Why are there no local elections in West Yorkshire this year?

As voters get ready to cast their ballots for thousands of councillors and regional mayors around England on Thursday, would-be electors in West Yorkshire are having to keep their electoral powder dry this year.

On 1 May, there will be no elections in the county, which is unlike what will be happening elsewhere in Yorkshire and in other parts of the country.

On that day, for example, elections are due to be held in Doncaster, Hull and East Yorkshire.

During a recent visit to Castleford, I was told by one frustrated voter that she believed Prime Minister Keir Starmer had "stolen" her vote, adding that "everyone else is voting, so we should have our say as well".

People have also gone online to accuse sitting councillors of being "cowards" for not facing the electorate this year.

However, the truth is rather more mundane and is to be found in the system upon which the electoral calendar is based.

On Thursday 1 May, no elections will be held in West Yorkshire.

One Leeds City Council by election for the Morley South ward will, however, be held on Thursday 12 June.

Local government elections take place every four years, but not all of them happen at the same time.

Some local authorities have what are known as "all out" elections every four years, in which every councillor faces re-election.

But in West Yorkshire, five of our local authorities are elected in thirds.

That means a third of councillors are elected each year for three years, and no elections are held in the fourth year, which is known as a "fallow" year.

This year, all five local authorities in West Yorkshire are at this "fallow" point in the election cycle, which is why there are no elections in 2025 in Bradford, Calderdale, Kirklees, Leeds and Wakefield.

Dr Andy Mycock, chief policy fellow at the University of Leeds, said he believed there was confusion within our system, as well as some "voter frustration", about people in West Yorkshire being unable to cast a ballot this year.

He said it highlighted two things: first that we have "an increasingly complicated multi-level electoral system", and second, that "at no point do we have all the local authorities standing and holding elections" at the same time.

"But, if you're reading the Yorkshire Post or listening to the BBC, you'll be hearing a lot of conversation about elections taking place, and you're going, 'hang on, why am I not getting a vote this time?'" he added.

Dr Mycock said he believed the confusion was down to "a complicated electoral system which people do not understand fully, and the national media that projects the idea that this is election time".

The Mayor of West Yorkshire is elected on a four-year cycle as well.

The last election was held on 2 May 2024, which saw Labour's Tracy Brabin re-elected.

She won with 275,430 votes, which was a 50.4% share of the vote.

The next election for the Mayor of West Yorkshire will not take place until 2028.

On Thursday 1 May, elections will be held for 23 councils in England, including Doncaster.

There will also be elections for six elected mayors, including a metro mayor for Hull and East Yorkshire, one for Greater Lincolnshire, and a directly elected Mayor of Doncaster to lead the council.

About a third of electors in England are eligible to vote, and more than 1,600 councillors will be elected.

On the same day, there is also a Westminster by-election in the Cheshire seat of Runcorn and Helsby.

However, in some parts of England, local elections have been postponed because the government is planning to reorganise several local councils.

A council by-election is taking place on 8 May this year in the Skircoat ward of Calderdale Council after Labour councillor Mike Barnes' decision to step down.

There will also be a council by election in the Morley South Ward of Leeds City Council on 12 June this year, triggered by the resignation of Wyn Kidger.

Meanwhile, council elections are scheduled to take place in West Yorkshire in May 2026.

A third of councillors in Leeds will face re-election next year. In Bradford, Calderdale, Kirklees and Wakefield as a result of boundary changes drawn up after a review by the Local Government Boundary Commission, there will be "all out elections".

Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North or tell us a story you think we should be covering here, external.