Yorkshire local election results 2026

In what has been dubbed ‘Mega May’, elections took place yesterday across 136 local authorities in England, as well as the whole of Scotland and Wales. Place Yorkshire will keep you up to date with the outcomes for Sheffield, Barnsley, Bradford, Calderdale, Kirklees, Wakefield, Leeds, and Hull.

Bradford

Summary: It was a Labour loss in Bradford, with no overall majority. One loss in particular is Susan Hinchcliffe, who has been Leader of Bradford Council since 2016 and lost her seat to the rival Reform candidate. Hinchcliffe’s legacy includes overseeing the city’s central regeneration, the Year of Culture, and Bradford Live, among others. 87 out of 90 seats were up for grabs in the election.

Labour: Won 28 seats, with a loss of 35.

Lib Dems: Won 15, an increase of 1.

Reform: Won 14, up from 0.

Conservative: Won 9, lost 6 seats.

Greens: Won 4, an increase of 4.

Barnsley

Summary: Reform has had another major victory in a former Labour heartland, which has once again suffered huge defeat on a local level.

Reform: Won 42 seats, up from 0.

Labour: Won 11 seats and lost 37.

Lib Dems: Won 8, with a loss of 3 seats.

Independents: Won 2, lost 0.

Conservatives: Won 0, and lost 2.

Calderdale

Summary: Previously a Labour stronghold, Calderdale now has a Reform majority – and it wasn’t a comfortable day for the Conservatives either, which lost all of its seats. All 54 seats were contested.

Reform: Won 34, up from 0.

Labour: Won 8, losing 25 seats.

Greens: Won 7, up from 3.

Independents: Won 3 seats, up from 1.

Lib Dems: Won 2, losing 4.

Conservative: Won 0, losing 11 seats.

Kirklees

Summary: All 69 seats were up for grabs in Kirklees, which has swayed between Labour and no overall majority in recent years. Now, no party has a majority but it was another boost for Reform, which snapped up many Labour seats. Council leader Carole Pattison has lost her seat.

Reform: Won 29, up from 0.

Independents: Won 14, up from 6.

Greens: Won 12, up from 4.

Conservative: Won 9, losing 6 seats.

Lib Dems: Won 5, lost 5.

Labour: Won 0, lost 34 seats.

Wakefield

Summary: All 63 seats in the Wakefield constituency were put to a vote, and Reform won 58 of them in what can only be described as a washout for Labour, which retained 1 but lost 56. Labour had held a majority on the council since it was created in 1974. Former Leader Denise Jeffrey lost her seat to Reform.

Reform: Won 58, from 0.

Lib Dems: Won 2, lost 1.

Conservative: Won 1, lost 2 seats.

Green: Won 1.

Labour: Won 1, lost 56.

Leeds

Summary: 36 out of 99 seats were contested in yesterday’s elections, and Leeds has lost its Labour majority – although compared to other parts of Yorkshire, the defeat has not been as resounding. Labour still holds 48 out of 99 seats, and Reform and the Greens made essentially equal advances between them.

Labour: Won 9 seats and lost 12.

Conservative: Maintained seven seats.

Green: Won 7 seats, gaining six in those areas and now has a total of 11 councillors overall.

Reform: Won 8 seats from 0 and now has 10 councillors overall.

Independents: Won 3, lost 2, and has 10 overall.

Sheffield

Summary: 30 seats out of 84 were up for grabs in Sheffield, which for the last few years has been a mixed bag of parties with no single one having majority control. This has continued, however Labour has taken a battering from Reform and the Greens, which both gained a significant number of seats percentage-wise. Casualties include former council Leader Tom Hunt, who lost his seat to the Greens. Overall in the council, Labour now has 25 councillors, the Lib Dems have 22, followed by the Greens with 20, Reform with 13, and Independents with 4.

Labour: Won 3 seats and lost 13.

Lib Dems: Won 5 seats and lost 5.

Green: Won 10 seats, gaining 6.

Reform: Won 12 seats, having had 0 in the contested areas before.

Independents: No change here, with no seats won or lost.

Hull

Summary: 19 seats were up for grabs in Hull, out of a total of 57. The Lib Dems have lost their majority, as Reform won seats for the first time.

Liberal Democrat: Won 8 seats, lost 2, and now have 26 councillors overall on the council.

Labour: Won 1 seat, and lost 8, with 16 councillors overall.

Reform: Gained 10 seats from 0, with 10 now on the council

Independents and others: No seats this time around, with 5 already on the council.