Prior to the election, the council was under no overall control. Following the previous election in 2023, a minority Labour administration had been running the council.[1] However, in October 2023, eleven councillors left the Labour Party over the party's stance on the Israel–Hamas war. They then sat as a group of independent councillors called the 'Burnley Independent Group', which formed a coalition with the Liberal Democrats and Green Party, which together held a majority of the seats on the council.[2][3]
The 2024 election saw the Labour party regain some of the seats they had held at the 2023 election. However, they were unable to secure a majority of the seats, and the council remained under no overall control. The coalition of the Burnley Independent Group, Liberal Democrats and Greens continued to form the council's administration after the election, albeit as a minority administration having lost the majority it had held prior to the election.[4]
August 2023: BAPIP dissolved - Charlie Briggs, Neil Mottershead and Mark Payne sit as independents[6]
September 2023: Charlie Briggs (independent) joins Labour;[7] Andy Fewings (Green) resigns - by-election held October 2023
October 2023: Afrasiab Anwar, Saeed Chaudhary, Shah Hussain, Mohammed Ishtiaq, Nussrat Kazmi, Syeda Kazmi, Arif Khan, Lubna Khan, Sehrish Lone, Asif Raja, and Christine Sollis leave Labour to sit as independents;[b][8] Alexander Hall (Green) wins by-election[9]
February 2024: Neil Mottershead (independent) joins Conservatives[10]
The Statement of Persons Nominated, which details the candidates standing in each ward, was released by Burnley Borough Council following the close of nominations.[11] An asterisk denotes an incumbent councillor seeking re-election.