The 2024 Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council election was held on 2 May 2024, alongside the other local elections across the United Kingdom being held on the same day. Labour retained its majority on the council.

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. 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 had fallen in subsequent elections until its dissolution as a party in 2023. Councillors who will be seeking re-election were most recently elected in the 2021 election, which was originally scheduled to be held in 2020 but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. During that election, 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. In the most recent election in 2023, Labour won 15 seats, the Liberal Democrats won 4 seats and independents won 2 seats. After that election, the council had 48 Labour councillors, ten Liberal Democrats, two Conservatives, two independents, and one Reform UK councillor.

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 2023 election Before 2024 election After 2024 election Party Seats Party Seats Party Seats 48 47 48 10 9 11 2 2 1 2 2 2 1 1 1 2

Results Labour retained its majority on the council at this election.

Ward results The results for each ward were:

Central

Cudworth

Darfield

Darton East

Darton West

Dearne North

Dearne South

Dodworth

Hoyland Milton

Kingstone

Monk Bretton

North East

Old Town

Penistone East

Penistone West

Rockingham

Royston

St Helen’s

Stairfoot

Wombwell

Worsbrough

Changes 2024–2026 November 2024: Sam Christmas (Liberal Democrats) resigned from the Dodworth seat, last elected in 2023; a by-election was held in December 2024. December 2024: Andy Waters (Liberal Democrats) won the Dodworth by-election. February 2025: David White, elected as a Conservative in Rockingham in 2021, resigned from Reform UK and sat as an independent councillor. July 2025: Clive Pickering (Labour), elected in Old Town in 2022, joined the Liberal Democrats. August 2025: Trevor Smith (Labour), elected in Darfield in 2023, left the party to sit as an independent councillor. 31 December 2025: David White resigned as councillor for Rockingham, the seat he was elected to in 2021; no by-election was held because the vacancy fell within six months of the scheduled May 2026 elections.

By-elections Dodworth

The by-election was triggered by the resignation of Liberal Democrat councillor Sam Christmas.

References