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":[]}