Bradford Labour party appoints new leadership team

The Labour group on Bradford Council has appointed a new leader after losing control of the authority in last week's local election.

Council Leader Susan Hinchliffe lost her seat in Thursday's elections, in which Reform UK won the most seats (29). She will be replaced as Labour leader by her deputy, Imran Khan.

The Conservatives are the next biggest party in the council with 18 seats while Labour has been pushed into third with 17. For a majority, 46 seats are needed.

Being the biggest party, Reform is likely to run Bradford Council through a coalition or minority administration, but has not yet appointed a leader.

A council leader will have to be appointed by next Tuesday at the council's annual meeting.

Despite Labour losing many seats to Reform, Khan retained his seat in Bowling and Barkerend .

Khan said: "We are proud of what we've achieved as a local Labour leadership for the Bradford district and naturally I'm sorry to see so many brilliant, committed councillors lose their seats.

"I want to pay tribute to Susan Hinchcliffe who led from the front, she was a visionary leader who cares deeply about the Bradford district and has worked tirelessly to drive it forward.

"My team will hold the new council administration to account to ensure we get the very best for all residents in the district."

His new deputy will be Suhail Choudry, who retained his Bolton and Undercliffe seat, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

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