An independent Kirklees councillor has defected to Labour sparking a bitter war of words.

Late on Monday, Holme Valley North’s Clr Edgar Holroyd-Doveton was revealed by Kirklees Council leader, Clr Shabir Pandor, to have joined the ruling Labour group.

The move has angered Conservative and Independent councillors, who say there should be a by-election.

But Clr Holroyd-Doveton has ruled it out as a waste of taxpayers’ money.

Clr Holroyd-Doveton’s term of office ends in May next year and so his seat was up for re-election anyway.

Sources have told the Examiner they understood Clr Holroyd-Doveton had lost the support of his fellow independents, Clr Charles Greaves and Clr Terry Lyons, who were lining up another candidate for the 2019 local elections.

There was already tension within the three Holme Valley North independents as Clr Holroyd-Doveton had quit the seven strong coalition of Green and Holme Valley North independents in 2016, just a year after being re-elected.

Clr Edgar Holroyd-Doveton, Clr Charles Greaves and Clr Terry Lyons during happier times
Clr Edgar Holroyd-Doveton, Clr Charles Greaves and Clr Terry Lyons during happier times

Rumours that he was about to jump ship to Labour began when he voted against his own group at the 2016 budget setting meeting.

Things then escalated when Clr Holroyd-Doveton’s wife, Suzanne Gannon, stood for Labour against his fellow independent councillor Terry Lyons at the local elections last May.

In the end Clr Lyons easily retained his seat over Suzanne Gannon by more than 400 votes.

Clr Holroyd-Doveton told the Examiner he had made the long rumoured move after becoming angered at his independent colleagues' stance on local issues over the past few years.

And he said he had not decided whether to stand for Labour at the elections in nine months' time.

He denied that rumours of a rival independent candidate next May had anything to do with his decision.

He said: “The critical thing in my decision to join Labour was the school transport policy.

“Between September and January, Charles and Terry did nothing about it, saying Labour were terrible but they made no input into it and weren’t prepared to work with Labour to get the best result.

“They’ve moved from being community centred to being self interested.

“I would have stayed as independent until the end of my term but because I saw the independents becoming self interested rather than supporting the community, I felt I could better represent people by joining Labour for the remaining months I am on the council.

“The idea that I’m doing this to protect my seat is silly.

“If two independent candidates stood it would split the vote and Labour or Conservative would win.

“And if I stand as Labour it’s going to be much harder to win – so it’s not logical.”

Commenting on why he will not resign and spark a by-election, he added: “Why should ratepayers spend £15,000 to suit the vanity of Clr Greaves?”

Clr Charles Greaves

Clr Charles Greaves, leader of the Kirklees Independent group, lashed out at the timing and called for a by-election.

He said: “It comes as no real surprise that he has defected as we found out that he organised his wife’s Labour election campaign against Clr Lyons this May.

“What is disappointing is that he has delayed making the decision until after the elections so to try to avoid standing down as a councillor.

“His term ends next year but he owes it to residents to honour his promise to put them first.

“If he wants to represent Labour instead of residents then he should try to get elected for Labour and he should resign from the council.”

Clr Terry Lyons added: “After being demoted Edgar chose to leave our group, and since then he has focused on his own things and his trips and we haven’t really seen much of him.

https://www.examiner.co.uk/news/west-yorkshire-news/bitter-war-words-independent-councillor-15028199

“It will be interesting to hear him defend Labour’s decisions – like cuts to our village libraries and ending free school buses for Meltham children.

Clr Holroyd-Doveton is also an independent member of Meltham Town Council.

The Mayor of Meltham, Clr David Haigh, said: “I have asked for him to clarify his position on our council so as to avoid any confusion for residents.

“It is important that people can see whether a town councillor is truly independent and there to put the town first, or if they are a party official.”

Clr Shabir Pandor, Leader of the Labour Group and Kirklees Council, said: “On behalf of the Kirklees Labour Group I’m delighted to welcome Clr Edgar Holroyd-Doveton to the Labour family and I look forward to working with him for the benefit of everyone in Kirklees.”

A Labour source said Clr Holroyd-Doveton’s recruitment had caused some “friction” in the Kirklees Labour group due to his wife’s membership of the hard left Momentum group.

It does however increase their majority in the council to 37 seats, with all other parties having only 32 seats.

Meanwhile, over in Denby Dale, a by-election is set to be held after the recently elected Conservative councillor Billy Jewitt, stood down due to ill health just a few months into his first ever term.

Denby Dale ward councillor, Billy Jewitt.
Denby Dale ward councillor, Billy Jewitt.

He is thought to have had serious health problems just a few weeks after his election victory on May 4 and hasn’t been present at council meetings.

The vacancy has been confirmed on the Kirklees Council website and a by-election is expected to be held on Thursday, November 1.

Clr Jewitt won the seat by only 237 votes over young Labour candidate Will Simpson and Labour is expected to put huge resources into trying to win this time.