The Labour Party has taken 17 out of 21 seats in the local elections in Barnsley today, continuing its control of the council.
Councillor Sir Stephen Houghton CBE, leader of the council was re-elected in Cudworth ward. He said: “We’ve managed to maintain our majority which was the first target and of course we’re looking beyond Barnsley to what is happening elsewhere, and clearly Labour is doing well in the country.
“The message, I think, of today is that the Conservative’s days of government are over, they’re just treading water till the election.”
The Labour Party took one seat from the Conservatives and three from the Liberal Democrats.
The Conservatives lost their seat in Penistone East today and gained none. This means they only have one Tory seat left in the entire council.
Peter Millar, the Conservative candidate for Penistone East, said: “Usually when I go door knocking it will start off on a national level.”
He agreed that local councillors were having to answer for the national government’s decisions.
Leyla Nayeri (Liberal Democrat) was elected into the Darton East seat which has been empty since November 2023.
She said: “First and foremost I want to go out and say thank you to all the residents who have been out and voted, whether that’s for me or for another party.”
The Liberal Democrats took four seats today but only gained one due to a three seat loss.
Lib Dem Councillor for Kingston Ward Steve Bullock said: “I’m very pleased. I wish we could get more young people out to vote. That’s what disappoints me.”
Voter turnout was 0.58 per cent lower than last year with an overall turnout of 24.14 per cent.
The only parties to win today were Labour and the Lib Dems.
Oliver Coppard, Mayor of South Yorkshire, said before the count: “What you hear is that people are frustrated, let down, disappointed and angry about the state of this country.
“We’re in a broken Britain because of this Tory government and what we’ve seen in the ballot box so far is that people are letting their feelings be known.”
When discussing his chances in the mayoral vote, he said: “I’m hopeful that what we’ve shown over the last two years is that we can do a good job for this region and provide the leadership this region needs.”