The Green Party has had a hugely significant victory in Manchester, as Manchester City Council sees the majority of its incumbent Labour councillors up for election unseated. In many cases, this represents the first time that these wards have ever elected a Green councillor, with Young Greens in Manchester playing a huge role in this seismic success according to local activists.
The vote share is truly incredible – 37% of votes went to the Green’s with just 18% for far-right Reform UK. With 18 seats going to the Green Party, of a possible 32, this undoubtedly will bring a huge sigh of relief to families and communities across Manchester.
Moreover, this result stands out for another important reason: in this local election, only one seat was available, and the Green Party stood a single candidate in each ward. That focused approach arguably concentrated resources, simplified the choice for voters, and helped deliver landslide victories – in some cases leaving as many as 900 votes between the Greens and the candidates who finished second.
As a result, this surely should raise serious questions about the choice to field multiple candidates in every ward, which subsequently led to split votes and missed opportunities.
We’re up to SIXTEEN @McrGreenParty @TheGreenParty councillors elected in Manchester now and there’s more to come @ZackPolanski pic.twitter.com/S7NK1dPBXd
— Canary (@TheCanaryUK) May 8, 2026
Manchester chooses hope, not hate
This election has been a refreshing change of pace and restores hope in many ways as to how progressives can beat far-right Reform and other right-wing parties at the ballot. Let’s face it, there’s a lot of them.
In fact, some newly elected Green councillors trounced their competition by anywhere between 700 up to an incredible 2000 vote difference. Aasif Iqbal Ranjha took Longsight in Manchester by a couple thousand votes, Shams Syed took Rusholme by 900 votes and Ancoats & Beswick beat Lib Dem by almost 700. This dramatic win will undoubtedly leave Labour, and Reform, quaking at the threat posed by the competition.
Full results were as follows:
Fallowfield – Sufyaan Jasat
Gorton and Abbey Hey – Chris Ogden
Hulme – Bernard Ekbery
Burnage – Asma Alam
Withington – Beth Hartness
Rusholme – Shams Syed
Deansgate – Sarah Wakefield
Ardwick – Alex-Salik Imran
Whalley Range – Ati Zafar (2,498 votes to Labour’s 1,407)
Woodhouse Park – Astrid Johnson held her seat
Ancoats & Beswick – Hussayn Salem
Old Moat – Sam Easterby-Smith (1,829 to Labour’s 1,189)
Piccadilly – Ross Steven
Chorlton Park – Grace Worrall
Longsight – Aasif Iqbal Ranjha (2000 vote landslide)
Chorlton – Chantal Kerr-Sheppard
Moss Side – Thirza Amina Asanga-Rae
Levenshulme – Fesl Reza-Khan
Victory for people, lessons for the Green Party
However, the news so far today shows Reform making the most gains, with reports that their huge levels of cash have massively helped them secure victory – despite having absolutely nothing but misery to offer to the electorate.
Therefore, the Green Party would do well to recognise the differences between its victories and its losses – and make sure that it is far more ready to compete at the next elections. After all, this election proves that Reform is a huge threat ahead of the next general election, and fascism does not lead anywhere good for the working class.
Nevertheless, lets soak in this success because it truly is glorious. The Greens received more than double the vote share garnered by Farage and his motley crew, subsequently winning 18 seats to Reform’s 7. Labour managed to keep a small foothold with just 6 seats in a traditionally Labour stronghold.
Young Greens were instrumental in these successes, according to Green activists in Manchester. We spoke with Fallowfield’s new Green councillor Sufyaan Jasat who was the first Green to be elected in Manchester today:
The first @thegreenparty victory in Manchester, and Fallowfield’s first ever Green councillor Sufyaan Jasat. A campaign very seriously led by Manchester Young Greens – and it seriously paid off
@McrGreenParty @ZackPolanski pic.twitter.com/lnjzCKqaDd
— Canary (@TheCanaryUK) May 8, 2026
Greens: 56% of the seats on offer for Manchester City Council
And the wins just kept on coming for the Greens as the afternoon went on, so much so that it was hard to keep up. In the end, Greens took over 56% of the seats up for grabs, which will surely be one of the party’s greatest successes and tools to its electoral belt.
Here is a video of a round up as the afternoon went on:
We’re at the count in Manchester and the @TheGreenParty have just got another FOUR councillors elected in quick succession: @bethhartness_ Asma Alam, Bernard Ekbery, and Chris Ogden
— Canary (@TheCanaryUK) May 8, 2026
Manchester proves Greens can trounce competition
Nevertheless, the Greens have seen some pretty huge losses, seeing no gains in Wigan, and Reform making far more gains across the wider region. One factor that this difference could be attributed to is that voters only had one candidate to vote for, so were able to focus their electoral power behind one person as opposed to multiple paper candidates as we have seen across the UK generally.
This policy, we would argue, has inevitably shot progressive candidates in the foot – and played a role in opening the door to Reform victories.
This only serves to underline the argument that the Greens must prioritise their resources and their activists, centering the very people standing for them as opposed to headline-grabbing ‘candidates in every ward’ tactics.
In the meantime, a huge congratulations to the Greens in Manchester who have shown that the city of the ‘worker bee’ will undoubtedly turn Green – choosing compassion and sense over Farage’s billionaire-funded hate.
Featured image via the Canary
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