Kirklees’ ruling Labour group says it is in a “strong position” to contest the all-out elections in 2026, undeterred by recent polling across the nation.
In Kirklees, 23 councillors are elected each year for a four-year term. This means that in the fourth year there are no local elections as was the case this year. The borough’s next planned election will take place in May 2026 where all 69 seats will be up for grabs due to the boundary review. This is so residents can elect councillors to the new ward arrangements.
While there may have been no elections in Kirklees in 2025, elsewhere saw power shifts, with Reform UK taking 41 per cent of all seats up for election. While Reform won the largest number of seats, Labour continued to be the largest party in local government.
In a recent interview with the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), the Leader of Kirklees Council, Cllr Carole Pattison was not phased by electoral trends across the country. She said it was “hard to say” whether Kirklees would see a similar pattern next year but that the administration wasn’t worrying about it.
Cllr Pattison added: “…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.”
The group has further displayed its confidence following a ‘development day’ which took place earlier this Summer. Here, Labour councillors in Kirklees met with party members, MPs and trade union representatives looking ahead to the 2026 all-out local elections that will decide the political future of Kirklees in the coming years.
Speaking to attendees, Cllr Pattison said: “Kirklees Labour have overcome and continue to deal with many difficult local issues. We continue to deliver on our statutory responsibilities despite brutal cuts to our finances under Conservative and coalition governments.”
She added: “Together we will develop a campaign, build a manifesto and shape a council that continues to protect the most vulnerable, achieve good outcomes in our statutory duties, be ambitious in regeneration and investment for all towns and villages and gets the basics right.”
At the development day, event attendees also heard from Kirklees Council’s Cabinet members who spoke on specific achievements, challenges and opportunities the council faces going forward.
Councillor Moses Crook, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Housing and Transport, briefed attendees on the changing national picture of housing and house building. He praised the government’s policy changes to increase social and affordable housing numbers, and how the government and council are moving to hold developers to account on delivering housing stock and preventing land banking that “lines their own pockets”.
Councillor Graham Turner, Cabinet Member for Finance and Regeneration, spoke about the number of investment and regeneration projects taking place and planned for Kirklees. He said: “The Dewsbury Riverside and town centre projects will bring people, business and money to the town centre and areas surrounding. This will mean a better town centre, better jobs and better standard of living.
“Coupled with the Transpennine railway route upgrade, in Kirklees we are investing at all stops along the route as more people choose to live in towns such as Slaithwaite, Batley, Dewsbury, Mirfield, Huddersfield, Marsden and more.”
Councillor Turner also emphasised the importance of investment in Huddersfield, saying: “Innovation at the University campus, the Cultural Heart project, and town centre living developments will deliver a new era for Huddersfield and Kirklees residents as a whole.”
Attendees later discussed and debated ideas for a manifesto going forward into the 2026 local elections, that continues to prioritise families, workers and the vulnerable, as well as being ambitious in regeneration and delivery. Chairing this discussion, Cllr Tyler Hawkins said: “Our manifesto will be shaped by members and representatives who know our towns and villages the best, it will be the most democratically decided manifesto Kirklees Labour has presented to voters at an election.”
Cllr Pattison finished by saying: “We as Kirklees Labour Party are in a strong place to contest and win seats across Kirklees at the 2026 all-out local elections. We are the only party group with the knowledge, experience and ambition to continue to get the basics right and think long-term.”
