Reform sweeps Wakefield in historic collapse of Labour stronghold
Nigel Farage’s party has seized control of Wakefield Council in a dramatic political realignment that saw Labour almost wiped out in one of its longest-held Northern strongholds.
All 63 seats on Wakefield Metropolitan District Council were contested in Thursday’s local elections following boundary changes, with Reform winning 58 seats in a landslide result.
Labour retained just a single seat, losing 56 councillors in what represents one of the party’s worst local election performances in Yorkshire in modern times.
The Liberal Democrats won two seats, down one overall, while the Conservatives were reduced to a single councillor after losing two seats. The Green Party also secured one seat.
Wakefield Council had been under Labour control continuously since the authority was created in 1974, making the scale of the defeat particularly significant.
The result forms part of a wider surge for Reform UK across England during the 2026 local elections, with Nigel Farage’s party making major gains in traditional Labour and Conservative territories.
Nationally, Reform took control of multiple councils and passed 1,000 councillors for the first time, signalling a major disruption to Britain’s traditional two-party political landscape.
Wakefield had long been viewed as emblematic of Labour’s “Red Wall” heartlands. The district, which includes Wakefield city and the Five Towns area of Castleford, Pontefract, Knottingley, Featherstone, and Normanton, has deep industrial and mining roots and has historically voted Labour at both local and parliamentary level.
Political tensions inside the authority had already been growing before the election. In the run-up to the vote, several Labour councillors resigned from the party or became independents, while two councillors defected to Reform UK.
The election was the first “all-out” contest held under newly drawn ward boundaries, meaning every council seat was contested simultaneously rather than by thirds. Reform’s dominance means the party now comfortably exceeds the 32 seats needed for an overall majority.
