It has been a decisive victory in Leeds for the Labour Party, with them increasing their majority on the council by five seats, but a smaller party was also a winner today.
Labour held on to its majority on the council and even gained seats at the expense of the Greens and the Conservatives, but they also lost a seat to the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in some shock results. The Conservatives also lost a couple of seats such as Horsforth, but kept others like Wetherby.
Ann Blackburn, the Green Party Group Whip, was one of this election's casualties as she lost her seat to the Labour Party’s Mark Sewards in Farnley and Wortley. However, the Greens then went on to unseat Labour’s Elizabeth Nash with Ed Carlisle becoming the new councillor for Hunslet and Riverside.
Read More: Leeds Council local election results 2022: Find out who won in each ward
But the biggest shock came in Middleton Park where the SDP gained its first seat in Leeds since the 1980s. The party, which formally merged with the Liberal Democrats 40 years ago but was kept running by a few of its members, has been running candidates, including one for the South Yorkshire Mayor, across Yorkshire.
Labour now has an increased majority on the council and will likely see this victory as an endorsement of their council and an angry response to the scandals Westminster has been hit with.
Norma Harrington, who held onto her seat in Wetherby for the Conservative Party, put the victory down to her and her team’s work in the community. She said: “It was a Leeds City Council election and people have seen my team's reputation and what they do in the area and that’s why they voted for me.”
Richard Burgon MP also put down the Labour Party’s decisive victories to the work of their local teams but mentioned the reaction to the Westminster scandals like ‘partygate’ alongside the cost of living crisis. He said: “The cost of living crisis is the big issue, people don’t trust Boris Johnson and the government, they see the party evidence and they see that the government isn’t bothered what people think.
Overall, Labour will certainly be happy with their results in Leeds and, while the Conservatives have lost some seats, they managed to hold onto Harewood and Wetherby, showing their vote has not completely collapsed.
For the Greens, the shock loss of Ann Blackburn will certainly hit them hard, but Ed Carlisle’s successful campaign will give some confidence in their party’s future in Leeds.
The Liberal Democrats didn’t see a surge in their vote as in Hull and even lost some seats to the Labour Party, but they held onto others and are only down one seat overall.
Social Democratic Party members have their first councillor since 1988, a campaign success which has largely been put down to Wayne Dixon, their candidate for Middleton Park, and his work campaigning in the area for years.
Here’s what the council now looks like:
Labour - 58 (+5)
Conservative 21 (-3)
Liberal Democrat 7 (-1)
Green 3 (0)
Independent 9 (-2)
SDP 1 (+1)
