Kirklees Council | |
---|---|
Type | |
Type | |
History | |
Founded | 1 April 1974 |
Leadership | |
Steve Mawson [2] since 2023 | |
Structure | |
Seats | 69 councillors |
Political groups |
|
Joint committees | West Yorkshire Combined Authority |
Elections | |
Multiple member first-past-the-post | |
Last election | 2 May 2024 |
Next election | 7 May 2026 |
Meeting place | |
Town Hall, Ramsden Street, Huddersfield, HD1 2TA | |
Website | |
www | |
Constitution | |
Constitution |
Kirklees Council, also known as Kirklees Metropolitan Borough Council, is the local authority for the metropolitan borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. As a metropolitan borough council it provides the majority of local government services in the borough. Since 2014 the council has been a constituent members of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority.
The council has been under no overall control since 2024. It meets at Huddersfield Town Hall and has its main offices in the nearby Civic Centre.
Kirklees Council was established on 1 April 1974, when Kirklees and West Yorkshire were created under the Local Government Act 1972. The eleven former district councils within the area were abolished at the same time. [3] [4] Kirklees was awarded borough status, allowing the chair of the council to take the title of mayor. [5]
The council was originally a district-level authority in a two-tier local government structure, alongside West Yorkshire County Council providing county-level services. However, the metropolitan county councils, including West Yorkshire County Council, were abolished in 1986 under the Local Government Act 1985. Since 1986 Kirklees Council has therefore been responsible for most local government functions in the borough. [6]
Policing, fire services and public transport continued to be run on a county-wide basis by councillors from all five West Yorkshire boroughs. In 2012 responsibility for policing was transferred to the directly-elected West Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner, and then to the Mayor of West Yorkshire in 2021.
The council has been a constituent member of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority since 2014. The members of Kirklees Council elect one member of the combined authority.
Following several years of funding cuts from national government, in 2016 the council started transitioning to a different service model which the cabinet called being a New Council. The stated aim was to focus the reduced resources on services that only the council can provide, particularly those supporting vulnerable people, while encouraging communities to do more for themselves. [7]
After the 2016 local elections the council was temporarily run without an elected leader. Labour councillors initially decided to replace incumbent leader David Sheard with Shabir Pandor, [8] [9] [10] however Pandor's nomination to become leader at the council's AGM fell after Sheard and three other Labour councillors did not attend the meeting. With no leader, the council was run temporarily by the Chief Executive. [11] [12] Sheard was eventually re-elected as leader and appointed Pandor as his deputy. [13] Pandor was subsequently elected leader of the council following the 2018 local elections. [14]
In June 2016 the Huddersfield Daily Examiner exposed several councillors who had failed to pay their Council Tax in what it called the 'Ratesgate scandal'. Five serving councillors, four Labour and one Conservative, had been issued with court claims after previously receiving reminder letters. [15] Two councillors who had denied the allegations, Deputy Leader Jean Calvert and Amanda Pinnock, were suspended by the Labour Party. All councillors subsequently paid their debts before facing the court. [16]
At the 2021 local elections Joshua Sheard became the youngest councillor to be elected to Kirklees Council, at the age of 19. [17]
In July 2023 Shabir Pandor resigned as council leader, reportedly before facing a vote of no confidence from Labour councillors. At the time Pandor was facing accusations from opposition councillors of misleading the council in his handling of Labour councillor Fazila Loonat, who had been convicted of perverting the course of justice. [18] [19]
History nearly repeated itself the following year, when Leader Cathy Scott faced a no-confidence vote [20] following the local elections in which Labour lost control of the council, due to both a large drop in Labour's share in the vote as well as several Labour councillors resigning in early 2024 over the Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer's stance on Gaza. [21] This group would go on to form a bloc on the council known as the Kirklees Community Independents Group. [22]
In the weeks following the election, several more Labour councillors resigned from the party, [23] [24] including Cllr Scott after she had been replaced as Labour Leader in the council. [25] [26] Cllr Scott stated she would continue as Leader of the Council as an independent, subsequently forming a new council cabinet with positions taken up by the other now-independent councillors, now known as the Community Alliance. [20] However, on 18 July 2024 Scott was forced out of office by another vote of no-confidence, with Cllr Carole Pattison being named as the new Leader [27] and leaving no party with a majority on the council.
In late 2016 Ofsted inspected Kirklees Council's services for vulnerable children and judged them to be inadequate. [28] In response, Education Secretary Justine Greening appointed Eleanor Brazil as Children's Services Commissioner to make recommendations for improvement. [29]
In her report published following the 2017 general election, Ms Brazil found that Kirklees did not have the leadership or management capacity to achieve the required standard. She recommended that Kirklees enter a formal partnership with Leeds City Council, a good neighbouring local authority. [30] The Director of Children's Services in Leeds, Steve Walker, took overall responsibility for services in Kirklees. [31]
In June 2019 Ofsted conducted another inspection and found all aspects of children's services still required improvement to be good. [32]
The first election to the council was held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until the new arrangements came into effect on 1 April 1974. Political control of the council since 1974 has been as follows: [33] [34]
Party in control | Years | |
---|---|---|
Labour | 1974–1975 | |
No overall control | 1975–1976 | |
Conservative | 1976–1979 | |
No overall control | 1979–1980 | |
Labour | 1980–1986 | |
No overall control | 1986–1990 | |
Labour | 1990–1994 | |
No overall control | 1994–1995 | |
Labour | 1995–1999 | |
No overall control | 1999–2018 | |
Labour | 2018–2020 | |
No overall control | 2020–2022 | |
Labour | 2022–2024 | |
No overall control | 2024–present |
The role of Mayor of Kirklees is largely ceremonial. Political leadership is provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 2000 have been: [35]
Councillor | Party | From | To | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Kath Pinnock | Liberal Democrats | 2000 | 24 May 2006 | |
Robert Light | Conservative | 24 May 2006 | 21 Jan 2009 | |
Mehboob Khan | Labour | 21 Jan 2009 | Feb 2014 | |
David Sheard [36] | Labour | 26 Mar 2014 | 25 May 2016 | |
Labour | 29 Jun 2016 | 23 May 2018 | ||
Shabir Pandor [37] [38] | Labour | 23 May 2018 | 26 Jul 2023 | |
Cathy Scott | Labour | 13 Sep 2023 | 23 May 2024 | |
Independent [24] [39] | 23 May 2024 | 17 July 2024 | ||
Carole Pattison [27] | Labour | 17 July 2024 |
Following the 2024 election and subsequent changes of allegiance later in May 2024, the composition of the council was: [40]
Party | Councillors | |
---|---|---|
Labour | 24 | |
Independent | 16 | |
Conservative | 15 | |
Liberal Democrats | 10 | |
Green | 4 | |
Total | 69 |
Of the independent councillors, six sit together as the 'Community Alliance' group, six form the 'Kirklees Community Independent' group and the other four do no belong to a group. The next election is due in May 2026.
The council generally meets at the Town Hall on Ramsden Street in Huddersfield, which had been built in 1881 for the old Huddersfield Borough Council. [41] The council's main offices are at the Civic Centre, a complex of buildings lying to the west of the town hall between Albion Street and Market Street. The council also maintains a customer service centre on Town Hall Way in Dewsbury. [42]
Since the last boundary changes in 2004, the council has comprised 69 councillors representing 23 wards. Elections are held three years out of four, with one third of the councillors (one for each ward) elected each time for a four-year term. [43]
Councillors appoint a mayor each year. The mayor represents the council at civic engagements and supports the work of their designated charity. They chair council meetings and are expected to be politically impartial whilst they hold the post, although they do get a casting vote in the event of a tie.
Name | Party | Civic Year |
---|---|---|
Reginald Hartley, JP | Labour | 1974–75 |
William Gregory | Labour | 1975–76 |
Andrew Alastair Mason | Conservative | 1976–77 |
Jack Brooke | Conservative | 1977–78 |
Major Charles Cyril Kenchington | Independent | 1978–79 |
Donald White | Labour | 1979–80 |
Marjorie Fisher | Labour | 1980–81 |
Fred Pickles, J | Labour | 1981–82 |
Jack Wood | Labour | 1982–83 |
Alfred Ramsden | Labour | 1983–84 |
Stanley Dawson | Labour | 1984–85 |
Colin C. Walker, JP | Labour | 1985–86 |
Mary Walsh | Labour | 1986–87 |
George Speight, JP | Labour | 1987–88 |
John Greaves Holt | Conservative | 1988–89 |
Colin Watson | Labour | 1989–90 |
Thomas Patrick O'Donovan | Labour | 1990–91 |
Jack Brooke | Labour | 1991–92 |
David A. Wright, JP | Labour | 1992–93 |
John Mernagh, JP | Labour | 1993–94 |
Harold Sheldon | Labour | 1994–95 |
Kenneth Douglas Sims | Conservative | 1995–96 |
Allison Harrison | Labour | 1996–97 |
Rita Briggs | Labour | 1997–98 |
Michael Bower | Liberal Democrats | 1998–99 |
Harry Fox | Labour | 1999–00 |
Ann Elspeth Denham | Conservative | 2000–01 |
Mohan Singh Sokhal, JP | Labour | 2001–02 |
Margaret R. Bates | Conservative | 2002–03 |
Barbara Allonby | Liberal Democrats | 2003–04 |
Mary Harkin | Labour | 2004–05 |
Margaret Fearnley | Liberal Democrats | 2005–06 |
Donald Firth | Conservative | 2006–07 |
Jean Calvert | Labour | 2007–08 |
Kamran Hussain | Liberal Democrats | 2008–09 |
Julie Stewart-Turner | Green | 2009–10 |
Andrew Palfreeman | Conservative | 2010–11 |
Eric Firth | Labour | 2011–12 |
David Ridgway | Liberal Democrats | 2012–13 |
Martyn Bolt | Conservative | 2013–14 |
Ken Smith | Labour | 2014–15 |
Paul Kane | Labour | 2015–16 |
Jim Dodds | Conservative | 2016–17 |
Christine Iredale | Liberal Democrats | 2017–18 |
Gwen Lowe | Labour | 2018–19 |
Mumtaz Hussain | Labour | 2019–21 |
Nigel Patrick | Conservative | 2021–22 |
Masood Ahmed | Labour | 2022–23 |
Cahal Burke | Liberal Democrats | 2023–24 |
Nosheen Dad | Labour | 2024–present |
Mirfield is a town and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, West Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is on the A644 road between Brighouse and Dewsbury. At the 2011 census it had a population of 19,563. Mirfield forms part of the Heavy Woollen District.
Cleckheaton is a town in the metropolitan borough of Kirklees, West Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is situated south of Bradford, east of Brighouse, west of Batley and south-west of Leeds. It is at the centre of the Spen Valley and was the major town in the former borough of Spenborough. Cleckheaton has a history as a mill town and forms part of the Heavy Woollen District.
Kirklees is a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, England. The borough comprises the ten towns of Batley, Birstall, Cleckheaton, Dewsbury, Heckmondwike, Holmfirth, Huddersfield, Meltham, Mirfield and Slaithwaite. It is governed by Kirklees Council. Kirklees had a population of 422,500 in 2011; it is the third-largest metropolitan district in England by area, behind Doncaster and Leeds.
Huddersfield is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confluence into the similar-sized Colne is to the south of the town centre which then flows into the Calder in the north eastern outskirts of the town.
Heckmondwike is a town in the Kirklees district, West Yorkshire, England, 9 miles (14 km) south west of Leeds. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is close to Cleckheaton and Liversedge. It is mostly in the Batley and Spen parliamentary constituency, and had an estimated population of 16,986 at the 2011 Census increasing to 18,149 at the 2021 Census. Heckmondwike forms part of the Heavy Woollen District.
The Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley is a metropolitan borough in South Yorkshire, England; the main settlement is Barnsley and other notable towns include Penistone, Wombwell and Hoyland.
Batley and Spen was a constituency in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. The most recent MP was Kim Leadbeater, a Labour politician, elected in a 2021 by-election by a 323-vote margin. The seat had returned Labour MPs since the 1997 general election.
Huddersfield is a constituency in West Yorkshire represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 by Harpreet Uppal of the Labour Party.
Sheffield City Council is the local authority for the City of Sheffield, a metropolitan borough with city status in South Yorkshire, England. The council consists of 84 councillors, elected to represent 28 wards, each with three councillors. It is currently under no overall control, with Labour, the Liberal Democrats and the Green Party each holding chair positions in a proportionate number of committees.
Leeds City Council is the local authority of the City of Leeds in West Yorkshire, England. Leeds has had a council since 1626, which has been reformed on numerous occasions. Since 1974 it has been a metropolitan borough council. It provides the majority local government services in the city. It is the second most populous local government district in the United Kingdom with approximately 800,000 inhabitants living within its area; only Birmingham City Council has more. Since 1 April 2014, it has been a constituent council of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority.
Kirklees Council is the local authority for the metropolitan borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. Since the last boundary changes in 2004, the council has comprised 69 councillors representing 23 wards. Elections are held three years out of four, with one third of the councillors elected each time for a four-year term.
Save Huddersfield NHS is a minor British political party registered in 2006. The party campaigns against a proposed reorganisation of National Health Service facilities in the Huddersfield area and is led by Dr. Jackie Grunsell, a local general practitioner and member of Socialist Alternative. The party contested elections to Kirklees Council, West Yorkshire, England in 2006–2008.
Kathryn Mary Pinnock, Baroness Pinnock is a British Liberal Democrat politician, life peer, and former school teacher. Since 1987, she has been a member of Kirklees Metropolitan Borough Council. She was leader of the council's Lib Dem group from 1991 to 2014, and leader of the council from 2000 to 2006. She was created a life peer in 2014 and now sits in the House of Lords.
The 2018 Kirklees Metropolitan Borough Council election took place on 3 May 2018 to elect members of Kirklees Metropolitan Borough Council in England. This was on the same day as other local elections in England. The result gave the Labour Party majority control of Kirklees Council with 36 of the 69 councillors representing the party.
The Mayor of West Yorkshire is a directly elected mayor responsible for the metropolitan county of West Yorkshire in England. The Mayor chairs and leads the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, and assumes the office and powers of the West Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner.
The inaugural West Yorkshire mayoral election was held on Thursday 6 May 2021 to elect the Mayor of West Yorkshire. It took place simultaneously on the same day as other local elections across the United Kingdom, including council elections in each of the five metropolitan boroughs of West Yorkshire.
Kim Michele Leadbeater is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Spen Valley, formerly Batley and Spen, since 2021.
The 2022 Kirklees Metropolitan Borough Council election took place on 5 May 2022. One third of councillors—23 out of 69—on Kirklees Metropolitan Borough Council were elected. The election took place alongside other local elections across the United Kingdom.
The 2023 Kirklees Metropolitan Borough Council elections were held on 4 May 2023 alongside other elections across the United Kingdom. 24 out of the 69 seats on Kirklees Metropolitan Borough Council were contested.
The 2024 Kirklees Metropolitan Borough Council election took place on 2 May 2024 alongside the West Yorkshire mayoral election and other local elections across the United Kingdom.