Reform ends 50 years of Barnsley Labour leadership

Labour's 50-year reign in Barnsley has come to an end.

Reform UK have taken control of Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council with a total of 41 seats, but have not shared any reaction to the win or announced who their leader will be.

Reform's national leader Nigel Farage reflected on the party's overall success nationwide, saying: "What's happened is a truly historic shift in British politics."

The current leader of Barnsley Council, Sir Stephen Houghton – who held his seat by just 23 votes – said he would "pick up the pieces and represent my residents the best way I can".

Overall, there were 41 Reform, 11 Labour, two independent and six Liberal Democrat seats.

The Conservatives lost their only seat in Penistone East, while the Green Party failed to win any seats.

A result is still pending for Penistone West following three recounts, with a final one at noon on Saturday.

There were no big reactions at the Metrodome in Barnsley on Friday, not even when it became apparent Reform had taken control of the council.

Despite repeated requests, Reform has declined to put any of its Barnsley candidates forward for interview.

Sir Steve, who has led Barnsley Council for 30 years, and who is one of the longest serving Labour councillors in the country, was one of the few to hold his seat.

He said he was "absolutely gutted" to see Labour colleagues lose, but said the defeat had not come as a surprise.

Houghton said Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer needed to "wake up and deal with the problems in left-behind communities now".

He said: "We need to bring them back to life and restore faith in those communities.

"This is not just about this government, previous governments have ignored the problem too, but I will be saying to Keir Starmer that he needs to deal with this now because if he doesn't there will be even more losses like this coming soon."

Houghton remains as leader until the council's annual general meeting at the end of May but in name only.

Turnout in the borough at this year's election was 37.25%, with Penistone East recording the highest turnout with 56%.

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