Kirklees is a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, England. One third of the Council is elected each election year. Every fourth year there is no election. Since the last boundary changes in 2004, 69 councillors have been elected from 23 wards.

As of the 2019 elections, the Labour Party had a majority of one seat in the council. However, in November 2020 three Labour councillors resigned [1] and became independents, resulting in the Labour Party losing control of the council and Kirklees Council returning to No Overall Control.

Political control

Since 1973 political control of the council has been held by the following parties:

Party in control Years
Labour 1973–1975
No overall control 1975–1976
Conservative 1976–1979
No overall control 1979–1980
Labour 1980–1986
No overall control 1986–1990
Labour 1990–1994
No overall control 1994–1995
Labour 1995–1999
No overall control 1999–2018
Labour 2018–2020
No overall control 2020–2022
Labour 2022-present

Current political make-up

The council is currently under No Overall Control.

The political make-up of the council is as follows:

Party Political make-up of Kirklees Council
Party Seats[2][n 1] Current Council
  Labour
32
                                                                                                                                    
  Conservative
16
                                                                                                                                          
  Lib Dem
10
                                                                                                                                          
  Green
3
                                                                                                                                          
  Independent
6
                                                                                                                                          
Majority
35
                                                                      
↓
32 16 10 3 6
Labour Conservative Liberal Democrat Green Ind

Previous election results

2019 election

Summary of the May 2019 Kirklees Metropolitan Borough Council election results
Parties
 Seats Gains Losses Net
Gain/Loss
Labour 35 0 1 -1
Conservative 17 0 3 -3
Liberal Democrats 10 3 0 +3
Green 3 0 0 0
Independent 4 1 0 +1

2018 election

Summary of the May 2018 Kirklees Metropolitan Borough Council election results
Parties
 Seats Gains Losses Net
Gain/Loss
Labour 36 2 0 +2
Conservative 20 1 1 0
Liberal Democrats 7 0 0 -2
Green 3 0 1 0
Independent 3 0 1 0

2016 election

Summary of the May 2016 Kirklees Metropolitan Borough Council election results
Parties
 Seats Gains Losses Net
Gain/Loss
Labour 34 1 1 0
Conservative 20 3 1 +2
Liberal Democrats 9 1 2 -1
Green 3 0 1 -1
Independent 3 0 0 0

2015 election

Summary of the May 2015 Kirklees Metropolitan Borough Council election results
Parties
 Seats Gains Losses Net
Gain/Loss
Labour 34 2 0 +2
Conservative 18 1 1 0
Liberal Democrats 10 0 0 0
Green 4 0 1 -1
Independent 3 0 1 -1

2014 election

Summary of the May 2014 Kirklees Metropolitan Borough Council election results
Parties
 Seats Gains Losses Net
Gain/Loss
Labour 32 0 0 0
Conservative 18 0 0 0
Liberal Democrats 10 0 0 0
Green 5 0 0 0
Independent 4 0 0 0

2012 election

Summary of the May 2012 Kirklees Metropolitan Borough Council election results
Parties
 Seats Gains Losses Net
Gain/Loss
Labour 32 5 0 +5
Conservative 18 1 4 -3
Liberal Democrats 10 0 4 -4
Green 5 1 0 +1
Independent 4 1 0 +1

2011 election

Summary of the May 2011 Kirklees Metropolitan Borough Council election results
Parties
 Seats Gains Losses Net
Gain/Loss
Labour 27 3 0 +3
Conservative 21 2 0 +2
Liberal Democrats 14 0 6 -6
Green 4 0 0 0
Independent 3 0 0 0

2010 election

Summary of the May 2010 Kirklees Metropolitan Borough Council election results
Parties
 Seats Gains Losses Net
Gain/Loss
Labour 24 2 0 +2
Conservative 19 0 2 -2
Liberal Democrats 20 1 0 +1
Green 4 0 0 0
Independent 2 0 0 0

Summary of election results 1973 - 2018

The first elections to Kirklees council were held on 10 May 1973, with the councillors serving as a shadow authority until 1 April of the next year. A system of elections by thirds was then introduced from 1975, with polls being held in three years out of four. This continued until 1982 when new ward boundaries were introduced, and an election of the whole council was held.[3] Elections by thirds continued from that date until 2016.

Election Labour Conservative Liberal Democrat/Liberal UKIP Green Independent Other Control
1973[4] 45 14 8 0 0 1 0 Labour
1975[5] 36 28 7 0 0 1 0 Labour hold
1976[6] 25 50 9 0 0 0 0 Conservative gain from Labour
1978[7] 15 48 9 0 0 0 0 Conservative hold
1979[8] 32 35 5 0 0 0 0 Conservative lose to no overall control
1980[9] 44 25 3 0 0 0 0 Labour gain from no overall control
1982[3][10] 37 19 12 0 0 0 4 Labour hold
1983[11] 37 20 12 0 0 0 3 Labour hold
1984[12] 37 18 14 0 0 0 3 Labour hold
1986[13] 36 18 17 0 0 1 0 Labour hold
1987[14] 33 21 18 0 0 0 0 Labour lose to no overall control
1988[15] 33 23 15 0 0 1 0 No overall control
1990[16] 45 15 12 0 0 0 0 Labour gain from no overall control
1992[17] 41 19 10 0 0 2 0 Labour hold
1994[18] 35 21 15 0 0 1 0 Labour lose to no overall control
1995[19] 40 16 14 0 0 2 0 Labour gain from no overall control
1996[20] 45 6 18 0 1 1 1 vacancy Labour hold
1998[21] 43 7 20 0 2 0 0 Labour hold
1999[22] 36 10 23 0 3 0 0 Labour lose to no overall control
2000[23] 25 15 29 0 3 0 0 No overall control
2002[24] 26 15 28 0 3 0 0 No overall control
2003[25] 22 16 31 0 3 0 0 No overall control
2004[26] 17 22 25 0 3 1 1 No overall control
2006[27] 20 21 20 0 3 1 4 No overall control
2007[28] 22 20 18 0 4 1 4 No overall control
2008[29] 22 21 19 0 4 0 3 No overall control
2010[30] 24 19 20 0 4 2 0 No overall control
2011[31] 27 21 14 0 4 3 0 No overall control
2012[32] 32 18 10 0 5 4 0 No overall control
2014[33] 32 18 10 0 5 4 0 No overall control
2015[34] 34 18 10 0 4 3 0 No overall control
2016[35] 34 20 9 0 3 3 0 No overall control
2018[36] 36 20 7 0 3 3 0 Labour gain from no overall control
2019[37] 35 17 10 0 3 4 0 Labour hold

District result maps

By-election results

Batley West By-Election 26 September 1996
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour 1,558 48.9
Liberal Democrats 1,179 37.0
Conservative 375 11.7
Green 73 2.3
Majority 377 11.9
Turnout 3,185
Labour hold Swing
Colne Valley West By-Election 23 January 1997
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats 2,077 50.6
Labour 1,418 34.5
Conservative 486 11.8
Green 124 3.0
Majority 659 16.1
Turnout 4,105 38.2
Liberal Democrats hold Swing
Heckmondwike By-Election 27 November 1997
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour 1,219 55.5 +1.7
Conservative 710 32.3 -3.5
Liberal Democrats 268 12.2 +6.2
Majority 509 23.2
Turnout 2,197 16.0
Labour gain from Conservative Swing
Paddock By-Election 24 February 2000
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats 1,236 43.8 +31.3
Labour 1,039 36.8 -16.6
Conservative 456 16.2 -9.2
Socialist Labour 90 3.2 +0.3
Majority 197 7.0
Turnout 2,821 25.1
Liberal Democrats gain from Labour Swing
Golcar By-Election 9 November 2000
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats 1,174 43.4 -13.1
Labour 976 36.0 +13.3
Conservative 518 19.1 +3.4
Socialist 40 1.5 +1.5
Majority 198 7.4
Turnout 2,708 21.4
Liberal Democrats hold Swing
Mirfield By-Election 7 June 2001
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative 3,176 41.2 -14.6
Labour 2,892 37.5 +3.8
Liberal Democrats 1,651 21.4 +13.6
Majority 284 3.7
Turnout 7,719
Liberal Democrats hold Swing
Heckmondwike By-Election 14 August 2003[38]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
BNP David Exley 1,607 27.7 +27.7
Liberal Democrats Tabasum Aslam 1,493 25.8 +3.9
Independent Tim Crowther 1,147 19.8 +19.8
Labour Florence Smith 982 16.9 -22.9
Conservative Roger Roberts 490 8.5 -22.9
Green Heidi Smithson 76 1.3 -5.6
Majority 114 1.9
Turnout 5,795 43.8
BNP gain from Labour Swing
Greenhead By-Election 27 July 2006[39]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Barbara Jones 2,904 63.5 +6.5
Liberal Democrats John O'Reilly 814 17.8 -0.7
Conservative Paul Murphy 287 6.3 -4.1
Green Paul Cooney 240 5.3 -2.1
Respect David Ellis 178 3.9 +3.9
BNP Barry Fowler 148 3.2 -3.5
Majority 2,090 45.7
Turnout 4,571 35.1
Labour hold Swing
Dalton By-Election 10 July 2008[40]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Peter Daniel McBride 1,397 40.5 +10.0
Liberal Democrats Alison Louise Munro 1,155 33.5 -0.8
Conservative Martin James Leonard 605 17.5 -1.9
BNP Jonathan David Baxter Wright 157 4.5 -6.3
Green David William Hargreaves 103 3.0 -2.0
Independent Colin Anthony Walder 34 1.0 +1.0
Majority 242 7.0
Turnout 3,451 27.5
Labour hold Swing
Dewsbury East By-Election 16 October 2008[41]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Cathy Scott 1,513 37.4 -2.0
Liberal Democrats Dennis Hullock 1,405 34.8 +14.3
BNP Joe Barber 690 17.1 -10.6
Conservative Amelia Lynne Bolton 345 8.5 -3.9
Green Adrian Hugh Cruden 58 1.4 N/A
Independent Safiq Ali Patel 17 0.4 N/A
Independent Alan Girvan 15 0.4 N/A
Majority 108 2.7
Turnout 4,043 31.0
Labour gain from BNP Swing
Liversedge and Gomersal By-Election 13 June 2013[42]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Simon Alvy 1,517 43.4
Conservative Sharon Light 1.378 39.4
Liberal Democrats Richard Farnhill 599 17.1
Majority 139 4.0
Turnout 3,494 25.3
Labour gain from Conservative Swing
Golcar By-Election 21 November 2013[43]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats Christine Mary Iredale 1,591 47.6
Labour Stephan Georg Jungnitz 901 27.0
UKIP Gregory Lloyd Broome 450 13.5
Green Daniel Edward Greenwood 210 6.3
Conservative Clinton Noel Simpson 189 5.7
Majority 690 20.7
Turnout 3,341 23.0
Liberal Democrats gain from Labour Swing
Batley East By-Election 26 October 2017[44]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Habiban Nisa Zaman 2,640 76.8
Conservative Paul Young 443 12.9
Independent Aleks Lukic 140 4.1
Liberal Democrats Jon Robert Bloom 136 4.0
Green David Michael Smith 70 2.0
Majority 2,197 63.9
Turnout 3,437 25.9
Labour hold Swing
Denby Dale By-Election 1 November 2018[45]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Will Simpson 1,834 46.7
Conservative Paula Kemp 1,689 43.0
Liberal Democrats Alison Baskeyfield 289 7.4
Green Isabel Walters 116 3.0
Majority 145 3.7
Turnout 3,928
Labour gain from Conservative Swing
Colne Valley By-Election 12 December 2019[46]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Donna Bellamy 4,504 45.8
Labour Duggs Carre 3,308 46.7
Liberal Democrats Robert Iredale 1,386 14.1
Green Ian Vincent 646 6.6
Majority 1,196 12.1
Turnout 9,844
Conservative gain from Labour Swing
Dewsbury West By-Election 12 December 2019[47]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Eric Firth 3,299 42.0
Conservative Keith Mallinson 2,669 33.9
Heavy Woollen Independents Ian Vincent 1,515 19.3
Liberal Democrats Dennis Hullock 380 4.8
Majority 630 8.0
Turnout 7,863
Labour hold Swing

Notes

  1. ^ Since the last elections in 2016, a Labour councillor has left the party.

References

  1. ^ "Labour loses Kirklees Council majority after three councillors quit the party". Yorkshire Live. 19 November 2020. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  2. ^ "Current composition of the council". Kirklees Council. 4 May 2018. Retrieved 10 May 2018.
  3. ^ a b "How the councils fared". The Times. 8 May 1982. p. 2.
  4. ^ "Three major parties find cause for satisfaction in local election results despite low poll". The Times. 14 May 1973.
  5. ^ "Tories capture 199 seats in 'big cities' poll triumph, May Day blow to Labour as the Tories make many gains in district council elections". The Times. 2 May 1975.
  6. ^ "Tories seize cities but fail to achieve expected landslide". The Times. 7 May 1976.
  7. ^ "Power shift in only eight of 80 councils outside London". The Times. 6 May 1978. p. 3.
  8. ^ Whitaker's Almanac, 1980
  9. ^ "Labour makes gains throughout Britain in local government elections". The Times. 2 May 1980. p. 4.
  10. ^ "Conservative candidates hold ground as Alliance bandwagon falters". The Times. 7 May 1982. p. 2.
  11. ^ "How votes were cast in local government elections". The Times. 7 May 1983. p. 4.
  12. ^ "Labour captures Birmingham, Tories hold Birmingham". The Times. 6 May 1983. p. 4.
  13. ^ "How the main parties fared in Britain's local elections". The Times. 10 May 1986.
  14. ^ "Results in Thiursday's local elections". The Times. 9 May 1987.
  15. ^ "The gains and losses: Council election results in full". The Times. 7 May 1988.
  16. ^ "Local election results". The Times. 5 May 1990.
  17. ^ "Local election results 1992". The Times. 9 May 1992. p. 6.
  18. ^ "Local elections: Tories lose 18 councils in worst poll performance". The Guardian. 7 May 1994. p. 4.
  19. ^ "Complete list of results from Thursday's local elections". The Times. 6 May 1995. p. 10.
  20. ^ "Complete list of results". The Times. 4 May 1996. p. 8.
  21. ^ "Local election results". The Times. 9 May 1998. p. 46.
  22. ^ "How Britain voted: Council election results". The Independent. 8 May 1999. p. 12.
  23. ^ "Election results: Local councils". The Times. 6 May 2000. p. 10.
  24. ^ "Election results: Local councils". The Times. 4 May 2002. p. 16.
  25. ^ "Election results". Financial Times. 3 May 2003. p. 8.
  26. ^ "Local elections 2004 - Election summary". Voting and elections. Kirklees Council. April 2007. Archived from the original on 5 December 2008. Retrieved 15 February 2009.
  27. ^ "Local elections 2006 - Election summary". Voting and elections. Kirklees Council. April 2007. Retrieved 9 May 2016.[permanent dead link]
  28. ^ "Local elections 2007 - Election summary". Voting and elections. Kirklees Council. April 2007. Archived from the original on 12 February 2012. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
  29. ^ "Results for the 01 May 2008 District Council Election". Kirklees Council. May 2008. Retrieved 15 February 2009.[dead link]
  30. ^ "Local elections 2010 - Election summary". Voting and elections. Kirklees Council. April 2007. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
  31. ^ "Local elections 2010 - Election summary". Voting and elections. Kirklees Council. April 2007. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
  32. ^ "Local elections 2012 - Election summary". Voting and elections. Kirklees Council. April 2007. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
  33. ^ "Local elections 2014 - Election summary". Voting and elections. Kirklees Council. April 2007. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
  34. ^ "Local elections 2015 - Election summary". Voting and elections. Kirklees Council. April 2007. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
  35. ^ "Local elections 2016 - Election summary". Voting and elections. Kirklees Council. April 2007. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
  36. ^ "Local elections 2018 - Election summary". Voting and elections. Kirklees Council. April 2007. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  37. ^ "Local elections 2019 - Election summary". Voting and elections. Kirklees Council. May 2019. Retrieved 2 May 2019.
  38. ^ "District council, Heckmondwike by-election result, 14 August 2003". Kirkless Council. Retrieved 6 August 2016.
  39. ^ "District council, Greenhead by-election result, 27 July 2006". Kirkless Council. Retrieved 6 August 2016.
  40. ^ "District council, Dalton by-election result, 10 July 2008". Kirkless Council. Retrieved 6 August 2016.
  41. ^ "District council, Dewsbury East by-election result, 16 October 2008". Kirkless Council. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
  42. ^ "Liversedge and Gomersal, 2013". EnglishElections. Archived from the original on 4 August 2016. Retrieved 15 August 2017.
  43. ^ "District council, Golcar by-election result, 21 November 2013". Kirkless Council. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
  44. ^ "District council, Batley East by-election result, 26 October 2017" (PDF). Kirkless Council. Retrieved 27 December 2017.
  45. ^ "Local Elections Archive Project — Denby Dale Ward". www.andrewteale.me.uk. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
  46. ^ "Local Elections Archive Project — Colne Valley Ward". www.andrewteale.me.uk. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
  47. ^ "Local Elections Archive Project — Dewsbury West Ward". www.andrewteale.me.uk. Retrieved 19 April 2022.

External links

Council elections in West Yorkshire
Metropolitan districts of England
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