The 2023 Kirklees Metropolitan Borough Council elections were held on 22 May 2014 alongside other elections across the United Kingdom. 24 out of the 69 seats on Kirklees Metropolitan Borough Council were contested.
The council remained in no overall control with a Labour minority administration.
Background 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. Kirklees was a district of the West Yorkshire metropolitan county. The Local Government Act 1985 abolished the metropolitan counties, with metropolitan districts taking on most of their powers as metropolitan boroughs.
Kirklees Council has generally been under no overall control or Labour control since its creation, with the Conservatives controlling the council between 1976 and 1979. It is considered one of the most marginal councils in West Yorkshire.
The seats that were up for election in 2014 were last contested in 2010
This was the first election contested by David Sheard as leader of the Kirklees Labour Party and as leader of the council after Mehmoob Khan stepped down earlier in the year.
This would be the last election Kath Pinnock would contest as the leader of the Kirklees Liberal Democrats. A role she had held since 1991, stepping down in August 2014.
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. Councillors are elected via first-past-the-post voting, with each ward 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 Kirklees 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.
Council composition
After 2012 electionBefore 2014 electionAfter 2014 electionPartySeatsPartySeatsParty 32 3232 19 1919 10 1010 5 55 3 33
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