West Yorkshire election results: Labour take Kirklees and hold four others

Labour has taken full control of Kirklees Council after winning three seats.

The gains take the party to 36 councillors, giving Labour a majority of three. They took a seat each off the Conservatives, the Liberal Democrats and an independent councillor.

Previously, the authority was under no overall control, with Labour running it as a minority administration.

Labour also kept control of Calderdale, Leeds, Wakefield and Bradford councils.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Kirklees Labour leader Shabir Pandor said he was "absolutely delighted" with the result, which saw the successful defence of three cabinet members' seats which were thought to be at risk.

"I didn't want to count my chickens but I was quietly confident that we would get a good showing. I am delighted with the three gains we have made - in Colne Valley, Golcar and Holme Valley South - but the icing on the cake is the return of Graham Turner," said Mr Pandor.

A former Cabinet member, Councillor Turner lost his Denby Dale seat to the Conservatives in 2021, but stood against the Lib Dems in Golcar in this election, winning by just 49 votes.

In Wakefield, Labour secured 17 of the seats up for grabs, giving the party 45 seats overall.

The Conservatives saw three councillors elected, meaning they now have 13 seats.

The Liberal Democrats saw one councillor elected, giving them a total of three seats on Wakefield Council.

Meanwhile, in Calderdale Labour won 11 of the 18 seats up for grabs to maintain their majority control.

Labour group leader Tim Swift was delighted his councillors held all the seats they were defending.

"It was an excellent result, it is what we were hoping for," he said.

"After last year the Conservatives were saying they were on a roll and taking things back but it looks like the wheels have come off that - in many ways they have been weakened."

In Leeds, Labour secured 22 of the 35 seats being contested, meaning they now hold 58 of the 99 seats on the council, up from 55.

The Social Democratic Party won a Leeds council seat for the first time since 1988.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Wayne Dixon, who won the Middleton Park ward from Labour by 700 votes, said the result was due to voters being "fed up with the big parties".

In Bradford, Labour has retained overall control of the council, winning 19 of the seats up for grabs this time round, giving them 52 councillors overall.

The Conservatives saw six councillors elected, giving them 21 seats on the council.

Meanwhile, the Green Party has three new councillors, the Lib Dems one new councillor and Independents one.

The overall turnout for Bradford's election was 34.7%, the council said.

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