The Liberal Democrats have vowed to give the people of Harrogate a voice after winning control of the new Harrogate Town Council.
There were loud cheers at today’s count at Harrogate Convention Centre as the results were announced, with the party taking 15 of the 19 single-councillor wards.
The Conservatives won two wards, with Reform winning one and the remaining ward taken by an independent candidate.
Felix Andrew was the Liberal Democrat campaign manager for the election campaign.
He said:
“It’s a resounding victory there’s no doubt about it.
“It’s very exciting and gives us the mandate to fight for Harrogate.
"The message that we put across in the campaign is that we want to giving a voice for Harrogate.
“Something that really resonated on the doorsteps was that it was only the Liberal Democrats that could stand up to North Yorkshire Council.
“We now have a platform to do that for the people of Harrogate.”
Mr Andrew said an issue that was mentioned “again and again” by voters was the annual £170,000 levy for the use of the ‘Harrogate’ name by Harrogate Spring Water, which is paid to North Yorkshire Council.
He said:
“We want to see that money come back to Harrogate Town Council. It’s a drop in the ocean for North Yorkshire but it can make a big difference to the town council budget.”
North Yorkshire Council executive member Michael Harrison was one of the two Conservatives to win a seat on the new authority.
But it needed a recount for the councillor to be declared the winner of the Saltergate ward, which he took from Lib Dem candidate Nathaniel Slater by just two votes.
Commenting on his party’s showing at the Harrogate election, Cllr Harrison said there had been a “national slant” to the voting, adding that he looked forward to being a Conservative holding the Liberal Democrats to account.
He said:
“This is a unique situation for Harrogate that requires enthusiasm, intelligence and a willingness to work with other parties for the benefit of people of Harrogate.
“It’s a new council. What are they going to do? Are they going to work with North Yorkshire Council or at they just going to criticise?”
The Conservatives and Liberal Democrats had candidates standing in all 19 wards, with Reform having 18, the Green Party 14, Labour eight and two independents.
Although Reform won just one division, they came second in seven wards.
The election took place following the launch of the unitary North Yorkshire Council and the abolition of the county’s town and borough councils in 2023.
This left only Harrogate and Scarborough without a second tier of local government, with town and parish councils already established elsewhere in the county.
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