West Yorkshire Mayor Tracy Brabin speaks out on 'catastrophic' local elections for Labour
Labour lost overall control of Leeds City Council - and was decimated in Wakefield
The Mayor of West Yorkshire has criticised a “crisis of Government” as she reacts to “catastrophic” local election results for the Labour Party.
Labour has lost overall control of Leeds City Council after losing seats in Thursday’s election, with Reform UK and the Green Party making significant gains.
The elections saw 36 seats contested - one in all 33 wards in the city and additional vacant seats in Adel and Wharfedale, Morley North and Temple Newsam.
While Labour will remain the biggest party, with 48 of the council’s 99 seats, the council is now shy of the 50% it needs for an overall majority.
Discussions on future options, including whether to form a minority administration, run by Labour, or a coalition council between the parties, are due to take place ahead of the next council meeting on May 20.
Elsewhere in West Yorkshire, Reform UK has taken control of the council in Wakefield and Calderdale, and has become the largest party on Kirklees Council.
Labour was decimated in Wakefield, where it had been in charge of the local authority since it was established in 1974 - left with just one seat out of 63.
The results in Bradford were confirmed on Saturday after a second day of counting, and Reform also emerged as the largest party - although it remains far off having enough seats to form a majority.
In a statement following the results, Tracy Brabin said “safer streets, better public services, and more opportunities for young people” need to be the focus of the Labour Government.
“This is a catastrophic set of results for the Labour Party,” she said.
“Here in West Yorkshire, and across the country, we’ve lost dedicated councillors who have served their communities tirelessly without self interest.”
At the election count in Leeds on Friday, Leeds East MP Richard Burgon said Sir Keir Starmer should set a “timetable to go” following the results - blaming the Labour Party leadership.
Sir Keir Starmer has insisted he will not quit as Prime Minister after bruising local election results across the country, but he is coming under mounting pressure from Labour backbenchers to resign or set a timetable for his departure.
Labour lost hundreds of councillors in England as Nigel Farage’s Reform UK made stunning gains. Labour also suffered from voters switching to the Green Party as Zack Polanski declared the era of two-party politics “is not just dying, it is dead and it is buried”.
Ms Brabin said the Labour party was “facing oblivion” if the results are repeated in the next general election.
She added: “We cannot waste the opportunity of Labour being in government.
“People are understandably impatient for change, and we have not been quick enough. It takes too long to deliver improvements in communities that people can feel.
“This is a crisis of Government - not just of the Labour Party. I am frustrated that decisions are taken too slowly, processes are too lengthy, and risks are prioritised over rewards.
“The public want us to tackle the cost of living, deliver more jobs and make buying or renting a home cheaper. They want safer streets, better public services, and more opportunities for young people.
“These issues need to be the focus of the Labour Government. We can’t just be administrators bogged down in Whitehall process. We need to be the agents of change.
“With a huge majority and still time left, there is an opportunity to deliver a brighter future for the people of this country. But we need to do that quickly and decisively with a renewed boldness.”