Reform won big in West Yorkshire - but what next?

It's back to work for councils across West Yorkshire after local elections last week re-drew the political map of the county.

Labour used to control all five local authorities, but Reform UK is now dominating council chambers.

New councillors may bring fresh ideas, but with such a huge change in personnel a large amount of experience has been lost as well.

So what does the future hold?

How did things look before?

Bradford Council had been run by Labour since 2010 - first as a minority, then with a majority since 2014.

Labour's Susan Hinchcliffe had led the council since 2016.

What happened last week?

Reform UK is now the largest party on the council with 29 councillors, and the Conservatives are second with 18. Labour lost overall control, and is down to 17 seats, with several key figures toppled, including leader Susan Hinchcliffe, several of her cabinet and both the current Lord Mayor and Deputy Mayor.

Who is now in charge?

At the moment, no party has overall control, meaning discussions will now begin around possible working arrangements and coalitions.

What happens next?

For now, Bradford Council says services "will continue to run as normal" while political negotiations continue behind the scenes.

How did things look before?

Calderdale Council had been under Labour majority control since 2019 - and going into the election, Labour had a slim majority.

What happened last week?

Reform UK now have a clear majority with 34 of the 54 seats, Labour secured eight, Greens seven, Liberal Democrats two and Independents two and the Workers Party one, with the Conservative Party losing all its 11 seats.

Who is now in charge?

Dan Sutherland, who had been group leader of Reform before the elections, has now been confirmed as group leader again along with Paul Hawkaluk as the deputy.

His position as leader of Calderdale Council should be confirmed at the authority's Annual General Meeting next week.

What happens next?

Like many local authorities, Calderdale continues to face budget pressures - but the previous administration said it had benefited from additional funding from the Labour government.

Some big projects are already under way - like a "10 year vision" for Halifax town centre.

How did things look before?

Kirklees Council has had a difficult few years. It has a history of being in a "no overall control" situation, but has most recently been led by Labour.

Going into this election Labour ran the authority as a minority administration.

What happened last week?

The Labour leader, group leader of the Liberal Democrats and group leader of the Conservatives all lost their seats.

Reform won 29 seats, with 14 Independents, 12 Greens, nine Conservatives and five Liberal Democrats also elected - so no overall control for any party.

Labour now have no councillors at all, having previously had 34.

Who is now in charge?

Negotiations will be under way over who runs the authority - although Reform are the largest group.

Could a coalition be formed between other parties - or could Reform work with the Conservative group in some way?

What happens next?

For Kirklees there are big regeneration projects taking place in Huddersfield and a new leisure centre promised for Dewsbury. There was a feeling before this election that finances were back on a stable footing and the council could start planning for its future.

How did things look before?

Going into the election, Labour had a majority - holding 56 of the 99 seats. Only a third of the seats in Leeds were up for election.

What happened last week?

Labour lost their majority.

The party's councillors now make up 48 of the 99 seats at the authority - 50 were needed to maintain overall control. The Conservatives now hold 14, Greens 11, Reform 10, Independents 10 and Liberal Democrats six.

Who is now in charge?

We are not expecting big changes, as council leader James Lewis' seat was not up for re-election - although his deputy, Jonathan Pryor, did lose to a Green candidate.

Labour are still the largest party and could run the authority as a minority, but they would need support from other parties - potentially the Greens - to pass key decisions like the budget.

What happens next?

Labour will be reflecting on what has happened in the city, as its vote has been squeezed by Reform and the Greens - and the party will be looking ahead to next year's local elections to see if more seats are vulnerable or if they can fight to win back votes.

How did things look before?

The authority has been controlled and run by Labour since its creation in 1974.

What happened last week?

There was a dramatic shift in power.

Now 58 out of the 63 seats are held by Reform. The opposition is made up of two Liberal Democrats, one Conservative and one Green - plus a sole remaining Labour councillor.

The loss of a council like Wakefield will hit the Labour party's psyche hard. Questions will be asked about where things went wrong for the party in what had been such a heartland.

Who is now in charge?

Reform in Wakefield are meeting over the next few days to elect a leader for the group who will go on to lead the authority.

What happens next?

With a new slate of councillors who aren't used to running local government, Reform will need to elect a group leader and then work with officers to set out what they want to do.

They say they have a plan for their first 100 days in office, but the BBC has been told they haven't yet reached a "settled position" on what they would do with key projects like plans to demolish The Ridings shopping centre.

Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.