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2021 West Yorkshire mayoral election

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2021 West Yorkshire mayoral election
6 May 2021 2024 →
Turnout36.5%
 
Candidate Tracy Brabin Matthew Robinson
Party Labour Co-op Conservative
1st Round vote 261,170 176,167
Percentage 43.1% 29.1%
2nd Round vote 310,923 209,137
Percentage 59.8% 40.2%
 
Candidate Bob Buxton Andrew Cooper
Party Yorkshire Green
1st Round vote 58,851 55,833
Percentage 9.7% 9.2%
2nd Round vote Eliminated Eliminated
Percentage Eliminated Eliminated
Mayor before election

Position established

 Elected Mayor

Tracy Brabin
Labour Co-op

The inaugural West Yorkshire mayoral election was held on Thursday 6 May 2021 to elect the Mayor of West Yorkshire. It took place simultaneously on the same day as other local elections across the United Kingdom, including council elections in each of the five metropolitan boroughs of West Yorkshire.

It was conducted using the supplementary vote (SV) electoral system. The new mayor would chair and lead the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, and incorporate the previous responsibilities of the police and crime commissioner for West Yorkshire, with the latter being abolished.[1]

The contest was the first election for a governing body for the West Yorkshire region since the last West Yorkshire County Council election in 1981, before the county council's abolition in 1986. An initial three-year term was granted for the inaugural mayor, with four-year terms thereafter.[2][3]

Background

[edit]

The West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) was first proposed in 2012 as part of the City Deal for the Leeds City Region. It was negotiated between the coalition government, Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership and the five West Yorkshire boroughs of Bradford, Calderdale, Kirklees, Leeds and Wakefield.[4][5] The combined authority was established on 1 April 2014, following a public consultation and statutory approval on 31 March 2014.[6][7] There was support from the five boroughs for a "One Yorkshire" proposal, which would have elected a mayor for the entire Yorkshire region. However it was rejected by the government in 2019.[8][9]

The Nexus building at the University of Leeds where the devolution deal was signed

The devolution deal was formally signed on 12 March 2020 in the Nexus building at the University of Leeds. After further negotiations, the Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak announced in the March 2020 UK budget that the government and the West Yorkshire authorities had agreed a proposed West Yorkshire devolution deal.[10][11][12]

The mayor's role includes handling of a £38 million a year investment from central government for 30 years.[13] The mayor has control over regional transport (including creating a regional mass transit system), housing, land (with responsibility for creating a city region spatial plan) and adult skills.[3][14] Though the role was initially planned to absorb the responsibilities of the West Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner – similar to the mayor of London and the mayor of Greater Manchester – in 2024,[2][3] changes in January 2021 meant that the role was being incorporated into the Mayor's office for May 2021.[15]

Prior to the election, the Labour Party had control of all five boroughs of the city-region. However, in the 2019 general election, Labour lost four seats in West Yorkshire to the Conservative Party.[16]

Results

[edit]
West Yorkshire Mayoral Election 2021[17][18]
Party Candidate 1st round 2nd round 1st round votesTransfer votes, 2nd round
Total Of round Transfers Total Of round
Labour Co-op Tracy Brabin 261,170 43.09% 49,753 310,923 59.81%
​​
Conservative Matt Robinson 176,167 29.06% 32,970 209,137 40.21%
​​
Yorkshire Bob Buxton 58,851 9.71%
​​
Green Andrew Cooper 55,833 9.21%
​​
Liberal Democrats Stewart Golton 30,162 4.98%
​​
Reform UK Waj Ali 14,943 2.47%
​​
English Democrat Thérèse Hirst 8,969 1.48%
​​
Majority 101,966 19.62%
Turnout 606,135 36.52%
Total votes 617,782
Registered electors 1,691,429

Results by local authority

[edit]

Bradford

[edit]
West Yorkshire Mayoral Election 2021, Bradford
Party Candidate 1st round 2nd round 1st round votesTransfer votes, 2nd round
Total Of round Transfers Total Of round
Labour Co-op Tracy Brabin 61,747 45.59% 10,583 72,330 62.52%
​​
Conservative Matt Robinson 36,358 26.84% 7,000 43,358 37.48%
​​
Green Andrew Cooper 11,317 8.36%
​​
Yorkshire Bob Buxton 11,190 8.26%
​​
Liberal Democrats Stewart Golton 6,026 4.45%
​​
Reform UK Waj Ali 5,039 3.72%
​​
English Democrat Thérèse Hirst 3,770 2.78%
​​

Calderdale

[edit]
West Yorkshire Mayoral Election 2021, Calderdale
Party Candidate 1st round 2nd round 1st round votesTransfer votes, 2nd round
Total Of round Transfers Total Of round
Labour Co-op Tracy Brabin 24,699 41.20% 4,624 29,323 56.54%
​​
Conservative Matt Robinson 18,990 31.67% 3,547 22,537 43.46%
​​
Yorkshire Bob Buxton 6,156 10.27%
​​
Green Andrew Cooper 5,189 8.65%
​​
Liberal Democrats Stewart Golton 2,781 4.64%
​​
Reform UK Waj Ali 1,278 2.13%
​​
English Democrat Thérèse Hirst 862 1.44%
​​

Kirklees

[edit]
West Yorkshire Mayoral Election 2021, Kirklees
Party Candidate 1st round 2nd round 1st round votesTransfer votes, 2nd round
Total Of round Transfers Total Of round
Labour Co-op Tracy Brabin 48,717 41.83% 9,038 57,755 57.81%
​​
Conservative Matt Robinson 35,535 30.51% 6,608 42,143 42.19%
​​
Green Andrew Cooper 13,973 12.00%
​​
Yorkshire Bob Buxton 9,982 8.57%
​​
Liberal Democrats Stewart Golton 4,430 3.80%
​​
Reform UK Waj Ali 2,553 2.19%
​​
English Democrat Thérèse Hirst 1,280 1.10%
​​

Leeds

[edit]
West Yorkshire Mayoral Election 2021, Leeds
Party Candidate 1st round 2nd round 1st round votesTransfer votes, 2nd round
Total Of round Transfers Total Of round
Labour Co-op Tracy Brabin 92,312 42.83% 20,312 112,624 60.92%
​​
Conservative Matt Robinson 60,669 28.15% 11,580 72,249 39.08%
​​
Yorkshire Bob Buxton 22,141 10.27%
​​
Green Andrew Cooper 20,705 9.61%
​​
Liberal Democrats Stewart Golton 14,465 6.71%
​​
Reform UK Waj Ali 3,143 1.46%
​​
English Democrat Thérèse Hirst 2,075 0.96%
​​

Wakefield

[edit]
West Yorkshire Mayoral Election 2021, Wakefield
Party Candidate 1st round 2nd round 1st round votesTransfer votes, 2nd round
Total Of round Transfers Total Of round
Labour Co-op Tracy Brabin 33,695 42.81% 5,196 38,891 57.41%
​​
Conservative Matt Robinson 24,615 31.27% 4,235 28,850 42.59%
​​
Yorkshire Bob Buxton 9,382 11.92%
​​
Green Andrew Cooper 4,649 5.91%
​​
Reform UK Waj Ali 2,930 3.72%
​​
Liberal Democrats Stewart Golton 2,460 3.13%
​​
English Democrat Thérèse Hirst 982 1.25%
​​

Candidates

[edit]

Conservative Party

[edit]

Matthew Robinson was selected by party members as the Conservative Party's candidate on 20 February 2021. Robinson, a Leeds City Councillor for Harewood ward, had been the party's candidate for the cancelled 2021 West Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner election and prospective parliamentary candidate for Leeds East in 2017. He defeated Narinder Sekhon for the nomination, a barrister and parliamentary candidate for Bradford South in 2019.[19][20][21]

It had previously been speculated that Ken Davy, businessman and the party's former candidate for Huddersfield in 2019, could potentially stand in the election.[22] Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, peer and former co-chair of the Conservative Party, declined to stand.[22][23]

Green Party

[edit]

Andrew Cooper, the leader of the Green Party group on Kirklees Council and councillor for Newsome ward, was announced as the Green Party's mayoral candidate on 16 September 2020. Cooper was parliamentary candidate for Huddersfield in 2010, 2015, 2017 and 2019.[24][25] Hawarun Hussain, a former Bradford Councillor for Shipley ward, was also confirmed as the party's candidate for deputy mayor.[26]

During the final public round of selection process, Cooper received 58% of party members' votes, defeating Hussain in second place with 42% of the vote.[27] Lyn Morton, the party's parliamentary candidate in 2019 for Hemsworth, was eliminated in the earlier selection process.[25]

Labour Party

[edit]
Tracy Brabin

Tracy Brabin, the former MP for Batley and Spen, a former actor and television writer, was announced as the Labour and Co-operative candidate on 11 December 2020 following a ballot of party members.[28][29] Upon her selection, Brabin resigned as Shadow Minister for the Cultural Industries and would step down as an MP when elected.[30][31][32] She defeated Susan Hinchcliffe, the chair of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, the leader of Bradford Council and councillor for Windhill and Wrose ward, and Hugh Goulbourne, solicitor and the chair of the Huddersfield branch of the Co-operative Party.[33][34][35]

Labour opened candidate nominations in October 2020, with a deadline for self-nomination on 14 October. To progress to the next interview stage, each candidate required a nomination from at least two Constituency Labour Parties or two affiliated groups by 8 November. A joint committee of the party's National Executive Committee and the Regional Executive Committee then selected a shortlist of Brabin, Goulbourne and Hinchcliffe to be voted on and selected in a ballot of party members.[36][37][23]

Peter Judge, a former Calderdale Councillor, nominated himself but was not short-listed.[38][failed verification] Paula Sherriff, the former MP for Dewsbury, had announced her intention to stand as a candidate but later withdrew in March 2020 due to receiving treatment for breast cancer.[39][40]

Endorsements

[edit]
Candidate Individuals Organisations
Tracy Brabin
Hugh Goulbourne
Susan Hinchcliffe

Liberal Democrats

[edit]

Stewart Golton, the leader of the Liberal Democrat group on Leeds City Council, was announced as the Liberal Democrat candidate on 17 December 2020. Golton is a councillor for Rothwell ward and former parliamentary candidate for Elmet and Rothwell in 2010, 2015, 2017 and 2019.[48]

Yorkshire Party

[edit]

Bob Buxton, the leader of the Yorkshire Party, was announced as the party's candidate on 11 August 2020. Buxton is a Rawdon Parish Councillor and was the party's parliamentary candidate for Pudsey in 2017 and 2019.[49][50]

Prior speculated candidates

[edit]

There was prior speculation around additional individuals, who did not eventually stand:

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Parsons, Rob (22 January 2021). "West Yorkshire metro mayor to take on police commissioner's powers from May". The Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
  2. ^ a b Lavigueur, Nick (14 November 2018). "Who could be the Mayor when West Yorkshire devolution happens?". LeedsLive. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
  3. ^ a b c Beecham, Richard (25 March 2020). "Devolution: What powers will the West Yorkshire mayor have?". The Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
  4. ^ "Proposal: A Leeds City Region Deal" (PDF). July 2012. Retrieved 9 August 2012.
  5. ^ "Six biggest English cities get extra powers". BBC News. Retrieved 9 August 2012.
  6. ^ "Scheme for the Establishment of a Combined Authority for West Yorkshire" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 January 2014. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
  7. ^ "The West Yorkshire Combined Authority Order 2014" (PDF). Retrieved 10 August 2016.
  8. ^ "Government rejects 'One Yorkshire' devolution deal". bbc.co.uk. BBC News. 12 February 2019. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
  9. ^ Bounds, Andy (15 January 2020). "Councils sign up to South Yorkshire devolution". Financial Times. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
  10. ^ "West Yorkshire £1.8bn devolution deal agreed". BBC News. 11 March 2020. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  11. ^ Westwood, Andy (12 March 2020). "Why Government plans to level up pose a challenge for metro mayor candidates". Centre for Cities. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  12. ^ Parsons, Rob (13 March 2020). "West Yorkshire metro mayor can ask council tax payers to help fund key projects". Yorkshire Evening Post. JPI Media. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  13. ^ Beecham, Richard (11 March 2020). "This is what the £1.8bn West Yorkshire devolution deal means for Leeds". Yorkshire Evening Post. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  14. ^ Pidd, Helen (11 March 2020). "Sunak vows budget boost for regions – but not everyone is happy". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
  15. ^ Parsons, Rob (22 January 2021). "West Yorkshire metro mayor to take on police commissioner's powers from May". Yorkshire Post. Reach plc. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
  16. ^ Parsons, Rob (31 August 2020). "Labour metro mayor in West Yorkshire 'not a foregone conclusion', says Conservative chairman Amanda Milling". Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
  17. ^ "West Yorkshire Combined Authority Mayoral election". Leeds City Council. Archived from the original on 7 May 2021. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
  18. ^ Uberoi, Elise (17 April 2024). "Combined authority mayoral elections 2021". House of Commons Library. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
  19. ^ Rogers, Alexandra (17 February 2021). "The Tories' candidates for West Yorkshire mayor 2021 announced". YorkshireLive. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
  20. ^ Gray, Charles (20 February 2021). "Matt Robinson selected as Conservative's candidate for West Yorkshire mayoral elections". YorkshireLive. Reach plc.
  21. ^ Marano, Rebecca (20 February 2021). "Leeds councillor selected as Conservative candidate for West Yorkshire Mayor". Yorkshire Evening Post. JPI Media.
  22. ^ a b c d Scott, Geraldine (22 August 2020). "Who are the runners and riders to be West Yorkshire's first directly-elected mayor?". Pontefract and Castleford Express. JPI Media. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
  23. ^ a b Parsons, Rob. "Conservatives still looking for a candidate to be West Yorkshire's first metro mayor". Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  24. ^ Lavigueur, Nick (18 August 2020). "Councillor bids for West Yorkshire Mayor job and outlines action plan". YorkshireLive. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
  25. ^ a b Shand, Alistair (16 September 2020). "Green Party chooses candidate for West Yorkshire mayoral elections". Keighley News. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  26. ^ Abbiss, Ben (17 August 2020). "History-making former councillor bids to be first West Yorkshire Mayor". YorkshireLive. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
  27. ^ Earnshaw, Tony (16 September 2020). "Councillor who described West Yorkshire Mayor plan as a "dictatorship" in running to be elected". YorkshireLive. Retrieved 13 October 2020.
  28. ^ "Tracy Brabin chosen as Labour mayor candidate for West Yorkshire". BBC News. 11 December 2020. Retrieved 11 December 2020.
  29. ^ Rodgers, Sienna (11 December 2020). "Tracy Brabin selected as Labour's West Yorkshire mayoral candidate". LabourList. Retrieved 11 December 2020.
  30. ^ Pidd, Helen (14 December 2020). "Tracy Brabin running to become the 'Andy Burnham of West Yorkshire'". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
  31. ^ Rodgers, Sienna. "Tracy Brabin steps down from Labour frontbench to focus on mayoral bid". LabourList. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
  32. ^ "Tracy Brabin chosen as Labour mayor candidate for West Yorkshire". BBC News. 11 December 2020. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
  33. ^ Alam, Yusef. "Bradford Council leader Susan Hinchcliffe to stand for West Yorkshire Mayor". Bradford Telegraph and Argus. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
  34. ^ "New name in West Yorkshire Mayor race". Bradford Telegraph and Argus. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  35. ^ "Meet Huddersfield lawyer and Labour man Hugh Goulbourne, who wants to be West Yorkshire's first ever elected mayor". www.wakefieldexpress.co.uk. 31 July 2020. Retrieved 13 October 2020.
  36. ^ Andrew Kersley. "Everything you need to know about Labour's West Yorkshire mayor selection race". LabourList. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
  37. ^ "These are Labour's three candidates to be the next West Yorkshire mayor". Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
  38. ^ Scott, Geraldine. "Former councillor enters race to become Labour's candidate for West Yorkshire mayoralty". Yorkshire Post.
  39. ^ Lavigueur, Nick (20 March 2020). "Former Dewsbury MP Paula Sherriff announces she has breast cancer". YorkshireLive. Reach plc. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
  40. ^ Sherriff, Paula (11 October 2020). "An update from me..." Twitter. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
  41. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Rodgers, Sienna (23 November 2020). "Voting opens in Labour's West Yorkshire mayoral selection race". LabourList. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
  42. ^ "Naz Shah backs fellow Labour MP Tracy Brabin for West Yorkshire mayor". Bradford Telegraph and Argus. 24 October 2020. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
  43. ^ "Otley's MP names his choice for West Yorkshire mayor". 24 November 2020. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
  44. ^ Richmond, Tom (9 October 2020). "Dr Who star Jodie Whittaker backs Tracy Brabin's West Yorkshire mayoral bid". Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
  45. ^ "John Grogan backs Susan Hinchcliffe for West Yorkshire Mayor". Bradford Telegraph and Argus. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
  46. ^ "Bradford Council leader Susan Hinchcliffe is standing as a candidate for West Yorkshire metro mayor". Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 13 October 2020.
  47. ^ "Union backs Council Leader's West Yorkshire mayor bid". Bradford Telegraph and Argus. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  48. ^ "Lib Dems announce candidate for West Yorkshire mayor". BBC News. 17 December 2020. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
  49. ^ "Yorkshire Party Selects Leader Bob Buxton as Mayoral Candidate". Yorkshire Party. Retrieved 13 October 2020.
  50. ^ "Yorkshire Party reveals its candidate for West Yorkshire Mayor". Bradford Telegraph and Argus. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
  51. ^ a b Lavigueur, Nick (14 November 2018). "Who could be the Mayor when West Yorkshire devolution happens?". YorkshireLive. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
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