Background

The

Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...

created a two-tier system of metropolitan counties and districts covering

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Derbyshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Cheshire to the south, and Merseyside to the west. Its largest settlement is the city of Manchester. ...

Merseyside Merseyside ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial and metropolitan county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Greater Manchester to the east, Cheshire to the south, the Wales, Welsh county of Flintshire across ...

South Yorkshire South Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the north, the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north-east, Lincolnshire ...

Tyne and Wear Tyne and Wear () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England. It borders Northumberland to the north and County Durham to the south, and the largest settlement is the city of Newcastle upon Tyne. The county is ...

, the West Midlands, and

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a Metropolitan counties of England, metropolitan and Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and east, South Yorkshire and De ...

starting in 1974. Calderdale was a district of the West Yorkshire metropolitan county. The

Local Government Act 1985 The Local Government Act 1985 (c. 51) is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom. Its main effect was to abolish the six county councils of the metropolitan county, metropolitan counties that had been set up by the Local Government Act 1972, ...

abolished the metropolitan counties, with metropolitan districts taking on most of their powers as

metropolitan borough A metropolitan borough (or metropolitan district) is a type of districts of England, local government district in England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972, metropolitan boroughs are defined in English law as metropolitan distr ...

s. The

West Yorkshire Combined Authority The West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) is the combined authority for West Yorkshire in England. It was established by statutory instrument under the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009 on 1 April 2014. It is a ...

was established in 2014 and began electing the

mayor of West Yorkshire The mayor of West Yorkshire is a directly elected mayor responsible for the metropolitan county of West Yorkshire in England. The mayor chairs and leads the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, and assumes the office and powers of the West Yorks ...

in 2021. Calderdale Council was under

no overall control In the context of local authorities in the United Kingdom no overall control (NOC; ) is a situation in which no single political group achieves a majority of seats, comparable to a hung parliament. Of the 248 councils who had members up for elec ...

with

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 ...

Liberal Democrat Several political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party, Democratic Liberal Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties have usually followed liberalism as ideology, although they can vary widely from very progr ...

and Labour leaders until the Labour Party achieved a majority of seats in the 2019 election, when they gained four seats to hold 28 of the council's 51 seats. In the most recent election in 2022, seventeen seats were up for election. Labour won eleven seats, the Conservatives won 4 seats, and the Liberal Democrats and Greens both won one seat. Positions up for election in 2023 were last elected in 2019. In that election, Labour won ten seats, the Conservatives won four, the Liberal Democrats won two and independent candidates won one seat.

Electoral process

The council elects its councillors in thirds, with a third being up for election for three consecutive years and no election in the fourth year. The election used

first-past-the-post voting First-past-the-post (FPTP)—also called choose-one, first-preference plurality (FPP), or simply plurality—is a single-winner voting rule. Voters mark one candidate as their favorite, or first-preference, and the candidate with more first- ...

, with wards generally being represented by three councillors, with one elected in each election year to serve a four-year term. All

registered electors In electoral systems, voter registration (or enrollment) is the requirement that a person otherwise eligible to vote must register (or enroll) on an electoral roll, which is usually a prerequisite for being entitled or permitted to vote. The ru ...

(

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

, Irish,

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...

and

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

citizens) living in Calderdale aged 18 or over were entitled to vote in the election. People who live at two addresses in different councils, such as university students with different term-time and holiday addresses, are entitled to be registered for and vote in elections in both local authorities. Voting in-person at polling stations took place from 07:00 to 22:00 on election day, and voters were able to apply for postal votes or proxy votes in advance of the election.

Council results

The 2012 Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council election took place on 3 May 2012 to elect members of

Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council, also known as Calderdale Council, is the local authority for the Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale in West Yorkshire, England. It is a metropolitan borough council and provides the majority of local gove ...

, England. This was on the same day as other

2012 United Kingdom local elections The 2012 United Kingdom local elections were held across England, Scotland and Wales on 3 May 2012. Elections were held in 128 English local authorities, all 32 Scottish local authorities and 21 of the 22 Welsh unitary authorities, alongside ...

. After the election the council continued to have

and continue to be run by a coalition between the Labour Party and the Liberal Democrats. The Warley Councillor Keith Hutson stepped down in 2012 for health reasons. A by-election was held on 19 July 2012. The seat was held by the Liberal Democrats with James Baker winning the seat. In this year Councillor Nader Fekri for Calder ward defected to Labour from the Liberal Democrats in 2012 saying that he could no longer support the coalition in the national parliament with the

Conservatives 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 civilizati ...

. In April 2013 the coalition between Labour and the Liberal Democrats collapsed as Labour pulled out over disagreements over benefit cuts. Labour continued to run the council as a minority administration.Council’s new way is ‘fairer’
''Halifax Courier''. Retrieved 18 August 2017.

Council composition

Prior to the election the composition of the council was: After the election the composition of the council was:

Ward results

Brighouse ward

The incumbent was Howard Blagbrough for the Conservative Party.

Calder ward

The incumbent was Janet Battye for the Liberal Democrats.

Elland ward

The incumbent was Pat Allen for the Liberal Democrats.

Greetland & Stainland ward

The incumbent was Keith Watson for the Conservative Party.

Hipperholme & Lightcliffe ward

The incumbent was Graham Hall for the Conservative Party.

Illingworth & Mixenden ward

The incumbent was Tom Bates, an independent.

Luddendenfoot ward

The incumbent was Christine Bampton-Smith for the Liberal Democrats.

Northowram & Shelf ward

The incumbent was Graham Hall for the Conservative Party.

Ovenden ward

The incumbent was Danielle Coombs for the Labour Party.

Park ward

The incumbent was Mohammad Ilyas for the Liberal Democrats.

Rastrick ward

The incumbent was Ann McAllister for the Conservative Party.

Ryburn ward

The incumbent was Geraldine Carter for the Conservative Party.

Skircoat ward

The incumbent was John Hardy for the Conservative Party.

Sowerby Bridge ward

The incumbent was Amanda Byrne for the Conservative Party.

Todmorden ward

The incumbent was Ian Cooper for the Conservative Party.

Town ward

The incumbent was Megan Swift for the Labour Party.

Warley ward

The incumbent was Robert Pearson, an independent Liberal Democrat.

By-elections between 2012 and 2014

Warley ward, 2012

References

{{United Kingdom local elections, 2012

Calderdale Calderdale () is a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, England, which had a population of 211,439. It takes its name from the River Calder, and dale, a word for valley. The name Calderdale usually refers to the borough through which the ...

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council election, 2012