After May 7
No overall control. Labour largest party
Council size: 51 seats · 17 up on May 7
Council · Unitary authority
Blackburn with Darwen
No overall control. Labour largest party after May 7 2026. (Majority lost, previously Labour)
What happened on May 7
Seats won and overall control
Reform UK
9 of 51 seats
Won 9 on May 7 · had 0 before
Next election
May 2030
Whole council every 4 years.
Post-May 7 composition
Every party's seat count on the new council
Pre-May-7 composition is the latest OCD snapshot of who held each seat; post is pre minus seats up plus actual winners.
How accurate was the model here?
Our 7 May 2026 forecast for Blackburn with Darwen
Locked, sha256-witnessed forecast scored against the actual count. See the full national accuracy audit →
Our locked May 7 forecast
The pre-election prediction
This is the seats-on-the-ballot projection we published before polls opened, used here for accuracy comparison only.
All wards
Per-ward forecast vs actual
| Ward | Our top pick | Actual winner | Predicted share | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Audley & Queen's Park | Independent | Independent | 42.3% | high |
| Bastwell & Daisyfield | Independent | Independent | 44.1% | high |
| Billinge & Beardwood | Independent | Independent | 50.7% | high |
| Blackburn Central | Independent | Labour | 39.7% | high |
| Blackburn South & Lower Darwen | Conservative | Reform UK | 72.4% | high |
| Blackburn South East | Labour | Reform UK | 52.0% | high |
| Darwen East | Labour | Reform UK | 50.7% | high |
| Darwen South | Conservative | Reform UK | 38.4% | high |
| Darwen West | Labour | Reform UK | 48.7% | high |
| Ewood | Conservative | Reform UK | 46.2% | high |
| Little Harwood & Whitebirk | Independent | Independent | 47.4% | high |
| Livesey with Pleasington | Conservative | Reform UK | 55.3% | high |
| Mill Hill & Moorgate | Labour | Reform UK | 47.7% | high |
| Roe Lee | Independent | Independent | 59.4% | high |
| Shear Brow & Corporation Park | Independent | Labour | 56.5% | high |
| Wensley Fold | Independent | Independent | 33.6% | high |
| West Pennine | Conservative | Reform UK | 44.2% | high |