ONE long-serving Barnsley Councillor was the only real casualty in Barnsley following yesterday’s local elections which saw Labour increase its overall seat count by one.
Jack Carr had served on the council since May 2006 representing the Dodworth ward as a member of Barnsley Independent Group.
He lost out to Labour’s Neil Wright by a margin of just 23 votes - meaning if just 12 Labour voters had voted for Jack, he would have retained his seat.
The only other changes of power in the 21 seats contested yesterday were the election of a Liberal Democrat to the council - the first for some years, and Labour reclaimed a seat in Old Town previously held by Barnsley Independent Group’s Liz Grundy, who stood down before the election.
Clive Pickering was elected for Labour in Old Town.
Lib Dem Hannah Kitching took Penistone West, a ward in which Labour fielded a new candidate following the retirement of Joe Unsworth.
There was also a new Labour Councillor in Stairfoot ward, Janine Bowler, who replaces Brian Mathers who also retired.
Overall the results represent two Labour gains (from Barnsley Independent Group) and one Lib Dem gain (from Labour) giving Labour one additional seat overall.
The makeup of the council is now:
Labour 56Conservative 4Barnsley Independent Group 2Liberal Democrat 1
Labour's majority: 49
For the full results, see the council’s website here.
