Ex-Labour councillor announced as Reform's new Calderdale Council leader
A former Labour councillor who defected to Reform UK will be the new leader of Calderdale Council.
Daniel Sutherland had been a Labour councillor since 2010 before he joined Reform last year.
He was elected as a ward councillor for Illingworth and Mixenden at Thursday’s elections.
Paul Hawkaluk, who became a Calderdale councillor for the first time last year, has been announced as deputy leader of the council.
He won a by-election in the Skircoat ward for Reform in 2025.
This year, he was elected for the party in the Salterhebble, Southowram and Skircoat ward.
Reform won 34 of the 54 seats up for grabs across Calderdale’s 18 wards in Thursday’s election, giving the party an overall majority.
Several of the new Reform councillors are either former Conservative councillors or Conservative candidates.
Labour is the next biggest party with eight seats, followed closely by the Green Party with seven.
The Lib Dems and Independents have two seats each, with the remaining seat won by the Workers Party.
The Conservatives lost all of their seats on the council.