VETERAN Labour councillors Alan Schofield and Alex Vodden have lost their seats to candidates from the Barnsley Independent Group in Thursday's council elections. Mr Schofield, who was the Cabinet spokesman on corporate issues, lost out in the Rockingham ward to Steve Sylvester, while in North East, Mr Vodden, who is chairman of the licensing board, saw Dave North win. BIG's Geoff Bowden also claimed the Kingstone seat, which was previously held by independent Malcolm Hall, who was not aligned to any political party or group and who had retired before the election. It means the number of BIG members on the council is now up by three, while Labour's representation is down by two from 35 to 33. Fears about a strong BNP vote in some areas did not materialise, although in Central, Darton West and Dearne North the party secured enough votes to come second in the poll.
