The Green Party put on their best performance ever at Sheffield’s local election, winning ten and gaining six new council seats

 

Sheffield Green Party are celebrating its best-ever performance at a local election after gaining six new councillors.

The Greens won 47,886 votes across Sheffield – 27.5% of the vote-share – making them the party with the most votes across the entirety of Sheffield and beating Reform by nearly 2,000 votes.

Greens now hold 20 council seats, against Labour’s 25, LibDems’ 22 and Reform’s 13, on Sheffield City Council.

Councillor Angela Argenzio, Green Council Group Leader, said: “I am elated with our results. “People told us time and time again on the doorstep that they would vote for us, but the scale of the support has surprised me. We work hard in our wards, and people trust us with the responsibility of making Sheffield a place that affords opportunities to all. We will always put people and planet first and I would like to thank all the people of Sheffield who have used their votes at this election.”

9 of the 10 elected and re-elected Green Councillors. (Apologies to Lynsey who is not in the photo!)

The biggest upset of the night: defeating the Labour council leader

The most sensational win of the day was in Walkley, where the Green Party’s Andy Davies unseated Labour council leader Tom Hunt by a margin of 73 votes after a recount.

Speaking after his win, Andy Davies said: “I’m overjoyed to have repeated history by ousting the council leader in our wonderful city, and I’m now looking forward to working with my new colleagues to improve lives for the people of Walkley and Sheffield.

The Green Party also gained second councillors in Ecclesall ward and Nether Edge & Sharrow ward, and won councillors for the first time in Burngreave, Manor Castle and Graves Park.

Sheffield Green Party won four seats from Labour and two from the Liberal Democrats. With their win in Walkley, they are now represented in all four wards of the Sheffield Central constituency and received 52% of the vote-share in the constituency, where the party got their closest second-place result in the 2024 General Election. 

Greens will share power on Sheffield City Council to deliver for our city

The Greens will now be entering negotiations with the other parties on Sheffield City Council to determine the best way to run the council for the people of Sheffield.  Under the committee system, which has been in place since 2022, all parties have to work together. Greens are already part of the administration alongside Labour and the Liberal Democrats.

New councillors Mustafa Ahmed (Burngreave), Tessa Lupton (Ecclesall), Tom Atkins-Withers (Graves Park), Ruth Abbey (Manor Castle), Lynsey Angell (Nether Edge and Sharrow) and Andy Davies (Walkley) are all in new seats for the Greens, whilst outgoing City Ward councillor Martin Phipps and Hillsborough councillor Henry Nottage were replaced by Maia Salman-Lord and Richard Tinsley, respectively.

Alongside the six council seat gains, the party also retained Cllr Marieanne Elliot, (Gleadless Valley) and Cllr Maleiki Haybe (Broomhill & Sharrow Vale).

Election results: key facts

  • The Green Party now holds 20 seats on Sheffield City Council, up from 14 before this election, making them the third largest party on the council.
  • The Greens won 47,886 votes across Sheffield – 27.5% of the vote-share – making them the party with the most votes across the entirety of Sheffield and beating Reform by nearly 2,000 votes.
  • Sheffield Green Party also came within 101 votes of winning a Liberal Democrat “safe seat” in Fulwood, and 573 votes from unseating Labour in Crookes & Crosspool.
  • This is the second time Sheffield Green Party has unseated a Council Leader after Cllr Christine Gilligan Kubo defeated Labour’s Bob Johnson in 2021, in the party’s then-best performance when they gained five new councillors, and Labour lost its overall majority.
  • The full list of Green Party councillors elected to Sheffield City Council:

The full results are here.

Toby Mallinson with window poster saying "I support my postie."
Toby Mallinson, candidate for Hillsborough

Senior bosses at Royal Mail have just been hauled before a Parliamentary Select Committee. Their report outlined that the company had “systematically failed to deliver” the universal service obligation to deliver letters, prioritising more lucrative parcels instead. 

You may be experiencing this in your household. We’ve been talking to posties who tell us that previous full staffing has been replaced by a new system with inadequate staffing that now requires 15% overtime to cover all rounds. It’s impacting Hillsborough, Stannington and Walkey in my sorting office area and deliveries on your road could now be entirely reliant on staff doing enough overtime. 

These roads are sometimes seeing no post for a week and then it all arrives in one bundle. One customer told us they had posted a letter to themselves first class in desperation to test the system and were still waiting for it a week later. 

We’ve been told that Royal Mail got behind in Sheffield during the snow and ice in December and has yet to get back on top of deliveries under this new system which management know does not work. 

Current strikes in public services are not just about pay. They are about long hours and poor working conditions leading to demotivated staff delivering poor service to customers. Strike votes are reaching the required threshold backed by massive public support as union membership soars. Even headteachers have indicated a willingness to strike.

Please thank your local postie for keeping things going despite the incompetence of Royal Mail’s management. They want the failings of the new systems to reach management at the highest levels so please submit a complaint via their website if you need to. 

We also need the government to recognise the need to properly fund public services and pay staff adequately for the valuable jobs they perform on our behalf. 

Toby Mallinson 

Council election candidate, Hillsborough Green Party

 

Find out about your election candidates here.

RuthMersereau-City TobyMallinson Hillsborough PeterGilbert-Ecclesall PaulTurpin-Gleadless Valley
AshRouth-Walkley AngelaArgenzio-Broomhill and Sharrow-Vale BevNennett-Nether Edge and Sharrow