# 2024 Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council election

The 2024 Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council election took place on Thursday 2 May 2024, alongside the other local elections in the United Kingdom being held on the same day, to elect one-third of the 51 members of Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council in Lancashire.
Labour retained control of the council. Both Labour and the Conservatives lost seats to independent candidates, many of whom were allied to the '4 BwD' group of independents which had formed on the council in autumn 2023. After the election there were 12 councillors in the 4BwD group, overtaking the Conservatives who were left with 9 seats. The 4 BwD group therefore became the council's official opposition.

## Background

The Labour Party have governed Blackburn with Darwen for most of its history. They controlled the council from its creation in 1997 as a unitary authority to 2007, and again from 2011 to the present, with a period of no overall control between. In the previous election, Labour won 14 seats (up 2) with 63.0% of the vote, the Conservatives won 3 (down 1) with 30.3%, and the Liberal Democrats lost the seat they were defending with 5.1%.
The seats up for election in 2024 were last contested in 2021; because of the delay of all local elections due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the seats are up for election after 3 years rather than the usual 4. In that election, Labour won 11 seats with 55.4%, the Conservatives won 6 with 38.8%, and the Liberal Democrats won 0 with 5.0%.

## Previous council composition

| After 2023 election | After 2023 election | After 2023 election | Before 2024 election | Before 2024 election | Before 2024 election | After 2024 election | After 2024 election | After 2024 election |
| Party | Party | Seats | Party | Party | Seats | Party | Party | Seats |
| | Labour | 39 | | Labour | 31 | | Labour | 29 |
| | Conservative | 12 | | Conservative | 11 | | Conservative | 9 |
| | Independent | 0 | | Independent | 9 | | Independent | 13 |
Changes:
* October 2023: Saj Ali, Mustafa Desai, Samim Desai, Suleman Khonat, Adbul Patel, Salma Patel, and Salim Sidat leave Labour to sit as independents; Mohammed Irfan suspended from Labour; Altaf "Tiger" Patel leaves Conservatives to sit as an independent

## Results

2024 Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council election :
| Party | Party | This election | This election | This election | Full council | Full council | Full council | This election | This election | This election |
| Party | Party | Seats | Net | Seats % | Other | Total | Total % | Votes | Votes % | +/− |
| | Labour | 7 | 2 | 41.2 | 22 | 29 | 56.9 | 12,749 | 40.4 | -22.6 |
| | Independent | 8 | 4 | 47.1 | 5 | 13 | 25.5 | 10,964 | 34.7 | +34.2 |
| | Conservative | 2 | 2 | 11.8 | 7 | 9 | 17.6 | 7,094 | 22.5 | -7.8 |
| | Green | 0 | | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 762 | 2.4 | +1.5 |

## Ward Results
### Audley & Queen's Park

Audley & Queen's Park :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Independent | Amin Kapadia | 1,068 | 49.2 | N/A |
| | Labour | Faryad Hussain | 664 | 30.6 | –36.5 |
| | Green | Aadil Chopdat | 311 | 14.3 | N/A |
| | Conservative | Lyall Ainscow | 129 | 5.9 | −12.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,172 | 34.2 | +5.8 |
| | Independent hold | Independent hold | Independent hold | Independent hold | Independent hold |

### Bastwell & Daisyfield

Bastwell & Daisyfield :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Independent | Rana Khan | 1,273 | 52.6 | N/A |
| | Labour | Iftakhar Hussain* | 936 | 38.7 | –41.7 |
| | Conservative | Ella Hardman | 139 | 5.7 | −13.9 |
| | Independent | Khurram Shahzad | 71 | 2.9 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,419 | 41.3 | +6.1 |
| | Independent gain from Labour | Independent gain from Labour | Independent gain from Labour | Independent gain from Labour | Independent gain from Labour |

### Billinge & Beardwood

Billinge & Beardwood :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Independent | Waqar Hussain | 1,512 | 62.7 | N/A |
| | Labour | Aadil Patel | 509 | 21.1 | –40.9 |
| | Conservative | Reece Macaulay | 389 | 16.1 | −16.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,410 | 38.3 | +4.1 |
| | Independent hold | Independent hold | Independent hold | Independent hold | Independent hold |

### Blackburn Central

Blackburn Central :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Independent | Tahir Mahmood | 799 | 51.2 | N/A |
| | Labour | Liyakatali Patel | 596 | 38.2 | –38.2 |
| | Conservative | Keith Murray | 166 | 10.6 | −5.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,561 | 25.0 | |
| | Independent hold | Independent hold | Independent hold | Independent hold | Independent hold |

### Blackburn South & Lower Darwen

Blackburn South & Lower Darwen :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Liz Johnson | 809 | 53.8 | +9.8 |
| | Conservative | Denise Gee* | 696 | 46.2 | −9.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,505 | 26.7 | +0.4 |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | 9.8 | |

### Blackburn South East

Blackburn South East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Tony Humphrys* | 628 | 58.3 | −15.1 |
| | Independent | Riff Haworth | 259 | 24.0 | N/A |
| | Conservative | Henry Arnold | 191 | 17.7 | −8.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,078 | 17.8 | +1.1 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Labour hold | Labour hold | Labour hold |

### Darwen East

Darwen East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Katrina Fielding* | 773 | 58.6 | −0.5 |
| | Independent | Paul Browne | 331 | 25.1 | N/A |
| | Conservative | Ryan Slater | 214 | 16.2 | +0.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,318 | 20.7 | –1.2 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Labour hold | Labour hold | Labour hold |

### Darwen South

Darwen South :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Matt Jackson* | 903 | 49.0 | +3.7 |
| | Conservative | Steve Duncan | 734 | 39.8 | −1.0 |
| | Green | Denise Morgan | 206 | 11.2 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,843 | 28.5 | –0.3 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | 2.4 | |

### Darwen West

Darwen West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Brian Taylor* | 1,293 | 73.7 | +10.9 |
| | Conservative | Lilian Salton | 460 | 26.2 | −5.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,753 | 28.7 | –2.1 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | 8.0 | |

### Ewood

Ewood :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Ashley Whalley | 657 | 52.8 | −5.4 |
| | Conservative | Rick Moore | 397 | 31.9 | −9.9 |
| | Green | John Milburn | 128 | 10.3 | N/A |
| | Independent | Saraj Mohammed | 63 | 5.1 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,245 | 20.3 | –0.5 |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | 2.3 | |

### Little Harwood & Whitebirk

Little Harwood & Whitebirk :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Independent | Tiger Patel* | 809 | 36.5 | N/A |
| | Independent | Ismail Esat | 755 | 34.1 | N/A |
| | Labour | Naushad Surve | 480 | 21.7 | –58.6 |
| | Conservative | Les Cade | 170 | 7.7 | −5.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,214 | 36.7 | +11.4 |
| | Independent hold | Independent hold | Independent hold | Independent hold | Independent hold |

### Livesey with Pleasington

Livesey with Pleasington :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Mark Russell* | 1,441 | 74.7 | +7.2 |
| | Labour | Isma Sajid | 487 | 25.3 | −7.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,928 | 29.6 | –1.9 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | 7.2 | |

### Mill Hill & Moorgate

Mill Hill & Moorgate :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Julie Gunn* | 697 | 64.0 | −4.1 |
| | Conservative | John Murphy | 272 | 25.0 | +2.0 |
| | Independent | Natasha Shah | 120 | 11.0 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,089 | 19.8 | –0.4 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | 3.1 | |

### Roe Lee

Roe Lee :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Independent | Imran Ahmed | 999 | 46.9 | N/A |
| | Labour | Sylvia Liddle* | 723 | 34.0 | –33.4 |
| | Conservative | Helen Voegt | 406 | 19.1 | −4.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,128 | 33.1 | +5.3 |
| | Independent gain from Labour | Independent gain from Labour | Independent gain from Labour | Independent gain from Labour | Independent gain from Labour |

### Shear Brow & Corporation Park

Shear Brow & Corporation Park :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Independent | Muntazir Patel | 1,957 | 70.9 | N/A |
| | Labour | Hussain Akhtar* | 740 | 26.8 | –63.7 |
| | Conservative | Judith Pearson | 65 | 2.4 | −7.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,762 | 45.0 | +17.1 |
| | Independent gain from Labour | Independent gain from Labour | Independent gain from Labour | Independent gain from Labour | Independent gain from Labour |

### Wensley Fold

Wensley Fold :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Independent | Iqbal Masters | 948 | 46.7 | N/A |
| | Labour | Dave Harling* | 881 | 43.4 | −46.7 |
| | Green | Robin Field | 117 | 5.8 | N/A |
| | Conservative | Mags Marrow | 86 | 4.2 | −5.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,032 | 33.8 | +3.6 |
| | Independent gain from Labour | Independent gain from Labour | Independent gain from Labour | Independent gain from Labour | Independent gain from Labour |

### West Pennine

West Pennine :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Neil Slater | 1,139 | 53.9 | +2.0 |
| | Labour | Simon Charlesworth | 973 | 46.1 | +13.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,112 | 35.1 | –2.3 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | 5.7 | |