Kirklees local election results: Reform are the biggest party
There are still 18 councillors to be announced for Kirklees, with the count continuing into the night.
Reform is currently the largest party in Kirklees, with counting set to continue into Saturday.
Nigel Farage’s party has won 22 of the 51 seats declared so far. Gaza independents and others have won 12 - gaining seven on the last elections.
The Tories and Greens both have six, with the Lib Dems on five.
Long-serving Green Coun Andrew Varah Cooper said his party fears that the rise of Reform UK in local government is a result of “protest voting”.
Coun Cooper said: “Our concern is people being elected on a protest vote and people trying to express their anger with the government. It doesn’t necessarily mean you are going to get councillors who are effective at running the council.”
Labour will be hoping to do better tomorrow, with 18 seats still to be announced, after not winning any councillors today.
Former council leader Coun Carole Pattison, who lost her seat, said she was “not humiliated” and that she “accepted the public’s vote.”
She said: “Resigned isn’t quite the right word. We have done so much hard work in Kirklees. I do not feel humiliated or upset. We couldn’t have done any better or any worse.”
UPDATE
Reform UK has won 29 seats on Kirklees Council following the local elections, including majorities in Liversedge and Gomersal, Colne Valley East, Heckmondwike, and Almondbury.
Outside the Cathedral House, where the vote count was taking place, Newly-elected councillor Pip Harvey, for the Almondbury ward, was spotted in tears over her win.
She said: “We are thrilled, overwhelmed – it has been an emotional 24 hours.”
This year marks the first year Reform UK have taken elected seats on Kirklees Council.
Also among the newly elected councillors was Sarah Louise Wood for Liversedge & Gomersal.
Speaking on the plans for Reform UK, Councillor Wood explained the priority would not be on “replicating” previous councils.
Councillor Wood said: “We do have a lot of Reform councillors from the 2025 elections, for this area it’s new. We have got a lot of people who work or have worked for the civil service so we have public sector experience.
“It doesn’t work for us to go in and be like the other councillors that we have replaced…We are not looking to replicate them. We are looking to do what we need to do in terms of legislation and how we can make changes.
“One of the first things we will do is start to understand the system, look at how things work now, form relationships with the executives in Kirklees and start to work out what skills we have to actually make a difference and make change.”