WEST YORKSHIRE: Labour hopes to regain power at city council after poll gains

The results left no party with an overall majority but Labour is by far the biggest party with 48 seats.

Talks will now need to be held between the parties to see who can form the next administration, currently run by a Tory/Liberal Democrat coalition.

Those who lost their seats in Leeds included the council's only BNP member Chris Beverley who was defeated in Morley South by Shirley Varley of the Morley Borough Independents, while among those elected was Kamila Maqsood (Labour, Gipton and Harehills), thought to be the council's first Asian female member.

At Wakefield Council, Labour maintained its overall majority.

It gained one seat from the Independents in Featherstone, while the Tories gained one seat from the Liberal Democrats in Ossett. Labour now has a majority of three seats.

In Craven, where nine seats were available on the district council, the Tories strengthened their existing control from just over half the council to almost two thirds.

They gained two seats from the Independents in Bentham and in Ingleton and Clapham and one from the Liberal Democrats in Settle and Ribblesbanks.

Former council leader Carl Lis, was re-elected to the Ingleton and Clapham ward as a Tory, having previously been an Independent .

Craven District Council leader Chris Knowles-Fitton said Independent councillor Stephen Place, who retained his seat in Sutton-in-Craven, would now ally himself with the Tories and vote with them.

In Bradford the Tories lost four seats, three to Labour and one to the Liberal Democrats, but the situation remained the same following the elections with no party making strong enough gains to claim overall control.

The council was a Tory-led administration facilitated by the Liberal Democrats with an all Tory executive.

Yesterday's results saw Labour increase its number of seats to 39, the Tories fell to 32 and the Liberal Democrats rise to 14. The Green Party has three seats and the BNP two.

The future direction of Calderdale Council is uncertain following an inconclusive showing by all three major parties.

The Tories have been running Calderdale since 2000, most of the time without an overall majority. The party still has the most seats – 20 – but now the Labour Party has 10 seats, up from eight, and the Liberal Democrats have increased their representation from 16 to 17. The two parties could now combine to outvote the Tories.

In neighbouring Kirklees, Labour leader Mehboob Khan was celebrating Kirklees becoming a BNP-free zone after Roger Roberts lost in Heckmondwike to Labour's Vic Kendrick.

Prior to the election the Labour group ran the council with Liberal Democrat support.