2024 Hyndburn Borough Council election

The 2024 Hyndburn Borough Council election was held on 2 May 2024, to elect 12 of the 35 members of Hyndburn Borough Council in Lancashire, England, being the usual approximate third of the council. This was on the same day as other local elections across the country, including for the Lancashire Police and Crime Commissioner.

Prior to the election, the council was under no overall control, being led by a minority Conservative administration. The election saw Labour gain a majority of the seats on the council.

Background
Before the election the Conservatives had 16 councillors, with 1 independent councillor and 2 Green councillors (the latter three all having previously been elected for Labour), and Labour had 16 councillors. Eighteen or more seats are needed for overall control of the council. The Conservatives were running the council as a minority administration with informal support from the independent and Green councillors.

The seats up for election in 2024 had last been contested in 2021. That election had originally been due in 2020 but had been delayed by a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, reducing the subsequent term of office from four years to three. In 2021, the Conservatives and Labour had won six seats each. Two of the six Labour councillors elected in 2021 (Caroline Montague of Barnfield ward and Paddy Short of Peel ward) had left the party in May 2022. They both subsequently joined the Green Party.

As a result of the Elections Act 2022 electors were required to present photographic identification to polling staff in order to cast their vote. Postal voters were not affected.

Council composition
Prior to the election the composition of the council was:


 * Conservative 16
 * Green Party of England and Wales 2
 * Independent 1
 * Labour 16

The Conservatives were defending six seats, Labour were defending four seats, and two were held by Greens (formerly Labour). Neither of those Green councillors stood for re-election in 2024. In addition to candidates from these parties, there were one Reform UK, one Workers Party of Britain candidate and two independent candidates standing. There were also an additional four new Green Party candidates, standing in the Central, Church, Overton & Spring-Hill wards, alongside replacements for the two previous Green councillors for Barnfield and Peel (who both stood down), making six new Green candidates in total. The local Labour and Conservative parties both ran candidates in each of the 12 wards.

At the election, the Conservatives lost four seats to Labour, including their former leader, Peter Britcliffe. Labour regained both of the seats where its previous councillors had defected to the Greens, but lost one other existing Labour seat to a Green candidate.

Local Election result
After the election, the composition of the council's 35 seats was:
 * Labour 22
 * Conservative 11
 * Green Party of England and Wales 1
 * Independent 1

The Labour group leader, Munsif Dad, was formally appointed as leader of the council at the subsequent annual council meeting on 23 May 2024. The previous Conservative leader, Marlene Howarth, stood down as her party's group leader after the election, being replaced by Zak Khan.

The results for when this set of seats were last contested are at 2021 Hyndburn Borough Council election.

NB: Four (of 16) council wards were not up for re-election in 2024, being Clayton Le Moors, Huncoat, Immanuel in Oswaldtwistle and Milnshaw in Accrington. However, as the election for Lancashire Police and Crime Commissioner took place on the same day, all polling stations were open, across every ward in the borough.

Previous councillors who did not stand for re-election in May 2024 include – Dominik Allen (Conservative - Altham), Caroline Montague (Green - Barnfield), Abdul Khan (Labour - Central), Colin McKenzie (Labour - Overton), Paddy Short (Green - Peel) and Susan Hayes (Conservative - St. Oswalds). Former Conservative councillor Michael Miller stood for the Green party in Peel ward.

Ward results
The results for each ward were as follows, with an asterisk(*) indicating a sitting councillor standing for re-election.