Reds retain seats in Calderdale as Greens spring surprise
LABOUR retained all 11 seats it was defending to retain overall control of Calderdale Council.
The shock result of the election saw the Green Party win its first ever seat on the council when Martin Hey deposed senior Conservative Stephen Baines in Northowram and Shelf.
The end results leave Labour on 28 seats, the Conservatives with 15, the Liberal Democrats have six, Greens one and Independents one.
The Conservatives won the Hipperholme and Lightcliffe seat vacated by retiring Independent councillor Colin Raistrick with Joe Atkinson taking the ward, but were defeated by the Liberal Democrats in Greetland and Stainland, a seat targeted by the latter.
Last year two councillors were elected in the ward and Conservative Jacob Cook lost out 12 months on to Liberal Democrat Christine Prashad.
The Conservatives retained three other seats, returning group leader Steven Leigh in Ryburn, Howard Blagbrough in Brighouse and Regan Dickenson in Rastrick.
Mayor-elect of Calderdale, Angie Gallagher’s holding of her Elland seat for Labour was an early harbinger of a result which satisfied group leader Tim Swift and she will take the chain of office later this month . Colin Hutchinson, whose win four years ago saw Labour take a Skircoat seat for the first time, retained it with a greatly increased majority.
The North Halifax wards of Ovenden, where two seats were contested and Illingworth and Mixenden were hard-fought battles with Labour winning out, returning Helen Rivron and Stuart Cairney in Ovenden and Dan Sutherland in Illingworth and Mixenden.
The upper Calder Valley remained in Labour hands with Sarah Courtney racking up a majority in excess of 2,000 in Calder, Scott Patient retaining Luddenden Foot comfortably and Helen Brundell successfully defending Todmorden in the last result of the day to be declared. Labour also saw Dot Foster returned in Sowerby Bridge and Sahzad Fazal very comfortably in Park, while newcomer Joe Thompson took Town ward for the party. Unusually, this year’s count was held in a giant marquee on council land at Mulcture Hall Road, Halifax – the usual venue, Halifax’s North Bridge Leisure Centre – is being demolished with a new leisure centre and swimming pool to be built on the site.