Labour wins big but ‘mixed feelings’ remain in Barnsley

Labour now has 48 seats after gaining four seats (Dearne South, Monk Bretton, Stairfoot and Penistone East) while losing only two – Kingstone and Rockingham.

Council leader Stephen Houghton told the Local Democracy Service that he had some “mixed feelings”.

He said: “Overall, it’s not quite as good as I had hoped but we had a good day.

“We increased our majority but we lost a couple of wards which is really disappointing.

“We’re going in the right direction but clearly there is a concern that two colleagues will not be there.

“We’re not complacent. Where we lose seats we’ve got to make sure we’re back in those wards and try and take those back.”

When asked about Penistone East, and the party’s first win in the ward since 1999, Cllr Houghton said “that is a fantastic result” and described newly elected councillor Alexander Burnett as a “hugely talented young man”.

Alexander Burnett said “it’s been a long time coming here (in Penistone East).”

He added: “I’m just hoping I’m going to be able to repay the faith the people in Penistone East put in me.

“I lost two years ago and it was disappointing but for me, it was about going back and keep working.

“That’s what we’ve done and we’re not going to be complacent.”

Among this year’s big winners are two independent candidates – Councillor Jake Lodge who has been re-elected in Worsbrough with an even bigger majority and Rockingham’s new councillor Andrew Wray.

Councillor Lodge said this result confirmed that there was an “independent feeling out there” in the area.

He said: “It does make it hard (being an independent) but I can accurately represent the views of the residents across the borough without towing the party line.”

He added he was going to work towards “a cleaner and greener Worsbrough” but added there must be a “focus” on the cost of living crisis.

Andrew Wray, Rockingham’s new Independent councillor, reiterated that being Independent means he was going to be able to represent the residents without any pressure from a party whip.

He said: “I’ve lived in the area all my life, I’ve got a big circle of acquaintances, and that helped me.”

He said people knew him so he couldn’t and wouldn’t hide.

Mr Wray said: “I want to be out there. I don’t want to be coming back three years’ time and hearing people saying ‘No, we’ve never seen this kid’.

“I want to be able to help.”

Councillor Hannah Kitching (Penistone West), the leader of the opposition with 10 seats now, said it was a “really good night across the country for the Liberal Democrats”.

She said in Barnsley it’s slightly different – the main fight is with the Labour Party and not the Conservatives – but she was delighted to see two of three Lib Dem councillors be re-elected.

She added Sam Christmas’s (Dodworth) and Philipp Wright’s (Kingstone) victories were important.

Councillor Kitching said: “We knew it was going to be hard (winning Kingstone).

“But we had a really enthusiastic candidate this time and that’s key for the Liberal Democrats.

“The candidate needs to want it.”

The full results are as follows:

DEARNE SOUTH

Linda Fielding – Liberal Democrats 81

Rosemary Jackson – Conservative 162

Dave Jarvis – Social Democratic Party 446

Abi Moore – Labour 1066

Janus Polenceusz – English Constitution Party, England, One Nation 37

Labour GAIN

MONK BRETTON

Macaulay Larkin – Conservative 182

Sue Rose – Liberal Democrats 98

Margaret Sheard – Labour 1056

Rachel Jane Stewart – Independent 760

Labour GAIN

DEARNE NORTH

Brian John Evans – Liberal Democrats 106

Gillian Millner – Conservative 152

Martin Morrell – Labour 1048

Maxine Spencer – English Constitution Party, England, One Nation 118

Steve Vajda – Social Democratic Party 16

Labour HOLD

ST. HELEN’S

Andrew Millner – Conservative 181

Matthew Rigden Nicholson – Liberal Democrats 172

Neil Gareth Wright – Labour 1035

Labour HOLD

DARTON EAST

Steve Hunt – Liberal Democrats 1699

John Miller – Conservative 156

Teresa Wilcockson – Labour 770

Liberal Democrats HOLD

WORSBROUGH

Sarah Calvert – Liberal Democrats 84

Sherry Holling – Labour 633

Jake Lodge – Independent 1135

Katelyn Long – Green 57

Adrian Thompson – Conservative 128

Independent HOLD

STAIRFOOT

James Robert Kitching – Liberal Democrats 281

Paul Murray – Labour 1073

Alex Wilkinson – Conservative 392

Labour GAIN

CUDWORTH

Mark Brook – Conservative 248

Anita Cherryholme – Labour 1137

Ken Smith – Green 148

Elizabeth Kate Waters – Liberal Democrat 113

Labour HOLD

DODWORTH

Sam Christmas – Liberal Democrats 1407

Lee Ogden – Conservative 334

Nicholas Mark Riggs – Labour 806

Liberal Democrats HOLD

DARFIELD

Benjamin Harrison – Conservative 334

Simon Richard Hulme – Liberal Democrats 168

Scott Andrew Mckenzie – Reform UK 374

Trevor Smith – Labour 912

Labour HOLD

CENTRAL

Steve Bullcock – Yorkshire Party 456

Martin Joseph O’Donoghue – Labour 856

Ruby Paul – Independent 92

Catherine Theresa Rogerson – Liberal Democrat 84

Chris Scarfe – Green 153

Charlotte Helen Wilkinson – Conservative 176

Labour HOLD

HOYLAND MILTON

Michael Davies – Reform UK 436

Tom Heyes – Green 148

Glenn Lawrence – LibDems 179

Cassie Northwood – Independent 284

Tim Shepherd – Labour 1052

Michael Toon – Conservative 292

Angela Waller – Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition 73

Labour HOLD

ROCKINGHAM

Karen Fletcher – Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition 21

Brian Gregory – Reform UK 277

Mark Highmouch – Conservative 351

Trevor Anthony Mayne – Green 99

Jane Townsend – Labour 771

Sue Waters – Liberal Democrats 99

Andrew Wray – Independent 1028

Independent GAIN

WOMBWELL

Donna Marie Cutts – Reform UK 235

Brenda Eastwood – Labour 1426

Robert Welton Green – Liberal Democrats 159

Debbie Toon – Conservative 233

Labour HOLD

NORTH EAST

Raymond Archer – Independent 462

Ruth Booker – Labour 1069

Tony Devoy – Yorkshire Party 188

Kieran Oldfield – Liberal Democrats 79

Samuel Wilkinson – Conservative 205

Labour HOLD

ROYSTON

Jennifer Barker – Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition 58

Michael Barraclough – Conservative 272

Neil Fisher – Independent 366

Jonathan Paul Hood – Liberal Democrats 97

Pauline Mary McCarthy – Labour 1132

Labour HOLD

DARTON WEST

Kevin Bennett – Liberal Democrats 118

Simon Biltcliffe – Yorkshire Party 274

Trevor Raymond Cave – Labour 978

Bee Lokkit – Conservative 302

Lee Adrian Long – Green Party 690

Labour HOLD

KINGSTONE

Jusy Barnsley – Independent 99

Peter Giles – Green 109

Roger Haw – Conservative 71

Tracey-Ann Holland – Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition 33

Kevin Williams – Labour 640

Philip Wright – Liberal Democrats 688

Liberal Democrat GAIN

OLD TOWN

Steve Dankerfield – Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition 56

Jo Newing – Labour 1069

Gillian Nixon – Green 231

Patrick Smith – Liberal Democrats 125

Charlotte Sykes – Independent 263

Clive Watkinson – Conservative 313

Labour HOLD

PENISTONE EAST

Steven Burkinshaw – Conservative 1349

Alex Burnett – Labour 1603

Amanda Griffin – Independent 153

Rebecca Trotman – Green 191

Andrew Waters – Liberal Democrats 486

Labour GAIN

PENISTONE WEST

Paula Button-Roberts – Independent 202

Roy Garratt – Conservative 623

David Greenhough – Liberal Democrats 1613

Frances Nixon – Labour and Co-operative Party 810

Richard Trotman – Green 268

Liberal Democrats HOLD