Kirklees local elections and wards to watch

With the local elections just around the corner, we take a look at the battleground wards where candidates will be fighting hard to win seats.

The local elections will take place tomorrow (Thursday, May 2) at the polling stations in the district. Labor has held Kirklees Council since 2018 after years of no overall control. In this year’s election, Labor has a slim majority holding 35 of the 69 seats.

Despite consolidating their control of the council after last year’s election, the Labor Party faced a wave of defections last year when a number of councilors broke away from the party over differing positions on the Israel conflict -Palestine.

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Last year, some seats were decided by just a handful of voters. Batley East was the closest call, with 14 votes deciding Labour’s victory. Other wards separated by very narrow margins were Denby Dale, won by a margin of five per cent, Golcar and Holme Valley North, both won by four per cent, and Holme Valley South and Mirfield separated by just three per cent.

In what could be a very interesting year for Kirklees’ political landscape, here’s where some of the key battles for control of the council will take place.

Almondbury

Almondbury’s Tory councilor Bernard McGuin has decided to stand down at this election, leaving the community open to a new challenger. McGuin has been very vocal about issues in his ward, such as the closure of the Tolson Museum and care homes in the area, meaning he will have a big pair of boots to fill in Almondbury.

Apart from McGuin, the other two Almondbury seats are held by Lib Dems Cllr Alison Munro and Cllr Paola Davies.

Batley East

Batley East has seen a turbulent 12 months, with a by-election won by Ebrahim Dockrat last August after former councilor Fazila Loonat was jailed. Cllr Dockrat was quickly suspended from the Labor Party amid alleged claims of anti-Semitism, before moving to the Kirklees Community Independents group.

Last year’s election saw a heartbreaking finish for the Batley East ward, with several recounts showing just 14 votes separating Labor and the Conservatives, with Habiban Zaman claiming victory.

Denby Dale

This ward has changed hands frequently in recent years. Last year, just five per cent of the vote separated victorious Labor from the second-placed Conservatives. This year the candidates will be looking to challenge Conservative Cllr Tim Bamford.

Dewsbury West

In Dewsbury West, Tanisha Bramwell is launching a challenge to Labour’s Cllr Mussarat Pervaiz. Bramwell has been a leading organizer of protests against waves of council cuts over the past 12 months. Dewsbury West is also the ward of Ammar Anwar, who started the wave of defections from the Labor Party in January that could have swayed voters in this corner of Kirklees.

Holme Valley North

Local independent councilor Charles Greaves will be looking to retain his seat in the face of a growing Tory turnout. Holme Valley was previously an independent stronghold, but last year’s vote resulted in a Tory victory despite a very strong showing from independent Richard Noon. Labor also held 29 percent of the vote that year.

Lindley

Adam Gregg (Conservative) is another councilor to resign this time. The councilor is to stand at the next general election, hoping to become MP for Spen Valley. Robert McGuinn is Gregg’s successor, facing stiff competition in a ward that has a strong Liberal Democrat presence. Current mayor Cahal Burke and fellow Lib Dem Anthony Smith hold the other two seats in the ward.