In January 2020, opposition Liberal Democrat councillor Shaun Cunningham left the party to sit as an independent citing the party's poor general election results. Two months later, in March 2020, two Conservative councillors, Leslie Keeble and Keith Barton left their party. These three councillors alongside the other independent councillor Jack Englefield and the former UKIP councillor, Carolyn Heneghan, formed a new independent opposition group. In late March 2021, a dispute between council leader Sean Woodward and Geoff Fazackarley led to Fazackarley also parting with the Conservatives and joining the independent opposition group. With six members, this group has replaced the four-strong Liberal Democrat group as the main opposition on the council.
