As the local election results rolled in last week, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer declared that his party is "ready to govern."

It was a victory call off the back of a huge lead in the national polls, with some claiming a Labour landslide is all but inevitable when the general election is called.

And after winning more than 180 council seats around the country on May 2, who could argue with that?

But in Greater Manchester, it was a different story.

A swing to independent candidates in Greater Manchester has left three councils – Bolton, Oldham, and Stockport – under no overall control, after Labour lost seats in all three boroughs.

The reasons behind the losses were varied, but independents say that voters have had enough of mainstream parties and are demanding something different.

Stockport town centre (Image - Alasdair Perry)

Stockport is one area of Greater Manchester where Labour suffered setbacks in the local elections.

The group lost two council seats on May 2, leaving the Lib Dems just one councillor away from taking control of the town hall, a feat not achieved by any party since 2011.

The last few years have seen a rise of independents, in wards such as Edgeley which were previously Labour strongholds.

A falling out between councillor Matt Wynne and Stockport Labour led to the creation of the Edgeley Community Association (ECA), and the group now holds all three seats in the Edgeley ward.

Mr Wynne – who left Labour after the row – said Edgeley residents are "fed up" with established parties, who he claims are using the area to benefit themselves in national elections, rather than focusing on local issues.

He claims the Lib Dems are too focused on winning the parliamentary seats of Cheadle and Hazel Grove, and that Labour are distracted by internal disputes.

At this year's local elections, ECA candidate Asa Caton faced re-election against Labour and other parties standing in the seat.

Edgeley Community Association councillors left to right: Asa Caton, Leay Taylor, and Matt Wynne (Image - ECA)

Labour's chances in the area were not helped by a late change in candidates, a move which Mr Caton said wasn't explained and "didn't sit well" with voters in Edgeley.

Stockport Labour said the switch was needed, adding that the party had "fundamentally changed" under Keir Starmer, without going into detail about what happened.

On May 2, voters comfortably re-elected Mr Caton, in a sign that the move away from Labour in the area is not just a short-term trend.

The result left Labour with 22 council seats in Stockport, down two, and the Lib Dems up to 31, just short of the 32 needed for full control.

And since being on Stockport council, the ECA have campaigned on issues such as calling for a review of Stockport Homes – the company managing the council's housing stock – and winning support for a motion calling for a new express bus service from Stockport to Manchester airport, among other matters.

Stockport Town Hall's main chamber (Image - Declan Carey LDRS)

Work like this is why voters keep coming back to the ECA, leader Matt Wynne believes.

He said: "I'm meeting more and more people who are not willing to tolerate that their community is just a bum on a seat in the council chamber.

"They want their voice heard loud and clear on the basic issues and a plan of action and more for their community.

"The ECA is this bread and butter. We got returned again on this on a coalition of voter support.

"Having community parties allows you to dig in on long term issues facing your Ward and Borough instead of tiptoeing around and being made to keep your head down like you do in large political parties.

"Having more modern, positive and progressive independent parties such as ourselves is only a good thing for local democracy. Our constitution says we are social democratic in nature.

"We will see more of it in the future, and more of a continental model of different parties representing councils across the country, more so in urban areas."

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