Labour - Green coalition to run Sheffield City Council after local election
Labour's Fran Belbin has been elected as the council leader
Last updated 21st May 2026
New Labour group leader Coun Fran Belbin has been elected as the leader of Sheffield City Council.
She was proposed unopposed and elected unanimously at the annual meeting of the council today, May 21.
Her Labour colleague Coun Zahira Naz was elected as deputy leader, also unopposed. Green councillor Maroof Raouf dissented, so the decision went to a vote.
The result was 42 for, 2 against and 34 abstentions.
Coun Belbin took over as leader of the Labour group following the defeat of former Labour and council leader Tom Hunt in the May 7 elections. He was one of 10 party members to lose their seats to both Reform UK and the Green Party.
Coun Belbin told the annual meeting of Sheffield City Council today: “Along the way I have worked with people of all faiths and backgrounds and, like all of them and you, I love this city.
“As leader of the council I will work my hardest to make Sheffield a better home for all of us.
“Sheffield Labour stood in these elections on a positive platform to deliver change for Sheffield, including free bus and tram fares for young people aged 18 and under, more affordable homes and better council housing, stronger rights for renters and and improved local services.
“We remain committed to delivering these and other pledges we made in our Plan for Sheffield.
“But we also hear the message coming from voters in this election that this is not enough. I had hundreds of conversations during the election period about the improvements people want.
“They told me that regeneration is not just about the city centre. People want to step out of their front door into neighbourhoods they can feel proud of, that are clean and safe; where their children have great places to live and learn.
“They want to access great employment and leisure opportunities but also not to have their car tyres ripped to shreds by potholes on the way there.
“Crucially, they need to have enough money in their pockets not to just cover the bills, which is hard enough for many, but to enjoy what the city has to offer.”
She said there must be a social contract where citizens get the support they need and there are consequences for those who make others’ lives more difficult.
She also pledged action on fly-tipping, parking and opportunities for young people.”
Coun Belbin spoke of high levels of abuse in the election, particularly targeted at women of colour: “Candidates were spat at, verbally abused, and followed to their addresses.”
She blamed members of the public, “but disgracefully also from some sitting councillors, candidates and their campaign teams”.
Coun Belbin paid tribute to the work of Tom Hunt as council leader, and his work to shape the direction of the city over the past three years.
She told the Reform UK group: “If you are here to sow division and hate – to label ordinary people as “almost subhuman” or to insult the people of this country who fought off the Nazis and then dismiss it as laddish banter – we will oppose you and what you stand for, day in and day out.
“I saw very little from most of your candidates about your actual ideas for Sheffield during the election campaign but I do not believe for a minute that the people of this city voted for division, hate and the chaos we are already seeing here and in Reform-led councils.”
Reform UK won 12 seats in the election to take their total number of councillors to 13 but two members have decided to stand as independents. They are new Woodhouse councillor Nathaniel Menday, who was suspended by Reform for his far right posts on social media including those referred to by Coun Belbin, and Mick Lee in Shiregreen & Brightside.
Coun Belbin said she was “disappointed” to see the LibDems walk away from their role in the council’s joint administration with Labour and the Greens and go into opposition. The council has been under no overall control since 2021.
She said that both she and Green leader Coun Angela Argenzio would be open to talks if they changed their decision.
Members held a minute’s silence for former councillor Sylvia Dunkeley, who died recently after a short illness. New Lord Mayor Coun Andrew Sangar paid tribute to her political and community work.