After two years, The Ilkley Journal has ceased production.

But it’s not the end of our reporting.

You can instead follow us here, at The West Yorkshire Journal (The Journal for short), for the latest stories in Ilkley, the district of Bradford and West Yorkshire.

Think new name, same mission: to deliver high-quality, long-form and slow local journalism.

Thank you.

A goodbye of sorts

A note from the editor

And just like that, The Ilkley Journal turns two at the end of the month. The funny thing is that it feels like no time has passed at all, as if we’re still at the start of our journey and only just getting started. Time can be funny like that.

Yet, going through our archive of stories, reflecting on everything that happens behind the scenes, we have, if anything, been very busy trying to make a success of our little online newspaper since launching in April 2024.

We’re very proud of all that we’ve achieved with our journalism, whether it’s been our history of the building that now hosts McDonald’s, the battle for the heart and soul of Ilkley Tarn, our interview with CSE survivor Fiona Goddard or our wry take on one of Ilkley Town Council’s more lively meetings.

But despite all of that and our efforts to make a case for an alternative source of news in Ilkley, we’ve never quite cut through in a meaningful way. It’s been a steep learning curve and we’re wiser for it. Every day is a school day, so they say.

What now? Well, as we’ve got closer and closer to our two-year anniversary – and especially since the start of the new year – we’ve been thinking long and hard about how we move forward as a publication so that we can actually get to where we really want to be.

And our conclusion? We’ve decided to call it a day – well, sort of. Although we’re sadly going to be winding down operations at The Ilkley Journal – while still leaving the door slightly open – it’s by no means the end of our story. We’re simply adapting, pivoting and thinking big.

Instead of continuing with The Ilkley Journal, we’re going to shift away from being a hyperlocal, long-form newspaper specialising in slow journalism. Our focus will now be on covering the entire district of Bradford and the wider West Yorkshire region, too.

It’s not been an easy decision – we love our brand, we love the town – but it’s been clear for some time that if we really want to grow sustainably as an independent news organisation over the next two years, we have to look beyond Ilkley.

Which we have been for a while now with our coverage. The problem is that this hasn’t necessarily translated into more subscribers, more supporters, or greater visibility and reach. And truth be told, our name has become something of a barrier. It’s too local.

Now, there’s more to say about all of this but we’ve got that scheduled for later this month. So do stay tuned. We simply thought it made sense to give you guys a heads-up as we’ve already started making public-facing tweaks.

Finally, we’d like to take this opportunity to thank all our supporters for being part of our journey and sticking with us over the last two years. We hope you’ve enjoyed what we’ve offered and that it’s been of some value. You’ve honestly kept us going. And we hope that you’ll join us as we embark on the next chapter of our story, too, because we’re definitely not done yet.

Best,

the editor

LOCAL ELECTIONS

Bradford Council and Leeds Council reveal full list of candidates for 2026 local elections

Bradford Council and Leeds have respectively released a full list of candidates standing in the local elections this May (which you can read more about here in our jampacked guide).

All the major parties, from Labour and the Conservatives to the Liberal Democrats, the Green Party and Reform UK, are fielding candidates across the district.

Both councils also have plenty of independent candidates looking to get elected, as well as candidates from smaller parties the Yorkshire Party and the Social Democrat Party and more fringe representation (like UKIP, which describes itself today as “the new right”).

In the Ilkley and Addingham ward, the following are standing:

• Conservatives

  • Andrew John Patrick Loy

  • Jane Sellers

  • Richard Michael Downey

• Greens

  • Ellan D’arcy

  • Richard Wilson

  • Ros Brown

• Labour

  • John Flaherty

  • Lorraine Dowson

  • Stephen Anthony Hey

• Lib Dems

  • Mark Fredrick Stidworthy

• Reform UK

  • Ray Lenik

  • Greg Robinson

  • Craig Sanderson

You can see how the ward has voted over the last 20 years here.

In the Wharfedale ward, the following are standing:

• Conservatives

  • Bob Felstead

  • Jo White

  • Peter Sidney Cochrane

• Greens

  • Chris Turner

  • Daniel Guy

  • Lottie Kitching

• Labour

  • Amanda Peters

  • Christopher Eric Steele

  • Peter Martin Iliff

• Lib Dems

  • Pauline Heather Allon

• Reform UK

  • Dan Neal

  • Nicholas Charles Carter

  • Ronald Harriman

Labour has had a majority on Bradford Council since 2014, as well as a majority on Leeds Council since 2011.

As these are all-out elections, you will be selecting three candidates this time around. The local elections will be held on Thursday 7 May.

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LOCAL

Ilkley Clean River Group: we want a water referendum

The Ilkley Clean River Group are urging locals to back their call for a referendum to gauge whether there is widespread public support for bringing the water industry back into public ownership.

A petition urging that a binding national referendum be held has been set up, arguing that it would be one of the most effective ways to “give the public back its voice about its water”.

At the time of writing, it has so far attracted over 21,000 signatures. Any petition that hits 10,000 signatures will receive a response from the government. Any petition that achieves over 100,000 signatures will be considered for debate in Parliament.

“It’s unforgivable how the government is ignoring the evidence and the public and saying water must stay privatised despite its catastrophic, expensive failure,” said Feargal Sharkey, the singer turned clean water campaigner.

“Privatisation has already diverted over £85 billion of billpayers’ money to shareholders who added nothing but greed and financial engineering to what should be a water industry, not a cash machine.

“It’s time the public had a say in this, not just the bond markets and financiers currently pulling the government’s strings for their own ends, and that is why I am 100% behind this petition.”

In October 2025, the Environment Agency reported that Yorkshire Water was one of three water companies that were “responsible” for 81% of serious pollution incidents.

Reform UK reveals Wharfedale candidates

Reform UK has picked Wharfedale locals Dan Neal, Nick Carter and Ron Harriman as candidates for the ward in the 2026 Bradford Council local elections.

Neal, who has lived in Burley in Wharfedale since 1995, is described as having a career in the NHS and “the wider healthcare sector”. He claims that he will be “focused on local priorities and securing better value for every pound of council tax”.

Harriman, who has been based in Burley for over 30 years, is said to have experience in “business, systems and management”. If elected, he claims he’ll “challenge inefficiencies and help reduce tax rises”.

Neal, who is a lifelong Wharfedale resident, has spent his career in education “as a principal and strategic lead”. He claims he is committed to “delivering cost-effective services for all residents”.

Speaking to the Telegraph & Argus last month, the party’s leader, Nigel Farage, said that he was of the opinion that Labour may struggle to hold onto its seats on Bradford Council.

They “may well go green,” he went on to say, “because there’s a particular Pakistani-Kashmiri vote that is now heading in that direction”.

According to Saving Broken Bradford, which describes itself as “the local Reform Bradford branch Facebook page”, the party will be standing 90 candidates across the district on 7 May.

DISTRICT

Bradford appoints new cultural leadership role

A new assistant director for culture, policy and events has been announced by Bradford Council as the local authority seeks to build on the legacy of a year-long status as the UK City of Culture 2025.

David Watson will take on the key strategic leadership role, which comes with a salary bracket of £99,433 to £112,411. Watson describes himself as a “cultural consultant, sector leader and audience experience creator”.

He has worked with cultural giants like the National Museums Liverpool and the Birmingham Royal Ballet. He is currently chair of the Chester-based arts centre/creative hub charity Storyhouse.

Watson will be tasked with building a long-term cultural strategy with the Bradford Culture Company to enable Bradford to achieve its ambitions to become one of the best destinations in the UK for culture.

“Bradford’s moment in 2025 has been powerful to witness. It’s the result of years of ambition, graft and belief from people right across the district,” said Watson.

“I’m delighted to be part of what comes next, building on that energy and momentum to create something that continues to transform opportunities and deliver real impact in people’s lives.”

The council revealed last month that it had secured £3.5 million in funding to invest in Bradford’s cultural sector from several sources, including Arts Council England and the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

CONSTITUENCY

Local MP welcomes positive change in Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme

The MP for Keighley and Ilkley has welcomed news that the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme (ULS) has increased the amount of time that victims and bereaved families have for requesting a review of a sentence they feel could be tougher.

Instead of having just 28 days to put in a request, victims and bereaved families – and any other member of the public – will now have up to six months to ask for a sentence perceived to be too lenient to be reconsidered.

“Today, after much campaigning, the government has confirmed it is extending the amount of time victims and families have to appeal the sentences of their abusers … and introducing a mandatory duty to inform victims about the scheme,” Robbie Moore said.

“I would like to thank the solicitor general [Ellie Reeves] for meeting with me and being open to working cross-party on this issue to bring forward such necessary changes.”

Claire Waxman, the victims’ commissioner – a role that acts as the “voice of victims – said that she was delighted and paid tribute to Tracey Hanson’s role in bringing about change after years of campaigning following the death of her son Josh.

“The new duty to ensure victims are notified about the unduly lenient sentence scheme, alongside extending the rigid 28-day time limit, represents a significant and long overdue reform,” she went on to say.

“Ensuring families and victims are not only properly informed but also able to access the scheme even if they were previously unaware.”

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COUNTY

West Yorkshire “one of the worst-hit areas” for church-based crimes

West Yorkshire has been named the second-worst-hit area for church-based crime, according to an investigation by the Countryside Alliance.

The region recorded 445 crimes at churches last year, with first-place London recording 531. Of the 445 crimes, 147 cases were related to thefts, 77 were related to criminal damage and 126 were related to violence.

Elsewhere, South Yorkshire reported 98 crimes at churches, while North Yorkshire reported 71 crimes.

Mo Metcalf-Fisher, director of external affairs at the Countryside Alliance, said that criminals were treating churches and places of worship as “easy targets”.

“We cannot allow this to continue,” he went on to say. “Churches and places of worship are focal points for local communities, particularly in rural towns and villages where they play a crucial role in combating isolation. It is vital that the public keep a watchful eye and report any issues to the police.”

The Countryside Alliance describes itself as a “political campaigning organisation” dedicated to championing rural life.

Last month, Tim Bonner, the alliance’s chief executive, wrote to Emma Reynolds, the secretary of state for environment, food and rural affairs, “calling for urgent action to protect rural households’ access to log burners and wood-burning stoves”.

“This issue has been brought into sharp focus by the conflict in the Middle East and the resulting volatility in global energy markets,” he noted in the letter.

“Millions of off-grid households that rely on heating oil are now facing severe and immediate financial pressure, with prices having doubled in some areas since the start of the conflict.”

Kirklees Labour launch local campaign

Labour councillors and candidates in Kirklees have launched their 2026 local election campaign, stating that they are “unashamed in our ambition” and that they are “prepared to fight for residents”.

A total of 69 candidates will be contesting all 23 of Kirklees’ wards, Carole Pattison, the Labour leader of Kirklees Council, revealed.

“Kirklees Labour are the only party who have taken seriously the responsibility of leadership and administration,” Pattison said. “Where others have played politics or shirked the responsibility of their position, we have a united party and have delivered successive balanced budgets that prioritise funding for the most vulnerable, whilst investing in towns and villages across Kirklees, bringing economic growth which benefits all residents.”

The council has had no overall control since the 2024 local elections, which saw Labour lose its majority (it had gained control in 2022 following a brief period of no overall control).

“Labour locally and nationally has a message to share,” she went on to say. |We are the ones with experience, committed to protecting the vulnerable, ambitious for all our towns and villages and tackling the cost of living.”

Kirklees Council revealed last month that its local plan will be ready for examination in September 2028. Local plans help councils identify “strategic priorities for the development and use of land in their area”.

All elections are historic, shaped as they are by the unique set of local, national and international circumstances in which they occur. The 2026 local elections in Bradford and across the UK will be no different.

And what of this year? Will it, like 2025, which saw the political map of the country redrawn with, in particular, formerly dependable Conservative and Labour-leaning councils like Kent County Council and Doncaster Council being swept aside by Reform UK, reflect the growing consensus – at least for now – that there are no longer any safe seats?

Or will it, for instance, be increasingly shaped by the ongoing war in Iran and the impact it has, away from the violence and tragedy across the Middle East, on people’s finances in the UK throughout the month and beyond (hard as it is to make sense of the confused, conflicting and bizarre statements that come primarily from Donald Trump)?

There is no easy answer. As the MP by-election win for the Greens in Gorton and Denton proved, which pushed Labour into an abysmal third place, as well as the council by-election win for Labour in Murton in Durham, which saw the party reclaim the seat back from Reform UK, all bets are off.

As we edge closer and closer to this year’s local elections in Bradford, we thought we’d take a closer look at how the overwhelmingly white (95.6%), Christian (53%), household-owning (78.2%), least deprived (ranked 29 out of 30 in the deprivation index, with one being the most deprived and 30 the least) and older population of Ilkley (it has the highest percentage of people aged between 64 and over) has voted since 2004 with some local and national context thrown in for good measure.

What does it, if anything, tell us about how people will vote this time around in May 2026? We’d love to know what you think.

2024

🟢 Ros Brown, Green Party: 38% (elected)

🔵 Joanne Sugden, Conservative: 35%

⚪️ Anne Gillian Hawkesworth, Independent: 15%

🔴 Michael Andrew Baldwin, Labour: 11%

🟡 John Briggs, Liberal Democrats: 1%

The 2024 local elections resulted in a huge upset with the Green Party’s Ros Brown ending Anne Hawkesworth’s impressive 34-year run as an Ilkley councillor, which had seen her first serve as a Conservative and later as an independent.

“I am obviously very disappointed,” Hawkesworth said the day after she lost her seat to Brown. “However, I have been fortunate and honoured to represent my wonderful Ilkley for 34 years. I shall have to find another route to keep Ilkley special.”

This was a massive victory for Brown who had been gaining more and more support (aka votes) with every election she contested since at least 2018. It was also a historic moment for the town – she is the first Green Party councillor ever to be elected in Ilkley. Looking back on her first six months she said:

“I hope to see more Greens elected to serve our community over the coming years because I believe that we offer a fairer, greener style of politics that puts people and planet before profit – something that is often sorely missing from local government.”

The poor results for both Labour and the Liberal Democrats reflected, in large part, the prevailing political status quo in Ilkley. The town has largely had a diehard, pro-Conservative base of voters who have, over many, many years, remained staunchly committed to the party through thick and thin – both locally and nationally.

(Whether they stick around in 2026, with Reform UK looking more and more like an alternative, more right-wing version of whatever the Conservatives had become when Rishi Sunak led them to a catastrophic defeat – they have been hoovering up former Tories like Suella Braverman and Robert Jenrick – is going to be one of the big stories of this election.)

In fact, it appears that Labour – nor any other political party – has ever managed to win a seat in Ilkley since as far back as 1974, when the Bradford Metropolitan District Council was established (though actual elections took place in 1973 following the massive overhaul of local government that was introduced by Edward Heath’s Conservative government via the Local Government Act of 1972).

Brown’s election in 2024, therefore, represented more than just a big win for the Greens. It also marked a momentous break with the town’s exclusively Conservative past. Just how significant this was is hard to gauge for three reasons.

One, Brown is well known in the community, meaning her win could potentially be seen as a vote more for the individual than the party she represents.

Two, it can also (or alternatively) be seen as part of a wider trend in politics, with growing support for the Green Party across the district indicative of increasing support for the Greens more generally across the UK.

The election of Zach Polanski, a member of the London Assembly and, whether you agree with his worldview or not, a gifted public speaker, as its new national leader in September, has obviously had a massive impact on the party.

Or three, a small but in the end influential number of people in Ilkley were simply fed up with the Conservatives after 14 years of national government, which was then reflected, in part, locally as it always inevitably is (they ended up losing more than 450 councillors alongside the 251 MPs that year). They may have given her the edge over Joanne Sugden. How Brown does in May will potentially make things a little clearer.

2023

🔵 David Nunns, Conservative: 42% (elected)

🟢 Ros Brown, Green Party: 39%

🔴 Michael Andrew Baldwin, Labour: 15%

🟡 Caroline Rosemary Jones, Liberal Democrats: 3%

Although she had to once again settle for the runner-up spot with the Conservative candidate David Nunns taking first place – he campaigned on protecting the green belt, fixing the town’s roads and saying no to speed bumps, as well as reopening the Ilkley Police Station helpdesk (which closed in 2017) – it was now clear that Brown had become a clear threat to the Tories in Ilkley (Hawkesworth may well have been an independent councillor but her politics always been on the centre right).

The numbers say as much. For instance, she received 39% of the vote in 2023, which was another personal best. The year before she got 33% (2% less than the winner), while in 2021, she ended up in third place on 26% (3% less than the winner). You can contrast that with 2019 when she got 25% of the vote, which was some distance from that year’s winner winner (25% versus 36%).

The Conservative success in Ilkley bucked the party's national trend in the 2023 local elections. It got hammered by the electorate, losing more than 1,000 councillors and 48 councils. Labour was the main beneficiary of this drubbing and became the largest party of local government for the first time in 21 years.

In Bradford, Labour comfortably held onto the council, with its majority strengthened (it ended up with 56 of the 90 councillors). The Conservatives ended up with 16 councillors overall, the Greens eight and the Liberal Democrats five.

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The 2023 local elections were the first to require ID to be presented at polling stations. After the elections, the former Conservative MP Jacob Rees-Mogg said that the controversial change had backfired on his party.

“Parties that try and gerrymander end up finding that their clever scheme comes back to bite them, as dare I say we found by insisting on voter ID for elections,” he told attendees at a Conservative conference …

“We found the people who didn’t have ID were elderly and they by and large voted Conservative, so we made it hard for our own voters and we upset a system that worked perfectly well.”

An interim analysis by the Electoral Commission of the impact of having to show ID at the local elections – which found that 4% of people who didn’t vote had cited new ID requirements as the reason – concluded that “further work is required in order to ensure that elections remain truly accessible to all”.

2022

🔵 Andrew John Patrick Loy, Conservative: 35%

🟢 Ros Brown, Green Party: 33%

🔴 George Scaife, Labour: 20%

⚪️ Mike Gibbons, Independent: 8%

🟡 Caroline Rosemary Jones, Liberal Democrats: 4%

The biggest shock in 2022 was the third-place finish for Mike Gibbons, who ran as an independent having previously long been a Conservative councillor. The Tories were instead represented by Andrew Loy, a local accountant who, since 2021, has also been a councillor for Ilkley Town Council. He just about managed to hold off Brown to win in 2022.

Gibbons shockingly ended up with just 8% of the vote, having been elected with 50% in 2018, 52% in 2014 and 50.6% in 2010. Explaining why he was contesting the Ilkley ward as an independent, Gibbons said at the time that while he was still a Conservative at heart, he felt as though the party had not only lost its way but that standards had also slipped.

Speaking to The Ilkley Gazette the month before the local elections in Bradford, he said he now knew that a lot could be achieved outside of the limiting confines of party politics than in it:

“I’m not turning to any other party. I see other parties as too focused on their own narrow issues or dogma. Too often this leads to opposition in name only.”

Gibbons would retire from public service a year later in 2023 after 32 years in local politics. During that time, he was elected lord mayor of the Bradford District, became a member of the Wharfedale Music Festival and kickstarted a campaign to save Ilkley Coronation Hospital.

He had also enjoyed a long spell on Ilkley Town Council, where he had sat on every committee and was elected as chairman a total of four times. He was also the town council’s first deputy town mayor in 2018, with Steve Butler being elected as Ilkley’s first town mayor following the decision of the town to replace its status as a parish council with that of a town council.

2021

⚪️ Anne Gillian Hawkesworth, Independent: 29% (elected)

🔵 David Nunns, Conservative: 27%

🟢 Ros Brown, Green Party: 26%

🔴 George Scaife, Labour: 15%

🟡 Steve Spoerry, Liberal Democrats: 2%

The Electoral Commission described the local elections in May 2021 as “one of the most complex sets of polls held in recent times”. The reason? The Covid-19 pandemic, which had resulted in local elections being postponed in 2020 as countries around the world grappled with the biggest global health crisis in years.

Despite the obvious challenges, with varying restrictions still in place – you couldn’t, for instance, socialise indoors outside of your household or bubble, while also being advised to minimise travel as much as you could – turnout was, more or less, commensurate with previous elections.

Although Hawkesworth was re-elected, she received what was then the lowest share of the vote of her political life. Only 29% of voters backed her in 2021 compared with 42% in 2016, 49% in 2012 and 64.3% in 2008.

It was inevitable. Sitting as an independent meant she had closed the door to swathes of locals whose loyalty to the Conservative party would never change (or had changed back after briefly voting for her). But that wasn’t the only reason she was picking up fewer votes.

The Greens, arguably with Brown as its figurehead, were beginning to cut through more dramatically in Ilkley. Brown had ended up in third place with an impressive 26% of the vote, just 1% less than second-place Nunns, while the year before she had received 25%. It was a marked contrast to 2017, when she got only 12%.

With Brown’s eventual election in 2024, which was a record-breaking year for the Greens – the party recorded its biggest haul of councillors ever – and Polanski’s personality-driven style of politics achieving greater cut through with the electorate since 2025, there is every possibility in 2026 the Greens could see their numbers on Bradford Council exceed their wildest expectations (and who knows, maybe even cause more of a stir in Ilkley).

2019

🔵 Kyle Jameson Green, Conservative: 36%

🟢 Ros Brown, Green Party: 25%

🔴 Kath Steward, Labour: 20%

🟡 Thomas Robert Franks, Lib Dems: 18%

The local elections in 2019 were held separately to the general election that year, with the latter emerging over the impasse at Westminster over Brexit. Three years on from the calamitous 2016 referendum, it was clear that the decision to leave the European Union (EU) had so far proved to be a mistake –  nothing more than a complex mess with no tangible payoff to its supporters and opponents (which remains true also almost a decade on). Instead, it had effectively ground parliament to a halt.

The local elections, as per usual, took place in May, but half a year later, a general election was announced. It was argued that it was the only way that the Brexit deadlock could be ended – and the House of Commons agreed.

It would end up going swimmingly well for the Brexiteers and the Conservative Party with Boris Johnson, who had taken over as prime minister from Theresa May in July, being elected as PM with not just a big majority (the biggest in 30 or so years) but a mandate to “get Brexit done”. On 31 January 2020, the UK officially left the EU after 47 years of membership. A YouGov poll from earlier this year found that 61% of Brits saw Brexit as a failure.

That year the Conservative candidate for Ilkley, Kyle Jameson Green, who describes himself on LinkedIn as a “parliamentary and stakeholder engagement professional with a strong record of influencing UK policy and delivering strategic campaigns”, was successfully elected. He was quoted by the Wharfedale Observer ahead of the election as saying:

“I am determined to ensure that Ilkley remains a stunning spa town with a wealth of history and tradition at its core whilst offering the sort of diverse opportunities that all residents deserve – not just over the coming months and years, but for my daughter’s generation and beyond.”

He stepped down in 2023.

2018

🔵 Mike Gibbons, Conservative: 50%

🔴 Aidan David Higgins, Labour: 27%

🟢 Ros Brown, Green Party: 12%

🟡 Thomas Robert Franks, Lib Dems: 11%

With Labour’s Aidan David Higgins some distance away from the top spot – but with a fairly respectable share of the vote (27%) – it was still a walk in the park for Gibbons. As for the Liberal Democrats, Thomas Robert Franks’ third-place finish was standard electoral fare for the party in Ilkley – aka never a serious threat but still able to muster a decent number of voters regardless.

Although support has diminished significantly for the Lib Dems in Ilkley since 2019 – they got 1% in 2024, 3% in 2023 and 4% in 2022 – if 2025’s surprise local elections are anything to go by, there’s no reason why they can’t bounce back here.

Consider the local elections in May 2025. The Lib Dems won 23% of seats and control of three councils with a sizable chunk of those seats coming from the Conservatives. You had to go back to 2008, two years before the disastrous national coalition it had with the Tories, for a comparably stellar performance (that year, under the leadership of Nick Clegg, they picked up 25% of the vote).

Reform UK notwithstanding – although the variable here is that party will have had one year of local government under its belt by May 2026 – not to mention the Greens, there is still some opportunity for the Lib Dems to grow their numbers across the district, even if it’s simply down to the fact that its numbers are presently pretty low.

At the moment they currently have five councillors sitting on Bradford Council: leader Brendan Stubbs (Eccleshill ward), deputy leader Riaz Ahmed (Bradford Moor ward), chief whip Alun Griffiths (Idle and Thackley ward), Aislin Naylor (also Idle and Thackley ward) and Jeanette Sunderland (also Idle and Thackley ward).

In contrast, Labour currently has 46 (the number required for a majority), the Conservatives 14, the Greens 10, the Bradford Independents Group nine and independent councillors six.

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2016

⚪️ Anne Gillian Hawkesworth, Independent: 42%

🔵 Paul Marcus Barrett, Conservative: 26%

🔴 Henri Forbes Murison, Labour: 21%

🟢 Claire Darling, Green Party: 6%

🟣 Paul John Latham, UKIP: 4%

🟡 Kay Kirkham, Lib Dems: 2%

What might have seemed like a big test for Hawkesworth, who was contesting the seat as an independent for the first time – she had resigned from Bradford Council’s Conservative group in 2013 after falling out with the then leader Glen Miller – ended up being anything but.

She comfortably retained her seat with the second-place Conservative candidate offering no serious competition. It suggested, somewhat, that even in a Conservative stronghold like Ilkley, personality could, at times, quite easily trump support for the party.

Sort of. Hawkesworth was, as noted above, still politically a conservative, so it wasn’t as if voters were doing away with long-held views. Brown’s election to her seat in 2024 can also be seen through this lens.

Elsewhere this was the last time that Paul John Latham, who had lived in Ilkley since 1984, would stand as a local candidate for UKIP, a party that has, post Brexit, moved radically away from its almost single-issue Eurosceptic days (more on this below).

Although his ambitions for local government appeared to have ended that year, the picture was different nationally. Having previously and unsuccessfully been a candidate in the 2010 and 2015 general elections, Latham once again threw his hat into the ring for Keighley and Ilkley in 2017.

Again he was unsuccessful, ending up in third place with 2% of the vote, behind the Conservatives on 46% and Labour on 47% (John Grogan just about pipped the incumbent Kris Hopkins to be elected as MP). Latham passed away in May 2025 at the age of 77 after a long illness.

2015

🔵 Martin Smith, Conservative: 48% (elected)

🔴 Ann Cryer, Labour: 34%

🟣 Paul John Latham, UKIP: 7%

🟢 Brian Richard Ford, Green Party: 6%

🟡 Michael Robert Thomas Powell, Lib Dems: 5%

Although she announced back in 2008 that she would step down from parliament in the 2010 general election after 13 years as an MP – her seat ended up going to the Conservative Hopkins – it was clear that Ann Cryer wasn’t quite done with politics.

But 2015 wouldn’t be the first local election that she would contest. That happened three years prior, in 2012, when she tried to get elected as a councillor. That year she lost out to Hawkesworth who had pretty much established herself as a town favourite when she was first elected to the seat in 1990 with 54.6% of the vote in what has been a Conservative stronghold.

Cryer, who was 75 at the time, would find herself runner-up again in 2015, losing out this time to the Conservative candidate Martin Smith, who himself had been a familiar face in local politics in both Ilkley and the wider Bradford District. Acknowledging perhaps what then was an impossible task – less so today – it would end up being the last time that Cryer would contest the seat.

Although these days she has long since retired from public political life, Cryer continues to be part of current political discourse, often mentioned, for instance, in relation to grooming gangs. In the very early noughties, in what was her second term as the MP for Keighley, she was alerted to and then shone a spotlight on claims of organised abuse of young girls predominantly by men from a largely Pakistani/Asian background. You can read more about one of the victims, Fiona Goddard, here and here.

Despite bringing attention to grooming gangs in the district – she told Keighley News in 2015 that she went public because she “could not interest Bradford Social Services or West Yorkshire Police” – it was never properly followed up. Reflecting on this period in her life, Cryer told The Yorkshire Post in 2016 that she “almost bust a gut” trying to get Bradford Council and the police to act:

“It was terribly difficult. I just felt at one point that nothing was ever going to happen. I could only assume, rightly or wrongly, that there was too much hesitation about it. It was seen as being racist.”

Over 20 years later, not only has a national inquiry into grooming gangs been announced – with the appointment of a local figure as chair in December making it highly likely that Bradford will get a long overdue inquiry – but the draft terms of reference have requested the panel and team look at how “ethnicity, religion or culture played a role in responses at a local and national level” and to “consider the background (including ethnicity, religion and culture) of perpetrators and victims”.

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2014

🔵 Mike Gibbons, Conservative: 52% (elected)

🔴 Sandy MacPherson, Labour: 25%

🟢 Brian Richard Ford, Green Party: 10%

🟡 Peter Alan Ferguson, Lib Dems: 7%

🟣 Paul John Latham, UKIP: 7%

Even during its heyday, support for UKIP in Ilkley had always been on the more marginal side. The 7% that Latham got in 2014 was, as he would again achieve in 2015, as high a share of the vote that the party would ever get in the town.

And with Reform UK absorbing and appealing to a comparably more moderate cohort of its former voters/supporters on the right – UKIP is now very much a far-far right political organisation promoting policies as extreme as remigration to an arguably very different audience – and the Conservatives, more or less, holding their ground with party faithfuls come rain or shine, it’s highly unlikely that they’ll ever achieve similar levels of success in Ilkley.

UKIP did get one seat on Bradford Council that year, though – which was, for the first time in 15 years, now under Labour control –when Brian Morris took the seat for Keighley West (he edged out Labour’s Keith Edward Dredge with 40% of the vote compared to the latter’s 35% share).

Morris would quit the party two years later, telling the Telegraph and Argus that it didn’t have anything to do with the party “as a whole” and that he felt his impending battles with Bradford Council, on behalf of Keigley, made more sense to him sitting as an independent than a UKIP representative. He said:

“From 1974 Keighley and surrounding towns and villages have been part of … Bradford Council and have seen a massive reduction in services, even though our town pays the lion’s share of the taxes collected by Bradford. Services have been reduced. I and many others believe they have been reduced unjustly to benefit the city centre.”

UKIP would, however, do very well in the 2014 European Parliament elections. That year, under the then leadership of Nigel Farage (the party is now headed up by Nick Tenconi, who is also COO of the right wing organisation Turning Point UK), they made history by becoming, somewhat ironically, the largest British party in the EU’s law-making body (the Lib Dems, for wider context, lost 10 out of 11 of its MEPs at that election).

2012

🔵 Anne Gillian Hawkesworth, Conservative: 49% (elected)

🔴 Ann Cryer, Labour: 34%

🟣 Paul John Latham, UKIP: 7%

🟢 Brian Richard Ford, Green Party: 5%

🟡 Peter Alan Ferguson, Lib Dems: 5%

Hawkesworth’s last election as a Conservative councillor was the first real test she had faced since being elected to city hall for Ilkley in 1990. And she wasn’t up against your average wannabe councillor. This time she was up against Cryer, the respected former Labour MP.

Though Tory HQ would have been wary ahead of the count, they really had nothing to worry about. Though Cryer put a serious dent in Hawkesworth’s share of the vote – the latter had previously recorded wins with 64.3% of the vote in 2008 (second place Labour on 14.3%) and 60.6% in 2004 (with the Lib Dem runner up on 20.9%) – she was still 15% short of Hawkesworth’s winning total.

It was therefore an inevitable and respectable second-place finish for Cryer – too far behind to be a serious enough threat to Hawkesworth but still close enough to suggest that there was something in it to give her and her team the confidence to try again three years later. Alas, as noted above, they would find out once again that many people in Ilkley at the time remained dyed-in-the-wool Tories.

One of the main headlines emerging from the local elections across the Bradford District was the seats picked up by the now long-defunct Respect party. In total, it got five seats, one of which had belonged to the late Ian Greenwood, the then Labour leader of Bradford Council (he’d been in charge of the council since 2010 and a councillor for 17 years). It was so close that it took three recounts to settle the contest.

Speaking at the time to the BBC, Greenwood, who would be awarded an OBE in 2013 for services to local government, said:

“I’m sad to lose, obviously, but I’ve been a politician for very many years and some elections you win and some you lose. The people can deliver you into office and they can take that away and I think that all politicians should treat that with the humility that’s appropriate … I’ve never taken it for granted.”

2011

🔵 Martin Smith, Conservative: 53% (elected)

🔴 Neil Fraser, Labour: 28%

🟡 Samuel Edwin Harris, Lib Dems: 13%

🟣 Paul John Latham, UKIP: 6%

It was business as usual in Ilkley, with over 50% of voters turning up for the Conservative candidate Smith, Labour comfortably finishing in second place, the Liberal Democrats expectedly trailing in third and UKIP ending up in a familiar fourth place.

Voters in 2011 weren’t just deciding on who they wanted as their councillors though. They were also letting the coalition government know – namely the liberal democrat side of the uneasy alliance – what they thought about the idea of an “alternative vote” (AV) in a referendum.

It was the first referendum to be held nationally in the UK since 1975, too, when members of the public were asked whether they thought we ought to stay in the European Community (common market). They would vote overwhelmingly to remain (67%).

This time around politicians wanted to see what the appetite was for scrapping the first-past-the-post system. What was being pitched was AV, where instead of voting for a single candidate, you would rank the candidates in order of preference.

In this system, the first preferences are totted up first. If one of the candidates gets more than 50% of the votes, they get elected. If no one gets more than half, the candidate with the fewest votes is cut. The votes for that candidate are then redistributed to the remaining candidates based on who voters had down as their second choice. This goes on and on until the 50% threshold is reached.

Voters weren’t in any mood for this, with 67% voting to reject AV. Clegg, the then leader of the Lib Dems and deputy PM, described the result as a “bitter blow”, adding:

“I wish I could say this was a photo finish but it isn’t, the result is very clear. I’m a passionate supporter of political reform but when the answer is as clear as this, you have got to accept it.”

The Lib Dems would also end up losing 748 councillors in the local elections that year, with many attributing the heavy losses to the party propping up the Conservatives in Number 10. Despite this, they still won three seats on Bradford Council, with one seat for Bolton and Undercliffe and two seats for Idle and Thackley.

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2010

🔵 Mike Gibbons, Conservative: 50.6% (elected)

🔴 Andrew Dundas, Labour: 20.4%

🟡 Vaughan Bruce, Liberal Democrat: 18.4%

🟢 David Hesmondhalgh, Green Party: 6.9%

🟣 Paul Latham, UKIP: 3.7%

The local elections in 2010 coincided with what would turn out to be a historic general election that returned no overall majority, leaving the country effectively without a government for five days.

This was because following the election, the Conservatives (who had won 306 seats), Labour (258 seats) and the Liberal Democrats (57 seats) were knee deep in negotiations to resolve the problem of a hung parliament (which had last troubled politicians back in 1974, resulting in a minority Labour government that then went back to the electorate later that year to secure what was in the end a Labour majority and the last time the party would win a general election until 1997).

Recognising that he had run out of steam, the PM, Gordon Brown, eventually conceded defeat, paving the way for David Cameron, then aged 43, to become the youngest PM to be elected since Robert Jenkinson’s election in 1812 (he was 42, slightly younger than Rishi Sunak when he was selected by his colleagues to be PM following Liz Truss’ fleeting but calamitous 49 days in office).

Locally, Labour actually did pretty well. The party made a net gain of 417 councillors compared to a net loss of 121 for the Conservatives and a net loss of 132 for the Lib Dems, according to figures recorded at the time.

It was a similar story for Labour on Bradford Council with the party’s final tally of councillors totalling 39 compared to 32 for the Conservatives and 14 for the Lib Dems. Though they were short of a majority they were able to take control of the council. Ironically they were looking to the Lib Dems for support. Greenwood told the Telegraph & Argus at the time:

“We will talk to the liberals but I live in hope rather than expectation. Our view is that we would be prepared to enter into an agreement with them, but they may well make demands that we are unable to accede to.”

2008

🔵 Anne Hawkesworth, Conservative: 64.3% (elected)

🔴 Andrew Dundas, Labour: 14.3%

🟡 Vaughan Bruce, Liberal Democrat: 11%

🟢 Bryan Websdale, Green Party: 10.4%

The very late 90s and early noughties saw Hawkesworth at the peak of her popularity, comfortably winning one election after the other for Ilkley with over 60% of the vote each time (in 2004 she got 60.6%, in 2000 she got 64.2% and in 1998 she got 65.5%).

She was also arguably at the peak of her political powers, which, two years later, in 2010, culminated with her being elected as leader of the Conservative group on Bradford Council by her fellow party members. It would, however, be short-lived, with her then deputy taking over leadership duties in 2011.

The circumstances surrounding this change caused ruptures in the local branch of the party that would prove irreconcilable. “After he took over, I found myself sitting in the back – which I wasn’t used to,” Hawkesworth told The Ilkley Journal. By 2013, enough was enough:

“I never thought I’d leave the Conservative party. I suddenly got to the point where I thought, no, you’re not interested in climbing up the greasy pole, as Disraeli described it. You’re here for your ward.”

Speaking to the Telegraph & Argus at the time, Miller, who took over as leader, responded to news of Hawkesworth’s resignation by first describing it as a surprise before adding that it was also not that surprising:

“Since losing the position of leader of the conservative group, Anne has played very little part in the group and has even been unsupportive of the Conservative Group in council meetings whilst publicly being critical of national Conservative Party policies without forewarning colleagues and the whips.”

2007

🔵 Martin Smith, Conservative: 58.7% (elected)

🔴 Andrew Dundas, Labour: 21.1%

🟡 Barbara Pierscionek, Liberal Democrat: 12.3%

🟢 Betts Fetherston: Green Party 7.9%

In 2006, the Electoral Administration Act was passed. One of the biggest changes it introduced was that for the first time, teenagers would be able to stand for election as MPs or councillors. Although there had been some curious instances of teens being elected before – for example, Christopher Monck was 13 when he became the MP for Devon in 1667 – up until then, the minimum age had technically been 21.

They would get their chance to shape local government in 2007, with 13 councils in England recording candidates aged between 18 and 21, the BBC reported at the time. Bradford wasn’t one of them.

It was a good set of local elections for the Conservatives, who were a year and a half into Cameron’s leadership (and who was moving the party in the direction of so-called progressive conservatism, which the current Tory leader Kemi Badenoch’s brand of Toryism is anything but).

They won 927 council seats and 39 councils, compared to a net loss of 642 councillors and 16 councils for Labour – incidentally, Tony Blair was a month away from resigning as PM – and a net loss of 257 seats and four councils for the Lib Dems who were led by the late Ming Campbell at the time (he would resign five months later having only been elected as leader in March 2006. Clegg would replace him at the end of the year).

Ilkley, predictably, turned out another Conservative councillor, as it had in the previous election, as it did in the subsequent election and so on and so on. Smith held onto his seat, increasing his majority from 53.9% in 2004 to 58.7%.

As for Bradford Council, Labour went home with 13 councillors, the Conservatives 10, the Lib Dems six and the Green Party and the BNP one apiece. Among the parties picking up no seats was the Blah! Party. Founded in 2006 by the musician known as Captain Sensible, it offered “a protest vote to the politically disaffected”. A total of 69 voted for its candidate Carl Finlan.

In 2008, it deregistered as a political party. Seabrook Crisps, bizarrely, was briefly a sponsor of the party. “The Blah! Party stands for no-nonsense, straight-talking politics, values that Seabrook firmly identifies with,” it was quoted by Marketing Week as saying back in 2006.

2006

🔵 Colin Powell, Conservative: 58.1% (elected)

🔴 Andrew Dundas, Labour: 23.0%

🟡 Douglas Beaumont, Liberal Democrat: 18.9%

The BBC described the 2006 local election results as “grim” for the Labour Party, which lost 320 seats and 11 councils. The Conservatives, meanwhile, picked up 317 seats and 11 councils, which its then chairman, Francis Maude, described as being “at the top end” of their predictions.

It was a good night for the Greens who won 30 seats (representing a sizable increase of 21), as well as the BNP, which picked up 32 seats (27 more than they had going into the election). Nick Griffin, the far-right party’s leader, was quoted by the BBC at the time as saying that the BNP had picked up support from “people wanting to kick the Labour Party really hard and we’re the politically incorrect way to do it”. He also said:

“We’re not a Nazi party. People can look at our manifesto online and see we’re committed to a libertarian position in many things, and most certainly to the extension, let alone the maintenance of democracy.”

In Bradford, there were echoes of the growing popularity and sympathy for far-right parties and right wing policies among some voters today – and the increasing normalisation of racially charged language and ideas, too – with the Guardian quoting one supporter of the party as saying while he’s not “an out-and-out fascist”, he was of the opinion that the BNP had a role to play in politics. He liked the fact that they “speak the unspeakable”.

The results in Bradford resulted in no single party having overall control of the council, with Labour ending up with the largest number of councillors. The leadership of the council, however, remained with the Conservatives, with Hopkins taking over from Margaret Eaton who had been in charge since 2000 (again with no overall control).

2004

🔵 Anne Hawkesworth, Conservative: 60.6% (elected)

🔵 Brian Smith, Conservative: 53.9% (elected)

🔵 Colin Powell, Conservative: 52.8 (elected)

🟡 Richard Quayle, Liberal Democrat: 20.9%

🟡 Samuel Harris, Liberal Democrat: 19.7%

🔴 Christopher Ramage, Labour: 18.5%

🟡 Tomasz Pierscionek, Liberal Democrat: 17.3%

🔴 Peter Cheney, Labour: 17.3%

🔴 James Pressley, Labour: 15.1%

These were the first local elections to take place in Ilkley and the wider Bradford District following boundary changes (for a perspective on the more recent boundary changes, check out councillor Matt Edwards’ piece here).

Three seats were up for grabs in the town and it was an unsurprising and convincing win for the Conservatives, with their closest rivals, the Liberal Democrats – who appeared to be in their Ilkley heyday in the very early noughties – finishing a relatively distant second.

Although the Conservatives secured 38 seats on Bradford Council, it wasn’t enough for a majority and the local authority remained under no overall control. Second-place Labour bagged 29 seats, the Liberal Democrats picked up 15 and the Greens and the BNP each got four apiece.

The local elections in England and Wales were not held in May that year, as per usual. Instead, they were moved to early June to coincide with the European parliamentary elections. It was to make it more convenient for voters (i.e. no need to head to the ballot box twice) and to encourage a higher turnout.

Labour took a battering nationally in the local elections, losing a whopping 464 seats, with many attributing this to Blair’s support and participation in the unprovoked invasion of Iraq in 2003. The late Labour MP, Robin Cook, who had resigned from the cabinet that year in protest, said after the local elections:

“The tragedy is that hundreds of very good Labour councillors have lost their seats as a result of something which many of them themselves would have opposed.”

The Conservatives, under the leadership of Michael Howard, meanwhile, picked up 288 more councillors, while the Liberal Democrats, under the late Charles Kennedy, secured an extra 123 seats.

Unfortunately, for the Tories, local success in 2004 didn’t translate into national success the following year, with Labour holding on to government with a reduced majority (although there were further gains locally).

Howard resigned and was eventually replaced by Cameron, who would, five years later, return the Conservatives to power, albeit as prime minister of a coalition with the Lib Dems. His legacy? Austerity and Brexit.

The shared histories, identities, and preoccupations of a generation of young South Asian artists are presented and explored in a thoughtful new exhibition at Cartwright Hall that has been specifically developed for Bradford by its curators Salima Hashmi and Manmeet K. Walia (a previous version was shown last year at the SOAS Gallery in London).

Featuring 12 artists from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka respectively, (Un)Layering the Future Past of South Asia: Young Artists’ Voices adopts a regional perspective to reveal common threads, experiences and perspectives that transcend distinct and often tense national boundaries to convey unique narratives that are nevertheless inextricably rooted to a particular place and time.

Consider one of the two works that make up Ashfika Rahman’s Reddem, a Tetris-like patchwork of colourful stitching. At a glance there is nothing that reveals the geographical provenance of the work and it could have emerged anywhere in South Asia (and beyond). It’s only on closer inspection that you discover that it uses shital pati as its main material, a fabric that is handmade by the Oraon community.

The same visual ambiguity can be seen in Ghulam Mohammad’s Bazm (Assembly), and Hisaar (Garrison), which, from a distance, look like miniature Mark Rothko paintings but are in fact collages made up of individual Urdu scripts that deconstruct the lingua franca of Pakistan and layers them over one another in an unintelligible way.

So too in Purvai Rai’s Grain by Grain, which, from afar, looks like a blue-hued Asian rug with white fringes, but is anything but. As you move closer to the work, it becomes clear that what was understood to be fringes is in fact basmati rice and that the central portion – which is technically called a field when considering the composition of a rug – is made up of three embroidered panels that appear to depict the transition of fertile land to soil cracks. We’re told that “the visual recession mirrors the depletion of Punjab’s aquifers”.

As you’ll no doubt have ascertained, a lot is going on in the exhibition, with layers and layers of meaning from one artwork to the next waiting to be unpeeled – and all astonishingly contained in just one room, which also makes for an intimate experience, as if in metaphorical sense you’ve been transported to South Asia, where you can travel from one country to the next even though you might not be fully cognizant to it.

All of it is easy to miss, especially if you’re more inclined to sail through a gallery than to patiently explore a given work of art, you feel out of your comfort zone (the complexity of the title, for instance, can be seen to be problematic even if you do think art should at times be intellectually challening) or you have no or minimal interest in art.

And this really is an exhibition that demands both your attention and your time. If the multitude of voices from South Asia are going to be properly heard and understood, they need to be, figuratively speaking, listened to attentively.

Otherwise, when you see Maheen Kazim’s But It Is Only Evening hanging from the ceiling, all you have is the image and the form – two hanging, handwoven, patterned fabrics – to work with and nothing else. However, “to look closely [at the work] is to sense the passage of time held within the fabric”, as the accompanying booklet notes. It also explains that Kazim also works with local weavers, a fact that can’t be extrapolated from the work alone (which, incidentally, melds the traditional with the contemporary).

That’s not to say you can’t enjoy or take pleasure in the works as aesthetics rather than as concepts. Varunika Saraf’s The Longest Revolution, for example, which directly references the psychoanalyst Juliet Mitchell’s essay of the same name to trace “a lineage of women’s movements in India” are eye-catching in their own right), while Hadi Rahnaward’s Tilatilaa, which features men jostling to occupy the primacy of a gold frame that appears suspended in the air, is fun to watch in the absence of any context (such as a pre-Taliban return to power exploration of “the fragile boundary between order and chaos”).

But if you really want to do the works justice and discover more about South Asia and the preoccupations and interests of artists born in the eighties and nineties – who are both interpreting the future past of yesterday and establishing a future past for discovery tomorrow … well, at least we think (we’ll leave that small headache as a parting gift) – then you’ll do well to not only spend a generous amount of time in the gallery but also beyond the walls of the baroque building itself.

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Here you can discover more about Moonis Ahmad beyond Echographies of the Invisible, a surreal, sci-fi, video game meditation on the strangeness of time – his website bio reads: “his workconjures the afterlives of the dead and the deceased as a means to speculate the emergence of counter-worlds that challenge established states of power at the margins” – and Kubra Khademi, whose work explores her own life as a woman in Afghanistan and now as an exile in France (the show features work from the La Fille et le Dragon series).

Likewise we can also discover more about T. Vinoja (Sea and Land), Rinoshan Susiman (When I Was 16), Aisha Abid Hussain (Lived Realities Series I, II and II) and Hema Shironi (My Family is Not on the List) and learn more about how this generation of contemporary artists is navigating the complexities of the past, present and future realities of their respective homes – for the most part, as some of the artists are now displaced – at a time where interest in South Asian art, intellectually and commercially, continues to expand within the region itself and globally (re: the latter, M.F. Husain’s Untitled (Gram Yatra) made history last year when it became the first Indian modern work of art to break the $10 million mark at auction).

Trust us. You won’t regret it. Away from the passive exchange of our time for hollow, algorithmically generated dopamine hits, a more active and challenging investment of your minutes, hours and days is a far, far richer way to live. At least we like to think so.

(Un)Layering the Future Past of South Asia: Young Artists’ Voices at Cartwright Hall runs from Friday 28 March 2026 to Monday 31 August 2026.

The human cost – innocent lives lost, families devastated, homes destroyed, vital infrastructure decimated – is clearly the most appalling feature of the war in the Middle East, instigated by a man who talks about bombing “just for fun”. It is also important to recognise the decades of struggle of the Iranian people against a regime committing human rights violations.

However, reading the news, that all seems to be viewed as secondary to the impact on oil and gas prices. Why that is the case is something I think we might all pause to reflect on … but that isn’t what this article is about.

The focus on fossil fuel prices has also spawned lots of discussion about renewables and net zero – some of it lacking a basis in facts.

Starting from what I think everyone would agree with – this is the second time in just four years that military action taken by one country against another has caused huge increases in the world market prices of fossil fuels.

The UK was (and is) not involved in the conflicts, had no ability to stop them and wasn’t involved in the decisions leading up to them (so couldn’t predict or prepare in advance). But, like almost every other country, it is directly affected by these conflicts because of our heavy reliance on these fuels, which we buy on the world market.

I think everyone would also agree that sudden, steep and unpredictable increases in energy prices are a bad thing for almost everyone. So far as I can tell, the only beneficiaries are oil companies. Not long after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, it was being reported that they had received a $200 billion “windfall” from increased prices and they are expected to make billions more this time around.

The energy bill support provided in the UK in 2022-23 cost UK taxpayers £41.6 billion (keep this figure in mind for later) and the government has already announced £53 million of support in response to the latest price increases.

What the UK government has predicted – in its own national security assessment, which was published in January earlier this year – is that the collapse of ecosystems caused by climate change is likely to lead to greater conflict and military escalation.

While the current crisis will no doubt pass in time, it’s highly likely that there will be more. And if when the next one comes, the UK is still as reliant on buying fossil fuels on the world market as it is today, the results will be the same.

Some suggest that the UK can achieve greater energy security by drilling for more oil and gas in the North Sea, but this ignores some basic facts.

Unlike countries such as Norway, the UK did not maintain national control over its oil and gas industry, preferring to privatise it in the 1980s. The companies exploiting North Sea reserves require licences to do so from the UK government but are otherwise broadly outside its control.

Those companies operate in and sell in global oil and gas markets, with around 80% of North Sea oil being exported. The UK lacks the refining capacity that is suitable to deal with the oil found in the North Sea, so even if it wanted to, there would be little point in the UK forcing oil companies to retain it in the UK.

Reserves are also heavily depleted, with the easiest-to-access (and therefore cheapest) already exhausted. In 2023 it was estimated that new oil and gas fields in the North Sea under consideration would produce only enough gas to satisfy the UK’s needs for a few weeks a year, even if none of the gas was exported. New oilfields would supply at most about five years of demand, again assuming none was exported.

And even if the UK increased production, it would be insufficient to affect the global markets and therefore wouldn’t significantly reduce UK domestic energy prices. As researchers at the University of Oxford said earlier this month when looking at the potential impact of further oil and gas from the North Sea:

“We find that the exploitation of all remaining North Sea Oil and Gas resources yields substantially smaller annual savings to households than switching to renewable energy – around 5–7 times lower.

“The analysis finds estimated annual savings of approximately £16–£82 per household from North Sea fiscal revenues versus around £105–£441 per household under renewables-led energy and electrification.”

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This brings me to the alternative approach – rapid growth in energy sources that are not controlled by any country. Some say that driving to net zero is too expensive and others even call it “stupid”, but that isn’t the case.

On the point of costs, the Climate Change Committee’s recent analysis concluded that “for every pound spent on Net Zero, the benefits outweigh this by 2.2 to 4.1 times” and that “an electrified energy system is both a more efficient and a more secure system”.

The committee also pointed out that the total additional cost of another fossil fuel spike like the one following Russia’s invasion in 2022 (the £46.1 billion mentioned earlier) was likely to be as much as the total cost for every year of getting to Net Zero by 2050. And now it’s happening again!

One element of this analysis is taking account of the inefficiency of fossil fuels, as over half of the primary energy they produce is wasted (think of the steam coming from power station cooling towers or the heat from a petrol/diesel car engine). The committee estimated those losses at £60 billion per year, equivalent to £2,000 per UK household.

Meanwhile, the costs of renewable energy generation (particularly solar) are tumbling as the technology improves. A recent article describes how every doubling of cumulative production over the past 50 years has cut the price of solar modules by nearly 24% and the price is still falling. The cost of solar panels in 1958 was $1,000 per watt and the cheapest cost today is seven cents per watt.

It is often pointed out that solar doesn’t generate when it’s dark and turbines don’t work when the wind doesn’t blow – the issue of intermittency – but battery storage costs are also falling fast – by as much as 97% since 1991.

The US installed a record amount of battery storage in 2025, four times what was installed just three years ago, and the US Solar Energy Industries Association said:

“Whether it’s paired with solar or standing on its own, energy storage lowers consumer costs, makes the grid more reliable and keeps the power on in homes during outages.”

We also already generate more power from wind than we can use, due to constraints of the UK grid. When it’s very windy, we pay wind farms to switch off and gas-fired power stations to fire up. In 2023 it was estimated that this wasted power added £40 to household energy costs.

For the most up-to-date figures, check out Wasted Wind. The total for 2025 was a truly shocking £1,467,023,332. Now that is stupid. Grid improvements, better storage, and zonal pricing would all help to avoid this massive waste.

It would be naive of me to suggest that the UK can switch entirely to renewable energy overnight (as it is to think we can have significantly more North Sea oil and gas just by turning on the tap), but the closer and quicker we can move towards that will put us in a better position the next time fossil fuel prices spike.

Looking at the experience of Spain and Italy provides a good illustration. Spain’s rapid rollout of renewable energy generation means its domestic prices are only set by the higher-priced gas 15% of the time, whereas in Italy that figure is 89%.

As a result, Spain’s electricity prices for the second quarter of this year are expected to be around €66 per megawatt hour versus €150 in Italy.

More North Sea oil and gas isn’t the short-term answer, nor one for the long-term. What will bring down bills, give greater energy security and avoid adding more CO2 emissions that the planet can’t afford is rapidly pursuing the cleaner, cheaper technology that is improving daily.

The Labour government has announced a new action plan that aims to transform the local news industry across the UK by providing media organisations with the support and finances needed to ensure the future of quality journalism.

A local news fund worth £12 million will be set up to enable different types of local news organisations, from print and radio to online and video, to “support financial sustainability and transition to online-focussed business models”.

In terms of wider support, the government said that increasing digitisation of the local news industry through tools, resources and infrastructure would also be critical in helping news organisations reach more audiences across more platforms and open up new and diverse revenue streams.

The Local Media Strategy will also looking to address existing challenges with a review of statutory notices – which requires councils to publish certain information in print newspapers but not digitally – and an examination of how the government can better advertise in local media outlets when promoting campaigns.

A media forum will also be launched this year in the west of England to better understand how to improve the relationship between local news organisations and local councils, local courts and local emergency and health services.

“In an age of mass AI slop, churnalism, ragebait and mis- and disinformation, where access to information is dictated by a small group of tech platforms, any and everything that can be done to support professional, quality-driven local journalism is welcomed,” said Narinder Purba, editor of The Ilkley Journal.

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“We’re happy to see that the government appears to be taking this very seriously with today’s announcement of its local media strategy. What we’ve seen so far, from the introduction of a local news fund to getting more people to inspiring more people from underrepresented backgrounds to pursue careers in local news, is reassuring. It’s a big step forward in the right direction.”

The Local Media Strategy is part of a bigger “call to action” improve social cohesion, as it seeks to tackle the growing “forces of division” nationally and internationally that threaten the progress made by Britain since the end of the second world war.

“Economic shocks, austerity, technological change, demographic changes and a rise in extremism have each made people feel as if they have lost a sense of control over their lives, their country and their community,” the prime minister, Keir Starmer, said last week in a foreword to the new policy paper.

“Many have reacted through online echo chambers exacerbated by malevolent algorithms, and in the polarisation of public life leaving us more detached from one another and less resilient.

“The threat this presents to our cohesion is not academic. People from different backgrounds getting on together isn’t a nice to have, it is a fundamental pre-condition to the Britain we have come to expect and that is needed for Britain to thrive in the 21st century. Without our multi-ethnic democracy there is no NHS, without cohesion there is no stability to plan ahead or weather attacks, without pride in Britain, there is no better future for our children.”

The Local Media Strategy is also one aspect of the government’s plan to improve media literacy to enable the UK to become a “a safe, informed digital nation” over the next three years.

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It falls under one of four actions that will be undertaken under one of the four priority areas that the government will focus on (to build awareness of media literacy and support access to trusted information).

Along with running media literacy campaigns for youngsters and adults, helping “trusted voices” – for example, the NHS, the Electoral Commission – reach more people when needed and exploring how the BBC can, as part of a new charter, should support and improve media literacy, the strategy is put forward as the requirement for supporting local journalism.

“Local news plays a vital role in providing trustworthy information at a local level, reporting on the issues that matter to communities,” the policy paper states. “Under the strategy, we will encourage and support local media and public services to work together to improve local information for their communities.

“We will also support young people to value local journalism, consider careers in the sector, and develop their news and media literacy.”

The Local Media Strategy is long in the making and comes on the back of major reports and investigations like the 2019 Cairncross Review and the 2022–23 sustainability of local journalism inquiry.

Both have highlighted various challenges faced by the industry, from a devastating loss of advertiser revenue and the “imbalances of power” that a highly concentrated local news market fosters to tthe increasing role played by social media platforms in informing people about what’s happening in their community (if at all).

You can read more about what we’re trying to do at The Ilkley Journal below with some examples of the kind of journalism we want to be known for:

Our little social enterprise, Fruit Works, wants everyone in and around the Ilkley area to have picked fruit off a tree and eaten it. That’s a noble, romantic ambition, but how is that possible and why is that important?

For a start it’s been done before. There were fruit trees and orchards all over the valley if you look back a century or two. But now less than a fifth of the fruit eaten in Britain is grown in Britain (much of it in Kent) – and around 30% of all the apples grown in the UK go into Heineken-branded ciders!

We don’t need to get too xenophobic about fruit – the carbon footprint of your banana or orange is very low compared to anything dairy or meat, so let’s not say anything that might deter people from eating fruit. After all, most of us don’t eat our five-a-day, so let’s get people eating more fruit and veg, and not worry too much about where it comes from.

Fruit growing is easy – and sure, we would say that, but seriously, if you plant the right fruit tree or bush in the right place, it will need little care to give you an abundance of fruit for years to come. Often it’s the easy entry point to growing food yourself and gives people the confidence to move on to vegetables and other edible perennials.

More and more we are experiencing shocks to the global food system which remind us that growing our own food – or growing it locally – is more resilient. Climate change is making that more frequent.

Growing our own produce is much cheaper, too, and we take control of what chemicals are used. Plus, home-grown apples taste so much better than the Pink Lady apples we’re offered in Tesco!

There is a mantra in forestry: the right tree in the right place. But what does that mean? We are one of only two fruit tree nurseries in West Yorkshire and carefully grow a variety of trees on a range of rootstocks that won’t get too big for people’s gardens. With the right amount of space, some summer watering to get established, you can get your own apple tree growing without much effort.

In the early years, some careful winter pruning will help the tree establish itself in the right shape to support years of fruit production. We host affordable run courses to help you understand the basics of the 3 D’s and 2 C’s approach (that’s dead, dying and diseased and crossing and congested).

If you think that you’ll be too busy to prune your trees yourselves, worry not. You can also hire us for our professional fruit tree pruning service.

A great place to learn about fruit growing is the community orchards in the area. A great starting point is the stunning Church Orchard in Addingham. In Ilkley there’s one by the skatepark, one at Darwin Gardens and another at the fire station.

And at the far end, the Ben Rhydding Orchard is behind the newish Starbucks. Not a community orchard, but the pioneering Denton Reserve are in the process of planting hundreds of fruit trees for decades to come.

Earlier in the winter, we helped volunteers prune the Burley House Fields Orchard. And finally, Incommunities has planted an orchard at Derry Hill in Menston. Most of these have volunteer sessions to care for these beautiful places while learning skills you can use at home in your garden. Climate Action Ilkley are a good starting point. (There’s some fine orchards around Otley, but that’s for another journal!)

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We’ve also planted more than 50 school orchards in other parts of the Bradford District, but only one in this area. These are growing into a living resource for children to learn about where food comes from. Ashlands and Menston schools grow fruit, but where else?

Last year was a bumper year for fruit. No late frosts and lots of sunshine meant the fruit set in a way we haven’t seen for years. With established fruit trees, the challenge becomes picking, using and distributing the fruit.

With a bit of careful planning your trees and bushes can give you fruit for half the year, from June onwards. Apart from eating the fruit fresh, you can cook it, freeze it, dry it, juice it, ferment it or store it. Every September, we run a course covering all those possibilities.

Fruit is not just for harvest season. We are rekindling some of the old orchard traditions of these lands, with Wassails in the winter, blossom celebrations and, of course, harvest celebrations and apple days. When coming together with our near neighbours in these natural places, we are doing what Wharfedale residents have been doing for centuries and millennia.

The suggestion that because the UK contributes a relatively small amount to the world’s total carbon emissions there is no point doing much to reduce it until the larger contributors do is one I often hear and read.

Indeed, our local MP, Robbie Moore, said precisely this as part of his response to a meeting I and others representing climate groups in the constituency had with him in September last year.

At this meeting, we asked him for his support for the Climate and Nature Bill, legislation that would require the current UK government to live up to the international commitments made by its predecessors, which he declined to do.

As part of Mr Moore’s explanation of why he would not support the bill attributed to him on Ilkley Chat he said:

“First of all, whilst I appreciate the bill is well intentioned, we really do need to confront the fact that the UK currently contributes 1% towards all global greenhouse gas emissions. Even if the UK halted emissions by 2035, it would save less than 1% of the 400 billion tonnes needed globally to stay below 1.5C.

“There are some who say that our actions would inspire others. The blunt reality is that whilst the UK has continued to lead on this issue – cutting emissions faster than any other major economy and continuing to rank near the top of the international Climate Change Performance Index – countries like the US and China have in fact ramped up their production of fossil fuels since then, rather than following our lead.”

Before looking at the factual inaccuracies in these comments, it is worth pointing out how ridiculous this is as a position to take.

To draw a direct analogy, if I dropped all the litter I ever have in my hands, it would amount to much less than 1% of what I see on Ilkley’s streets, in green spaces, on roadsides and by the River Wharfe.

There are definitely people who create considerable quantities of litter, for example, the fly-tippers whose actions Mr Moore rightly deplores. But applying his logic, me taking my litter home or putting it in a bin is pointless and I really should just drop it and leave it for someone else to clear up until the day when all the bigger culprits have changed their ways.

Really?

Now to the figures. The UK’s 1% contribution to global emissions is a conveniently low figure for those who don’t want to address the issue, and even this puts us in the world’s top 20 emitters.

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However, it is artificially low because it only counts the emissions created by activities within the UK’s borders. We import a lot of products from outside the UK, and our demand for those items creates emissions that arise in other countries, so they should be included to give a true picture.

The 1% also misses out activities that start in the UK but occur outside, such as international flights from the UK. Factoring in these items adds around 200 million tonnes of CO² for which the UK is responsible.

Going further, once CO² has been added to the atmosphere, most of it remains there for centuries and even millennia, continuing to contribute to climate change. Looking back as far as records allow and measuring the cumulative contributions to carbon emissions over that period shows the UK’s share at over 4% of the world total, according to Our World in Data.

China, the US and India are often mentioned as countries that need to “do more” before it is worthwhile taking action in the UK and it is right that they top the league table of carbon emitters. What is overlooked, or ignored, is that they are all making considerable progress.

While falling short of its own ambitious reduction targets, China’s emissions have now been flat or falling for nearly two years. It is largely achieving this through the rapid installation of solar and wind energy generation, with China now accounting for nearly one-third of the entire world’s capacity from these two sources. It is also pushing forward with exciting new technologies, such as the recent launch of the world’s largest electric-powered container ship.

India is massively ramping up its solar generation capacity, too, and in 2026 alone is projected to have installed more than the cumulative total in the UK. The country’s current climate policies are expected to reduce total emissions by around four billion tonnes between 2020 and 2030.

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Given the attitude of the current administration, progress in the US is perhaps the most unexpected, where more coal-fired power stations have been retired under Trump than under any previous US president.

According to recent analysis by Carbon Brief, coal power capacity in America has fallen by approximately “57 gigawatts during Trump’s first and second terms in office, compared with 48 gigawatts under Obama’s two full terms and 41 gigawatts under Biden’s single term.”

It also noted that “despite Trump’s efforts, clean energy made up 96% of the new electricity generation capacity added to the US grid in 2025”.

So, even if the argument wasn’t feeble in the first place, the UK’s share is really more than 1% when looked at properly and there is actually a lot of progress being made in the world’s three largest countries by emissions.

Adding to the environmental benefits of reducing the UK’s emissions is the fact that the net zero sector of the UK economy is creating value and jobs around three times faster than the economy as a whole and that if the UK could replace its dependence on gas (two-thirds of which is imported from other countries) for generating electricity with renewables, it would both reduce bills and improve energy security.

Overall, this seems like a compelling set of reasons to do more, not less and, with an important set of local council elections on the near horizon, a subject worth understanding where the various candidates looking to be re-elected or elected for the first time to Bradford Council in May 2026 stand on.

LOCAL

Ilkley Town Council’s annual town meeting to be held on Wednesday 18 March

Ilkley Town Council’s (ITC) annual town meeting for 2026 will be held on Wednesday 18 March at the Clarke Foley Community Hub.

During the meeting the Ilkley Citizen Awards will also feature, with awards being handed out for young volunteer of the year, environmental champion of the year, voluntary organisation of the year, volunteer of the year and outstanding citizen of the year.

“During the meeting, councillors will also be unveiling plans for the much-needed refurbishment of the South Hawksworth Street public toilets,” ITC said.

The annual town meeting will start from 7pm but there will be a showcase from local community organisations from 6.30pm. Refreshments will kindly be provided by Bettys.

ITC has lately been busy gathering the views of residents about the car parking changes that have been introduced by Bradford Council in Ilkley, which it says are detrimental to both residents and businesses and confusing.

Bradford Council’s response to the canvassing of opinions was that while Ilkley Town Council was free to carry out such activity, it did not represent a “formal consultation” endorsed by the local authority, the BBC reported.

Keighley and Ilkley MP criticises ongoing traffic problems on Victoria Avenue

The MP for Keighley and Ilkley has once again criticised the traffic delays that have been caused by ongoing road works near Victoria Avenue in Ilkley.

Robbie Moore took to Facebook to highlight the lack of impact that “tweaks” made by Bradford Council have had on congestion in and around the area, explaining that it can sometimes take up to 20–30 minutes to get through the town.

Moore said that it was having a “hugely detrimental impact on passing trade” for local businesses, as well as being a massive “inconvenience for residents”.

“The works are currently due to go on until the end of March,” the Conservative MP went on to say. “It is still only February. No works are taking place on weekends or into the weekday evenings.

“This seems ridiculous given the hugely damaging impact this is having in Ilkley. I cannot understand why this programme of works was signed off without extended working hours included.”

Moore added that he had put in a request for an onsite meeting with Bradford Council’s highways department but that they had “so far they have refused to meet”.

One respondent to his post commented: “[It] would actually help if they worked a proper working day!”

Another said: “It would be nice if you saw anyone working between 9am and 2pm.”

DISTRICT

Bradford sets out four-year vision with council plan

Bradford Council has published details setting out its vision for transforming the district over the next four years.

The “Council Plan” outlines the strategic approach the local authority will take to create a healthier and happier community that “thrives together”.

There are four key pillars to the plan. They are growth and regeneration (to create more wealth that can be reinvested in the district), healthy and happy residents (transforming healthcare to improve long-term health), safe and strong communities (reducing crime), and “a great place to grow up” (enabling kids to have have the best start to life and adults to find gainful employment).

“The city centre has transformed with key regeneration projects up and running,” said Susan Hinchcliffe, the Labour leader of Bradford Council. “The towns fund is delivering new investments into Keighley and Shipley, while UK City of Culture has and continues to change perceptions, attract visitors and investors, and foster confidence and pride in all corners of the district.

“We recognise that there is still work to do and we must go further and faster to raise educational attainment and skills, transform transport infrastructure, build affordable homes and double down on tackling inequality, increasing income and prosperity and securing better health.”

The Council Plan, which you can read in detail here, should not be confused with the Built Different 2025–2035 strategic plan, which is a decade-long transformation strategy. We will have more on this next month.

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Government approves Bradford Council’s £78 million request for EFS for 2026–27

The UK government has confirmed that Bradford Council will receive £78 million in exceptional financial support (EFS) for 2026–27, along with a number of other councils.

The local authority has already requested £127.1 million for 2025–26, £120 million for 2024–25 and £80 million for 2023–24 to help it balance its books after running into financial difficulties.

EFS is not a grant. It’s a capitalisation direction, which is a mechanism that allows local authorities to basically treat revenue costs as capital costs.

In other words, as the council explained in February 2024, it enables local authorities “to borrow money, sell assets and to manage its debt over the longer term”.

Announcing the latest requests for EPS, Alison McGovern, the minister for local government and homelessness said that Labour were “determined to begin to break the cycle of increasing numbers of councils entering EFS” through funding reforms.

Louise Gittins, chair of the Local Government Association, commented that while it is welcome news that funding levels have increased in recent years after years of underfunding, the latest announcement in EFS support laid bare the severity of the financial situation facing local authorities.

“[It] further demonstrates that EFS arrangements are no longer exceptional, but are becoming an ever more relied upon mechanism to support councils facing severe financial pressures,” she explained.

“Despite a much-needed multi-year funding settlement, which has improved councils’ financial certainty, real concern remains over the sector’s capacity to cope over the coming years and we will continue to argue for more money for local government, alongside public sector reform.”

At a meeting of the executive on Tuesday 24 February, the leader of Bradford Council, Susan Hincliffe, said that the new multi-year settlement announced by the government would enable the council to avoid having to seek EFS after the upcoming financial year.

“After that we won’t have to borrow anymore and that is wonderful as it was going to be another,” she said. “The new settlement brings it forward and means we’re going to be financially stable much earlier than we were going to be.”

CONSTITUENCY

Keighley Central Labour councillor is suspended after MP calls for his removal

A Keighley Central councillor has reportedly been suspended by the Labour party after the MP for Keighley and Ilkley brought up his past conviction for attacking a man with a pickaxe in the House of Commons this week.

The Conservative Robbie Moore asked the prime minister, Keir Starmer, to suspend Moshin Hussain from the party and “prevent him standing as a Labour candidate” in the upcoming elections in Bradford this May this week and his request appears to have paid off.

It’s unknown why Hussain’s past conviction was brought up by Moore and why it has led to the councillor being suspended given that when he first announced his intention to run as a candidate in 2021 under Labour he was transparent about the attack that took place in 2014. He subsequently won the seat and was re-elected in 2024.

“When I was elected in 2021, I did not hide from my past,” Hussain said. “I told the press myself that as a teenager I made a poor decision, one I regret deeply. Since then, I have worked tirelessly to serve our communities in Keighley Central with integrity and dedication.”

He said that on the two occasions he has stood for Keighley Central, voters, who have always been aware of his past conviction as a teenager (he was 19 at the time), have “still placed their trust in me”.

He went on to say he was part of a community that believed in and valued the idea of people having “second chances”.

“We encourage our young people to learn from mistakes, to rehabilitate, and to contribute positively to society,” he explained. “I am proud that I was given that opportunity and I have repaid that trust through five years of hard work and visible service.

“The truth is, this is not about the past. This is about politics. When the MP was elected, there were two Conservative councillors in this ward. Today, there are none.

“Instead of focusing on the real issues he was elected to address, he has chosen low-level personal attacks against a hard-working Labour councillor just months before an election. It is predictable. It is politically motivated. And it is a distraction from the issues that actually matter to residents.”

In 2014, Hussain, whose late father was Abid Hussain, a former lord mayor of Braford, received a suspended 12-month sentence for the violent attack in Keighley and ordered to carry out 250 hours of community service.

We understand that since then Hussain has, in addition to his work as a councillor, set up an organisation with his sibling in Keighley that provides immigration and asylum advice.

Of the attack that happened 12 years ago, Moore said on Facebook: “What message does it send to victims of violent crime who now see their convicted attackers in positions of power locally? Or to victims of serious drug crime who see our local councillors keeping such company?”

In 2021, the then Conservative government published research that revealed around 80% of the public believe that businesses who give offenders a second chance “are making a positive contribution to society”.

The then deputy prime minister, lord chancellor and justice secretary, Dominic Raab said at the time: “Business owners have told me ex-offenders are among the most reliable and motivated workers in their team – they have a desire to prove themselves trustworthy and they have something to lose.

“It’s a win for society too – ex-offender with jobs are paying their taxes and are significantly more likely to turn their backs on crime and stay on the straight and narrow.

“I want to see new opportunities for ex-offenders opening up and reoffending coming down.”

We asked the local Labour party to comment on the suspension and the reason behind it and had at the time of writing received no reply. We also asked Hussain, who has spoken to other local news organisations for a comment and have also yet to hear back from him.

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COUNTY

Yorkshire Water hit with big pollution fine

Yorkshire Water has been hit with a large fine for polluting Poolsbrook Country Park in Staveley three times over a 12 month period.

The private water company has received a bill of £733,333 for discharging sewage into the stream on three occasions in a year.

Describing this level of pollution as “unacceptable”, Alan Lovell, chair of the Environment Agency, said that he was “pleased” that Yorkshire Water had been properly dealt with by the courts.

The environment secretary, Emma Reynolds, added: “This repeated sewage pollution by Yorkshire Water is appalling and the £733,333 fine handed out today sends a clear message that polluters will pay.

“Our water reforms will clean up our rivers, lakes and seas. We have already banned unfair bonuses for water bosses and introduced tough new penalties to crack down on pollution.”

In October 2025, Yorkshire Water was named as one of three water companies most responsible for an increase in serious pollution incidents.

In December the water company announced that the hosepipe ban introduced in July had been lifted following one of the driest springs on record.

In contrast, much of the UK has experienced daily rain since the start of the new year, with some parts experiencing record levels for January.

West Yorkshire mayor lands in Europe to “deepen economic ties”

The mayor of West Yorkshire travelled with over a dozen delegates to Europe to deepen economic ties with what the West Yorkshire Combined Authority described as some of the continent’s “most advanced industrial regions”.

Tracy Brabin visited Switzerland and Germany to bolster trade specifically across three core sectors: financial and digital services, health technology and advanced manufacturing.

Describing Europe as the UK’s most important trading partner – in 2024, the European Union accounted for 41% of all exports with imports from the EU totalling 51% – Brabin said that devolution would enable the region to benefit more profoundly from greater cooperation.

“Over the next five days, we’ll showcase our multimillion-pound healthtech investment zone, champion our Northern Square Mile of global financial and professional services firms, and create new export opportunities for our world-class manufacturers,” she said ahead of the trip.

“Together, we’ll build international relationships that will stand the test of time and help us build a brighter West Yorkshire that works for all.”

The delegates in attendance were from:

• Huddersfield based AI-powered neurodivergent platform MAGI

• Leeds-headquartered full-service digital consultancy Hippo Digital

• Leeds based The Data City (also based in Leeds)

• Leeds based Ionix

• The University of Huddersfield

• The University of Leeds

• Huddersfield-based ACCU

• Leeds-based Fintech North

• Leeds-based Whitecap Consulting

• Calderdale-based Electra Commercial Vehicles

• Leeds-based Madeby Studio

• Leeds-based Space Hub Yorkshire

• Leeds-based Zygens

• Leeds-based Rebuilding Society

• Bradford-based BL Clients

• Bradford-based African Business Association Yorkshire

• NextGen Zero (not based in West Yorkshire but a “business partner is”)

Leeds gets its first batch of on-street EV charge points

Leeds has installed four electric vehicle (EV) on-street charge points in the city for the first time as it continues to push ahead with its ambition to be the first net zero city in the UK.

The charge points have been installed on St Paul’s Street and are part of a wider rollout of EV charge points that will be mounted across the city in key locations (both on- and off-street).

Mohammed Rafique, executive member for climate, energy, environment and green space on Leeds City Council, said that it was also part of the local authority’s strategy to encourage and empower more people to “make more sustainable choices”.

“Although the best choice is always cycling, walking or travelling by public transport, we know that this is not always an option,” he explained.

“We want to make it easy for people to switch to electric or hybrid vehicles and this first public on-street EV charge point is an important step towards delivering a comprehensive charging network that meets the needs of our residents and visitors.”

Leeds Council aims to be carbon neutral by 2030, 20 years ahead of the national target that has been enshrined in law and eight years ahead of Bradford Council’s 2038 target deadline.

You can read more about what it’s done here.

NATIONAL

Government pledges £4 billion to implement “generational reforms” to the SEND system

The UK government announced “generational reforms” to the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system to the tune of a £4 billion investment.

At the heart of the transformation, which features in the Every child achieving and thriving whitepaper, will be improved and more tailored support for children with additional needs from early years and schools through to colleges.

This reflected a more broad approach to education, the education secretary explained in her foreword, extending from early years through to college.

“Schools’ curricula must be rich and broad, building every child’s knowledge and their skills so our young people step into a world of change confident in their ability to shape it,” Bridget Phillipson said.

“Enrichment will be not just for those who can afford to pay, but a common entitlement for all. We will support schools’ roles as educators and anchors in our communities, because we know that education doesn’t begin and end with the school bell.”

In December 2025, Bradford Council announced that it approved plans to create an additional 450 SEND school places throughout 2026.

The cost of providing the extra places was estimated at £22.5 million, which the council said would be funded through the local authority’s SEND-specific high needs provision capital allocations (HNPCA) central government grant funding.

You can read the whitepaper here.

For the first time in years, Bradford Council will be subject to all-out elections on Thursday 7 May 2026. It’s the result of boundary changes. That basically means that all 90 council seats are being contested across the entire district for the first time since 2004.

Usually councillors are elected for four year terms in thirds (30 per election councillors) over a three year period with no elections in year four (sometimes referred to as a fallow year).

This time around, instead of just one councillor being elected for a ward, three councillors will be elected in one go. The candidate bagging first place will get to serve four years, the runner-up will serve three years and the bronze medalist will serve just one year.

You can see how the district has tended to vote on a ward-by-ward basis for Bradford Council between 2019 and 2024 here. For one councillor’s take on the boundary changes, head here.

Elections are also taking place in other local authorities throughout West Yorkshire (with all-out elections in Calderdale, Kirklees and Wakefield, too), England, Scotland and Wales.

It’ll be the biggest set of elections since the 2024 general election, which took place separately to the local elections in July that year (local elections were held, as usual, in May). Even more so in fact with news that other local elections, which had been earmarked for postponement as part of the wider reorganisation of local government that is currently underway, will now go ahead.

To get you up to speed with everything ahead of the local elections in Bradford this year we’ve put together a bumper guide. Here’s what it covers:

• A timeline for the local elections in Bradford

• An overview of the current composition of the council

• A breakdown of the current leadership

• An overview of the leaders of the other parties

• A breakdown of what the council does

• A list of key issues

• Key stats about the district’s wards

• Key documents

Timeline for the local elections in Bradford

There are some key dates to be aware ahead of the 2026 Bradford Council elections, courtesy of The Electoral Commission:

• Monday 20 April: deadline for being registered to vote (if you’re not registered, you can do it here)

• Tuesday 21 April up to 5pm: deadline to apply for a postal or postal-proxy vote (see here for more)

• Tuesday 28 April: deadline to submit application to vote by proxy (more info here) and to apply for free voter ID (if you don’t have the required ID, you can present a voter authority certificate instead. You can apply here)

• Thursday 7 May, 7am–10pm: polling day – aka the day you get to vote

Essential information

Ahead of the election you’ll receive a polling card through the post with info on where your polling station will be. Remember, you don’t need this to vote but you do need to show ID at the polling station. See here for more info on accepted forms of ID, which include a passport or a photographic version of a driving licence.

You can find out who is standing in your ward after Thursday 9 April, when a full list of candidates for Bradford Council will be published.

If you have any questions, you can contact the Electoral Services Unit at Bradford Council via email or telephone (01274 432287).

Standing as a councillor

If you’re looking to stand as a candidate, either for a political party or as an independent, you have until 4pm on 9 April 2026 to submit your nomination papers in person to electoral services on the third floor of City Hall in Bradford.

All the documents needed can be acquired here, too. If you can’t get to the actual office, you should still be able to get your nomination papers sent out to you. Email electoralservices@bradford.gov.uk or call 01274 432287 to find out more.

To stand as a councillor you must, among other things:

• Be at least 18

• Be a British citizen

• Be registered to vote or have lived or worked in the district for at least a year or be the owner or tenant of land or premises in the area

• Not work for the council

• Not hold a politically restricted post

• Not have received a prison sentence of three months or more within the last five years

You can find out more about standing as a candidate via the Electoral Commission website here.

Bradford Council current composition

The council is made up of 90 councillors representing 30 wards that make up the Bradford District. There are three councillors per ward.

The party split on Bradford Council is:

• 🔴 Labour: 47

• 🔵 Conservative and Queensbury Independent: 14

• 🟢 Green Party: 10

• ⚪️ The Bradford Independent Group: 9

• 🟠 Liberal Democrat: 5

• ⚪️ Independents: 5

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Bradford Council's current leadership

With 47 seats to its name, Labour has a majority (46 seats is the threshold). In fact, it’s had a majority since 2014 – prior to that the council had been under no overall control since the turn of the 21st century.

It’s led by …

Susan Hinchcliffe, leader of the Labour Group on Bradford Council and a councillor for the Windhill and Wrose ward. She has been in charge of the council since 2016.

She was also chair of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority between 2017 and 2021. Hinchcliffe had hoped to be the region’s first mayor, but lost out on the candidacy to Tracy Brabin who would go onto win it in 2021 (and secure a second term in 2024).

The executive

As leader of the council she’s in charge of appointing an executive that is responsible for developing and managing key portfolio areas. They include the:

• Children and families portfolio led by Sue Duffy, whose remit include special educational needs and disabilities, youth justice and transport provision

• Corporate portfolio led by Hinchcliffe, which covers areas like finance, human resources and the transformation programme

• Education, employment and skills portfolio led by deputy leader Imran Khan, which features services like business growth and enterprise and employment and skills

• Healthy people and places portfolio led by Sarah Ferriby, which looks after sports and leisure, waste and collection services, and fleet transport

• Neighbourhoods and community safety portfolio led by Kamran Hussain, who oversees emergency planning, CCTV and revenues and the youth service

• Regeneration, planning and transport portfolio led by Alex Ross-Shaw, whose brief includes planning,

All of the above portfolio holders are members of the Labour party, which is typical in a majority scenario at a local authority (as is the case with Bradford Council).

That means, a leader is free to appoint members to his/her executive from other parties. You’re more likely to see this in a situation where there is no overall control.

Corporate management team

All of the above are supported by Bradford Council’s corporate management team, which is managed by the chief executive Lorraine O’Donnell, who has been in post since late 2023.

She replaced Kersten England, who herself had been in the role since 2015. Her team is currently made up of the following:

• Steven Mair, interim strategy director of corporate resources (he’s been at the council since February 2024)

• Richard Crane, acting strategic director of children’s services

• Iain MacBeath, strategic director of adult social care, health and housing

• David Shepherd, strategic director of place

• Euan Miller, director of the West Yorkshire Pension Fund

You can see more of the structure of the corporate management team here.

Current leadership of other parties on Bradford Council

Conservatives

Rebecca Poulson is the current leader of the Conservative and Queensbury Independent Group on Bradford Council and a councillor for Worth Valley. She has been the group’s leader since October 2020 and a councillor since at least 2011.

The deputy leader of the Conservative and Queensbury Independent Group is Debbie Davies who represents Baildon.

Green Party

Matt Edwards is the current leader of the Green Party Group and a councillor for Tong. He’s been on Bradford Council since 2021 and stood as a Green Party candidate in the 2024 general election for Bradford South, which Labour held.

The deputy leader of the Green Party Group is Ros Brown who represents Ilkley. She was first elected in 2024.

The Bradford Independent Group

Talat Sajawal is leader of the Bradford Independent Group on Bradford Council and a councillor for Little Horton. He’s been on Bradford Council since 2016 and stood as an independent candidate in the 2024 general election for Bradford East, which Labour held.

The deputy leader of the Bradford Independent Group is David Ward who represents Bolton and Undercliffe. Ward was formerly the Liberal Democrat MP for Bradford East between 2010 and 2015. He’s been a councillor since at least 2016.

Liberal Democrats

Brendan Stubbs is leader of the Liberal Democrats on Bradford Council and a councillor for Eccleshill. He’s been a councillor since at least 2016.

The deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats on Bradford Council is Riaz Ahmed who represents Bradford Moor. He’s been a councillor on and off since at least 2004.

Independents

The current independent councillors not associated with any group are Marcus Dearden (Bingley), formerly of Labour; Julie Lintern (Keighley West), also formerly of Labour; Mohammed Nazam (Keighley Central), formerly of the Conservatives; Joe Wheatley (Bingley), formerly of Labour; and Atira Malik who was elected to represent Toller in 2024 aged just 18.

Reform UK

Reform UK currently has no councillors on Bradford Council. It recently came second in a controversial by-election in Worth Valley to the Conservatives (26% versus 52%).

The result demonstrated strong support for both Conservative and right wing politics (Labour came in third place with 12% of the vote followed by the Greens with 7% and the Lib Dems with 2%), suggesting that in wards that have traditionally been loyal to the Tories are able to fend off Reform UK as we get further away from the 2024 general election.

That said, there has historically been support in the Worth Valley for more right wing parties. UKIP, for instance, had attracted votes in 2016, 2015 and 2015, while the BNP managed to get a candidate elected in 2004.

What Bradford council does

Bradford Council is responsible for delivering a wide range of services to “promote the wellbeing of their area or their inhabitants” to quote the Local Government Act 2000.

In other words, it’s responsible for looking after the area (aka the district) – think sorting out rubbish – and the people who live and work there – think adult social care.

The number of services that fall under its remit is significant – some 800 or so for councils in general, according to the Local Government Association. Most of these are statutory (i.e. required by law) and some are discretionary (i.e. there is no legal requirement to deliver them).

Some services are delivered inhouse, some are delivered via third parties. They include:

• Art and culture

• Council tax collection

• Education

• Elections

• Emergency planning

• Environmental protection

• Highways

• Housing

• Leisure and recreation

• Libraries

• Licensing

• Parking

• Planning

• Roads

• Street cleaning

• Social care

• Tax collection (council tax and business rates)

• Tourism

• Transport

• Waste collection and disposal

You can discover the services offered by Bradford Council here.

What services cost the most to manage

According to Bradford Council’s statement of accounts for 2024/25, most of its budget went on children’s services, followed by adult social care, department of place (which covers areas like highways, planning, waste management, neighbourhoods, parks and leisure), central budget and corporate resources.

More and more of the council’s budget, as with local authorities more generally, is being spent on children and adult social care, which averages somewhere in the region of 60%.

In fact Bradford Council noted in January 2024 that “projected spend on adult and children’s services this 2025/26 [was] equivalent to 87% of the budget agreed for 23/24”. That ultimately means there is a smaller pot of cash to fund the delivery of other statutory services.

How Bradford Council is funded

Typically the council gets its revenue from three main sources: central government grants, council tax and business rates (it also generates cash via fees and charges).

Lately an additional source has been added into the mix – exceptional financial support. This has been made available to local authorities like Bradford Council who have requested “financial assistance to handle pressures that they considered unmanageable”.

For 2024/25, the funding breakdown was therefore as follows:

• council tax (45%)

• capitalisation direction (22%), which allows the council to “borrow money, sell assets and to manage its debt over the longer term” (exceptional)

• central government grants (22%)

• business rates (11%)

Significant cuts in central government grants that were made between 2010 and 2020 (40.1% in real terms according to the Institute for Government) have been blamed for the serious financial strain being experienced by councils like Bradford, which has long been one of the most deprived local authorities in the country.

Others believe that the financial pressures faced by the council, as a result of austerity, has also been exacerbated by poor and costly decisions made by the current executive.

The Labour government’s Final Local Government Financial Settlement is aiming, in part, to address some of the financial challenges faced by councils with what it describes as a “fairer funding system”.

Approximately £78 billion is being allocated to local authorities throughout England via a “new evidence-based approach that properly recognises local need and the true costs of providing services in deprived areas”, the ministry of housing, communities and local government explained recently.

Bradford District: key issues

Here’s a list of some of the specific and ongoing challenges facing the district, which, like many other councils, is dealing with significant and ongoing financial pressures and growing demand for key services like adult and social care:

• Low living standards

• Deep-rooted deprivation

• Poor health outcomes

• Increasing child poverty

• Significant inequalities

• High unemployment

• Lower than average qualification levels

• Low skill economy

• Low-wage economy

• Low prevalence of new economy firms

• Poor quality housing

• Poor transport connectivity

Bradford District wards: key stats

The district is home to 30 wards, which range in population size and demographics, from Ilkley having the highest percentage of old people in its boundaries (defined as 64–84) to Manningham being the most deprived (the index ranks 1 as most deprived and 30 as the least deprived).

Here are some key stats sourced directly from Bradford Council, correct up to April 2024:

Baildon

• Councillors: 3 Conservatives

• Population: 16,230

• Employment:

  • retail and wholesale trade (14.5%)

  • human health and social work activities (14.1%)

  • education (12.4%)

• Deprivation:

  • ranked 27 out of 30 in the district

  • ranked 26 for income deprivation

  • ranked 25 for employment deprivation

  • ranked 28 for education, skills and training deprivation (EST)

• Housing:

  • 7,223 households

  • 41.7% live in semi-detached houses or bungalows

  • 28.1% live in detached houses or bungalows

  • 14.8% live in terraced houses

  • 10.8% live in flats

  • 77% live in owner-occupied housing

  • 13.3% rent from a private landlord

  • 9.6% rent from a social landlord

• Religion:

  • 51.7% Christian

  • 40.7% no religion

• Ethnicity

  • 95.1% White

  • 1.7% Multiple/mixed ethnic groups

  • 0.9% Pakistani

Bingley

• Councillors: 2 independent, 1 Labour

• Population: 18,250

• Employment:

  • human health and social work activities (14.6%)

  • retail and wholesale trade (13.4%)

  • education (13.2%)

• Deprivation:

  • ranked 25 out of 30 in the district

  • ranked 24 for income deprivation

  • ranked 24 for employment deprivation

  • ranked 23 for EST deprivation

• Housing:

  • 8,277 households

  • 27.8% live in terraced housing

  • 22.7% live in detached housing

  • 27.4% live in semi-detached housing or bungalows

  • 16.6% live in flats

  • 77% live in owner-occupied housing

  • 13.3% rent from a private landlord

  • 9.6% rent from a social landlord

• Religion:

  • 49.6% Christian

  • 41.7% no religion

• Ethnicity:

  • 94.2% White

  • 1.8% Multiple/mixed ethnic groups

  • 1.6% Pakistani

Bingley Rural

• Councillors: 3 Conservatives

• Population:

  • 19,030

• Employment:

  • human health and social work activities (15.3%)

  • retail and wholesale trade (15%)

  • education (12.6%)

• Deprivation:

  • ranked 26 out of 30 in the district

  • ranked 25 for income deprivation

  • ranked 25 for employment deprivation

  • ranked 24 for EST for deprivation

• Housing:

  • 8,277 households

  • 38.4% live in semi-detached houses or bungalows

  • 29.1% live terraced housing

  • 24.9% live in detached housing

  • 5.3% live in flats

  • 75.7% live in owner-occupied housing

  • 15% rent from a private landlord

  • 9.3% rent from a social landlord

• Religion:

  • 48.1% Christian

  • 39.9% no religion

• Ethnicity:

  • 90.5% White

  • 4.3% Pakistani

  • 2.3% Multiple/mixed ethnic groups

  • 1% Indian

Bolton and Undercliffe

• Councillors: 2 Labour, 1 independent

• Population: 17,860

• Employment:

  • retail and wholesale trade (20.3%)

  • human health and social work activities (14.3%)

  • education (10.3%)

• Deprivation:

  • ranked 15 out of 30 in the district

  • ranked 18 for income deprivation

  • ranked 19 for employment deprivation

  • ranked 15 for EST deprivation

• Housing:

  • 54.6% live in semidetached houses or bungalows

  • 25.2% live in terraced housing

  • 9.8% live in detached housing

  • 7.9% live in flats

  • 64.8% live in owner-occupied housing

  • 25.1% rent from a private landlord

  • 10.1% rent from a social landlord

• Religion:

  • 34.3% Muslim

  • 29.3% Christian

  • 24.8% no religion

• Ethnicity:

  • 53.0% White

  • 25.7% Pakistani

  • 6.2% Bangladeshi

  • 4.9% Indian

Bowling and Barkerend

• Councillors: 2 Labour, 1 independent

• Population: 23,490

• Employment:

  • retail and wholesale trade (22.2%)

  • human health and social work activities (13.7%)

  • manufacturing (9.7%)

• Deprivation:

  • ranked 3 out of 30 in the district

  • ranked 4 for income deprivation

  • ranked 4 for employment deprivation

  • ranked 5 for EST deprivation

• Housing:

  • 7,714 households

  • 48.3% live in terraced housing

  • 22.3% live in semi-detached houses or bungalows

  • 19.4% live in flats

  • 5.8% live in detached houses

  • 42.3% live in owner-occupied housing

  • 33.1% rent from a private landlord

  • 24.5% rent from a social landlord

• Religion:

  • 53.4% Muslim

  • 21.5% Christian

  • 16.4% no religion

  • 2% Sikh

• Ethnicity:

  • 39.9% Pakistani

  • 35.0% White

  • 8.1% Bangladeshi

  • 3.6% Multiple/mixed ethnic groups

  • 3.5% Indian

Bradford Moor

• Councillors: 2 Labour, 1 Lib Dem

• Population: 21,880

• Employment:

  • retail and wholesale trade (22.8%)

  • human health and social work activities (12.3%)

  • transport and storage (11.2%)

• Deprivation:

  • ranked 4 out of 30 in the district

  • ranked 3 for income deprivation

  • ranked 6 place for employment deprivation

  • ranked 3 for EST deprivation

• Housing:

  • 5,900 households

  • 59.5% live in terraced housing

  • 25.4% live in semi-detached houses or bungalows

  • 8.2% live in flats

  • 4.9% live in detached houses

  • 55.4% live in owner-occupied housing

  • 26.9% rent from a private landlord

  • 17.5% rent from a social landlord

• Religion:

  • 77.6% Muslim

  • 8.6% Christian

  • 5.9% religion not stated

  • 5.3% no religion

• Ethnicity:

  • 66.4% Pakistani

  • 12.6% White

  • 6.2% Bangladeshi

  • 3.6% Indian

City

• Councillors: 2 Labour, 1 independent

• Population: 23,640

• Employment:

  • retail and wholesale trade (21.2%)

  • human health and social work activities (12.4%)

  • manufacturing (9.4%)

• Deprivation:

  • ranked 7 out of 30 in the district

  • ranked 9 for income deprivation

  • ranked 12 for for employment deprivation

  • ranked 12 for EST for deprivation

• Housing:

  • 8,215 households

  • 37.8% live in terraced housing

  • 35.7% live in flats

  • 7.2% live in a shared household (including bedsits)

  • 6.9% live in a converted building

  • 6.8% of the households live in semidetached houses or bungalows

  • 2.7% live in detached houses

  • 54.3% rent from a private landlord

  • 28% live in owner-occupied housing

  • 17.3% rent from a social landlord

• Religion:

  • 59.9% Muslim

  • 18% Christian

  • 10.8% no religion

  • 6.4% religion not stated

  • 3.7% Hindu

• Ethnicity:

  • 46% Pakistani

  • 21.6% White

  • 8.2% Indian

  • 7.9% Black

Clayton and Fairweather Green

• Councillors: 3 Labour

• Population: 18,320

• Employment:

  • retail and wholesale trade (19.5%)

  • human health and social work activities (17.1%)

  • education (10.3%)

• Deprivation:

  • ranked 16 out of 30 in the district

  • ranked 14 for income deprivation

  • ranked 13 for employment deprivation

  • ranked 14 for EST deprivation

• Housing:

  • 6,637 households

  • 48.6% live in semi-detached houses or bungalows

  • 25.5% live in terraced housing

  • 13.7% live in detached houses

  • 10.5% live in flats

  • 62.7% live in owner-occupied housing

  • 21.9%rent from a private landlord

  • 15.4% rent from a social landlord

• Religion:

  • 34.1% Muslim

  • 31.8% Christian

  • 5.6% religion not stated

  • 2.7% Hindu

  • 1.9% Sikh

• Ethnicity:

  • 53.2% White

  • 29.3% Pakistani

  • 6.3% Indian

  • 3.2% Multiple/mixed ethnic groups

Craven

• Councillors: 3 Greens

• Population: 17,930

• Employment:

  • human health and social work activities (18.9%)

  • retail and wholesale trade (14%)

  • education (10.2%)

• Deprivation:

  • ranked 28 out of 30 for deprivation

  • ranked 28 for income deprivation

  • ranked 28 for employment deprivation

  • ranked 27 for EST deprivation

• Housing:

  • 8,124 households in Craven

  • 33.1% live in terraced housing

  • 31.5% live in semi-detached houses or bungalows

  • 25.5% of households live in detached houses

  • 5.3% live in flats

  • 77.2% live in owner-occupied housing

  • 16.9% rent from a private landlord

  • 5.9% rent from a social landlord

• Religion:

  • 52.6% Christian

  • 39.9% no religion

  • 5.5% religion not stated

  • 0.9% Muslim

• Ethnicity:

  • 96.1% White

  • 1.1% Indian

  • 1.1% Multiple/mixed ethnic groups

Eccleshill

• Councillors: 2 Labour, 1 Lib Dem

• Population: 20,640

• Employment:

  • retail and wholesale trade (20.5%)

  • human health and social work activities (16.2%)

  • manufacturing (10.4%)

• Deprivation:

  • ranked 10 out of 30 in the district

  • ranked 10 for income deprivation

  • ranked 11 place for employment deprivation

  • ranked 8 for EST deprivation

• Housing:

  • 8,088 households

  • 59.1% live in semi-detached houses or bungalows

  • 22.4% live in terraced housing

  • 10.4% live in flats

  • 6.5% live in detached houses or bungalows

  • 56.3% live in owner-occupied housing

  • 20.8% rent from a private landlord

  • 22.8% rent from a social landlord

• Religion:

  • 39.8% no religion

  • 36.3% Christian

  • 16.8% Muslim

• Ethnicity:

  • 75.5% White

  • 13.9% Pakistani

  • 3.8% Multiple/mixed ethnic groups

  • 1.5% Bangladeshi

Great Horton

• Councillors: 2 Labour, 1 independent

• Population: 19,110

• Employment:

  • retail and wholesale trade (20.3%)

  • human health and social work activities (15.3%)

  • education (10.3%)

• Deprivation:

  • ranked 9 out of 30 in the district

  • ranked 7 for income deprivation

  • ranked 8 for employment deprivation

  • ranked 9 for EST deprivation

• Housing:

  • 6,287 households

  • 42.2% live in terraced housing

  • 40.5% live in semi-detached houses or bungalows

  • 8.8% live in detached houses or bungalows

  • 6.9% live in flats

  • 58.2% live in owner-occupied housing

  • 28.9% rent from a private landlord

  • 12.8% rent from a social landlord

• Religion:

  • 57.7% Muslim

  • 20.7% Christian

  • 11.4% no religion

  • 3% Hindu

• Ethnicity:

  • 48.8% Pakistani

  • 29.8% White

  • 7.3% Indian

  • 4.4% other ethnic group

Heaton

• Councillors: 2 Labour, 1 independent

• Population: 19,950

• Employment:

  • retail and wholesale trade (18.1%)

  • human health and social work activities (16.9%)

  • education (12.5%)

• Deprivation:

  • ranked 12 out of 30 in the district

  • ranked 12 for income deprivation

  • ranked 13 for employment deprivation

  • ranked 16 for EST deprivation

• Housing:

  • 5,720 households

  • 50.5% live in semi-detached houses or bungalows

  • 22.2% live in terraced housing

  • 16.9% live in detached houses or bungalows

  • 7.9% live in flats

  • 63.4% live in owner-occupied housing

  • 23.7% rent from a private landlord

  • 12.7% rent from a social landlord

• Religion:

  • 69.8% Muslim

  • 14.6% Christian

  • 8.5% no religion

  • 5.4% religion not stated

• Ethnicity:

  • 62.7% Pakistani

  • 21.7% White

  • 3.6% other Asian

  • 2.9% Indian

Idle and Thackley

• Councillors: 3 Lib Dems

• Population: 17,620

• Employment:

  • retail and wholesale trade (14.5%)

  • human health and social work activities (14.5%)

  • education (11.6%)

• Deprivation:

  • ranked 23 out of 30 in the district

  • ranked 22 for income deprivation

  • ranked 23 for employment deprivation

  • ranked 22nd for EST deprivation

• Housing:

  • 7,717 households

  • 33.7% live in semidetached houses or bungalows

  • 24.3% live in detached houses or bungalows

  • 23.2% live in terraced housing

  • 15.7% live in flats

  • 71.7% live in owner-occupied housing

  • 15.8% rent from a private landlord

  • 12.4% rent from a social landlord

• Religion:

  • 47.9% Christian

  • 41.4% no religion

  • 5.5% religion not stated

  • 2.3% Muslim

  • 1.6% Sikh

• Ethnicity:

  • 91.2% White

  • 3.0% Multiple/mixed ethnic groups

  • 2% Indian

  • 1.3% Pakistani

Ilkley

• Councillors: 2 Conservative, 1 Green

• Population: 15,200

• Employment:

  • human health and social work activities (14.1%)

  • education (13.3%)

  • retail and wholesale trade (12.7%)

• Deprivation:

  • ranked 29 of 30 wards in the district

  • ranked 29 for income deprivation

  • ranked 29 for employment

  • ranked for EST deprivation

• Housing:

  • 6,736 households

  • 27.2% live in detached houses or bungalows

  • 23.3% live in terraced housing

  • 22.9% live in semidetached houses or bungalows

  • 17.3% live in flats

  • 8.1% live in a converted building

  • 78.2% live in owner-occupied housing

  • 14.7% rent from a private landlord

  • 7.1 rent from a social landlord

• Religion:

  • 53% Christian

  • 39.4% no religion

  • 5.5% religion not stated

  • 0.9% Muslim

• Ethnicity:

  • 95.6% White

  • 2.0% Multiple/mixed ethnic groups

  • 0.6% Pakistani

  • 0.5% Indian

Keighley Central

• Councillors: 2 Labour, 1 independent

• Population: 18,740

• Employment:

  • retail and wholesale trade (19.5%)

  • human health and social work activities (17.3%)

  • manufacturing (11.7%)

• Deprivation:

  • ranked 6 out of 30 in the district

  • ranked 8 for income deprivation

  • ranked 4 for employment deprivation

  • ranked 6 for EST deprivation

• Housing:

  • 6,223 households

  • 47.6% live in terraced housing

  • 18% live in semi-detached houses or bungalows

  • 15.2% live in flats

  • 12.8% live in detached houses or bungalows

  • 56% live in owner-occupied housing

  • 30.6% rent from a private landlord

  • 13.1% rent from a social landlord

• Religion:

  • 57.3% Muslim

  • 21% Christian

  • 15.5% no religion

  • 5.3% religion not stated

• Ethnicity:

  • 48% Pakistani

  • 36.3% White

  • 7.6% Bangladeshi

  • 3% other Asian

Keighley East

• Councillors: 3 Labour

• Population: 17,220

• Employment:

  • retail and wholesale trade (17%)

  • human health and social work activities (16%)

  • manufacturing (10.9%)

• Deprivation:

  • ranked 20 out of 30 wards in the district

  • ranked 20 for income deprivation

  • ranked 20 for employment deprivation

  • ranked 20 for EST deprivation

• Housing:

  • 7,008 households

  • 40.3% live in semi-detached houses or bungalows

  • 34.7% live in terraced housing

  • 17% of households live in detached houses or bungalows

  • 6.1% live in flats

  • 71.7% live in owner-occupied housing

  • 20% rent from a private landlord

  • 8.3% rent from a social landlord

• Religion:

  • 39% Christian

  • 35.3% no religion

  • 18.8% Muslim

  • 5.6% religion not stated

• Ethnicity:

  • 76.2% White

  • 16% Pakistani

  • 2.5% Bangladeshi

  • 2.1% Multiple/mixed ethnic groups

Keighley West

• Councillors: 2 Labour, 1 independent

• Population: 17,270

• Employment:

  • human health and social work activities (17.6%)

  • retail and wholesale trade (17.4%)

  • manufacturing (13.2%)

• Deprivation:

  • ranked 6 out of 30 in the district

  • ranked 8 for income deprivation

  • ranked 4 for employment deprivation

  • ranked 6 for EST deprivation

• Housing:

  • 7,333 households in Keighley West

  • 46.6% live in semi-detached houses or bungalows

  • 33.6% live in terraced housing

  • 10.8% live in detached houses or bungalows

  • 6.5% live in flats

• Religion:

  • 42.6% no religion

  • 42.5% Christian

  • 8.7% Muslim

  • 5.2% religion not stated

• Ethnicity:

  • 87.4% White

  • 6.2% Pakistani

  • 2.4% Multiple/mixed ethnic groups

  • 1.7% Bangladeshi

Little Horton

• Councillors: 3 independents

• Population: 22,000

• Employment:

  • retail and wholesale trade (22.6%)

  • human health and social work activities (13.9%)

  • manufacturing (10.4%)

• Deprivation:

  • ranked 2 out of 30 in the district

  • ranked 2 for income deprivation

  • ranked 2 for employment deprivation

  • ranked 1 for EST deprivation

• Housing:

  • 6,594 households in Little Horton

  • 55.3% live in terraced housing

  • 28.2% live in semi-detached houses or bungalows

  • 9.4% live in flats

  • 5.4% live in detached houses or bungalows

  • 45% live in owner-occupied housing

  • 29.1% rent from a private landlord

  • 25.7% rent from a social landlord

• Religion:

  • 65.7% Muslim

  • 18.7% Christian

  • 8.6% no religion

  • 5% religion not states

• Ethnicity:

  • 55.4% Pakistani

  • 22.4% White

  • 5.1% Black

  • 3.3% Multiple/mixed ethnic groups

Manningham

• Councillors: 2 Labour, 1 independent

• Population: 21,180

• Employment:

  • wholesale and retail trade (21.5%)

  • human health and social work activities (14.6%)

  • education (9.4%)

• Deprivation:

  • ranked 1 out of 30 in the district (the most deprived ward)

  • ranked 1 for income deprivation

  • ranked 1 for employment deprivation

  • ranked 1 for EST deprivation

• Housing:

  • 5,650 households

  • 53.7% live in terraced housing

  • 24.2% live in flats

  • 10.4% live in semi-detached houses or bungalows

  • 5.7% live in part of a converted building

  • 4% live in detached houses or bungalows

  • 44% live in owner-occupied housing

  • 29.3% of households rent from a private landlord

  • 26.5% rent from a social landlord

• Religion:

  • 77.4% Muslim

  • 10.6% Christian

  • 10.6% not stated

  • 4.6% no religion

• Ethnicity:

  • 62.7% Pakistani

  • 11.9% White

  • 9.7% Bangladeshi

  • 4.4% Indian

Queensbury

• Councillors: 2 Labour, 1 independent

• Population: 17,640

• Employment:

  • retail and wholesale trade (16.6%)

  • human health and social work activities(15%)

  • education (10.6%)

• Deprivation:

  • ranked 22 out of 30 in the district

  • ranked 23 for income deprivation

  • ranked 22 for employment deprivation

  • ranked 21 for EST deprivation

• Housing:

  • 7,323 households

  • 37.8% live in semi-detached houses or bungalows

  • 32.7% live in terraced housing

  • 23% live in detached houses or bungalows

  • 4.2% live in flats

• Religion:

  • 43.1% Christian

  • 41.7% no religion

  • 7.0% Muslim

  • 5.0% religion not stated

  • 1.9% Hindu

• Ethnicity:

  • 85.8% White

  • 6.0% Pakistani

  • 3.2% Indian

  • 2.5% Multiple/mixed ethnic groups

Royds

• Councillors: 3 Labour

• Population: 18,200

• Employment:

  • retail and wholesale trade (18.4%)

  • human health and social work activities(16%)

  • manufacturing (9.4%)

• Deprivation:

  • ranked 11 out of 30 in the district

  • ranked 11 for income deprivation

  • ranked 10 for employment deprivation

  • ranked 11 place for EST deprivation

• Housing:

  • 7,327 households

  • 57.6% live in semi-detached houses or bungalows

  • 22.7% live in terraced housing

  • 10.3% live in detached houses or bungalows

  • 8.2% live in flats.

  • 59.9% of Royds households live in owner-occupied housing

  • 20.9% of households rent from a private landlord

  • 19.1% rent from a social landlord

• Religion:

  • 41.9% no religion

  • 40.1% Christian

  • 10.4% Muslim

  • 5.6% religion not stated

• Ethnicity:

  • 81.1% White

  • 8.9% Pakistani

  • 3.7% Multiple/mixed ethnic groups

  • 2.2% Black

  • 1.9% Indian

Shipley

• Councillors: 3 Greens

• Population: 15,710

• Employment:

  • human health and social work activities (17.7%)

  • education (14.9%)

  • wholesale and retail trades (13.1%)

• Deprivation:

  • ranked 21 out of 30 in the district

  • ranked 21 for income deprivation

  • ranked 21 for employment deprivation

  • ranked 26 for EST deprivation

• Housing:

  • 7,182 households

  • 35% live in terraced housing

  • 28.1% live in semi-detached houses or bungalows

  • 18.1% live in flats

  • 8.8% live in a converted building

  • 8.2% live in detached houses or bungalows

• Religion:

  • 40.8% no religion

  • 36.7% Christian

  • 14.8% Muslim

  • 5.6% religion not stated

• Ethnicity:

  • 78.2% White

  • 12.3% Pakistani

  • 3.1% Multiple/mixed ethnic groups

  • 1.6% Indian

Thornton and Allerton

• Councillors: 3 Labour

• Population: 18,560

• Employment:

  • human health and social work activities (18.4%)

  • wholesale and retail trades (17.3%)

  • education (11.2%)

• Deprivation:

  • ranked 18 out of 30 in the district

  • ranked 16 for income deprivation

  • ranked 16 for employment deprivation

  • ranked 19 for EST deprivation

• Housing:

  • 7,416 households

  • 45.7% live in semidetached houses or bungalows

  • 26.5% live in terraced housing

  • 17.1% live in detached houses or bungalows

  • 8.6% live in flats

  • 63.9% live in owner-occupied housing

  • 19.7% rent from a private landlord

  • 16.3% rent from a social landlord

• Religion:

  • 37.7% Christian

  • 29.8% no religion

  • 25.0% Muslim

  • 5.4% religion not stated

• Ethnicity:

  • 65.3% White

  • 21.8% Pakistani

  • 4.1% Multiple/mixed ethnic groups

  • 2.2% Indian

Toller

• Councillors: 2 Labour, 1 independent

• Population: 20,900

• Employment:

  • wholesale and retail trades (21.1%)

  • human health and social work activities (16.1%)

  • education (10.9%)

• Deprivation:

  • ranked 5 out of 30 wards in the district

  • ranked 6 for income deprivation

  • ranked 7 for employment deprivation

  • ranked 7 place for EST deprivation

• Housing:

  • 5,648 households

  • 49.1% live in terraced housing

  • 23.4% live in semi-detached houses or bungalows

  • 11.1% live in flats

  • 10.7% live in detached houses or bungalows

  • 4.7% live in converted buildings

  • 59.3% live in owner-occupied housing

  • 31.6% rent from a private landlord

  • 8.9% rent from a social landlord

• Religion:

  • 80.1% Muslim

  • 8.9% Christian

  • 5.2% religion not stated

  • 4.2% no religion

• Ethnicity:

  • 75.3% Pakistani

  • 10.6% White

  • 3.2% other ethnic group

  • 3.1% Indian

  • 2.8% other Asian

Tong

• Councillors: 3 Greens

• Population: 21,270

• Employment:

  • wholesale and retail trades (21.2%)

  • human health and social work activities (15%)

  • manufacturing (13.2%)

• Deprivation:

  • ranked 8 out of 30 in the district

  • ranked 5 for income deprivation

  • ranked 3 for employment deprivation

  • ranked 4 for EST deprivation

• Housing:

  • 8,616 households

  • 45.8% live in semi-detached houses or bungalows

  • 25% live in terraced housing

  • 13.6% live in detached houses or bungalows

  • 13.4% live in flats

  • 44% live in owner-occupied housing

  • 34.7% rent from a social landlord

  • 21.1% rent from a private landlord

• Religion:

  • 41.2% no religion

  • 41.1% Christian

  • 8.9% Muslim

  • 5.9% religion not stated1.6% Sikh

• Ethnicity:

  • 78.5% White

  • 6.9% Pakistani

  • 4.4% Black

  • 4.3% Multiple/mixed ethnic groups

  • 2.4% Indian

Wharfedale

• Councillors: 2 Conservative, 1 Labour

• Population: 12,170

• Employment:

  • human health and social work activities (14.6%)

  • education (13.7%)

  • professional, scientific and technical activities (11.9%)

• Deprivation:

  • ranked 30 out of 30 for deprivation (least deprived)

  • ranked 30 for income deprivation

  • ranked 30 for employment deprivation

  • ranked 30 for EST deprivation

• Housing:

  • 5,128 households

  • 36.9% live in detached houses or bungalows

  • 29.8% live in semi-detached houses or bungalows

  • 21% live in terraced housing

  • 9.1% live in flats

  • 83.2% live in owner-occupied housing

  • 10.3% of households rent from a private landlord

  • 6.5% rent from a social landlord

• Religion:

  • 53.2% Christian

  • 39.8% no religion

  • 5.1% religion not stated

• Ethnicity:

  • 96.5% White

  • 1.4% Multiple/mixed ethnic groups

  • 0.6% Indian

Wibsey

• Councillors: 3 Labour

• Population: 16,090

• Employment:

  • wholesale and retail trades (17.7%)

  • human health and social work activities (15.4%)

  • education (9.9%)

• Deprivation:

  • ranked 13 out of 30 in the district

  • ranked 14 for income deprivation

  • ranked 17 for employment deprivation

  • ranked 18 for EST deprivation

• Housing:

  • 6,348 households

  • 46.4% live in semi-detached houses or bungalows

  • 38.7% live in terraced housing

  • 6.7% live in flats and

  • 6.7% live in detached houses or bungalows

  • 65% live in owner-occupied housing

  • 24% rent from a private landlord

  • 10.8% rent from a social landlord.

• Religion:

  • 36.5% Christian

  • 28.5% Muslim

  • 28% no religion

  • 5% religion not stated

• Ethnicity:

  • 62.7% White

  • 24.9% Pakistani

  • 3.6% Multiple/mixed ethnic groups

  • 2.2% Black

  • 2.2% Indian

Windhill and Wrose

• Councillors: 3 Labour

• Population: 17,080

• Employment:

  • wholesale and retail trades (17.1%)

  • human health and social work activities (15.4%)

  • manufacturing (10.7%)

• Deprivation:

  • ranked 17 out of 30 in the district

  • ranked 17 for income deprivation

  • ranked 15 for employment deprivation

  • ranked 13 EST deprivation

• Housing:

  • 7,388 households

  • 53% live in semidetached houses or bungalows

  • 20.2% live in terraced housing

  • 15.1% live in flats

  • 9% live in detached houses or bungalows

  • 61.6% live in owner-occupied housing

  • 18.9% rent from a private landlord

  • 19.2% rent from a social landlord

• Religion:

  • 43.6% no religion

  • 39.8% Christian

  • 8.3% Muslim

  • 2.1% Sikh

• Ethnicity:

  • 83.5% White

  • 6.1% Pakistani

  • 3.0% Multiple/mixed ethnic groups

  • 2.3% Indian

  • 1.3% Black

Worth Valley

• Councillors: 3 Conservatives

• Population: 14,260

• Employment:

  • human health and social work activities (14.6%)

  • wholesale and retail trades (13.5%)

  • education (11.9%)

• Deprivation:

  • ranked 24 out of 30 in the district

  • ranked 27 for income deprivation

  • ranked 25 for employment deprivation

  • ranked 25 for EST deprivation

• Housing:

  • 6,422 households

  • 43.9% live in terraced housing

  • 27.1% live in semi-detached houses or bungalows

  • 20.3% live in detached houses or bungalows

  • 3.7% live in flats

  • 77.1% live in owner-occupied housing

  • 19.2% rent from a private landlord

  • 3.7% rent from a social landlord

• Religion:

  • 48.6% Christian

  • 44.7% no religion

  • 5.1% religion not stated

  • 0.7% other religion

• Ethnicity:

  • 97.3% White

  • 1.4% Multiple/mixed ethnic groups

  • 0.4% Pakistani

  • 0.3% Black

Wyke

• Councillors: 3 Labour

• Population: 15,230

• Employment:

  • wholesale and retail trades (17.7%)

  • human health and social work activities (13.2%)

  • manufacturing (10.4%)

• Deprivation:

  • ranked 19 out of 30 in the district

  • ranked 18 for income deprivation

  • ranked 18 for employment deprivation

  • ranked 17 EST deprivation.

• Housing:

  • 6,617 households

  • 50.6% live in semi-detached houses or bungalows

  • 30.7% live in terraced housing

  • 11.8%live in detached houses or bungalows

  • 5.2% live in flats

  • 68.3% live in owner-occupied housing

  • 19.2% rent from a private landlord

  • 12.5% rent from a social landlord

• Religion:

  • 48.6% Christian

  • 44.7% no religion

  • 5.1% religion not stated

• Ethnicity:

  • 97.3% White

  • 1.4% Multiple/mixed ethnic groups

  • 0.4% Pakistani

  • 0.3% Black

For more detail on each of the wards, head to the ward profiles page on Bradford Council’s website.

Key documents

Below you’ll find a list of documents that have been produced by both the council – inhouse, via the Bradford District Partnership and with other authorities – and independently in recent years. Some are dated.

• Built Different: Bradford 2025–2035 (regeneration and growth plan)

• Medium-term financial strategy (MTFS) 2025/26–2029/30

• Capital investment plan 2025-26–2029-30

• Local Government Outcomes Framework (Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government)

• CIPFA External Assurance Review 2024

• Productivity Plan 2024

• CIPFA External Assurance Review 2023

• Bradford Children and Families Trust Plan 2023–2027

• Anti-poverty strategy, 2022–2027

• Digital strategy, 2022–2027

• Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Plan 2022–2027

• Council Plan: Priorities and Principles 2021–2025

• Bradford District Plan 2021–2025

• A place to call home, a place to thrive: housing strategy for the district 2020–2030

• Bradford homelessness and rough sleeping strategy 2020–2025

• Stronger Communities Together: strategy for Bradford District 2018–2023

• Sustainable travel to school strategy 2017–2020

My name is Josie McMaster and I am proud to be standing as the Green Party candidate in the Worth Valley by-election. I live in Oakworth, and this is my home. I care deeply about our villages, our countryside and the sense of community that makes this area special.

Like many people locally, I feel let down by politics as usual. At the last general election, we were promised competence and stability – but instead, many families are facing higher bills, stretched services and fewer straight answers.

Here in Bradford, Labour councillors forced through a near-10% council tax rise, the highest in the country. This year they are once again proposing just under 5%. Residents were told it was unavoidable, yet council finances remain under strain and services continue to be cut. People are paying more and getting less.

What is just as worrying is the lack of real challenge. Conservative councillors on Bradford Council talked tough, but when it mattered, they failed to offer a credible alternative.

Instead, they have too often focused on divisive culture-war politics rather than the everyday issues people care about, like the cost of living, local services and protecting our area.

In contrast, Green councillors on Bradford Council have provided real opposition. They have challenged poor decisions, pushed for transparency and produced detailed alternatives, including showing that a lower council tax rise was possible even in difficult circumstances. That is the kind of politics I believe in, practical, principled and rooted in local priorities.

Planning is a major issue in this election. After years of planning rules being weakened under the Conservatives, the new Labour government is now going even further. Their changes risk effectively abolishing green belt protections around villages like ours, opening the door to uncontrolled development on precious countryside.

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We desperately need genuinely affordable homes, but they must be built in the right places, with proper infrastructure and a real say for local people. Once green spaces are gone, they are gone forever.

When it comes to the most controversial issues, like the massive windfarm proposed just over the border in Calderdale, the Labour government has tried to silence local voices, deciding that politicians in London will make the decision on whether it goes ahead rather than the councillors local people have elected.

Across Bradford District, Green councillors have a strong track record of standing up for local communities when developments are wrong, when services are under threat and when residents are being ignored. That is the approach I will take if elected.

This by-election was triggered unnecessarily, costing thousands of pounds of taxpayers’ money. It was called by Reform UK, a party that talks loudly about waste but has no problem wasting public funds when it suits them. Worse still, their record in local government shows they cannot be trusted to protect services or keep costs down.

In the councils Reform now runs, including Derbyshire, North Northamptonshire and Leicestershire, they have proposed the maximum 5% council tax rises allowed by law.

In Kent, Reform councillors have reduced funding for mental wellbeing services for older people. At Lancashire County Council, they have begun the process of closing five council-run care homes and five day centres that support older residents. That is the reality behind the rhetoric.

Their approach is not about standing up for local people. It is about headlines, division and decisions that hit communities hardest.

Worth Valley deserves better than empty promises and political point-scoring. It deserves representatives who will stand up for local people, protect our countryside and focus on the issues that really matter.

The Worth Valley deserves a councillor who understands village life, listens to residents and is prepared to challenge Bradford Council, which too often puts wasteful spending and city-centre priorities ahead of local communities. That is why the Liberal Democrats are pleased to be standing Kay Kirkham as our candidate in this by-election.

The Worth Valley comprises proud, distinctive villages large and small, with strong communities such as Haworth, Oxenhope and Oakworth. Yet too often residents feel that Bradford Council overlooks places like ours while pouring money into the city centre and larger towns.

The Liberal Democrats believe that villages and neighbourhoods should be treated fairly, with proper investment in local services and infrastructure, not left to fight for scraps.

Kay brings both local understanding and real experience to this campaign. She lives in Harden village, just outside the ward, and serves as a parish councillor, giving her day-to-day experience of the challenges facing village communities.

Before retiring, Kay worked in a range of local government roles across the country, so she knows how councils should work for residents and how badly things can go wrong when they don’t.

A key priority for Kay and the Liberal Democrats is stronger enforcement against those who break the rules. Whether it is fly-tipping, environmental crime, poorly maintained properties or parking problems, residents across the Worth Valley are fed up with a lack of action.

The Liberal Democrats want a council that backs up rules with real enforcement, protects the local environment and stands up for people who do the right thing.

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Kay will also continue the Liberal Democrat challenge to Labour’s wasteful spending at Bradford Council. Time and again, residents are told there is no money for basic services, while millions are spent on risky commercial investments and city-centre schemes that deliver little benefit to village communities.

Liberal Democrats believe council tax should be spent on clean streets, safe neighbourhoods, decent services and real investment in local areas – not Labour’s pet projects that fail to deliver value for money.

Keeping people safe, especially children and vulnerable residents, must always come first. The Liberal Democrats in Bradford have consistently demanded a full and independent inquiry into child sexual exploitation, to ensure that past failures are properly examined and that safeguarding is never again treated as a secondary concern. Kay fully supports this demand. Survivors deserve truth, accountability and meaningful change, not excuses or delay.

As a party, the Liberal Democrats also stand firmly behind rural communities and local farmers. National Liberal Democrat policies support sustainable farming, fair funding and thriving rural economies, issues that matter to the Worth Valley and the surrounding countryside.

Kay will be a strong voice for protecting green spaces, supporting rural livelihoods and ensuring environmental policies are practical and fair.

Outside council work, Kay is a keen Middlesbrough FC supporter, reminding us that she brings loyalty, determination and straight-talking honesty to everything she does.

This by-election is a chance for the Worth Valley to send a clear message to Bradford Council: villages matter, neighbourhoods matter and residents deserve better.

By voting Liberal Democrat and backing Kay Kirkham, local people can elect a councillor who will work hard, speak up fearlessly and always put the Worth Valley first.

I have lived in the Worth Valley for over 20 years and I am asking for your vote in the Worth Valley by-election on Thursday February 12 2026. It will cost all of us £30,000 which should have been spent on fixing our potholes, funding youth services or our community centres.

Reform UK, however, decided to trigger this by-election, knowing that in May 2026 we will have to do it all again, the Billionaire’s Party wasting our hard earned money. Reform forced it but you’re paying for it!

As a volunteer at the Worth Valley Food Bank for the last six years, I have seen poverty first hand. Most of them are in employment, often with multiple jobs which pay starvation wages. Austerity was a political choice which brought families, children and the elderly into extreme poverty.

I believe that the Worth Valley does not get value for money.

We need to do politics differently:

• Pay people decent wages so that food banks become redundant

• Invest in education and youth services for our young people

• Invest in our NHS so that Airedale can be rebuilt NOW

• Bring our utilities back into public ownership to benefit us and not foreign investors

• Focus on our community in Worth Valley

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The Worth Valley by-election is our opportunity to send a message that we have had enough. Whatever the flavour of politics you usually support, we must send a message loud and clear to ALL of them. They have all failed to represent the wishes and needs of ordinary working people.

The top 1% need to pay their fair share of tax to restore our public services to the levels a first world country like ours CAN afford! Britain is broken. Fairness must be restored.

I will be attending the Together Alliance march in central London to demonstrate my opposition to the far right on March 28 2026 and fully endorse their anti-racist position.

Vote independent to keep out the far right Reform!

I pledge to you that I will always represent local views and needs with honesty, transparency and integrity.

It is a huge honour to have been chosen to stand in the Worth Valley ward by-election and to work with the fantastic existing councillors like Rebecca Poulsen and Chris Herd together with Robbie Moore, the MP for Keighley and Ilkley. The Worth Valley ward has a dedicated local team representing them who are strong advocates for residents and believe in getting stuff done.

Whether it’s challenging Yorkshire Water on fixing water leaks, improving road junctions, opposing inappropriate planning in the green belt or clearing litter they work for the Worth Valley every day.

I will stand up against Labour-run Bradford Council and their relentless attacks on our local services. I helped campaign against the closure of Sugden End Household Recycling Centre that was then closed by the Labour council. I would continue to campaign for better recycling services and more fly tipping enforcement and prevention work to stop our beautiful area being blighted by fly tipping.

I live in Denholme, which will become part of the Worth Valley Ward in May, where I am a Denholme town councillor and lead on planning issues. I have been a special constable with West Yorkshire Police and from these roles I have gained the skills needed to help support residents with issues across the Worth Valley. I enjoy working with local groups such as the local allotment group and bringing communities together.

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I really enjoy getting to know people and supporting the community with issues. I have spoken to hundreds of Worth Valley residents over the last few weeks and have already been helping with local projects.

This by-election has been called by Reform UK following the sad death of councillor Russell Brown before Christmas, despite the local election campaign starting only five weeks after the by-election.

This by-election will cost local taxpayers over £30,000 to elect a councillor who will then face re-election again only five weeks later. I believe in taxpayers getting value for money and the behaviour of Reform shows they don’t care about value for money for local residents.

My priorities, if I am lucky enough to become a Worth Valley councillor, would be to focus on road safety – particularly around our schools – fighting inappropriate development in our greenbelt, reducing fly tipping and supporting the National Grooming Gangs Inquiry to focus on Keighley and Bradford.

On 12 February, please vote for a strong local voice to work with your existing Worth Valley Conservative team to make a difference in the Worth Valley.

It is a real privilege to be standing as the Labour candidate for the Worth Valley in the upcoming by-election. I am mindful that this vacancy arose following the tragic passing of councillor Russell Brown.

Russell was a well-liked man who worked incredibly hard for this ward and I know I speak for many when I say that none of us would have wanted a by-election under these circumstances.

I am standing because I believe that representing this community is about one thing: public service, not self-service.

I have lived in the Keighley area all my life and for the last four years I have had the honour of serving as a Keighley Town councillor. That experience, alongside my role chairing a local charity, has shaped my view of what a representative should be.

To me, politics isn’t a vehicle for a personal profile or a platform to shout about “culture war” issues that have very little relevance to our daily lives. I believe that kind of grandstanding is a disservice to the community.

True public service is about being a bridge between the residents of Haworth, Oakworth, Stanbury and Oxenhope and the decision-makers at City Hall. Whether it’s through my council work or my charity role, my focus has always been on getting things done for people.

I want to ensure the Worth Valley gets the fair share of services and investment it deserves. I commit to being a visible, accessible advocate who treats every local issue – whether a neglected road or the protection of our green belt – as a priority to be solved, not a talking point to be exploited.

In recent weeks, I’ve been out talking to residents across the Valley. The message I hear most often is one of exhaustion with the noise of modern politics. People don’t want a politician looking for Westminster headlines; they want a public servant who will pick up the phone, show up to the parish meeting and put in the graft.

I am standing in this by-election and again in the “all out” elections in May alongside my friend and teammate, Luke Maunsell. We are both committed to a brand of politics that puts the community first. By asking for your support now, I am asking for the chance to hit the ground running immediately, proving I can deliver real results for the Valley before the spring.

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Listening to residents, it’s clear the focus needs to be on the “bread and butter” issues:

• Our roads: Ensuring our rural roads are fit for purpose and that the Worth Valley receives its fair share of maintenance funding to tackle potholes and safety concerns

• Heritage and environment: Protecting our unique landscape by ensuring any new development is sustainable, respects our heritage and is backed by the infrastructure needed to support it

• Local economy: Being a vocal champion for our independent shops and the tourism that acts as the lifeblood for our villages

Ultimately, I am not here to play political games. The Worth Valley is a special place and it deserves a representative who views the role not as a position of power, but as a position of responsibility. I am ready to roll up my sleeves, listen to your concerns and put the interests of our villages first.

Speaking in 1987, the then Labour MP for Bradford West, Max Madden, noted that “by any yardstick, Bradford is revealed as a city of past prosperity and present poverty. Deprivation and disadvantage are acute and, in many ways, are becoming more serious”.

In the 39 years that have passed since these words were first spoken, a four decade era that has seen many different governments, councils and crises come and go from Westminster to City Hall, Bradford’s fortunes have remained largely unchanged. The city, as a new report reveals, continues to be one of the poorest in the UK.

This is despite the fact that today it has an economy worth between £8.7 billion to £11.6 billion – the third biggest in Yorkshire and one of the biggest in England. Simply put, the money generated here has never meaningfully made its way into the pockets of locals – not then and not now. The city, it seems, is as hopelessly adrift as ever. And no-one seems to know how to fix it.

Something is amiss. The Centre for Cities, for instance, has ideas on how to raise living standards to get more people out of poverty, which it outlines (again) in its 2026 Outlook. That they’re not necessarily new or radical is revealing about the fundamental failures in leadership both nationally and locally to effectively address this ongoing issue, which has worsened, as the Joseph Rowntree Foundation recently explained.

“The deeper you go, the further away from the poverty line you look, the worse things are,” the charity said. “In 2023/24, 6.8 million people – or almost half of those in poverty – were in very deep poverty, with an income far below the standard poverty line, meaning their incomes are at most two thirds of the poverty line. This is both the highest absolute number of people, and the highest proportion, on record, going back to 1994/95.”

Those ideas being mooted by Centre for Cities include developing a more productive business base by growing the number of innovative knowledge-based businesses, boosting the number of better-skilled people in the labour market – with improved transport links a critical aspect to this – and getting rid of constraints around housing and commercial space to reduce high costs.

The responsibility for actioning these, the thinktank argues, are metro mayors heading up combined/strategic authorities with more and better devolved powers. Again, this isn’t radical. Devolution has long been seen as being critical for local (and national).

The problem has been whether they’ve ever had the right tools, money and capabilities to deliver impactful change – and sans mayors, for they are a relatively recent invention, local authority executives. The English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill, which is currently at committee stage in the House of Lords, is looking to address this.

The answer is no, they haven’t – but that alone doesn’t explain the persistence of poverty. Politics has also failed at every level. After all, it has been five years since West Yorkshire got its first mayor and living standards in Bradford in that half decade don’t appear to have materially changed for the better.

For example, as of 2025, Bradford is ranked as the fourth most income deprived, fifth most employment deprived and twelfth most deprived local authority in England. In 2019, when the indices of deprivation were last updated, Bradford was the thirteenth most deprived local authority. In 2015, it was ranked nineteenth. One is the most deprived. Two hundred and ninety six is the least deprived.

There’s more. According to Bradford Council’s own Anti-Poverty Strategy, 2022–2027, 20% of families are in food and fuel poverty. The district also has the second highest percentage of children living in absolute poverty in England (where people struggle to afford basic necessities like food and shelter) and the third highest in relative poverty (where there is access to basic necessities but very little else).

Finally, a report by Marie Curie found that more than a third (35.3%) of working age people died in poverty in Bradford the year before. It also found that 28.9% of pensioners died in poverty that year. Across the UK, the figure was 111,000, roughly 300 people a day. None of this should be happening in a country that has the sixth biggest economy in the world. It’s a hidden crisis that doesn’t get the headlines it ought to.

The latest Centre for Cities Outlook tells a similar, worrying story. According to its analysis, Bradford had one of the lowest living standards in the UK, Out of 63 of the UK’s largest cities and towns, it comes in at number 61, with only Leicester and Blackburn reporting lower standards. It was the same position it was in the year before.

To note, living standards are assessed by measuring gross disposable household income per capita (GDHI). In other words, how much money you have left for spending or saving after taxes and benefits have been deducted. For Bradford, it was £14,631. On the opposite end, London had the highest GDHI per capita. It was £25,739.

The Outlook also found that Bradford is one of 10 cities with the highest share of neighbourhoods in the top 20% most income deprived nationally (4/10), while for productivity, it was ranked as one of 10 cities with the lowest GVA (gross value added). It came in at number 60, with only Telford, Mansfield and Doncaster reporting poorer levels of productivity.

In contrast, the cities and towns with the highest GVA per hour were Slough, Aldershot and Swindon, positioned one, two and three respectively. This represented no change from the 2025 Outlook for the first two, with Swindon jumping up two places.

For innovation, the report found that Bradford had one of the lowest NEFs (new economy firms) per 10,000 working age people in the country. It came in at number 56, dropping two places from the year before. Sunderland continued to occupy the bottom spot. The Centre for Cities defines the new economy as 47 technologically advanced “knowledge-intensive sectors”.

When it came to wages, Bradford was one of 10 cities and towns reporting the lowest average weekly workplace earnings (55/63). Below it were cities and towns like Doncaster, Birkenhead and Wigan. It was a slight improvement on 2025’s Outlook, where Bradford was ranked in 56th place.

The unemployment rate for Bradford was one of the worst in the UK, according to the report. The city not only made it into the “top” 10 cities with the highest unemployment rate, but also the “top” 10 cities with the lowest 10-year job growth rate. Meanwhile, the top five towns and cities with the highest employment rate in the UK were Worthing, Gloucester, Edinburgh, Southend and Norwich. Luton, Mansfield and Peterborough had the highest 10-year job growth rate.

All of this makes for hard reading. The people of Bradford deserve better. And they have done so for far too many years now, too many for politicians and bureaucrats – Bradford Council’s former chief executive, Kersten England, was quoted in 2018 as saying that she was on a mission “to make Bradford the Shoreditch of Yorkshire” – to justify as anything other than a massive failure.

Wrapping up a column titled Bradford is not a crap town – it’s just a poor one, Lola Okolosie, a teacher and freelance writer, wrote: “What this city and many others like it needs is a questioning of how and why the north-south divide continues to exist so starkly in 2013 Britain.” Clearly no-one took heed of her suggestion back then. Today they really ought to.

LOCAL

Ilkley Clean River Group criticises government’s water whitepaper

The Ilkley Clean River Group has criticised the government’s New Vision

for Water whitepaper, arguing that it will “shackle” the public into paying more for a failing industry.

The group said that one of the chief issues with the whitepaper was the way in which it “solely blames the regulators”, when in fact it is the water companies themselves who are to blame for all of the problems besetting the industry, from the pollution of waterways to failing infrastructure.

“This whitepaper is a water industry and investor dream, delivering regulators that have to be closer to the water industry to understand them, and then be blamed when it goes wrong,” the Ilkley Clean River Group said in a press release.

The Labour government has described its approach to transforming the water system as a “once-in-a-generation plan” that will deliver better oversight and more accountability.

One of the big changes being introduced is the creation of a new senior role. The chief engineer will work for a new single regulator replacing Ofwat.

“The new regulator will introduce an ‘MOT’ approach for water company infrastructure, requiring health checks on pipes, pumps and more,” the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs explained.

“This forward-looking approach means no more waiting to act, spotting problems before they happen and preventing water shortages. “

You can read the whitepaper here.

Local nursing home joins inspiring musical initiative

A local nursing home has announced that it has joined the Playlist for Life music initiative, which is “designed to harness the power of personal soundtracks” to improve the wellbeing of people living with dementia.

Steeton Court Nursing Home has already kicked off work to get the project up and running with residents filling out specialist questionnaires to discover what their “musical triggers” are.

These are, for instance, songs associated with specific memories and places, whether it’s a favourite holiday or their hometown.

“Music is a powerful tool for anyone, but for those living with dementia, it can be a vital lifeline to their past,” said Kirstie Beard, activity coordinator at Steeton Court.

“While it can sometimes be difficult to recall a specific memory on the spot, hearing a certain melody can unlock doors that have been closed for years.

“We have seen a wonderful response already; the project has brought back memories of dancing at local venues, parents performing in the Steeton Male Voice Choir, and the evocative songs of the post-war era and VE Day.”

For more information on Playlist for Life, head here.

Ilkley business celebrates hitting volunteering milestone

High Speed Training has revealed that it recorded over 1,000 hours of volunteering last year with both local and national not-for-profit organisations.

The Ilkley-based business, which was founded in 2008, said that its scheme had had a positive impact on employee engagement and wellbeing.

Employees are able to take five paid volunteering days a year to support “projects that matter to them the most” at High Speed Training.

“Over the last three years we have rapidly grown our company volunteering programme, increasing the number of hours donated by a factor of 10,” said Amy Mortimer, head of social impact at High Speed Training.

“We achieved this by developing strategic partnerships with charities, providing clear signposting and encouragement for colleagues and genuinely celebrating our impact in the community with the wider business.”

One of its partners is Chapter One, which offers one-on-one reading support to children to help boost their literacy skills.

“By committing to supporting our young readers, [High Speed Training] volunteers have built meaningful relationships with children aged 5-8 who are facing disadvantage, showing up week after week to read, encourage and inspire,” commented Emma Bell, CEO of Chapter One.

According to the Department for Culture, Media & Sport’s Community Life Survey 2024/25, 17% of adults volunteered formally and 24% volunteered informally at least once a month in the past year.

Local charity invites residents to attend workshop to make homes warmer

Climate Action Ilkley is inviting residents in Ilkley to attend a practical workshop that will provide them with the opportunity to develop the skills and knowledge needed to make their homes “warmer, healthier, and more energy efficient”.

Attendees have the option of attending one of two workshops on Saturday 14 February at the Clarke Foley Community Hub on Cunliffe Road. One is being held between 11am–12.30pm and one is being held between 1.30pm–3pm.

“Good ventilation and good draught proofing go hand in hand,” said a spokesperson for Leeds-based Wrapt Homes, the hosts of the workshop.

“Simple DIY measures can make a real difference to comfort, energy bills, and the overall health of a home. These workshops give people the chance to learn the basics and try them out in a friendly, supportive environment.”

According to the UK Green Building Council, the UK is home to “one of the oldest and leakiest housing stocks in western Europe, if not the world”.

Tickets to the workshop are priced at £10 for Climate Action Ilkley members and £17 for non-members. Workshop spots are limited, so booking ahead is recommended, the local charity, which was formed in 2018, said.

Head here to find out more and to book your place. If you have any trouble with that, contact the team via email here.

Locals encouraged to learn how to “talk about climate change” with free online workshop

Locals are being encouraged to take part in a free online workshop next month designed to help people talk more confidently and effectively about climate change.

The Let’s Talk Climate workshop will be delivered by Larger Us, which describes itself as a “community of change-makers who share the aim of using psychology for good”, on Tuesday 24 February between 7.30pm–9.30pm.

It has been designed to help participants to discover the reasons behind why they struggle to talk about climate change with others, while also offering top tips on how to have “positive, hopeful conversations” about the deteriorating health of the planet.

“Graduates” of the workshop will be encouraged to continue to actively develop their new skills by joining “the challenge” group, which will start in mid-March and run until the end of April.

“As part of a small group they will set conversation goals each week, chat through experiences with their group and focus on key topics to supercharge their skills,” Climate Action Ilkley explained.

In 2019, the West Yorkshire Combined Authority declared a climate emergency, resolving to tackle the global challenge at a local level with the full force of its powers.

It has since developed a Climate and Environment Plan 2025–2038, which outlines how the mayor and her team intends to create a net zero carbon region over the next 13 years.

You can book a spot on the free online workshop here.

DISTRICT

CSE survivor Fiona Goddard calls on Bradford Council to be unequivocal in national grooming gangs inquiry inclusion

Child sexual exploitation (CSE) survivor and advocate Fiona Goddard has urged Bradford Council to robustly make its case for being included in the national independent grooming gangs inquiry, which was first announced in June 2025 and later established in December last year.

Speaking at a meeting of the full council on Tuesday 21 January, where she presented a petition calling on the council to “formally volunteer itself for a targeted grooming gangs inquiry” that had gathered over 5,000 signatures, she expressed her frustration at the way the council’s leadership under Susan Hincliffe has equivocated on the matter.

“You have said Bradford is happy to take part and to support the work of the inquiry, but let’s be clear, willingness to take part in an inquiry is not and never will be the same as asking for one – so do not repeat those words to me again today, do not pretend that this is something that you have already done,” Goddard said.

“We are not asking for willingness. We are asking for leadership, and this is why I’m here with you today.”

During her remarks, Goddard – who also recently revealed to the BBC that her attempts to get compensation from both Bradford Council and West Yorkshire Police had been rejected – drew attention to what she and her team see as the lack of clear support from councillors on Bradford Council over her specific request.

She explained that she’d sent a letter to councillors in October asking them to back her call for the council to directly request being subject to a local investigation as part of the national grooming gangs inquiry. Only a minority responded that they would, she said.

“Experts have stated that Bradford may have one of the largest grooming gang problems in the UK,” Goddard continued.

“Bradford is referenced in approximately 95% of other grooming gang cases nationwide. Investigating Bradford is therefore essential to achieving justice for victims across the country. It could bring closure and accountability to tens of thousands, possibly hundreds of thousands of fell victims nationwide.”

Hincliffe said in response that the council had “already done” what the petition had asked for.

“Back in June when the national inquiry was announced, we wrote specifically to the then home secretary, Yvette Cooper, saying that Bradford would play our full part in the national inquiry,” she explained.

“The Home Office subsequently made it clear that it would be up to the independent chair, not politicians, to decide which places will be included.

“We therefore asked for an early meeting once a chair was appointed, and now that person has been appointed, I have written to them to make sure they are aware of our intention to play our full part.”

For more info, check out our interview with Goddard, as well as a guest post from the CSE survivor and advocate below:

• Fiona Goddard: “Sometimes I think, did I die and is this all a bit of a dream?”

• Fiona Goddard: My fight for a proper national grooming gangs inquiry

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Worth Valley by-election candidates revealed

The Conservatives, Labour, the Liberal Democrats, the Green Party and Reform have all put forward candidates in the upcoming Worth Valley by-election on Thursday 12 February 2026. They will be joined by an independent.

Paul Belcome Constantine Golding will be standing for the Conservatives who will be defending the seat. It was made vacant after councillor Russell Brown passed away at the end of last year.

Golding appears to have last contested a local election in 2024 for Bingley, where he ended up in second place. He also contested Shipley in 2023, where he finished in third place. He’s currently a councillor on Denholme Town Council.

Peter James Kates is representing Labour. Kates is currently a councillor on Keighley Town Council for the Riddlesden and Stockbridge Ward.

Kay Kirkham has been selected for the Lib Dems. She has previously and unsuccessfully contested elections in 2024 and 2023 for Worth Valley and even Ilkley in 2016.

Josie McMaster has been picked for the Greens. The Greens ended up in third place for Worth Valley at the 2024 local elections with their previous candidate Alyson Claire Telfer.

Andrew Mark Judson, who helped trigger the by-election much to the surprise and anger of the other parties, has been selected for Reform UK. He’s currently a councillor on Keighley Town Council.

Judson stood as a candidate in the 2024 general election for Keighley and Ilkley, ending up in third place with 10% of the vote. He also stood unsuccessfully for Keighley West locally that year.

Sabine Ebert-Forbes is going it alone as an independent. There’s very little information about her, but we believe she has some association with Worth Valley Foodbank, which helps people in the area who may need food aid.

For more on the Worth Valley by-election, check out our piece here.

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Bradford Council: we’re making financial headway

Bradford Council has revealed that its plans to get its finances back on track are continuing to have a positive impact on its bottom line.

Its leader, Susan Hinchcliffe, said that because of the difficult financials she and her team have “had to make” and the new local government settlement announced by central government last year, the council is now likely to hit its sustainability two years earlier.

Speaking ahead of a meeting of the executive on Tuesday 27 January to discuss its finances among other things, she urged caution, stating that even this won’t swiftly “resolve the [impact that] many years of underfunding” has had on the district.

“Since 2010/11, our core spending power has fallen by 24% in real terms – far higher than the national average of 15.9%,” Hinchcliffe explained. “This equates to over £65 million less each year than if reductions had matched the national average.

“This means that the council will still have to borrow £78 million next year from government to maintain essential services and meet growing demand, particularly in social care.”

The Local Government Provisional Financial Settlement is expected to boost Bradford Council’s spending power by around 47% between 2024/25 and 2028/29.

The former Conservative government policy of austerity has been blamed for jeopardising council finances by the current Labour government, which has stated that the controversial programme of cuts has impacted deprived areas the most.

According to the most recent English indices of deprivation 2025, Bradford is one of 20 districts in the country with the highest proportions of income deprivation and employment deprivation.

St Luke’s Hospital radio broadcaster remembered

One of the oldest hospital radio broadcasters in the UK, who had been spinning tunes at St Luke’s Hospital into his early 90s, has been remembered.

Patrick Murphy, from Odsal in Bradford, was described by Clare Bancroft, head of volunteering at Bradford Teaching Hospitals, as an “amazing person” who was “kind, caring and such good fun”.

Patrick, who was 95 when he passed away 27 December 2025, had been a regular DJ for St. Luke’s Hospital radio station since 2012. Unfortunately, due to illness, he was forced to “hang up his headphones for good” two years ago.

“I feel privileged to have known Patrick,” said David Rathmell, chairperson for St. Luke’s Sound Hospital Radio.

“There was no doubt about Patrick’s enthusiasm and dedication to our radio station and we are ever so grateful for the years and time he gave to St. Luke’s Sound. His photograph is on the wall in our studio and will always be there.”

Patrick had spoken warmly about his time as a DJ at the hospital, describing it an “essential service”.

“For two mornings a week I am pleasing people and bringing them joy so what’s not to like about that?” he had reflected. “I get to play my happy music and bring smiles to people’s faces.”

Patrick’s funeral will be held at 10am on Monday 26 January at St Joseph’s Church in Bradford.

Green Party leader visits Bradford ahead of the 2026 all-out Bradford Council elections in May

The Green Party leader Zach Polanski paid a visit to Bradford last weekend to drum up support for the Green Party ahead of the 2026 all-out Bradford Council elections in May.

Speaking to a packed crowd at Valley Parade, Polanski was keen to stress how important local elections are, explaining that for many, their “first real experience” of politics happens at a local level.

“Councils are under enormous pressure after years of austerity, with some now spending most of their budgets on adult social care,” Polanski went on to say.

“That makes it vital to have councillors who will speak out against austerity, manage finances responsibly, and never lose sight of the fact that communities should not have been put in this position in the first place.”

Matt Edwards, leader of the Green Party on Bradford Council and a councillor for Tong, added that the backing Green councillors in the local elections in May represented a “real opportunity” to change how the local authority is fundamentally run.

The Green Party currently has 10 councillors on Bradford Council. They include three councillors for Craven, one councillor for Ilkley, three councillors for Shipley and three for Tong.

Since Polanski was elected as leader in September 2025, the Green Party has seen its membership numbers increase to over 185,000. When it hit 126,000 back in October, it represented an 80% increase.

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CONSTITUENCY

Local MP attacks government over plans to build mega Chinese embassy in London

The MP for Keighley and Ilkley described the government’s decision to approve the construction of a mega-sized Chinese embassy as “outrageous”.

Robbie Moore said that the development of the embassy at the Royal Mint Court in the heart of London should never have been given the green light.

“This Labour government seems determined to undermine our national security at any cost,” he said. Whose side is our pathetic prime minister on?”

Last year the Guardian revealed that in October 2018, the then foreign secretary, Boris Johnson, “approved” China’s proposal to build a mega embassy at the Royal Mint Court.

Addressing the various security concerns that have been raised, the security minister, Dan Jarvis, told MPs in the House of Commons this week that “national security is the first duty of any government”.

Accordingly, security and intelligence agencies had been integral in addressing the “security implications” of building the mega embassy, he said.

“On the basis of the evidence we have received, and having carefully reviewed the nuanced national security considerations, the committee has concluded that, taken as a whole, the national security concerns that arise can be satisfactorily mitigated,” Jarvis explained.

The PM, Keir Starmer, is now expected to visit China as early as next week with a delegation of business leaders. It’ll be the first visit by a British PM since Theresa May last visited in 2018.

REGION

WYCA approves £1.2 billion pound budget

Members of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) have signed off on a massive budget of around £1.2 billion.

Council leaders from Bradford, Calderdale, Kirklees, Leeds and Wakefield approved the budget at a meeting with the mayor, Tracy Brabin.

Describing it as a budget for “delivery, delivery, delivery’, the mayor claimed that the investments that the combined authority will be able to make would transform the region’s economy and society “for generations to come”.

Investments will be made in new homes, the development of skills, employment support and transport.

“The budget promises to usher West Yorkshire from a period of planning to an era of delivery,” the WYCA promised.

“Taking advantage of the certainty and the flexibility afforded by the integrated settlement [we’ll be able] to better align investment across transport, skills, housing and support for businesses.”

The WYCA went on to say that the budget was “prudent and deliverable”. It’s expected to invest around £2 billion in the region by 2030.

Earlier this month, the combined authority revealed that work on the construction of the much delayed White Rose Station will begin again this year. There has been no activity at the site since the spring of 2024.

In December, the WYCA revealed that the launch of its mass transit system would be delayed. It’s now expected to open in the late 2030s.

xAmbitious plan to plant millions and millions of trees by 2050 announced

The White Forest Partnership has announced ambitious plans to plant around 134 million trees across west and north Yorkshire by 2050 as part of its new 25-year strategic plan to create a cleaner, greener region.

That’s only if it hits its stretch target to increase tree and woodland cover from 12% to 18.5% over the next 25 years. Its primary goal is to increase it to at least 16.5%, which is equivalent to around 92–93 million more trees.

The partnership, which was set up in 2000 and includes all five local authorities in West Yorkshire, as well as the West Yorkshire Combined Authority and Defra among others, said that the initiative will be delivered in stages via five-year “action plans”.

“The White Rose Forest partnership is driving forward tree planting and management where it is needed the most across North and West Yorkshire,” said

Iwan Downey, programme director for the White Rose Forest Partnership.

“It’s about collective action – from the White Rose Forest team, local authorities and businesses to communities and landowners – to create a resilient, healthy and prosperous landscape for our communities, for nature and for growth.”

According to the Forestry Commission, some of the environmental benefits of planting trees include improving air quality through the natural absorption of pollution and providing more and richer habitat for diverse wildlife to thrive.

You can read about the strategic plan here.

Next week, West Yorkshire communists are holding a Burns Night Supper in Ilkley at the Clarke Foley Community Hub to raise money for the Palestine Solidarity Campaign while celebrating the life and radical poetry of Robert Burns. Everyone is invited.

Musician and comedian Tim Dalling, formerly of the legendary folk group The Old Rope String Band, will read The Immortal Haggis, propose a toast to the “immortal memory” and generally entertain us with an evening of silliness, socialism and song.

Born in Burns’ home town of Ayr, Dalling has been described as the Scottish love-child of Randy Newman, Jack Thackray and Ivor Cutler. He can even play the accordion underwater. Music, poetry and politics, haggis, neeps and potatoes, comradeship and laughter – we think that Burns would have approved:

See the smoking bowl before us!

Mark our jovial ragged ring!

Round and round take up the chorus,

And in raptures let us sing.

A fig for those by law protected!

Liberty’s a glorious feast!

Courts for cowards were erected,

Churches built to please the priest.

Burns was a republican, a radical and a rebel. He argued for the rights of the labouring poor and for the rights of women. He opposed the slave trade, the monarchy, war-mongers and wealthy landowners.

He wrote on behalf of the oppressed and against tyranny everywhere. As he famously put it:

Man’s inhumanity to man

Makes countless thousands mourn!

Robert Burns wanted things to change.

British communists have been trying to change things for over a hundred years – in workplace struggles, local communities, the peace movement, international solidarity campaigns, the women’s movement, the pensioner’s movement, in cultural struggles and in battles with fascism and racism at home and abroad.

In West Yorkshire communists have always been involved in industrial disputes and community campaigns. The party was very active in the 1930 West Yorkshire wool workers’ strike and, in 1936, at the Battle of Holbeck Moor, where local anti-fascists prevented Oswald Mosley from speaking at an out-door meeting in Leeds.

Among the Yorkshire communists who were killed fighting for democracy in the Spanish Civil War was the Halifax-born writer Ralph Fox. In the 1950s we campaigned against nuclear weapons.

In the 1960s we campaigned against the US war in Vietnam. In the 1970s we campaigned against apartheid. In the 1980s we were involved in the People’s March for Jobs. Relatively recently West Yorkshire communists have campaigned against the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Today we are busy raising money for Palestine.

Prominent West Yorkshire communists have included trade unionists like Felix Walsh (president of the Yorkshire Warp and Twisters Society), Lou Baruch (president of Bradford Trades Council) Beryl Huffinley (secretary of the Yorkshire regional TUC), Urdu poet Javed Akhtar Bedi, and Walter Greaves, the Bradford-born cyclist who, despite only having one arm, once held the world-record for endurance cycling.

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Elsewhere, historians EP Thompson, Arnold Kettle and Dave Parker all taught at Leeds University, while the communist folk-singer Karl Dallas (The Family of Man) lived in Bradford for many years.

The peace campaigner Eileen Daffern, who worked closely with Bruce Kent in CND, also joined the party after attending a meeting of the Left Book Club in Ilkley. Dick Hebbert, meanwhile, well-known as an actor and director, is currently the chair of the board of the trustees at Ilkley Playhouse.

Today the Communist Party is involved in local activities like the Toothless in England campaign (championing an “NHS Dentist for Everyone”), the tenants’ union ACORN, Palestine Solidarity, CND, the co-operative movement, the Menwith Hill Accountability Campaign, North Yorkshire Justice for Palestinians, the End Food Poverty campaign and the “Come Dine with Palestine” fundraisers in Ilkley and Otley.

After all these years, communists are still angry at the state of the world and all the useless, greedy, short-sighted liars, knaves and fools responsible for the mess we are in.

We believe that politics is about more than just casting a vote once every five years. It’s not about slogans and soundbites, but about involving people in changing things. We want to mobilise the maximum number of people to unite around winnable positions. Here are just some of the things we want to do now:

• Cut military spending

• Support the Palestine people

• Scrap Britain’s nuclear weapons

• Fight fascism

• Repeal racist immigration laws

• Abolish the House of Lords

• End tuition fees

• Tax the super-rich

• Save our libraries

• Build more public sector and sheltered housing

• Take the railways and utilities back into public ownership

• Increase the minimum wage

• Cancel developing nations’ debt

• Repeal anti-trade union laws

Not much to ask, is it? The Communist Party may be small, but we’re still here. Our paper, the Morning Star, is still the world’s only daily English-language socialist newspaper. And we still hope that one day we can end the existing capitalist system of exploitation and replace it with a socialist society, where everyone contributes according to their ability, and benefits according to the work that they do. Or as Robert Burns wrote:

Then let us pray that come it may,

(As come it will for a’ that)

That Sense and Worth, o’er a’ the earth,

Shall bear the gree an’ a’ that.

For a’ that, an’ a’ that,

It’s coming yet for a’ that,

That Man to Man, the world o’er,

Shall brothers be for a’ that.

The Burns Night Supper for Gaza takes place from 7pm–10pm on Friday 23 January at the Clarke Foley Community Hub. Tickets: £15

For more information about the event – or about the Communist Party – contact Dick Hebbert on 07866479489

The government, at every level, you can confidently argue, is shockingly but unsurprisingly slow, dysfunctional and anachronistic. The entire system, to quote Ian Dunt, from his calmly scathing How Westminster Works . . . and Why It Doesn’t – which, will being a critique of the central government apparatus, is nevertheless also applicable to the lower echelons of government – appears to have been designed to “reward short-term tactics over long-term strategy, irrationality over reason, amateurism over seriousness, generalism over specialism and gut instinct over evidence”.

These systemic, historical shortcomings and structural defects, which have been allowed to deteriorate, are why, for example, at a local level, a bill for a scheme to introduce 20mph speed controlling measures in Ilkley can remain on the backburner months after work has been confirmed as completed – with a problematic backstory over how implemented to boot – and a nine-metre high Starbucks sign was not able to be erected without permission in the town but also remain in place long after it was found to be found to have been put up without following the proper protocols.

As for the why, you can call it a problem of personnel. It has long been the case that we get the same people from the same parties working in the same environment making the same mistakes time after time after time.

You can also point the finger at the vast, complex and inefficient political framework they operate in. It’s a quirk of modernity that even as the world transforms as technology tears apart long established norms – requiring, for instance, individuals and organisations to passively and actively adapt and evolve – political institutions like our own obstinately refuse to relinquish aspects of the past that ought to have been retired long ago.

It’s no wonder then that when Reform UK rails against the orthodoxy of establishment politics – which had largely managed to keep parties on the fringes of the left and right largely away from corridors of local power until May 2025 – and behaves in a way that doesn’t conform to accepted standards, that critics, threatened and keen to preserve the status quo that has served them so well, go on the attack.

Reform UK are a dangerous, reckless aberration, they say, and they’re not playing by the rules. Noted, a chorus of malcontent voices responds, but what good have your rules done me over the last however many years?

And they’ve got a point. Reform UK has emerged as a legitimate new player nationally and locally chiefly because politics since at least 2007, following a period of stability that has since come to be known as the “great moderation”, governments of every stripe have been unable to create the conditions necessary for the kind of growth that takes everyone with it.

Instead, through bureaucratic mistakes and ideological blunders, they’ve allowed local government to wither away so much that the Institute of Government doesn’t feel optimistic about the impact that Labour’s “sensible” package of reforms will have. “The scale of the issues in local government finances are so extensive that only a few voters are likely to feel any benefit,” reflected Stuart Hoddinott, an associate director at the Institute.

Reform UK’s popularity is therefore a symptom of a long stagnant nation that has run out of ideas with an electorate that has, in turn, run out of patience. “The UK is not a high-wage nor a high-welfare country, leaving millions trapped between low wages and inadequate support, “ the National Institute of Economic and Social Research’s 2025 UK Living Standards Review concluded last year.

The fact that they approach politics differently, you could argue, sets Reform UK apart and gives them at least the perception of being a new kid on the political block, even if they are anything but (it’s simply that they haven’t, until last year, had any real power locally if you take the line that the Reform UK is the latest vehicle for Nigel Farage).

If the system is broken, if it consistently fails to deliver meaningful change, then all bets are off. Everything falls apart, people lose their minds and populists and demagogues seize their opportunity.

The inevitable erosion of social and moral norms like tolerance and respect (see, for instance, the increase in race-related hate crime) gives parties like Reform UK carte blanche to shift not only the Overton Window, but to also push the limits of good taste and decorum. Even more so today with politics disseminated, consumed and seen through the lens of entertainment, where clicks, likes, retweets and comments good and bad reward resentful people who, in turn, feel seen and heard.

Which brings us to the upcoming by-election for Worth Valley. The seat became vacant in early November following the death of Russell Brown who had been a longstanding Conservative councillor for the ward.

With the 2026 Bradford Council local elections at the time half a year away, there was, we assume, an unspoken agreement among the more familiar parties to not trigger a by-election for the simple reason that it would not be financially or practically sensible.

It appears that the local branch of Reform UK, which doesn’t currently have any seats on Bradford Council – they last contested seats unsuccessfully in 2024 – didn’t share the same sentiment. It was in an insurgent mood and decided to shake things up by opting to trigger a by-election instead of waiting it out. This isn’t business as usual anymore.

There has been outrage from all the main political parties at what they see as the brazen opportunism of the party, namely Andrew Judson, Reform UK’s chairman for Keighley and Ilkley and Angela Baker, a local Reform UK activist, whose names we can confirm as being behind the triggering of the by-election having seen them on the third floor of city hall in Bradford in person. To them it is beyond the pale.

Rebecca Paulson, leader of the Conservative group on Bradford Council and now one of two councillors representing the Worth Valley – Chris Herd is the other – was one of the first to denounce the triggering of the by-election.

In a Facebook post she claimed that the by-election would “cost tens of thousands of pounds of YOUR money that could have been spent on local services”, adding that “Labour have a track record of wasting your money now Reform do to”.

Robbie Moore, the MP for Keighley and Ilkley, weighed in, describing Reform UK’s actions as “absolutely ridiculous”, claiming that around £30,000 would end up being spent in getting some elected to “get paid to attend precisely one full council meeting”.

“To me, this looks like cynical and wasteful opportunism by Reform at a time when Bradford Labour are already hiking council tax,” he went on to say on social media.

“And it gets worse … when members of the public called them out, the local Reform party suggested all other parties should simply stand aside and let them win unopposed: ‘it won’t cost anything if uncontested’. No. Representing local people is a privilege that is earned, not an entitlement.”

Matt Edwards, leader of the Green Party on Bradford Council and councillor for Tong, said that he was aware that many in the ward were “very annoyed” by the triggering of the by-election by Reform UK.

“Reform has promised to save taxpayers’ money, yet even before they have a single councillor they are wasting tens of thousands of pounds on a by-election where whoever is elected will barely have time to complete their training before their term ends,” he told The Ilkley Journal.

Brendan Stubbs, Liberal Democrat Group leader on Bradford Council and councillor for Eccleshill, said that his party wouldn’t have chosen to hold a separate by-election so close to the local council elections in May.

“It means voters in Worth Valley will be asked to go to the polls twice, with a cost to Bradford Council of tens of thousands of pounds,” he said. “And whoever wins in February would only serve for around 10 weeks before everyone is back to the ballot box in May.”

Martyn Oliver, chair of the Keighley & Ilkley Constituency Labour Party and one its candidates for Keighley West, said that the decision to force a by-election in the Worth Valley was “irresponsible and unnecessary”, stating that local council taxpayers would end up “footing the bill”.

“At a time when councils are under extreme financial pressure, struggling to protect frontline services and deliver value for taxpayers, it is indefensible to spend tens of thousands of council money on an election driven by party political manoeuvring by Reform rather than the needs of residents,” he told The Ilkley Journal.

“Forcing a costly by-election just weeks before that is impossible to justify. Reform should explain why they believe wasting public money is acceptable when residents are facing rising costs and councils are being asked to do more. It’s hard to see how any party could be supportive of this blatant waste of council taxpayers’ money. The right wing, unpleasant politics of Reform and the Tory party are basically the same, just look at all the failed Tories jumping ship to Reform.”

Despite their protestations, the Conservatives, the Greens, the Lib Dems and Labour have all said that faced with a forced by-election in Worth Valley, they’ll now be putting forward their own candidates to ensure that the seat is at least democratically contested. But that’s not all that’s at stake.

What happens after the polling booths close and the ballot papers are counted has the potential to reveal which way the wind is blowing in the district at a time of peak exhaustion, with many people feeling fed up with what little so-called conventional politics can achieve.

Will it show that there is an appetite for change, whether it’s for provocateurs like Reform – and by association, resulting in ever dwindling support for mainstream parties – or progressive alternatives like the Greens, who have also been one of the beneficiaries of the breakdown in trust of, in particular, the Labour-Tory duopoly?

Or will we all get an unexpected surprise this May with voters, nearly two years on from the 2024 general election and one year on from Reform’s big win locally, revert to type and realign themselves with, up to a point – because, for some, there is no going back – with their traditional party of choice, with enough distance from both sets of elections allowing them to make a more nuanced, less reactionary or emotive decision designed to punish? It might be easier to guess who’s next in the Tory party to jump ship to Reform than answer that question.

From Reform’s point of view, the by-election in the Worth Valley is fair game and well within the rules. There was vacancy, a notice of the vacancy was given and the minimum number of requests needed were made. That’s all. Ironically, then, in a purely practical sense, the party has technically done no wrong and made good use of what the system offers.

We chased the party’s local chair, Andrew Judson, to get their take on the story, as well as their response to widespread condemnation from local councillors but we got no reply. A spokesperson was, however, quoted by the Telegraph & Argus as saying that because the Worth Valley by-election is being held at the same time as a Keighley Town Council by-election (for Woodhouse & Hainworth), the extra cost for the former will be “negligible”.

The spokesperson also added that “residents deserve the best representation” and that Reform welcomes the “chance to honour their democratic right”. Again, if you go by what’s permitted, this response holds up – residents do indeed deserve proper representation (there’s three seats for the ward and only two are occupied).

But, and, it has to be said counterintuitively given the party’s claims that it would (and will) cut wasteful spending locally and this by-election will result in a more than a negligible cost to taxpayers, the argument about representation and democracy in action doesn’t really hold up.

Yes, accurate representation matters. Yes, a council seat is unoccupied. And yes, it isn’t ideal that no one will have been in place since November. All of that is indisputable.

But, in light of the logistics and cost involved and the ultimate timing of the by-election – so close to the main local elections across Bradford, West Yorkshire and England – the whole exercise can be seen to be a fundamental waste of time and money, an exercise in vanity, free PR and, somewhat shrewdly, all etiquette aside, one way of gauging how far the pendulum has shifted in support for Reform UK largely from – but by no means exclusively – the Conservatives, given that they’re increasingly being seen generously as Tory 2.0 or ungenerously as the new home for failed and more extreme Tories.

As for propriety, does it matter anymore? The obvious answer is yes, of course it does, high-mindedness is a virtue worth upholding. Yet, in a tired political landscape that seems to be increasingly antagonistic, partisan, exploitative and, frankly, vile – which has been effectively exploited and fuelled by populists and demagogues online with more and more people experiencing a TV-based reality that is algorithmically constructed (see Derek Thompson’s Everything Is Television) – it’s no longer enough. Because if you’re part of the furniture, then you’re still part of the problem.

Instead, principled politics that doesn’t play dirty – but still gutsy enough to be combative and witty but never bad-mannered or unscrupulous – has to be done with more personality and from a more progressive platform that doesn’t come across as too radical or self-righteous, as Zohran Mamdani has show during his now successful New York mayoral election campaign (while appreciating the reality that local government in its current form is very limited in what it can do but that regardless would still perform much better with more qualified, atypical councillors in control).

Speaking of Mamdani, what was most interesting about his campaign wasn’t his fight with Republicans, it was the way in which he refused to accept the continuity politics of his party.

His entire movement, if you want to call it that, represented, among other things, a “rebuke to the conventional strategies of the Democratic party”, as Moira Donegan, a Guardian US columnist, put it in November after he won the election, which also “vanquished the entrenched Democratic establishment viewed by many on the left as woefully out of touch with their party and their nation”, as Anthony Zurcher, the BBC’s North America correspondent, said at the time.

Conservatives, Labour, the Lib Dems and even the Greens locally would do well to reflect more deeply to scrutinise every aspect of their machinery to reshape the way local politics is done, who it’s done by, how it’s communicated and how the very people they’re there to serve are made to feel like they’re active participants in it and not merely a collective means to an end at the ballot box.

Save for a miracle, it’s the only way they’re going to hold back the potential storm that is coming in the shape of Reform UK. They now have weeks to respond to the Worth Valley by-election and only a few months to get their acts together ahead of the 2026 local elections for Bradford Council. Everything is to play for and there has never been a time like today where a more modern, ambitious and imaginative agenda and approach to local government is needed

And the talent to go with it.

What makes the Varna Ballet Company so special and different?

The difference between the Varna Ballet and the rest of the companies is that we are a really young group from different countries with multiple ballet techniques.

What is so special about the Cinderella story?

From my point of view, the music in this ballet is the most special thing. The counts are really different – compared to, for instance, Swan Lake and The Nutcracker – and I also find it really beautiful the passion that the prince has in finding the owner of the lost shoe (Cinderella) because of how he felt while dancing with her.

How is the Varna Ballet Company approaching the Cinderella story?

It’s really similar to the original story that everybody knows – Cinderella is just a girl with a really mean stepmother and stepsisters until one day the fairy godmother and her six fairy’s show up to show her the four different seasons and get her ready to go to the ball.

There she meets the fated prince but at 12 at night the clocks start ticking meaning that the magic is gone. After that the prince goes all around the world to search for her.

At the end he finds out that Cinderella is the one he fell in love with and the story ends with them together.

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Who are you playing and how have you interpreted the character for the show?

In Cinderella, I normally play the red fairy, a really energetic character who tries to bring joy and happiness to everyone who’s watching them dance.

How did you end up in ballet?

I started pretty young because I was a really energetic kid and I always needed to be doing something. So, one day, my parents decided to send me to a ballet class and since then I loved everything about it.

What’s the best thing about your job?

For me the best part about doing ballet is the feeling of reaching the steps that you were not able to do, knowing that you’re not only improving everyday but that nothing is impossible.

What’s on your culture list for 2026?

I would love to be able to watch a production of the Royal Ballet or the Australian Ballet. As for theatre, I’ll enjoy Wicked or Moulin Rouge and talking about music. Right now I’m really enjoying hearing Sienna Spiro – her voice is incredible.

Cinderella by the Varna Ballet Company is at Bradford Live on Tuesday January 2026. Tickets available here.