The clock hit 9:30 am, and counting began in Sheffield’s 2026 local elections.
Kate Josephs, the Returning Officer and Chief Executive of the Council, started the count by thanking everyone for their time.
Hundreds of volunteers are gradually filling boxes with counted votes, as candidates pace around the tables waiting for the results. Spread across two rooms in the English Institute of Sport, tensions are rising, and media presence is building.
Leader of the Council, Tom Hunt, is re-running for his ward, Walkley, but is predicted to lose his seat in this election.
Labour is further expected to lose up to a dozen seats to the Greens and Reform.
Since 1973, Sheffield’s council has had no right-wing leadership, and is currently under Labour minority control. It is predicted that Reform will gain 5 seats in this round of elections.
Last month The Times reported that Nathaniel Menday, who is standing for Reform UK in Woodhouse ward, made comments in 2023 calling Nazi’s ‘real visionaries’ and made social media posts with neo-Nazi symbols.
Sheffield Liberal Democrats called on Reform UK to sack Mr Menday and remove him from the election. When approached by the Times, Mr Menday apologised for bringing Reform “into disrepute”.
A by-election has been called for Beighton and Firth Park Wards, with two councillors up for election in both wards, due to vacancies.
Keir Starmer said he’s “not going to walk away” despite early election counts across the country showing losses for Labour and the Conservatives, with Reform gaining nearly 400 councillors before ten o’clock.
The Tories are down 170 seats, losing control of Newcastle-upon-Lyme to Reform, but they have won Westminster from Labour.
