A ‘TIDAL wave’ swept Barnsley last week as Reform made inroads - but the town’s contingent of Liberal Democrats said business is very much as usual for their councillors.

Having gone into the local election with 12 seats on Barnsley Council, the Lib Dems came away with eight councillors.

Former Penistone West councillor Hannah Kitching, who did not stand for re-election, told the Chronicle that she saw the positives in the result.

“It’s been a massive tidal wave in Barnsley and Reform’s swept the country but we held up pretty well in the face of that,” she said.

“We knew they would be a tough set of elections and we also know that the residents we serve like their councillors, so although Dodworth was a huge disappointment we’ve managed to retain other areas.

“The turnout was big and we saw queues at polling stations, which we never do.

“They were voting not on local issues, and perhaps not even with a view on Barnsley Council - they were basing things on the national level.”

Hannah, who will remain on Penistone Town Council, will also continue her role as the Lib Dems’ Yorkshire chair.

Despite the party no longer being the official opposition - a mantle taken up by Labour’s 11 councillors - she remains confident of representing residents’ views in the town hall.

“Our priority is always the communities we serve and that won’t change, with or without being the official opposition,” she added.

“We’ve a strong track record in Barnsley and I think it could take Labour time to find their feet as the official opposition to Reform.

“We can still challenge decisions - just as I did by myself and as we did when our numbers grew.

“Reform’s made promises and it will be interesting to see how they keep to those.

“I’ve campaigned for years about the state of local roads so we’ll see how than pans out.”