SEATS on the edge of the Bradford district produced some interesting results in Calderdale's local elections - with Shelf residents among those who will see a new councillor.
Labour held control of Calderdale Council by increasing their majority over all other parties after this year’s vote.
The party held seven of the seats they were defending going into the contest and also took three wards from the Conservatives.
The only blip for Labour leader Coun Jane Scullion, who held her own Luddenden Foot seat comfortably, was losing Park ward to the Workers Party, winning their first seat on the council.
The Conservatives had a good set of results last time these seats were contested in 2021 – delayed by Covid from 2020 – but lost Illingworth and Mixenden, Ryburn and Rastrick, all to Labour, and Northowram and Shelf to the Greens, without making any compensatory gains elsewhere.
It was steady for the Liberal Democrats, who held both seats they were defending, Warley and Greetland and Stainland – the latter by group leader Paul Bellenger.
The results leave Labour on 30 seats, up two, with a nine-seat majority over all other parties.
The Conservatives hold 11 seats, down four, the Liberals have six as before, the Green Party three (up one) and the Workers Party one (up one).
Labour will effectively keep their advantage for two years, with a fallow election year next year before potentially all seats will be up for grabs – and maybe some extra – following a Boundary Commission recommendation which is due.
Danielle Durrans set Labour’s ball rolling by comfortably holding Ovenden and the party took its first Conservative scalp of the day when Leah Webster ousted sitting Conservative Robert Thornber in Ryburn.
Liberal Democrat group leader Paul Bellenger was 700 votes clear of his nearest challenger to hold Greetland and Stainland, and Conservatives were cheered when George Robinson held Hipperholme and Lightcliffe with a more than 900 vote majority.
Then it was Labour back in the driving seat as first Adam Wilkinson held Sowerby Bridge, then Shane Taylor took Illingworth and Mixenden from the Conservatives.
Labour were soon over the line in terms of continuing control of the council as Josh Fenton-Glynn in Calder, Diana Tremayne at Todmorden and group leader Jane Scullion in Luddenden Foot all chalked up some whopping four figure majorities.
Coun Fenton-Glynn, who is his party’s candidate-elect for the Calder Valley Parliamentary seat in the forthcoming General Election, was almost 2,400 votes clear of his nearest rival.
It was another blow to the Conservatives when Peter Judge took Rastrick for Labour, more comforting for them when Geraldine Carter returned to local politics by holding Brighouse, fending off a challenge from Labour’s Frank Darnley, who was just 85 votes behind.
Mayor-elect Ann Kingstone was home comfortably for Labour in Skircoat, before the Greens made it a hat-trick of seats in Northowram and Shelf with Elaine Hey’s 1,500 majority, ousting the Conservatives.
Kelly Thornham held Town ward for Labour but the next seat up had been Labour held but went to the Workers Party, where Shakir Saghir said the issue of Gaza had been extremely important to constituents in Park ward.
Elland had seen Labour removing support from its listed candidate pending investigation over a social media retweet and in the event Peter Hunt came through to hold the seat for the Conservatives.
This year’s Mayor of Calderdale rounded out the results – Ashley Evans comfortably home in Warley for the Liberal Democrats.
RESULTS
* = elected
BRIGHOUSE
Kim Atkinson (Green) 445
Geraldine Carter (Conservative) 1163
Frank Darnley (Labour) 1078
Jennie Rigg (Liberal Democrat) 126
Maj: 85
CON HOLD
CALDER
Josh Fenton-Glynn (Labour) 3008
Christopher David Lee (Conservative) 574
Mark Stanley (Green) 638
Chris Wadsworth (Liberal Democrat) 222
Maj: 2370
LAB HOLD
ELLAND
Barry Crossland (Green) 446
Peter Hunt (Conservative) 786
Khuram Majid (Labour) 700
Richard Phillips (Liberal Democrat) 574
Maj: 86
CON HOLD
GREETLAND AND STAINLAND
Paul Bellenger (Liberal Democrat) 1526
Alex Greenwood (Conservative) 806
Jacquelyn Haigh (Green) 240
Mark Andrew Pitkethly (Labour) 420
Maj: 720
LIB DEM HOLD
HIPPERHOLME AND LIGHTCLIFFE
Samuel Ackroyd (Labour) 934
Catherine Graham (Green) 299
George Robinson (Conservative) 1846
Nikki Stocks (Liberal Democrat) 122
Maj: 912
CON HOLD
ILLINGWORTH AND MIXENDEN
Laura Beesley (Green) 169
Sara Gaunt (Independent) 135
Sean Loftus (Independent) 143
Stephen Padgett (Conservative) 640
Nicholas Daniel Proctor (Liberal Democrat) 79
Shane David Taylor (Labour) 1168
Maj: 528
LAB GAIN
LUDDENDEN FOOT
Christine Bampton-Smith (Liberal Democrat) 307
Jane Scullion (Labour) 1862
Jill Smith-Moorhouse (Conservative) 731
Kate Sweeny (Green) 295
Maj: 1131
LAB HOLD
NORTHOWRAM AND SHELF
Elaine Hey (Green) 2275
Allen Gary Slingsby (Labour) 327
John Vaughan (Conservative) 737
Maj: 1538
GREEN GAIN
OVENDEN
Anne Edith Baines (Conservative) 358
Sean Bamforth (Liberal Democrat) 188
Danielle Durrans (Labour) 919
Finn Jensen (Green) 166
Maj: 561
LAB HOLD
PARK
Sabir Hussain (Green) 953
Samuel James Jackson (Liberal Democrat) 190
Naveed Khan (Conservative) 164
Shakir Saghir (Workers Party) 1643
Sadia Zaman (Labour) 758
Maj: 690
WORKERS PARTY GAIN
RASTRICK
Andrew Bramley (Green) 237
Peter Judge (Labour) 1317
Joseph Paul Stephen Matthews (Conservative) 1151
Bernadette Denise Stancliffe (Liberal Democrat) 165
Maj: 166
LAB GAIN
RYBURN
Cordelia Prescott (Green) 197
Rosemary Tatchell (Liberal Democrat) 165
Robert Thornber (Conservative) 1270
Leah Webster (Labour) 1554
Maj: 284
LAB GAIN
SKIRCOAT
Oliver James Gibson (Conservative) 950
Michael Holdsworth (Liberal Democrat) 309
Ann Kingstone (Labour) 1932
Robert Orange (Green) 558
Maj: 982
LAB HOLD
SOWERBY BRIDGE
David Booth (Green) 295
Mark Edwards (Conservative) 695
Diana Margaret Harris (Liberal Democrat) 167
Adam Wilkinson (Labour) 1702
Maj: 1007
LAB HOLD
TODMORDEN
Kye Abdul (Liberal Democrat) 160
Brian Matthew Carter (Conservative) 525
Diana Tremayne (Labour) 1919
Kieran Turner (Green) 495
Maj: 1394
LAB HOLD
TOWN
Vishal Gupta (Conservative) 839
Elliot Hey (Green) 329
Garry Prashad (Liberal Democrat) 103
Kelly Thornham (Labour) 1160
Maj: 321
LAB HOLD
WARLEY
Sohail Ashfaq (Independent) 557
Stephen Baines (Conservative) 350
Martin Robert Davies (Freedom Alliance) 139
Ashley Evans (Liberal Democrat) 1153
Ben Jancovich (Labour) 660
Katie Witham (Green) 274
Maj: 493
LIB DEM HOLD
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