2022 Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council election

2022 Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council election

5 May 2022 (2022-05-05)
21 out of 63 seats to Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council 32 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party Third party   Leader Stephen Houghton Hannah Kitching John Wilson Party Labour Liberal Democrats Conservative Last election 49 seats, 40.4% 7 seats, 11.8% 3 seats, 25.1% Seats before 49 7 3 Seats won 16 3 2 Seats after 46 9 4 Seat change 3 2 1 Popular vote 22,115 7,829 9,268 Percentage 46.2% 16.3% 19.4% Swing 5.8% 4.5% 5.7%   Fourth party Fifth party   Leader Andrew Gillis Unknown Party Independent Barnsley Ind. Last election 2 seats, 2.3% 1 seat, 10.6% Seats before 3 1 Seats won 0 0 Seats after 3 1 Seat change Popular vote 1,812 3,137 Percentage 3.8% 6.5% Swing 1.5% 4.1%
Winner of each seat at the 2022 Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council election
Leader before election Stephen Houghton Labour Leader after election Stephen Houghton Labour

The 2022 Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council election took place on 5 May 2022. One third of councillors — 21 out of 63 — were elected. The election took place alongside the 2022 South Yorkshire mayoral election and other local elections across the United Kingdom.

In the previous council election in 2021, Labour maintained its longstanding control of the council, holding 49 seats after the election. The Liberal Democrats formed the main opposition with seven seats, with the Conservatives on three, independents and the Democrats and Veterans Party having two each and a single Barnsley Independent Group councillor.

Background

Result of the council election when these seats were last contested in 2018

Result of the most recent council election in 2021

The Local Government Act 1972 created a two-tier system of metropolitan counties and districts covering Greater Manchester, Merseyside, South Yorkshire, Tyne and Wear, the West Midlands, and West Yorkshire starting in 1974. Barnsley was a district of the South Yorkshire metropolitan county. The Local Government Act 1985 abolished the metropolitan counties, with metropolitan districts taking on most of their powers as metropolitan boroughs. The South Yorkshire Combined Authority was established in 2014 as the Sheffield City Region Combined Authority, which began electing the mayor of South Yorkshire in 2018.

Since its formation, Barnsley has continuously been under Labour control. Councillors have predominantly been elected from the Labour Party, various independents, the Conservative Party and the Liberal Democrats. The council elected a large number of Barnsley Independent Group councillors in the 2006 election, whose numbers have been falling since. Councillors who will be seeking re-election will have been most recently elected in the 2018 election, in order to complete a four-year term. In that election, 19 Labour councillors were election alongside one Conservative councillor and one Liberal Democrat councillor. In the most recent election in 2021, seventeen Labour councillors were elected with 40.4% of the vote across the borough, with three Liberal Democrats on 11.8% of the vote across the borough and one Conservative with 25.1% of the vote across the borough. Labour held the Rockingham ward after a coin toss broke a tie between the Labour candidate and the Conservative candidate. After that election, the council had 49 Labour councillors, seven Liberal Democrats, three Conservatives, two independents, two Democrats and Veterans and one Barnsley Independent Group councillor. The councillor Trevor Smith joined the Labour Party after his previous Democrats and Veterans Party was dissolved.

The positions up for election in 2022 were last elected in 2018, when Labour won 19 seats and the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats won one each.

Electoral process

The council elects its councillors in thirds, with a third being up for election every year for three years, with no election in the fourth year. The election will take place by first-past-the-post voting, with wards generally being represented by three councillors, with one elected in each election year to serve a four-year term.

All registered electors (British, Irish, Commonwealth and European Union citizens) living in Barnsley aged 18 or over will be entitled to vote in the election. People who live at two addresses in different councils, such as university students with different term-time and holiday addresses, are entitled to be registered for and vote in elections in both local authorities. Voting in-person at polling stations will take place from 07:00 to 22:00 on election day, and voters will be able to apply for postal votes or proxy votes in advance of the election.

Previous council composition

After 2021 election			Before 2022 election
Party		Seats	Party		Seats
	Labour	49		Labour	49
	Liberal Democrats	7		Liberal Democrats	7
	Conservative	3		Conservative	3
	Democrats and Veterans	2		Independent	3
	Independent	2		Barnsley Ind.	1
	Barnsley Ind.	1

Results summary

2022 Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council election
Party		This election			Full council			This election
		Seats	Net	Seats %	Other	Total	Total %	Votes	Votes %	+/−
	Labour	16	3	76.2	30	46	73.0	22,115	46.2	+5.8
	Liberal Democrats	3	2	14.3	6	9	14.3	7,829	16.3	+4.5
	Conservative	2	1	9.5	2	4	6.3	9,268	19.4	-5.7
	Independent	0		0.0	3	3	4.8	1,812	3.8	+1.5
	Barnsley Ind.	0		0.0	1	1	1.6	3,137	6.5	-4.1
	Green	0		0.0	0	0	0.0	1,825	3.8	-2.8
	SDP	0		0.0	0	0	0.0	488	1.0	±0.0
	Freedom Alliance	0		0.0	0	0	0.0	451	0.9	N/A
	TUSC	0		0.0	0	0	0.0	347	0.7	+0.3
	Yorkshire	0		0.0	0	0	0.0	328	0.7	+0.2
	English Democrat	0		0.0	0	0	0.0	229	0.5	-0.2
	NIP	0		0.0	0	0	0.0	65	0.1	N/A

Ward results

Central

Central

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Janine Moyes	946	51.2	2.3
	Barnsley Ind.	Steve Bullcock	476	25.7	New
	Conservative	Chad Bronson	282	15.3	11.5
	Liberal Democrats	Catherine Rogerson	145	7.8	2.1
Majority			470	25.5	3.4
Turnout			1,866	21.9	2.0
	Labour hold		Swing

Cudworth

Cudworth

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Joe Hayward	1,192	64.9	2.0
	Yorkshire	Tony Devoy	328	17.9	New
	Conservative	Mark Brook	228	12.4	3.1
	Liberal Democrats	Elizabeth Waters	89	4.8	1.1
Majority			864	47.0	4.4
Turnout			1,857	22.0	1.8
	Labour hold		Swing

Darfield

Darfield

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Pauline Markham	1,234	62.7	12.7
	Conservative	Ben Harrison	406	20.6	5.1
	SDP	Scott McKenzie	208	10.6	New
	Liberal Democrats	Simon Hulme	121	6.1	2.8
Majority			828	42.1	17.8
Turnout			1,980	24.6	4.6
	Labour hold		Swing

Darton East

Darton East

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Dickie Denton	1,530	56.5	17.7
	Labour	Teresa Wilcockson	888	32.8	7.8
	Conservative	Lee Ogden	288	10.6	0.6
Majority			642	23.7	9.9
Turnout			2,736	31.0	1.7
	Liberal Democrats gain from Labour		Swing

Darton West

Darton West

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Sharon Howard	975	39.1	1.6
	Green	Tom Heyes	749	30.0	3.1
	Conservative	John Miller	493	19.8	12.8
	Liberal Democrats	Kevin Bennett	211	8.5	5.5
	Freedom Alliance	Jonathan Tilt	65	2.6	New
Majority			226	9.1	4.2
Turnout			2,505	28.6	3.7
	Labour hold		Swing

Dearne North

Dearne North

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Sue Bellamy	1,117	72.1	11.0
	Conservative	Rosemary Jackson	195	12.6	11.3
	English Democrat	Maxine Spencer	128	8.3	1.1
	Liberal Democrats	Brian Evans	71	4.6	1.8
	SDP	Savannah Jarvis	39	2.5	0.2
Majority			922	59.5	22.3
Turnout			1,560	18.5	2.9
	Labour hold		Swing

Dearne South

Dearne South

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Janine Bowler	1,307	71.5	11.3
	Conservative	Donna Cutts	243	13.3	4.3
	SDP	David Jarvis	115	6.3	9.5
	English Democrat	Janus Polenceusz	101	5.5	2.2
	Liberal Democrats	Linda Fielding	62	3.4	0.3
Majority			1,064	58.2	17.6
Turnout			1,836	20.1	3.9
	Labour hold		Swing

Dodworth

Dodworth

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Will Fielding	1,315	45.7	19.5
	Labour	Neil Wright	944	32.8	10.7
	Conservative	Kirk Harper	518	18.0	3.2
	Freedom Alliance	Amanda Griffin	101	5.4	New
Majority			371	12.9	11.4
Turnout			2,893	34.0	1.2
	Liberal Democrats gain from Labour		Swing

Hoyland Milton

Hoyland Milton

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Robin Franklin	1,212	48.3	8.7
	Conservative	Cassie Northwood	617	24.6	11.1
	Independent	Daniel Simpson	398	15.9	4.5
	Liberal Democrats	Glenn Lawrence	162	6.5	3.1
	TUSC	Angela Waller	119	4.7	2.6
Majority			595	23.7	19.8
Turnout			2,522	27.1	3.2
	Labour hold		Swing

Kingstone

Kingstone

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Kath Mitchell	648	38.8	0.7
	Barnsley Ind.	Liam Hardcastle	535	32.0	10.4
	Conservative	Michael Davies	153	9.2	7.7
	Green	Peter Giles	121	7.2	2.7
	Liberal Democrats	Philip Wright	80	4.8	1.9
	NIP	Liam Starsong	65	3.9	New
	Freedom Alliance	Judy Barnsley	38	2.3	New
	SDP	Steve Vajda	32	1.9	New
Majority			113	6.8	9.7
Turnout			1,684	21.7	2.1
	Labour hold		Swing

Monk Bretton

Monk Bretton

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Kenneth Richardson	1,070	50.7	3.9
	Independent	Rachel Stewart	660	31.3	New
	Conservative	Alexander Wilson	257	12.2	8.8
	Liberal Democrats	Sue Rose	123	5.8	3.8
Majority			410	19.4	14.2
Turnout			2,110	23.8	2.1
	Labour hold		Swing

North East

North East

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Ashley Peace	1,249	54.2	5.0
	Barnsley Ind.	Raymond Archer	639	27.7	1.2
	Conservative	Samuel Wilkinson	323	14.0	5.3
	Liberal Democrats	Sam Christmas	93	4.0	1.5
Majority			610	26.5	6.2
Turnout			2,320	22.6	2.8
	Labour hold		Swing

Old Town

Old Town

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Clive Pickering	1,147	51.4	8.3
	Conservative	John Carr	450	20.2	2.8
	Green	Gillian Nixon	347	15.5	7.4
	Freedom Alliance	Charlotte Sykes	145	6.5	New
	Liberal Democrats	Patrick Smith	144	6.4	2.0
Majority			697	31.2	11.1
Turnout			2,250	26.2	3.3
	Labour hold		Swing

Penistone East

Penistone East

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Robert Barnard	1,643	43.0	2.6
	Labour	Jill Hayler	1,271	33.3	10.2
	Liberal Democrats	Andy Waters	507	13.3	10.8
	Green	Rebecca Trotman	401	10.5	3.3
Majority			372	9.7	11.8
Turnout			3,850	39.9	4.8
	Conservative hold		Swing

Penistone West

Penistone West

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Hannah Kitching	2,207	56.6	19.2
	Conservative	Roy Garratt	668	17.1	13.2
	Labour	James Bangert	518	13.3	6.0
	Independent	David Wood	296	7.6	New
	Green	Richard Trotman	207	5.3	3.4
Majority			1,539	39.5	32.4
Turnout			3,912	38.8	0.3
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Rockingham

Rockingham

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	David White	1,109	42.2	3.1
	Labour	James Andrews	1,067	40.6	1.5
	TUSC	Karen Fletcher	228	8.7	4.5
	Liberal Democrats	Susan Waters	222	8.5	4.0
Majority			42	1.6	+1.6
Turnout			2,645	30.8	1.2
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing

Royston

Royston

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Dave Webster	1,085	53.2	9.7
	Independent	Neil Fisher	458	22.5	18.5
	Conservative	Macaulay Larkin	363	17.8
	Liberal Democrats	Jonathan Hood	132	6.5	4.6
Majority			627	30.7	16.7
Turnout			2,062	23.6	3.8
	Labour hold		Swing

St Helen's

St Helen's

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Dave Leech	1,064	73.8	16.9
	Conservative	George Hill	229	15.9	3.2
	Liberal Democrats	Matthew Nicholson	148	10.3	7.3
Majority			835	57.9	20.1
Turnout			1,455	18.2	3.7
	Labour hold		Swing

Stairfoot

Stairfoot

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Ian Shirt	906	44.1	6.1
	Barnsley Ind.	Gavin Frost	756	36.8	21.3
	Conservative	Elizabeth Hill	285	13.9	1.5
	Liberal Democrats	James Kitching	106	5.2	3.4
Majority			150	7.3	1.4
Turnout			2,061	22.9	3.1
	Labour hold		Swing

Wombwell

Wombwell

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Robert Frost	1,362	65.6	10.2
	Conservative	Bee Lokkit-Wan	289	13.9	12.8
	Liberal Democrats	Paul Nugent	228	11.0	7.7
	Freedom Alliance	Amy Stewart	102	4.9	0.5
	SDP	Jon Seymour	94	4.5	0.3
Majority			1,073	51.7	23.0
Turnout			2,086	21.4	4.0
	Labour hold		Swing

Worsbrough

Worsbrough

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	John Clarke	913	45.5	8.2
	Barnsley Ind.	Gill Carr	731	36.4	1.4
	Conservative	Andrew Millner	229	11.4	10.5
	Liberal Democrats	Sarah Calvert	133	6.6	0.8
Majority			182	9.1	6.8
Turnout			2,017	27.1	2.5
	Labour hold		Swing