine Carrigan, leader of Stockport Labour group, said she was 'really disappointed' with the local election results.

She told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: "We now know where we stand for next year, and we absolutely intend to make this fight all the way back to 2027."

Asked why voters didn't back Labour in Stockport this year, Councillor Carrigan added: "I can't answer that question, I think people will absolutely draw their own conclusions.

"I know over the next couple of days there will be lots of discussions about that, I have my own opinions, and we as a Labour group will come together in the coming days and have a conversation about what we think went well, what went wrong, and how we deal with this upcoming year."

Reform UK gained two councillors in Stockport during the vote, winning seats in the Manor ward as well as Brinnington and Stockport Central, which were both previously held by Labour.

Brian Battle, the new Reform UK councillor for the Manor ward, said: "I think it was a seismic night, it was the number of votes cast across the borough, we came second in virtually every ward, we took nearly 26 per cent of the vote across Stockport, we are overjoyed.

"We've talked to people who were angry, despondent, who just needed change, they didn't like what they were seeing and they wanted something different."

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David White was elected as the new Green Party councillor in Reddish North, giving the party a total of four councillors in Stockport.

Speaking after his victory, he said: "I think it's been as in the national trend, there's been a big surge against the Labour Party, that's been replicated right across [Greater Manchester].

"There's been a big vote for the Green Party, we've seen based on what happened in 2024 to take this ward we've seen a massive swing towards the Greens and Labour have finished a distant third in this ward."

Before the vote on May 7, Stockport council had been under no overall control since 2011, flipping between Labour and Lib Dem administrations.

Ahead of the local elections, residents around the borough spoke about the key issues affecting their lives. A problem which repeatedly came up was road congestion, especially around the ever-busy A6, and the strain on local infrastructure.

In the marginal Offerton ward, several residents said traffic and housing were at the front of their minds ahead of polling day on May 7. Matt Hanson, 50, said: "There's two massive lanes of traffic, I don't ride a bike but if they made bike lanes you'd get loads of people on it.

"There's the space for it, you could do it all the way to Manchester. It would make a big difference.

"It's not very pleasant to be around here, that's the big one for me."

James Mason, 31, added: "What I really want to see is improvement in parking, we've got the hospital around the corner, the roads are always really chock-a-block.

"Coming in and out of the drive sometimes can be a bit precarious because of the traffic going along."