Sheffield local elections: councillors will have 'work much more collectively'

Sheffield councillors are “going to have to work much more collectively than … in the past” following the local election results, one of Labour’s few re-elected members has said.

Labour won just three of the 28 wards up for election last week, with Reform and the Greens making major inroads.

The result is the likely continuation of the rainbow coalition which has governed Sheffield since 2021.

Coun Minesh Parekh was one of only three Labour councillors to win, being re-elected into his Crookes and Crosspool seat by 573 votes.

He said: “It’s clear to me that I was re-elected in spite of the national leadership of the party, rather than because of it.

“People on the doors were regularly telling me they were voting for me because of who I am, because of my track record and because of the values I've stood on and represented for them.

“I’m taking this [election result] absolutely as a mandate for the work I've been doing over the past four years.

“A landlord licensing scheme is something that I stood on in my last election, something I'd taken through the whole council and finally won support for. I'm really excited to now have the opportunity to get it in place.”

But with Labour on 25 councillors, the Lib Dems on 22 and the Greens on 20, he added: “We're going to have to work much more collectively than we have done in the past.

Coun Marieanne Elliot, reelected for the Green Party in Gleadless Valley, said she wants to bring a free advice service, trialled in her ward, across the whole of the city.

She told The Yorkshire Post: “Because it's worked so well, we've been pushing for it to be rolled out throughout the whole council. It's a really good initiative, something that potentially the whole of the city can benefit from.”

Coun Elliot warned Sheffield’s new councillors against offering quick fixes.

“I think any candidate who's offering a quick fix is going to be in for a shock, now that they're elected, because there are no quick fixes,” she said.

“Councils are starved, absolutely starved of finances from central government, we’re in austerity measures.

“I think candidates that have been elected on promises that they can't keep … well, it will be interesting to see what happens.”

New Reform Coun Sean Maloney has said his focus will be on protecting the city’s green belt from development.

This is an area which surrounds Sheffield, which has greater planning protections to stop urban sprawl.

However, the Labour government wants it reassessed to find so-called “grey belt” sections, such as old petrol stations or abandoned waste sites, which could be developed.

He said: “Our people turned out and voted because they want change, they want to see better roads, they don’t want to see our green belt destroyed.

“A lot of beautiful green belt in Sheffield is planned to be built on. Our belief is that's not necessary. That's one of the major issues. Because once it's gone, it's gone forever.”