Days after the local elections in Bradford, it is still not clear who will be the new Council leader, or how the authority will operate.
But decisions will need to have been made by this time next week, when the Council holds its annual meeting.
It is at this meeting where a new leader will be appointed, and a vote taken on who will be the new Lord Mayor and Deputy Mayor for the coming year.
Thursday’s election saw Reform go from having no Councillors to becoming the biggest party in Bradford – with 29 Councillors.
But they failed to reach 46 seats – the number needed to form a majority.
The Labour vote collapsed, with the party going from having 46 seats to just 17. Susan Hinchcliffe, who had been leader of the Council for 10 years, lost her Windhill and Wrose seat to Reform, and will no longer sit on the Council.
The huge shake up means that the Council is in “no overall control” – with no one party having enough votes to run the authority without the backing of other parties.
Reform will obviously be the party most likely to control the council, but it is not yet clear how.
They could go into coalition with another party.
With the Conservatives being the biggest opposition party with 18 seats, a coalition would give the two parties 47 seats, enough to form a majority.
Or Reform could form a minority administration. This would allow them to run the Council without being propped up by other parties. But they would rely on the support of other parties when it comes to getting enough votes to approve policies and budgets.
The three seats in the Ilkley and Addingham ward all went to the Conservatives, with Andrew Loy, Richard Downey and Jane Sellers elected.
The Local Democracy Reporting Service has contacted Reform to ask for an update on its plans, and who they have appointed as their leader in Bradford, but has yet to receive a response.
The recent changes will mean that next Tuesday’s Annual Council meeting, being held at Bradford City Hall, will be more significant than it has in years’ past.
On the agenda is the election of the Lord Mayor and the appointment of a Deputy Mayor, a speech from the outgoing Lord Mayor and the appointment of the Leader of the Council.
In previous years the meeting has been an almost foregone conclusion – with the sitting leader retaining their seat.
The appointment of the Lord Mayor and Deputy Mayor – both ceremonial rather than political roles – normally has cross party support.
But with the politics of Bradford changed beyond recognition, the meeting will this year be a hugely significant one.
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