Reform took a large chunk of the seats up for grabs and now have 12 councillors elected

Ousted Council leader Tom Hunt described his narrow election defeat as ‘extremely disappointing’.

The Sheffield Labour leader lost his Walkley seat to Green candidate Andrew Davies by just 73 votes as the Steel City headed to the polling booths in the May local elections.

A third of seats across the city were up for grabs and Nigel Farage’s Reform UK and The Green Party were the big winners on the day.

Reform took a large chunk of the seats up for grabs and now have 12 councillors elected, while the Greens chalked up an extra six seats to take them to 20 overall.

Labour, on the other hand, suffered a tough day at the polling booths, losing seven seats overall, including that of Hunt, to give them a total number of 27 seats, 16 short of an overall majority.

Speaking to the BBC, Hunt said: “Voters are rightly impatient for change and they want to see change happen quicker.

“We've seen national issues persuade people here about how they're going to vote.”

The Lib Dems lost four seats, giving them 23 councillors overall.

An AGM will now take place later this month to select a new Council leader.

South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard added to the national debate on the Labour party, saying they ‘can’t go on like this’.

Mr Coppard continued the theme of Labour representatives blaming national issues for the party’s struggles locally.

He joins local Labour MPs Louise Haigh and Olivia Blake in calling for change in the party.

He said: “The results we’ve seen today in South Yorkshire cannot be seen simply as a rejection of the performance of our Councils in Barnsley and in Sheffield.

“Under the leadership of Tom Hunt Sheffield have been rebuilding the city’s reputation; opening their doors to investment and opportunity.

“Time and again over the last few weeks, just like every other Labour campaigner across the country, I’ve heard the same message time and again; people are angry and they’re frustrated.

“They don’t believe this government have kept their word. And they aren’t feeling the fundamental change they were promised - that so many people in South Yorkshire so desperately need.

“ We can’t go on like this.”