Morley North (ward)

Morley North
Morley North
	Morley North highlighted within Leeds
Population	18,282 (2023 electorate)
Metropolitan borough	City of Leeds ;
Metropolitan county	West Yorkshire ;
Region	Yorkshire and the Humber ;
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
UK Parliament	Leeds South West and Morley ;
Councillors	Simon Brown(Morley Borough Independents); Robert Finnigan(Morley Borough Independents); Bob Gettings(Independent);
	List of places UK England Yorkshire

Last updated May 18, 2025

Morley North is an electoral ward of Leeds City Council in south west Leeds, West Yorkshire, covering Churwell to the north of Morley town and villages of Drighlington and Gildersome.

Boundaries

The Morley North ward includes the civil parishes of:

Drighlington
Gildersome
Morley (north western section including Churwell, part of Morley Town Council)

Councillors

Election
1973	B.B. Barker (Con)	R.J.W. Binks (Con)	R. Verity (Con)
1975	B.B. Barker (Con)	R.J.W. Binks (Con)	R. Verity (Con)
1976	B.B. Barker (Con)	B. Senior (Con)	R. Verity (Con)
1978	B.B. Barker (Con)	B. Senior (Con)	R. Verity (Con)
1979	B.B. Barker (Con)	B. Senior (Con)	Philip Jones (Lab)
1980	Roger Cordingley (Lab)	B.L. Cook (Lab)	Philip Jones (Lab)
1982	Roger Cordingley (Lab)	R. Verity (Con)	Philip Jones (Lab)
1983	Graham Marshall (Con)	R. Verity (Con)	Philip Jones (Lab)
1984	Graham Marshall (Con)	R. Verity (Con)	Philip Jones (Lab)
1986	Graham Marshall (Con)	Philippa Fitzpatrick (Lab)	Philip Jones (Lab)
1987	R.J.W. Binks (Con)	Philippa Fitzpatrick (Lab)	Philip Jones (Lab)
1988	R.J.W. Binks (Con)	Philippa Fitzpatrick (Lab)	Philip Jones (Lab)
1989 by-election	R.J.W. Binks (Con)	Frances Jones (Lab)	Philip Jones (Lab)
1990	R.J.W. Binks (Con)	Frances Jones (Lab)	Philip Jones (Lab)
1991	Gordon Morrison (Lab)	Frances Jones (Lab)	Philip Jones (Lab)
1992	Gordon Morrison (Lab)	Frances Jones (Lab)	Alan Barraclough (Con)
1994	Gordon Morrison (Lab)	Frances Jones (Lab)	Alan Barraclough (Con)
1995	Philip Jones (Lab)	Frances Jones (Lab)	Alan Barraclough (Con)
1996	Philip Jones (Lab)	Frances Jones (Lab)	Michael Dawson (Lab)
1998	Philip Jones (Lab)	Frances Jones (Lab)	Michael Dawson (Lab)
1999	Philip Jones (Lab)	Frances Jones (Lab)	Michael Dawson (Lab)
2000	Philip Jones (Lab)	Frances Jones (Lab)	Michael Dawson (Lab)^[b]
2001 by-election ^[4]	Philip Jones (Lab)	Frances Jones (Lab)	Jayne Hill (Lab)
2002	Philip Jones (Lab)	Robert Finnigan (Ind)^[c]^[5]	Jayne Hill (Lab)
2003	Thomas Leadley (Ind)^[6]	Robert Finnigan (Ind)	Jayne Hill (Lab)
2004	Thomas Leadley (MBI)^[d]	Robert Finnigan (MBI)	Stewart McArdle (MBI)^[7]
May 2005	Thomas Leadley (MBI)	Robert Finnigan (MBI)	Stewart McArdle (Ind)^[e]
2006	Thomas Leadley (MBI)	Robert Finnigan (MBI)	Stewart McArdle (Ind)
2007	Thomas Leadley (MBI)	Robert Finnigan (MBI)	Bob Gettings (MBI)
2008	Thomas Leadley (MBI)	Robert Finnigan (MBI)	Bob Gettings (MBI)
2010	Thomas Leadley (MBI)	Robert Finnigan (MBI)	Bob Gettings (MBI)
2011	Thomas Leadley (MBI)	Robert Finnigan (MBI)	Bob Gettings (MBI)
2012	Thomas Leadley (MBI)	Robert Finnigan (MBI)	Bob Gettings (MBI)
2014	Thomas Leadley (MBI)	Robert Finnigan (MBI)	Bob Gettings (MBI)
2015	Thomas Leadley (MBI)	Robert Finnigan (MBI)	Bob Gettings (MBI)
2016	Thomas Leadley (MBI)	Robert Finnigan (MBI)^[f]	Bob Gettings (MBI)
2018	Thomas Leadley (MBI)	Andrew Hutchison (MBI)	Bob Gettings (MBI)
2019	Robert Finnigan (MBI)	Andrew Hutchison (MBI)	Bob Gettings (MBI)
2021	Robert Finnigan (MBI)	Andrew Hutchison (MBI)	Bob Gettings (MBI)
2022	Robert Finnigan (MBI)	Andrew Hutchison (MBI)	Bob Gettings (MBI)
2023	Robert Finnigan (MBI)	Andrew Hutchison (MBI)	Bob Gettings (MBI)
2024	Robert Finnigan* (MBI)	Simon Brown* (MBI)	Bob Gettings* (Ind)^[g]

indicates seat up for re-election. indicates seat up for election following resignation or death of sitting councillor. indicates councillor defection. * indicates incumbent councillor.

Elections since 2010

May 2024

2024
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Morley Borough Independent	Simon Brown	2,317	37.8	−5.8
	Labour Co-op	Stuart Bruce	1,529	25.0	+0.1
	Independent	Jill Gettings-Bellhouse	998	16.3	New
	Conservative	Lalit Suryawanshi	780	12.7	−2.4
	Green	Evelyn Jeffries	285	4.7	−0.9
	Liberal Democrats	James Trueman	197	3.2	−2.5
	SDP	Thomas Foster	19	0.3	−0.1
Majority			788	12.8	−5.8
Turnout			6,154	33.7	+3.0
	Morley Borough Independent hold		Swing	-2.9

May 2023

2023
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Morley Borough Independents	Robert Finnigan*	2,448	43.6	−6.8
	Labour Co-op	Patrick Davey	1,400	24.9	+2.6
	Conservative	Dom Eatwell	848	15.1	−2.0
	Liberal Democrats	James Trueman	323	5.7	+4.1
	Green	Rebecca Kellett	313	5.6	−2.6
	Reform UK	Jonathan Thackray	252	4.5	N/A
	SDP	Richard Cowles	25	0.4	N/A
Majority			1,048	18.6	−9.4
Turnout			5,620	30.7	−3.0
	Morley Borough Independents hold		Swing

May 2022

2022
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Morley Borough Independents	Bob Gettings*	3,101	50.4	+8.4
	Labour	Patrick Davey	1,373	22.3	+0.6
	Conservative	Lidia Smith	1,052	17.1	−10.7
	Green	Aisling Dolan	506	8.2	+2.6
	Liberal Democrats	James Spencer	98	1.6	−0.3
Majority			1,728	28.0	+13.8
Turnout			6,153	33.7%	−4.3
	Morley Borough Independents hold		Swing

May 2021

2021
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Morley Borough Independent	Andy Hutchinson*	2,922	42.0	−18.0
	Conservative	Alan Shires	1,930	27.8	+13.3
	Labour Co-op	Luke Mitchell	1,506	21.7	+5.4
	Green	Eunice Agbemafle	389	5.6	−1.1
	Liberal Democrats	Penelope Goodman	134	1.9	−0.6
	SDP	Nigel Perry	33	0.0	N/A
Majority			992	14.2	−29.5
Turnout			6,953	38.0	+7.7
	Morley Borough Independent hold		Swing

May 2019

2019
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Morley Borough Independent	Robert Finnigan	3,238	60.0	+7.4
	Labour Co-op	Johnathan Leng	881	16.3	−9.4
	Conservative	Cameron Stephenson	782	14.5	−2.9
	Green	Fiona Love	362	6.7	+6.7
	Liberal Democrats	James Michael Spencer	137	2.5	−1.8
Majority			2,357	43.7	+1.6
Turnout			5,445	30.3	−3.2
	Morley Borough Independent hold		Swing	+8.4

May 2018

2018
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Morley Borough Independent	Bob Gettings*	3,480	52.6	+2.0
	Morley Borough Independent	Andy Hutchison	2,945
	Morley Borough Independent	Thomas Leadley*	2,767
	Labour Co-op	Pete Compton	1,701	25.7	+3.9
	Labour Co-op	Steve Clapcote	1,345
	Labour Co-op	Johnathan Leng	1,269
	Conservative	Jason Aldiss	1,149	17.4	+3.1
	Conservative	Christopher Dilworth	1,146
	Conservative	Louisa Singh	695
	Liberal Democrats	Philip Mellor	284	4.3	+2.4
Majority			2,529	42.1	+13.3
Turnout			6,009	33.5	+0.7
	Morley Borough Independent hold		Swing
	Morley Borough Independent hold		Swing
	Morley Borough Independent hold		Swing

May 2016

2016
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Morley Borough Independent	Robert Finnigan*	2,891	50.6	+13.3
	Labour	Andrew Timothy Scopes	1,245	21.8	−0.1
	Conservative	Jason Karl Aldiss	816	14.3	−7.5
	UKIP	Peter Morgan	537	9.4	+3.6
	Green	Mickayla Ireland	122	2.1	−1.0
	Liberal Democrats	Peter Richard Andrews	108	1.9	−0.4
Majority			1,646	28.8	+13.4
Turnout			5,719	32.8
	Morley Borough Independent hold		Swing

May 2015

2015
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Morley Borough Independent	Bob Gettings*	4,271	37.3	−15.6
	Labour	Mark Sewards	2,505	21.9	−1.3
	Conservative	Sophie Tempest	2,496	21.8	+9.1
	UKIP	Samuel Stead	1,487	13.0	+13.0
	Green	Deborah Fenney	354	3.1	+3.1
	Liberal Democrats	Peter Andrews	263	2.3	−0.6
	TUSC	Karen Cussons	78	0.7	+0.7
Majority			1,766	15.4	−14.3
Turnout			11,454	64.9
	Morley Borough Independent hold		Swing	-7.2

May 2014

2014
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Morley Borough Independent	Thomas Leadley*	2,759
	Labour	Charlotte Hill	1,181
	UKIP	Luke Senior	1,150
	Conservative	Sophie Tempest	675
	Green	Deborah Fenney	180
	Liberal Democrats	John MacArthur	74
Majority			1,578
Turnout			6,019	34.56
	Morley Borough Independent hold		Swing

May 2012

2012
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Morley Borough Independent	Robert Finnigan*	3,517	61.3	+8.5
	Labour	Margaret Foster	1,240	21.6	−1.6
	Conservative	David Schofield	519	9.1	−3.6
	English Democrat	Tom Redmond	458	8.0	−0.3
Majority			2,277	39.7	+10.0
Turnout			5,734
	Morley Borough Independent hold		Swing	+5.0

May 2011

2011
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Morley Borough Independent	Bob Gettings*	3,642	52.9	+19.5
	Labour	Kathryn Rose	1,599	23.2	+0.5
	Conservative	Robin Ghosh	874	12.7	−8.4
	English Democrat	Tom Redmond	573	8.3	+8.3
	Liberal Democrats	Peter Andrews	199	2.9	−8.6
Majority			2,043	29.7	+19.1
Turnout			6,887	39
	Morley Borough Independent hold		Swing	+9.5

May 2010

2010
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Morley Borough Independent	Thomas Leadley*	4,063	33.4	−18.3
	Labour	David Nagle	2,767	22.7	+9.3
	Conservative	Robin Ghosh	2,571	21.1	+9.0
	Liberal Democrats	Chris Lovell	1,397	11.5	+8.3
	BNP	Tom Redmond	1,378	11.3	−8.3
Majority			1,296	10.6	−21.5
Turnout			12,176	68.2	+28.0
	Morley Borough Independent hold		Swing	-13.8

Notes

↑ Elected as Morley Borough Independent
↑ In the next year, Dawson resigned as a councillor and a by-election was called for the same day as the 2001 general election.^[4]
↑ Finnigan had previously been a Labour councillor for Middleton ward from 1995 to 1999.
↑ 'MBI' is an acronym for the Morley Borough Independents.
↑ McArdle resigned from the Morley Borough Independents to sit as an independent, citing being "cheesed off... [with an] utter lack of communication" but there was no animosity between him and his former party colleagues.^[8]
↑ Finnigan chose not to stand again for the ward at the next election in 2018 to stand - albeit unsuccessfully - for Morley South ward.
↑ Gettings had previously resigned from the Morley Borough Independents prior to the election. He joined fellow former MBI councillor for Morley South, Wyn Kidger, and previously Conservative councillor for Pudsey, Trish Smith, to form the 'Local Independent Party' grouping on the council in May 2024. He sits as the sole independent councillor following both Kidger's resignation from the council and Smith's defection to Reform UK in May 2025.

References

↑ "Councillor Simon Brown". democracy.leeds.gov.uk. Leeds City Council . Retrieved 12 May 2024.
↑ "Councillor Robert Finnigan". democracy.leeds.gov.uk. Leeds City Council . Retrieved 15 June 2019.
↑ "Councillor Bob Gettings JP". democracy.leeds.gov.uk. Leeds City Council . Retrieved 28 December 2018.
1 2 "Local ballot can't escape voter apathy". Yorkshire Evening Post . 9 June 2001.
↑ "Councillor Robert Finnigan". democracy.leeds.gov.uk. Leeds City Council . Retrieved 18 February 2019.
↑ "Councillor Thomas Leadley". democracy.leeds.gov.uk. Leeds City Council . Retrieved 28 December 2018.
↑ "Councillor Stewart McArdle". democracy.leeds.gov.uk. Leeds City Council . Retrieved 28 December 2018.
↑ "MBI councillor in resignation shock". morleyobserver.co.uk. Morley Observer. Retrieved 28 December 2018.

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[mbi-4] Elected as Morley Borough Independent

[6] In the next year, Dawson resigned as a councillor and a by-election was called for the same day as the 2001 general election.^[4]

[7] Finnigan had previously been a Labour councillor for Middleton ward from 1995 to 1999.

[10] 'MBI' is an acronym for the Morley Borough Independents.

[13] McArdle resigned from the Morley Borough Independents to sit as an independent, citing being "cheesed off... [with an] utter lack of communication" but there was no animosity between him and his former party colleagues.^[8]

[14] Finnigan chose not to stand again for the ward at the next election in 2018 to stand - albeit unsuccessfully - for Morley South ward.

[15] Gettings had previously resigned from the Morley Borough Independents prior to the election. He joined fellow former MBI councillor for Morley South, Wyn Kidger, and previously Conservative councillor for Pudsey, Trish Smith, to form the 'Local Independent Party' grouping on the council in May 2024. He sits as the sole independent councillor following both Kidger's resignation from the council and Smith's defection to Reform UK in May 2025.

[1] "Councillor Simon Brown". democracy.leeds.gov.uk. Leeds City Council . Retrieved 12 May 2024.

[2] "Councillor Robert Finnigan". democracy.leeds.gov.uk. Leeds City Council . Retrieved 15 June 2019.

[3] "Councillor Bob Gettings JP". democracy.leeds.gov.uk. Leeds City Council . Retrieved 28 December 2018.

[auto-5] 1 2 "Local ballot can't escape voter apathy". Yorkshire Evening Post . 9 June 2001.

[8] "Councillor Robert Finnigan". democracy.leeds.gov.uk. Leeds City Council . Retrieved 18 February 2019.

[9] "Councillor Thomas Leadley". democracy.leeds.gov.uk. Leeds City Council . Retrieved 28 December 2018.

[11] "Councillor Stewart McArdle". democracy.leeds.gov.uk. Leeds City Council . Retrieved 28 December 2018.

[12] "MBI councillor in resignation shock". morleyobserver.co.uk. Morley Observer. Retrieved 28 December 2018.

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