A Kirklees Council group is now officially registered as a political party and wants to give local people a “stronger voice”.
Led by former council leader, Cllr Cathy Scott (Dewsbury East), The Community Alliance is now a political party in its own right, which it says marks a “significant milestone” for the “growing local movement rooted in community-led politics”.
The registration will allow the Community Alliance to stand candidates in elections under a shared name and platform. The party believes this will strengthen its ability to give residents a clear, independent voice at the ballot box.
Group Leader, Cllr Cathy Scott, said: “This registration is about giving local people a stronger voice. Too often decisions are made without proper consultation, and whole communities feel ignored. Community Alliance exists to change that — by putting residents, not party politics, first.”
The Community Alliance was first established back in 2024, shortly after Cllr Scott was ousted from her previous post as Leader of the Labour group. Instead of resigning as Council Leader as many expected, Cllr Scott announced that she was leaving the Labour Party, which had moved “further away from her values” and continued to lead the council as an independent.
She then formed the Community Alliance along with other ex-Labour councillors and spent a brief period running the council before being voted out in a vote of no confidence. As well as Cllr Scott, members of the group include: Cllrs Masood Ahmed (Dewsbury South); Ammar Anwar (Dewsbury West); Yusra Hussain (Batley West); Adam Zaman (Batley East); and Habiban Zaman (Batley East).
The Community Alliance Party says its approach is built around listening to communities, standing up for areas that feel overlooked, and ensuring public decisions are made openly and in the interests of local people. It says its recent registration will increase visibility and accountability while remaining independent of national party structures.
The party positions itself as firmly local, free from national party control, and driven by the priorities of communities rather than party hierarchies.
Cllr Scott added: “This isn’t about career politics. It’s about local people organising locally, speaking up for their communities, and holding those in power to account.”
Community Alliance says this marks the beginning of the next phase of its work and that it will be making further announcements in due course.
