Local elections 2021: Labour lose ground in Wakefield but retain control

Conservative candidate Akef Akbar described his victory as a "huge win"

Labour retained overall control of Wakefield Council but lost seven seats in the local elections.

Labour's majority has been cut to 11, with the party having 43 of the council's 63 seats, with the Tory opposition's six gains boosting their numbers to 17.

The biggest shock was in Wakefield East where Conservative candidate Akef Akbar narrowly won following a recount.

Mr Akbar described his victory as a "huge win".

"Wakefield is where I was born and bred, so people know me and trust me to get things done," he said.

"I've got so much work to do and I want to make things better for the people of Wakefield East."

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The Lib Dems gained another seat in Knottingley, where Adele Hayes won to join her son Tom Gordon, who was elected as a Lib Dem councillor in 2019.

A third of council seats were being contested in Wakefield, with the Liberal Democrats now having two seats

Labour councillor Denise Jeffrey, Wakefield Council leader, said: "Nationally [Labour] need to get themselves sorted out because it's affecting councils up and down the country because of the national picture.

"I'm hoping things will get better over the next few months, we're only two years away from a general election and we need to get our act together."

Adele Hayes (second from the right) won the Knottingley ward for the Lib Dems

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Labour managed to hold Stanley and Outwood East, as well as the Horbury and South Ossett, despite Tory optimism in both areas in the week before polling day.

They also won back a seat in Airedale and Ferry Fryston, where they lost in 2019 to an independent.

Local elections 2021: Live coverage and results

Former lollipop lady Julie Medford is among Labour's new councillors, having won for the party in Normanton.

The seat has been vacant for a year following the death of the highly respected former councillor Alan Wassell in 2020.

Ms Medford paid tribute to Mr Wassell, saying: "Alan was amazing. We really, really miss him.

"He was a great help to me when I first got into politics and I asked his family for permission before I ran for election, because I felt that was important."