Pontefract North is an electoral ward of the

City of Wakefield Wakefield, also known as the City of Wakefield, is a Local government in England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status and a metropolitan district in West Yorkshire, England. Wakefield, the largest settl ...

district, used for elections to

Wakefield Metropolitan District Council Wakefield Council, also known as the City of Wakefield Metropolitan District Council, is the local government in England, local authority of the City of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England. Wakefield has had a council since 1848, which has been ...

Overview

The ward is one of 21 in the Wakefield district, and has been held by Labour since the current boundaries were formed for the 2004 Council election. As of 2015, the electorate stands at 12,495 of which 94.4% identify as "

White British White British is an ethnicity classification used for the White population identifying as English, Scottish, Welsh, Cornish, Northern Irish, or British in the United Kingdom Census. In the 2011 census, the White British population was 49 ...

" and 69.3% of who identify as

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

. Notable landmarks in the ward include

Pontefract Racecourse Pontefract Racecourse is a thoroughbred horse racing venue located in Pontefract, West Yorkshire, England. Layout The track is left-handed undulating course with a sharp bend into the home straight. Horses drawn low (i.e. on the inside of the ...

Pontefract Castle Pontefract (or Pomfret) Castle is a castle ruin in the town of Pontefract, in West Yorkshire, England. King Richard II of England, Richard II is thought to have died there. It was the site of a series of famous sieges during the 17th-cent ...

and

Valeo Confectionery Valeo Confectionery Limited (formerly known as Tangerine Confectionery Limited and Toms Confectionery Limited) is a British confectionery company with its headquarters in Pontefract, West Yorkshire. Since 2006, it had grown through acquisitions ...

, with the main areas being Monkhill and Pontefract Town centre.

Representation

Like all wards in the Wakefield district, Pontefract North has 3 councillors, whom are elected on a 4-year-rota. This means elections for new councillors are held for three years running, with one year every four years having no elections. The current councillors are Clive Tennant, Patricia Garbutt and Lorna Malkin, all of whom are Labour. The last time a

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

councillor represented the ward was Philip Thomas who elected in the 2008 Council election however, he ran for re-election as an independent as was subsequently defeated in the 2011 election by

Paula Sherriff Paula Michelle Sherriff (born 16 April 1975) is a British Labour politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Dewsbury from 2015 to 2019. Early life Prior to her election to Parliament, Sherriff worked in the police force, pro ...

who would later serve as the Member of Parliament (MP) for

Dewsbury Dewsbury is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It lies on the River Calder, West Yorkshire, River Calder and on an arm of the Calder and Hebble Navigation waterway. It is to the west of Wakefield, ...

between

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

and

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

Councillors

Election Results

*The

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

follows the

resignation Resignation is the formal act of relinquishing or vacating one's office or position. A resignation can occur when a person holding a position gained by election or appointment steps down, but leaving a position upon the expiration of a term, or ...

of Paula Sheriff who was

elected Elected may refer to: * "Elected" (song), by Alice Cooper, 1973 * ''Elected'' (EP), by Ayreon, 2008 *The Elected, an American indie rock band See also *Election An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population ch ...

the MP for

. *The 2004 election was the first one with the new boundaries. As such, all three seats were up for election.

References

{{Reflist Pontefract City of Wakefield Politics of Wakefield Wards of Wakefield