Council leader out as Reform and Greens make gains

The leader of Sheffield City Council was among a host of Labour casualties in the local elections, as both Reform UK and the Greens made gains in the city.

Tom Hunt lost his seat in Walkley to Green Party candidate Andy Davies by just 73 votes, while former Lord Mayor Jayne Dunn was ousted in Southey by Reform's Yvonne Sykes.

In total Labour lost 13 seats while the Liberal Democrats lost five, with the Greens taking six and Reform 12.

Speaking after the result Hunt, who will remain as leader until an AGM later this month, said the results had been "extremely disappointing" for Labour.

Following Friday's results Labour remains the largest party at the council with 25 councillors, followed by the Lib Dems with 22, Greens with 20 and Reform with 13.

However, with 45 needed for a majority the council remains under no overall control.

Hunt said he hoped the more "fragmented" authority would not lead to "chaotic scenes" in local politics and went on to point the finger at the national Labour Party for the poor results in Sheffield.

"We've seen national issues persuade people here about how they're going to vote," he said.

"Voters are rightly impatient for change and they want to see change happen quicker."

His concerns were echoed by Olivia Blake, Labour MP for Sheffield Hallam, who said councillors, including Hunt, had been "punished for the national party's position".

"My heart goes out to all the hardworking councillors… they have been punished for decisions that weren't taken by them," she said.

Blake said the prime minister "needs to think about his position" in light of the results.

"I think we are kidding ourselves if we think that Keir Starmer will be leading us into the next election," she added.

Martin Smith, Liberal Democrat group leader, re-elected for the Dore and Totley ward, said most parties had been impacted in the local elections due to "general unhappiness with the current government in Westminster".

"I think one of the things that's coming through for me is that this was primarily a vote on national issues," he said.

"I thought a lot of the local stuff was relegated, which is a real disappointment."

He said councillors across parties needed to "reflect and make sure that when we go forward, we're doing the best that we can for Sheffield".

If he was re-elected as group leader, he would "definitely" put himself forward for leader of the council, he said.

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