Local elections 2024: What do results mean for Barnsley?

The borough’s Labour Party – led by Councillor Sir Steve Houghton CBE – held 17 seats on the council and remain the ruling party.

Thirty-two seats are needed to take control of BMBC, and Labour have a clear majority with 48 councillors overall.

The Conservatives lost one of their two seats to Labour, leaving them with just one councillor.

They lost Penistone East, a traditional Tory stronghold, to Labour’s John Roberts.

Councillor Roberts won the seat with a majority of just 156 votes, with Conservative candidate Peter Millar hot on his heels.

The ward is now held by two Labour councillors and the council’s only Conservative councillor.

The Liberal Democrats, the main opposition to the ruling Labour party bolstered their numbers and now have eleven seats.

They gained a seat in Dodworth which was previously held by Labour, which leader Councillor Hannah Kitching said she is ‘delighted’ with.

Two independents and one Reform councillor make up the rest of the seats on the council.

Turn out borough-wide was 24 per cent, and was as low as 16 per cent in Dearne North, and as high as 37 per cent in Penistone East.

Nationally, the Conservatives lost control of 10 councils, more than 470 council seats and West Midlands mayor Andy Street.

The party also lost 10 Police and Crime Commissioners to Labour.

However, Transport Secretary Mark Harper told Sky News that Rishi Sunak and the Conservatives are "up for the fight" of a general election, despite the losses.