Calderdale Council local elections - who is standing and where

The controlling group on Calderdale Council going into the election is Labour who have 28 of the 51 seats.

Labour goes into poll defending eight seats and the bottom line is that if the party holds six of these, or makes compensatory gains for any losses, they will retain control – 26 seats are needed for a majority.

Currently there are 12 Conservatives, seven Liberal Democrats and four Independents, although Colin Peel, defending his Brighouse seat, does not have a designation on the candidate list.

Labour is defending seats in Calder, Illingworth and Mixenden, Luddenden Foot, Ovenden, Park, Sowerby Bridge, Todmorden and Town wards.

Two wards will be electing two councillors, Greetland and Stainland following the sad passing of Liberal Democrat Coun Marilyn Greenwood, and Brighouse where former Conservative group leader Scott Benton, who is now MP for Blackpool South, has resigned his council seat, with neither seat being among those which would be contested this year.

The elections should have been held last year but were postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Many but not all councillors who would be defending seats are standing again this time, and stepping down are experienced local politicians Geraldine Carter (Con, Ryburn), Anne Collins (Lab, Ovdenden), John Hardy (Con, Skircoat), Lisa Lambert (Lab, Illingworth and Mixenden) and Steve Sweeney (Lab, Todmorden).

Three of those are former Mayors of the borough – Coun Carter was Mayor of Calderdale in 2003-2004, Coun Hardy in 2012-13 and Coun Lambert in 2015-16.

Among candidates hoping to win seats are some former councillors, including Conservative veteran John Ford, contesting Elland, Andrew Tagg, contesting Ovenden for the same party, Robert Thornber, also for the Conservatives in Ryburn, Liberal Democrat stalwart Mick Taylor contesting Town ward for his party, Peter Judge contesting Rastrick for Labour and Independent Colin Stout hoping to win one of the Brighouse seats.

In Luddenden Foot ward, Labour’s Jane Scullion faces a challenge from two former holders of seats in the ward, Jill Smith-Moorhouse (Conservative) and Christine Bampton-Smith (Liberal Democrats).

The election marks the first candidate to stand for Reform UK – formerly The Brexit Party – in a council seat, Chris Green contesting Ryburn ward.

Some parish elections are also taking place as is the first election of a West Yorkshire metro Mayor.

Here is who is standing in each ward.

Brighouse (two seats): Kim Anderson (Green), Tina Benton (Conservative), Charlotte Butterick (Labour), Joanne Core (Green), Brenda Monteith (Conservative), Colin Peel, Colin Stout (Independent), Michael James Sutton (Liberal Democrats), Oliver Wllows (Labour).

Calder: Josh Fenton-Glynn (Labour), Helen Claire Lasham (Freedom Alliance No Lockdowns No Curfews), Gail Lund (Conservative), Alan McDonald (Green), Nikki Stocks (Liberal Democrats).

Elland: Pat Allen (Liberal Democrats), Barry Crossland (Green), John Ford (Conservative), Jim Gallagher (Labour).

Greetland and Stainland (two seats): Paul Bellenger (Liberal Democrats), Jacob Cook (Conservative), Kathleen Anne Mary Foster (Labour), Ed Greenwood (Independent), Jacquelyn Haigh (Green), Rahat Ullah Khan (Labour), Matt Lawson (Green), Joseph Paul Steven Matthews (Conservative), Alex Parsons-Hulse (Liberal Democrats).

Hipperholme and Lightcliffe: Elaine Hey (Green), George Robinson (Conservative), Sophie Sutton (Liberal Democrats), Joe Thompson (Labour).

Illingworth and Mixenden: Guy Beech (Conservative), Stuart Cairney (Labour), Paul Daniel Farrell (Yorkshire Party – Speaking up for Yorkshire), Sean Loftus (Independent), Mark Mullany (Green), Mark Stephen Pittaway (Liberal Democrats), Martin Gerard Roberts (Social Democractic Party).

Luddenden Foot: Christine Bampton-Smith (Liberal Democrats), Jane Scullion (Labour), Jill Smith-Moorhouse (Conservative), Kate Sweeny (Green).

Northowram and Shelf: Peter Caffrey (Conservative), Catherine Crosland (Liberal Democrats), Frank Malcolm Darnley (Labour), Martin Hey (Green).

Ovenden: Sean Bamforth (Liberal Democrats), Danielle Durrans (Labour), Finn Jensen (Green), Andrew Tagg (Conservative).

Park: Laura Beesley (Green), Ruth Coleman-Taylor (Liberal Democrats), Jenny Lynn (Labour), Shakir Saghir (Conservative).

Rastrick: Javed Bashir (Liberal Democrats), Peter Judge (Labour), Gareth Owen (Green), Sophie Whittaker (Conservative).

Ryburn: Freda Davis (Green), Chris Green (Reform UK), Peter John Hunt (Independent), Robert Thornber (Conservative), Leah Webster (Labour), Pete Wilcock (Liberal Democrats).

Skircoat: Mary Betteridge (Green), Kathleen Haigh-Hutchinson (Liberal Democrats), Mohammad Ilyas (Conservative), Ann Kingstone (Labour).

Sowerby Bridge: David Booth (Green), Mark Edwards (Conservative), Thomas Stringfellow (Liberal Democrats), Adam Wilkinson (Labour).

Todmorden: Matthew Doyle (Liberal Democrats), Chris Jackson (National Front), Craig Ashton Oates (Conservative), Diana Tremayne (Labour), Kieran Turner (Green).

Town: Elliot Hey (Green), Naveed Khan (Conservative), Megan Swift (Labour), Mick Taylor (Liberal Democrats).

Warley: David Leslie Budgen (Conservative), Ashley Evans (Liberal Democrats), David Veitch (Labour), Katie Witham (Green).

Local Democracy Reporting Service