Liberal Democrat group leader Martin Smith said his party’s candidate, Stuart Shepherd, had “nearly quadrupled our vote share in 15 months”.
“It’s a real shame he didn’t get in this time but he’s been a great candidate and I’m sure his time will come,” he said.
Council and Labour group leader Tom Hunt said: “The national background always meant this was going to be a challenging election.
“It’s much easier for some parties who only have to stand on the sidelines – being in government means you have to take decisions.”
Results in full – candidates names listed in alphabetical order
Adam James Allcroft, Yorkshire Party, 58 votes
John Booker, Reform UK, 1,789
Andy Davies, Green Party, 294
Matt Dixon, Conservative Party, 332
Josiah Tomasz Lenton, Labour Party, 1,324
Stuart Shepherd, Liberal Democrats, 1,597
Claire Suzanne Wraith, Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition,
43 votes
Turnout: 5,437 votes (36.8%)
