Only Stockport<\/a> and Trafford<\/a> had better female representation, at 57 percent and 43 percent respectively. The imbalance was particularly stark among Reform UK councillors following the party\u2019s breakthrough in Greater Manchester. Of the 106 councillors elected in the region last week, just 18 are women \u2014 meaning more than four in five of the party\u2019s new councillors are male.<\/p>\n The newly elected Reform councillors are collectively almost as likely to be called Paul, David or John as they are to be women.<\/p>\n Reform candidates sweep to victory in Wigan(Image: Jason Roberts \/Manchester Evening News)<\/p>\n The MEN approached Reform UK for a comment.<\/p>\n Labour<\/a> elected 33 councillors, including 22 men and 11 women, meaning women make up roughly a third of the party\u2019s successful candidates.<\/p>\n The Greens also saw women account for around a third of their elected councillors, with 10 women and 20 men elected this year.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the Conservatives<\/a> and small parties\/independents had better representation, at 46 percent and 48 percent respectively.<\/p>\n The Lib Dems<\/a> returned the highest proportion of female councillors among the major parties, with 58 percent being women.<\/p>\n Political analysts caution that election results can fluctuate, depending on which seats are being contested in a given year.<\/p>\n A Labour spokesperson told the MEN: \u201cLabour North West is proud to have a strong tradition of championing women\u2019s representation in politics and remains committed to improving gender balance at every level of public life.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile we recognise that this year\u2019s local election results show a lower proportion of women elected compared with 2024, it is important to note that Labour continues to return more women representatives than many other parties and remains firmly committed to increasing female participation in politics.\u201d<\/p>\n Female representation across all 10 councils peaked in 2022 at 42 percent. Since then, there has been a gradual decline, with a significant drop to 35 percent in 2026, the lowest point in the seven-year period.<\/p>\n Dr Sarah Longlands, chief executive of the Centre for Local Economies think tank (CLES), said: \u201cThe MEN\u2019s analysis should ring alarm bells across Greater Manchester. When local leaders don\u2019t reflect the local population, and when women are excluded from decision making, then both our democracy and economy suffer.\u201d<\/p>\n The disparities are marked when looking at the overall makeup of each council. Manchester City Council currently has the highest female representation, with women making up around 43 percent of councillors, followed by Trafford at 40 percent. But other boroughs remain far more male-dominated.<\/p>\n Oldham has one of the lowest gender representations \u2013 27 percent are women \u2013 while Tameside<\/a> sits at around 35 percent.<\/p>\n In Bury<\/a>, women account for around 37 percent of councillors, while in Salford the figure is 30 percent. Rochdale stands at 32 percent, with Wigan<\/a> also around 32 percent. Bolton<\/a> recorded around 36 percent female representation.<\/p>\n Women in local government leadership positions have also historically been underrepresented<\/p>\n There were four female council leaders across Greater Manchester until Elise Wilson, leader of Stockport, stepped down in 2022. Now, only three remain \u2013These are: Bev Craig for Manchester City; Eleanor Wills for Tameside and Arooj Shah of Oldham.<\/p>\n All three councillors have told the MEN that they have faced rising levels of abuse, which could be a contributing factor in why fewer women want to go into politics.<\/p>\n Coun Craig previously told the MEN<\/a> that she wakes up to a thousand abusive messages on TikTok and spends her day deleting them.<\/p>\n “I\u2019m resilient, but I do worry that the normalisation of abuse will put women off politics altogether,\u201d she said at the time. \u201cThe internet has changed things, because if somebody said something abusive down the pub they\u2019d probably get challenged, whereas online it just gets amplified.\u201d<\/p>\n Councillor Bev Craig, Leader of Manchester City Council(Image: Kenny Brown \/ MEN)<\/p>\n Coun Wills has shared screenshots with the MEN of the derogatory messages sent her way.<\/p>\n \u201cI myself have had opposition members offer opinions on my parenting when carrying out my civic duties. I\u2019ve seen my female members targeted in this vein also,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019ve also had abuse around my appearance by members of the public and lots of questions surrounding my gender. The hostility and targeting that women face is disproportionately higher and it\u2019s no coincidence that people don\u2019t wish to put themselves forward and risk not only feeling unsafe personally, but also if they have children, as I do.\u201d<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Coun Shah has announced that she will be stepping down from her role later this month, following Labour losing control of the town hall at this year\u2019s elections.<\/p>\n The outgoing council leader has spoken candidly about the death threats she has received during her time in office. Her car was once firebombed outside her home and, earlier this year, she claimed <\/a>a man at a petrol station threatened to kill her.<\/p>\n Ms Shah believes the abuse directed towards her is motivated by ‘misogyny and racism’. She described being denigrated as ‘Madame leader’ \u2013 a reference to women who run brothels \u2013 and regularly encountering sexist abuse both online and in person.<\/p>\n This, she suggested, was making it increasingly difficult to recruit women into local politics.<\/p>\n \u201cI know that local leaders across the country have been leaving politics because of all the abuse they’ve been getting,\u201d coun Shah told the LDRS. \u201cIt’s really hard for us to get candidates, especially women. Women have been massively put off \u2013 in Oldham specifically. We’ve struggled to get women on the panel. We’ve got less than a handful. I’ve proactively contacted women to see if they’d be interested and they’ve told me ‘no, we see what you go for, we don’t want that for us’.\u201d<\/p>\n Coun Arooj Shah has confirmed she is stepping down as leader of Oldham Council next week(Image: Sean Hansford | Manchester Evening News)<\/p>\n Emily Mort, Labour councillor for Tonge with the Haulgh ward in Bolton, said she was concerned about the \u201cdivision, anger and hatred\u201d that she is witnessing.<\/p>\n She posted on Facebook: \u201cPeople have every right to disagree. They have every right to campaign, challenge decisions, ask questions and hold elected representatives to account.<\/p>\n But abuse, intimidation, misinformation and targeted hatred are not democracy. They lower the tone of public life, damage trust, and undermine the seriousness of elected office.<\/p>\n What worries me most is how normal this has started to feel. Behaviour that would never be acceptable face to face is being allowed to spread unchecked online, and in some cases it appears to cross serious lines around electoral conduct.\u201d<\/p>\n The threats are not confined to local councillors.<\/p>\n In March, newly elected Gorton<\/a> & Denton<\/a> MP Hannah Spencer had to be escorted to safety after being aggressively confronted by activists during a rally in Manchester city centre<\/a>.<\/p>\n The incident unfolded in Piccadilly Gardens<\/a>, after the Green Party MP addressed the launch of Greater Manchester\u2019s Together Alliance, an anti\u2011far\u2011right coalition.<\/p>\n In footage posted online, a man runs in front of the MP and shouts \u201cyou scabby traitor,\u201d and \u201cyou f*****g dirty traitor\u201d at her while filming.<\/p>\n MP Hannah Spencer was given a police escort from Piccadilly Gardens after clashes at an anti-far right event(Image: Gary Roberts)<\/p>\n Stockport councillors Anna Charles-Jones and Carole McCann have reportedly faced significant harassment<\/a> in the past<\/p>\n Coun Charles-Jones, who is a wheelchair user, said comments have been made attacking her online with a \u2018misogynistic undertone\u2019, and her home address was publicised online.<\/p>\n She told the Local Democracy Reporting Service at the time. \u201cIt’s affecting our work because we’re taking time dealing with this, and on a personal level it can significantly impact your mental health.\u201d<\/p>\n Over in West Lancashire, the council leader is stepping down from her role, saying she has been spat at and called a traitor.<\/p>\n![\"Reform](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1_JRP_MEN_070526_election_031JPG.jpg\")
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