Following the sad death of Cllr Russell Brown late last year, it has been announced that local Reform UK leaders have triggered a by-election in the Worth Valley ward. This is despite the fact that the new councillor will only sit for 12 weeks before scheduled elections take place in May.
The by-election is set to cost over £30,000 and will be held on the 12th of February 2026. Whoever is elected in febrary will only be eligible to attend one meeting of Bradford Council before it is stood down for the May elections.
Commenting on this shocking waste of public money, Conservative Group Leader and Worth Valley Councillor, Rebecca Poulsen said:
"I'm staggered to learn this afternoon that the Chair of Reform in Keighley has triggered a by-election in the Worth Valley on 12th February following the sad death of Cllr Russell Brown before Christmas.
Whoever is elected will be a Councillor for only 12 weeks before the scheduled elections for all Councillors on 7th May.
This by-election will cost tens of thousands of pounds of YOUR money that could have been spent on local services. Labour have a track record of wasting your money now Reform do to!!!
We will fight this by-election on our track record of standing up and delivering for the hard working families of Worth Valley."