Kirklees’ political make-up would look very different if a General Election took place right now, a YouGov poll has shown.
By YouGov’s projections, which are based on a sample of 13,000 voters, the national political landscape would change dramatically if an election were held today, with Reform UK taking 311 seats – just 15 short of a majority. This would make Reform the largest party in a hung parliament.
At the last General Election in 2024, Keir Starmer became Prime Minister as Labour took the majority with 412 seats. On a local level, four out of five Kirklees constituencies – Colne Valley, Huddersfield, Ossett and Denby Dale, and Spen Valley – were claimed by Labour. The remaining constituency of Dewsbury and Batley was secured by independent MP Iqbal Mohamed.
But if the recent poll is anything to go by, things could be set to change. In Kirklees, it shows that Dewsbury and Batley, Colne Valley, Ossett and Denby Dale, and Spen Valley would be taken by Reform. As for Huddersfield, this seat would go to the Green Party.
Commenting on the poll results for Huddersfield, Cllr Andrew Cooper (Greens, Newsome) who was the Green candidate in the Huddersfield constituency at the 2024 election, said: “This is a very encouraging poll and shows there is a very real possibility of our town electing a Green MP. This follows on from our record result at the last General Election, that showed the Green Party are the main challengers to Labour locally.
“2024’s Kirklees [local] elections also gave a strong indication of our rising support, We won with 67 per cent of the vote in the Newsome Ward, our candidate Alex Vickers was elected in the Crosland Moor and Netherton Ward and Maryam Jawaid came within just 41 votes of taking the Greenhead Ward from Labour.
“The reason for our local success in Huddersfield is for a number of reasons. We have hardworking Green Party councillors and candidates who enjoy taking up local issues and concerns. Our membership has grown enormously and we now have over 400 members locally. On Kirklees Council we hold the Labour Party to account. We have exposed how the council had lost out on millions of funding to help residents insulate their homes. We have championed the local campaign to stop Labour privatising dementia care homes and called for a strategy to address the loss of businesses in Huddersfield town centre.
“The next General Election could be at least three or four years away, so the Green Party will continue to speak up for Huddersfield and keep supporting our local communities. We have Kirklees elections next year and we will be working hard to elect even more Green Party councillors across Huddersfield.”
Kirklees’ ruling Labour group has also voiced its confidence looking ahead to the local elections, undeterred by the rise of Reform. The group says it is in a “strong position” to contest the all-out elections scheduled for 2026.
Speaking in an interview with the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), Leader of Kirklees Council, Cllr Pattison, said: “…if Reform or any other party wants to challenge us, well, that’s what they’re going to be up against – us working really hard. The one thing that we as a Labour administration have got is that sense of responsibility, sense of commitment and sense of loyalty to our local people and to Kirklees. We’ve had it for a long time and we will continue to have it and that’s our platform basically.”
