The Liberal Democrats have announced they will not form part of a Sheffield City Council administration

The Liberal Democrats in Sheffield have announced they will not form a council coalition this year– accusing Labour and the Greens of ignoring residents over the city’s controversial Local Plan.

The decision comes after Sheffield City Council remained in overall control following the local elections on May 7, which also saw council leader Tom Hunt lose his seat.

The Liberal Democrats have announced they will not form part of a Sheffield City Council administration | Local Library

placeholder image — The Liberal Democrats have announced they will not form part of a Sheffield City Council administration | Local Library

The Liberal Democrats said their main reason for refusing to join a coalition was their opposition to plans affecting parts of Sheffield’s green belt and what they described as Labour and Green councillors failing to listen to residents.

National Planning inspectors

Under the Local Plan, a blueprint for development in Sheffield up to 2039, thousands of new homes will be built on greenbelt land.

A spokesperson for the Liberal Democrats said: “Thousands of people across Sheffield have engaged in good faith with the Local Plan consultation process, only to be ignored by Labour and Green councillors.

“We cannot work with parties who ignore residents in this way.

“Their coalition for this year only cements a deal to concrete over the green belt.”

The Local Plan consulation process and hearings held earlier this year were organised by the National Planning Inspectorate.

The party also launched a sharp attack on the national Labour government, claiming recent elections had been dominated by dissatisfaction with Sir Keir Starmer’s leadership.

A spokesperson said: “The local elections were dominated by the failures of Keir Starmer’s Labour government. We appear to be heading towards our seventh Prime Minister in a decade.”

The statement went on to claim Labour in Sheffield had failed to rebuild trust following the city’s tree-felling scandal.

The statement said: “In Sheffield, Labour lost the trust of communities during the tree scandal and have failed to learn from their mistakes.”

Despite stepping away from the coalition, the Liberal Democrats defended their record over the last three years, highlighting work on council finances, recycling services and environmental investment projects.

A spokesperson said: “Over the last three years, Liberal Democrats have helped to stabilise the council’s financial position, overseen an expansion to the city’s recycling offer, and delivered major investments in the local environment such as Shire Brook Valley.”

However, the party admitted the recent local elections had been difficult after losing councillors and candidates.

A spokesperson said: “Moving forward, we feel we are best placed to be the progressive opposition group in Sheffield City Council.”

The Liberal Democrats also took aim at Reform UK, warning the party becoming Sheffield’s main opposition force “would be a disaster”.

A spokesperson said: “We have already seen a taste of the chaos this will unleash on the city, with Cllr Menday having been suspended from the party less than one week on from the elections.”

The suspension of Councillor Nathaniel Menday, who was elected in Woodhouse ward at the local elections earlier this month, was suspended last week after The Star uncovered extremist posts supporting the Nazi party and Adolf Hitler and describing some citizens as an “almost subhuman underclass.”

Today, the Liberal Democrats said it would continue to challenge Reform while standing up for “diversity and opportunity for everyone in Sheffield”.

A spokesperson added: “We remain committed to serving communities in our wards and across the city.

“We will offer a principled and progressive opposition, supporting decisions we think are good for the city and holding the Labour and Green coalition accountable where they are not.”