New Reform council announce their cabinet at Barnsley’s Annual Council Meeting
The 14-strong cabinet is Reform UK’s first since winning control of Barnsley Council.
The new Reform council administration have announced their cabinet members, following their success at the 2026 local election in Barnsley.
After securing a majority, the new council will be headed by Leader of the Council, Councillor William Brown, with Cllr Edward Dillingham as the Deputy Leader.
During the annual meeting at Barnsley Council, the new cabinet members were announced.
- Cabinet Spokesperson Without Portfolio: Cllr Rachael Kay
- Cabinet support member Without Portfolio: Cllr Luca Turner
- Cabinet Spokesperson for Core Services: Cllr Martin Bancroft
- Cabinet support member for Core Services: Cllr Kay Hughes
- Cabinet Spokesperson for Adult Social Care and Integrated Health: Cllr Stan Bryan
- Cabinet support member for Adult Social Care and Integrated Health: Cllr Betty Barnes
- Cabinet Spokesperson for Children’s Services: Cllr Gary Hall
- Cabinet support member for Children’s Services: Cllr Vicky Jackson
- Cabinet Spokesperson for Environment, Transport and Communities: Cllr Paul Kelly
- Cabinet support member for Environment, Transport and Communities: Cllr David Goddard
- Cabinet Spokesperson for Regeneration and Assets: Cllr Andy Cudworth
- Cabinet support member for Regeneration and Assets: Cllr Rocky Laybourn
- Mayor of Barnsley: Cllr Liam Hardcastle
- Deputy Mayor of Barnsley: Cllr Michael Davies
Reform is the second party to lead Barnsley Council, following Labour control for over 50 years.
The new council leader Cllr. Brown did not opt to give a celebration speech, as is customary for a newly elected council.
In a statement, the Leader of Barnsley Council, said: “I’m really excited about working with this strong team we’ve brought together. It’s been a rigorous selection process and my choices have been based on those who have the qualifications, suitable skills and experience to do a good job.
“They bring a wide variety of professional and personal skills and experience from a range of backgrounds, including, architecture, business, marketing, emergency services and engineering.
“Over the next two weeks, Cabinet members will all be doing intensive work to understand the full picture of their areas of the council. We remain in a period of transition, and we’ll come together in mid-June to agree on our shared priorities as a Cabinet. After this we’ll update everyone on these priorities.”
The first Cabinet meeting will be held on June 17, 2026.