One third of Leeds City Council in the City of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England is elected each year, followed by no election in one year out of every four years. A total of 99 councillors have been elected from 33 electoral wards across Leeds since 1980.[1]
Political control
From 1889 until 1974 Leeds was a county borough, independent from any county council. Under the Local Government Act 1972 it had its territory enlarged and became a metropolitan borough, with West Yorkshire County Council providing county-level services. The first election to the reconstituted city council was held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority before coming into its revised powers on 1 April 1974. West Yorkshire County Council was abolished in 1986 and Leeds became a unitary authority. Political control of the council since 1974 has been held by the following parties:[2][3]
| Party in control | Years | |
|---|---|---|
| 1974–1976 | ||
| 1976–1979 | ||
| 1979–1980 | ||
| 1980–2004 | ||
| 2004–2011 | ||
| 2011–2026 | ||
| 2026–present | ||
Leadership
The first leader of the reformed council in 1974, Albert King, had been the last leader of the old county borough council. The leaders of the council since 1974 have been:
| Councillor | Party | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albert King[4] | 1974 | 1975 | ||
| Irwin Bellow[5] | 1975 | 1979 | ||
| Peter Sparling[6] | 1979 | 1980 | ||
| George Mudie[7] | 1980 | 1989 | ||
| Jon Trickett[8] | 1989 | 1996 | ||
| Brian Walker[9] | 1996 | May 2003 | ||
| Keith Wakefield[10][11] | 2003 | 28 June 2004 | ||
| Mark Harris[11] | 28 June 2004 | 30 November 2004 | ||
| Andrew Carter[11] | 1 December 2004 | 23 May 2005 | ||
| Mark Harris[12] | 24 May 2005 | 30 November 2005 | ||
| Andrew Carter[12] | 1 December 2005 | 22 May 2006 | ||
| Mark Harris[13] | 23 May 2006 | 30 November 2006 | ||
| Andrew Carter[13] | 1 December 2006 | 21 May 2007 | ||
| Mark Harris[14] | 24 May 2007 | 30 November 2007 | ||
| Andrew Carter[14] | 1 December 2007 | 22 May 2008 | ||
| Richard Brett[15] | 22 May 2008 | 30 November 2008 | ||
| Andrew Carter[15] | 1 December 2008 | 21 May 2009 | ||
| Richard Brett[16] | 21 May 2009 | 30 November 2009 | ||
| Andrew Carter[16][17] | 1 December 2009 | 27 May 2010 | ||
| Keith Wakefield[18][10] | 27 May 2010 | 21 May 2015 | ||
| Judith Blake[19][20] | 21 May 2015 | 24 February 2021 | ||
| James Lewis[21] | 24 February 2021 | incumbent | ||
From 2004 until 2010 a coalition agreement between the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats saw the leadership formally alternate every six months between their party leaders, an arrangement was sometimes described as being joint leaders.[17]
Council elections
Summary of the council composition after council elections, click on the year for full details of each election. Boundary changes took place for the 1980 election which increased the number of seats by 3, leading to the whole council being elected in that year. Further boundary changes made in 2004 again required the full council to be elected.[22]
| Year | Labour | Conservative | Liberal Democrats | Independent | Greens | Morley Borough Independents | SDP | BNP | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 | 44 | 38 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| 1975 | 41 | 43 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| 1976 | 38 | 50 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| 1978 | 39 | 50 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| 1979 | 44 | 45 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| 1980 | 62 | 29 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| 1982 | 56 | 32 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| 1983 | 54 | 33 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| 1984 | 53 | 33 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| 1986 | 58 | 28 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| 1987 | 58 | 25 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| 1988 | 59 | 25 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| 1990 | 66 | 21 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| 1991 | 68 | 21 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| 1992 | 67 | 23 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| 1994 | 67 | 23 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| 1995 | 75 | 15 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| 1996 | 83 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| 1998 | 80 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| 1999 | 71 | 12 | 14 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| 2000 | 61 | 16 | 19 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| 2002 | 57 | 18 | 20 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| 2003 | 52 | 22 | 20 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| 2004 | 40 | 24 | 26 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| 2006 | 40 | 24 | 26 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 1 | ||||||||
| 2007 | 43 | 22 | 24 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 1 | ||||||||
| 2008 | 43 | 22 | 24 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 1 | ||||||||
| 2010 | 48 | 22 | 21 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| 2011 | 55 | 21 | 16 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| 2012 | 63 | 19 | 10 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| 2014 | 63 | 18 | 9 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| 2015 | 63 | 19 | 9 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| 2016 | 63 | 19 | 9 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| 2018 | 61 | 22 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| 2019 | 57 | 23 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| 2021 | 54 | 24 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| 2022 | 58 | 21 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 0 | ||||||||
| 2023 | 61 | 18 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 0 | ||||||||
| 2024 | 61 | 15 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 0 | ||||||||
By-election results
Following the death, removal or resignation of an incumbent councillor between council elections, by-elections occur to elect a successor to fill the vacant council seat. The next by-election will take place on 12 June 2025 in Morley South to replace Wyn Kidger.
References
- ^ "Councillors' roles and responsibilities". Leeds City Council. Archived from the original on 19 February 2010. Retrieved 7 February 2010.
- ^ "Compositions Calculator". The Elections Centre. University of Exeter. Retrieved 21 May 2025. (Put "Leeds" in search box to see specific results.)
- ^ "Leeds". BBC News Online. 19 April 2008. Retrieved 7 February 2010.
- ^ "Rates rise 'to average 25 pc'". Liverpool Daily Post. 18 February 1975. p. 10. Retrieved 27 June 2025.
- ^ Roth, Andrew (30 March 2001). "Obituary: Lord Bellwin". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 June 2025.
- ^ "Tributes to former Leeds City Council leader and Leeds Grammar School governor Peter Sparling". Yorkshire Evening Post. 13 January 2019. Retrieved 27 June 2025.
- ^ "Leeds City Councillors 1980–2021". The Thoresby Society. Retrieved 27 June 2025.
- ^ Foster, Dawn (16 September 2015). "A rough guide to Jon Trickett, the new shadow communities secretary". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 June 2025.
- ^ "Labour's leader defeated". BBC News. 2 May 2003. Retrieved 27 June 2025.
- ^ "Keith Wakefield to stand down as Leeds City Council leader". BBC News. 29 April 2015. Retrieved 27 June 2025.
- ^ "Council minutes, 28 June 2004". Leeds City Council. Retrieved 27 June 2025.
- ^ "Council minutes, 23 May 2005". Leeds City Council. Retrieved 27 June 2025.
- ^ "Council minutes, 22 May 2006". Leeds City Council. Retrieved 27 June 2025.
- ^ "Council minutes, 24 May 2007". Leeds City Council. Retrieved 27 June 2025.
- ^ "Council minutes, 22 May 2008". Leeds City Council. Retrieved 27 June 2025.
- ^ "Council minutes, 21 May 2009". Leeds City Council. Retrieved 27 June 2025.
- ^ "Leeds leads Westminster coalition". BBC. 12 May 2010. Retrieved 27 June 2025.
- ^ "Council minutes, 27 May 2010". Leeds City Council. Retrieved 27 June 2025.
- ^ "Council minutes, 21 May 2015". Leeds City Council. Retrieved 27 June 2025.
- ^ Hill, Jessica (25 January 2021). "Leeds set to get new leader as Blake becomes peer". Local Government Chronicle. Retrieved 27 June 2025.
- ^ "Council minutes, 24 February 2021". Leeds City Council. Retrieved 27 June 2025.
- ^ "Leeds council". BBC Online. Retrieved 24 September 2008.