The result meant that the party now has 13 seats on Burnley Council, including James Halstead who defeated Labour’s Sue Graham in the Lanehead ward. Elsewhere, council leader and leader of the Burnley Independent Group Afrasiab Anwar retained his seat in the Bank Hall ward and Alun Lewis lost out to Reform’s Victoria Taylor in the Gawthorpe ward.
And finally in Burnley, long-serving councillor Gordon Birtwistle retained his seat for the Liberal Democrats, keeping control of his seat in the Coalclough with Deeplay ward - a seat he’s held for 43 years.
Heading over to Pendle, the biggest story from the election saw David Whipp lose his seat to Reform’s Glenn Whittaker in the Earby and Coates ward by just seven votes. Following the results, the council is now made-up of seven Liberal Democrats, five Reform councillors, eight Conservatives and 13 independents, with no party holding control.
In total, Reform gained an additional four seats, the Independents gained one, while both the Liberal Democrats and Conservatives lost two and three seats, respectively. Below, we’ve looked back at the day’s events in 12 photos.
1. Burnley MP Oliver Ryan at Burnley Council Election count.
Photo: Kelvin Lister-Stuttard | National World
2. Burnley MP Oliver Ryan at the Burnley Council Local Elections count.
Photo: Kelvin Lister-Stuttard | National World
3. Photo: Kelvin Lister-Stuttard
Independents celebrate their success at the Burnley Council Local Election count. | Kelvin Lister-Stuttard
4. Photo: Kelvin Lister-Stuttard
Labour Party candidates celebrate their success at the Burnley Council Local Election count. | Kelvin Lister-Stuttard