Burnley Council elections 2023: how many people voted in Burnley?

Some 29.4% of the borough's 65,862 electorates hit the polls. It means 19,361 ballot papers were issued, including postal votes.

A Cliviger with Worsthorne councillor expressed disappointment with the overall turnout, believing many people have disengaged from politics.

Coun. Scott Cunliffe, leader of Burnley Green Party, said: “I was disappointed with the turnout. We have a lot to do to get more than around 19,000 out to vote. I think it's a massive challenge. It hurts when a lot of people don’t turn out. It reflects badly on us all."

The highest turnout was in Cliviger with Worsthorne - around 42% - while the lowest was in Trinity (22%).

Coun. Cunliffe added: "42% in my ward is quite high, but when you look across the town and country, there is a lot of apathy. I don’t think [the national picture] is the only factor: there are always various factors. But we need some self-reflection and to ask: what are we all doing wrong? It is easy to blame outside factors. I think they are at play, but we have got to reflect on what we do [as councillors].

“It's a sign of the times: more people turned up to the [Burnley FC promotion] parade than to vote. We've got to try to be as popular as the football club.

"I know a lot of younger people don’t vote. I think we need to have as many campaigns as possible. The council needs to engage people and have more consultations and civic education about what it does."