Wakefield
West Yorkshire metropolitan borough; PollCheck projects Reform UK to win 38 of 63 seats on 7 May 2026.
Last refreshed: 15 April 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
If Reform wins 38 of 63 Wakefield seats, what does it mean for Labour's ability to hold its northern industrial base?
Timeline for Wakefield
PollCheck puts Reform in Labour's north
UK Local Elections 2026- Is Reform UK projected to win Wakefield Council in 2026?
- PollCheck projected in April 2026 that Reform UK would win 38 of 63 Wakefield metropolitan borough seats at the 7 May local elections.Source: PollCheck
- Has Labour ever lost Wakefield Council?
- Wakefield has been Labour-controlled since the creation of the West Yorkshire metropolitan county structure. A Reform UK gain in 2026 would be the first change of control since the council was created.
- What are the 2026 local election results in Wakefield?
- Polling takes place on 7 May 2026. PollCheck projects Reform UK to win 38 of 63 seats, giving a clear majority. Results will be counted overnight on 7-8 May.Source: PollCheck
Background
Wakefield is a metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, a Labour council area that PollCheck projected in April 2026 as a likely Reform UK gain at the 7 May local elections, with Reform projected to win 38 of 63 seats. The 38-seat projection represents a clear working majority on a 63-seat council.
Wakefield sits in the post-industrial West Riding, an area that voted heavily for Leave in the 2016 referendum and where Labour has seen vote share erosion to Reform since the 2024 general election. The district includes Wakefield city and surrounding towns including Castleford, Pontefract and Hemsworth. It is the kind of council Labour expected to hold: a combination of urban and semi-rural seats with a strong trade union and public sector heritage.
PollCheck's Wakefield projection is part of an expanded Reform council control forecast that grew in April 2026 from three rural county councils (Essex, Norfolk, Suffolk) to include Sunderland, Wakefield, Wigan and Barnsley. The pattern suggests Reform's vote share is now sufficient to take working council majorities in northern metropolitan areas, not just rural southern counties. Whether projections translate to results will be the central electoral story of the 7 May count.