Decisions to be faster in Kirklees, predicts leader
LABOUR GAINED control of a West Yorkshire council but saw opposition groups make dents in its majorities in several key areas around the region as 11 town halls elected new councillors.
The party suffered losses in Hull, Wakefield and Sheffield, despite holding onto all three councils, before failing to make an impression on Tory-dominated Harrogate.
But the party gained control of Kirklees council, winning three seats to take an overall majority, and moved closer to power in neighbouring Calderdale after gaining an extra seat.
In Leeds, Labour tightened its grip on the city council, despite losing some seats to the Tories and independent groups.
It saw its majority increase in Bradford, while in North East Lincolnshire the party will have a reduced majority despite gaining seats, as the Conservatives enjoyed a successful night.
Against a backdrop of a Conservative party in government for eight years, most of which have been marked by unpopular austerity cuts, Tory peer and election analyst Lord Robert Hayward said Labour’s performance posed questions for its leadership.
Downplaying suggestions that heightened expectations were to blame for the party’s sense of disappointment, he told
“It is deeper than that. “It is the fact that in places like Wakefield and Leeds and Dudley and Walsall and Nuneaton and Derby, the Labour Party has failed to take advantage of a late Conservative Government in difficulty and therefore the question has to be asked: ‘Why has Labour failed to take advantage?’”
He added: “In local elections because the turnout is relatively low you often win elections by those of your opponents who don’t turn out to vote.
“And I think there’s clear evidence, less so in London, but on a nationwide basis – places like Leeds and Wakefield etc – that traditional Labour voters have been turned off voting for the Labour Party.”
In Yorkshire’s biggest local authority, Leeds, election night was full of ups and downs for all the parties, though in the end there was little change.
Labour ultimately gained three seats overall and the Conservatives gained three seats, but it was a bad night for the Lib Dems, who lost two seats each to Labour and the Tories, although there was some comfort in taking one from Labour in Rothwell. The Green party also lost one seat to Labour in its previous Farnley and Wortley stronghold.
Perhaps the most stunning victory was that of the Garforth and Swillington Independents, a break-away party formed by two Labour defectors which has now wiped out Labour in that part of the city. The party’s worst performance was in Pudsey, where it lost two seats to the Tories.
Reporting team: Aisha Iqbal, John Blow, Finola Fitzpatrick, David Spereall, Alexandra Wood, Paul Whitehouse, John Greenwood, Andy Done-Johnson, George Torr, Molly Williams. THE LABOUR leader of Kirklees council David Sheard said he expected the authority to be able to make quicker decisions after his party took overall control.
Kirklees had been under no overall control, but Labour is now the ruling party, having gained three seats from its rivals.
The dramatic election count saw the crucial Colne Valley seat of Lib Dem leader Nicola Turner as the last to be announced. Her defeat by Nell Griffiths handed Labour a majority.
Asked what difference the result would make, Coun Sheard said: “I don’t think it will make a great deal of difference with the cabinet system we’ve got, but we will probably be able to move a bit quicker.” He added: “The problem of not having a majority is that it slows down what you can do.”
While no one was turning cartwheels by gaining an overall majority, Labour will be much the happier party following Calderdale council’s elections.
The authority remains no overall control but Labour, who have been running the council on a minority basis, remain the largest party, having gained one net seat.
With the majority of the 17 seats on offer this year being held, some more comfortably than others, the few gains swirled back and forwards and at the end of the day Labour were delighted to finish one up.
The state of the parties is now Labour 24 seats (up one), Conservatives 20 (down one), Liberal Democrats six (up one) and Independents one (down one).
In Bradford, the Labour Party gained four seats, going from 48 to 52, well above the 46 needed for a majority. Council leader Susan Hinchcliffe said: “I’m pleased with the gains we’ve made, but we obviously still have a lot of hard work ahead and I’m keen to get on with that as quickly as possible.”