Vote Sheffield: The Tribune’s guide to the 2024 local elections

Good afternoon readers — and welcome to our Monday briefing.

It’s that time of year again. In just over three weeks’ time, voters will go to the polls to decide who they want to represent them on Sheffield Council. Much of the upheaval of the last few years has been down to just one thing — the tree scandal — which led to Labour losing control of the council in 2021. After yet another year of underperformance in 2023, the party tried to break with the past by removing its previous leadership and starting afresh. Can Labour finally put the tree saga behind it and take back control of a council they should be winning easily, or will it be another year where the Lib Dems and Greens frustrate their ambitions? That’s our big story today.

As well as that we have a lovely four bedroom home on Ecclesall Road, news of a new blue plaque in Sheffield city centre, and lambing at Whirlow Hall Farm.

Who reads The Tribune? Every year we run a survey to find out more about our readers, and what they like about us — as well as what they’d like to see improve. It’s such a helpful guide as we try to make The Tribune the best it can be. We never want to rely on stereotypes about our readers, which is why we’re asking for a bit more detail this year — but it’s 100% anonymous and there’s no requirement to answer any of the questions if you’d prefer not to.

We’d be so grateful if you could give five minutes to fill it in — the link is here.

Catch up and coming up

For over a month last year, Musheir El-Farra, a 62-year-old civil engineer who lives in Sheffield, was trapped in Khan Yunis, the second largest city in the Gaza strip. For our weekend read, he spoke to Victoria about watching the city where he was born and raised crumble into rubble around him — and about how the swell of pro-Palestine support in Sheffield has made the city feel like a true second home. Only a day after we published this piece, which you can read here, Israel announced it was withdrawing troops from Khan Yunis and other parts of the southern strip.

Last week we sent out two great newsletters to our 2,138 paying members. In the first, Sheffield-based novelist Holly Williams talked about how she first fell in love with the city and how it inspired her latest novel, The Start of Something. And in the second, Victoria revealed the contested history of the Abbeydale Picture House, as the historic Grade II-listed building received a £300,000 windfall from the government. An extract from that second piece is below:

This relief may prove a little pre-emptive, something CADS’s statement after the funding was awarded seems keen to highlight. “While this grant is undoubtedly a huge leap forward in our mission to revive The Abbeydale Picture House, it's important to recognise that this is the first step of many to fully restore the building to its former glory,” they wrote. After all, a large portion of this money — if not all of it — will go towards simply buying the building, which the current landlord Phil Robins purchased in 2012 for £150,000, the equivalent of almost £197,000 today. Once CADS owns the building, it will be in a not-dissimilar position to the Friends of Abbeydale Picture House in the early 2000s. Can it succeed, where this previous charity failed?

This week, we’ll be running a slightly reduced publishing schedule. I unexpectedly had to spend two days in hospital last week and Victoria is taking time off this week. One of the problems with running a title with only two full-time staff is dealing with the rare instances when we’re both unable to work; we apologise and hope you understand. You can still expect a piece from our data wizard Daniel Timms and another about the history of Sheffield castle, as the latest archaeological dig begins on the 1,000 year old site.

We’d love to eventually have far more than two members of staff so things like this don’t happen again! If you’d like to see that dream become a reality too, then please subscribe by clicking the button above. It costs £8.95 a month or £1.71 a week if you pay for 12 months up front (£89).

The big picture: Road runners 🏃‍♂️🏃🏼‍♀️

Thousands of runners took to the city’s streets yesterday for the annual Sheffield Half Marathon. The challenging route, which takes runners from the city centre up to Ringinglow and back, was lined with spectators cheering the runners on. There was some concern the event would have to be cancelled due to high winds from Storm Kathleen, but a final decision to go ahead was made early on Sunday morning. The men’s race was won by Samuel Moakes in a time of 1:08:58 while the women’s race was won by Abbie Pearse of the Steel City Striders in a time of 1:21:18. Thanks to the Steel City Snapper for letting us use the above photo.

This week’s weather 🌦

Our weather forecast comes from dedicated Sheffield weather service Steel City Skies, who say low pressure ensures an unsettled start, but warmer and drier conditions will develop after midweek.

Monday 🌦 Cloud trying to break to brighter spells, but rain will arrive by late afternoon. Mild and less breezy from the south with highs of 15°C.

Tuesday 🌦 Cooler with outbreaks of showery rain moving north, clearing to a brighter end to the day. Keen westerly winds with highs of just 11°C.

Wednesday ☂️ Staying breezy and unsettled with plenty of cloud and further spots of rain, petering out from the southwest. Highs of 13°C.

Thursday 🌥 Warmer and drier from the south with moderate breezes from the west to southwest. Temperatures above average with highs of 18°C.

Friday 🌥 Similarly warm and breezy with variable cloud and bright spells. Low chance of a shower; many staying dry with highs of around 18°C.

Outlook: Likely to stay mild and dry into the first part of the weekend. Perhaps cooler from Sunday from the northwest with the chance of showers.

To see the full forecast and keep up to date with any changes to the outlook, follow Steel City Skies on Facebook.

The big story: The Tribune’s guide to the 2024 local elections 🗳️

Top line: Sheffield will go to the polls in just over three weeks, in what will be the last test of public opinion in this city before the general election. Whether Labour wins back the council after three years or we remain in no overall control for a fourth is up to you. But, depending on where you live in the city, your vote might matter a lot more…

Labour really want to win Sheffield back. The party has been underperforming here since the tree scandal robbed them of many of their natural supporters. Previous leader Terry Fox was sacked by the party on the morning of last year’s count, after it became clear Labour had failed to win yet again. Since then, Labour’s central apparatus have put the Sheffield party in “special measures”. The thinking is that if the party regain power nationally this year, they also want control of the country’s major cities so they can deliver their programme for government unhindered. At a time when most major cities are strongly voting Labour, Sheffield’s reticence to do so stands out.

Keir kalling: When asked at the Labour local election launch what the party would do for Sheffield, Keir Starmer said: “It’s been years of underfunding and so what we will do is first of all, talk to Sheffield Council about changing the funding formula so there could be longer-term funding and money could be spent more effectively.” He also referenced ending no-fault evictions and delivering a national plan for steel.

As always in Sheffield, Labour’s main opposition are the Lib Dems. They last held control of the council between 2008 and 2010, but have regularly been picking up seats at the expense of Labour over the last eight years. Labour’s vote has also been eaten into by the Greens, who 10 years ago had just two seats but now stand on 14. The party now holds a string of seats in central Sheffield which has been dubbed their “Green Wall” — and hope to keep hold of it.

Another problem for Labour is the Sheffield Community Councillors, a group of eight rebels who were suspended by the party last year after voting against the leadership on the local plan. Of these, one is stepping down (Bryan Lodge in Birley) while another is up for election (Tony Damms in Southey). As a result, it’s likely Labour will still be short of the 43 it needs to form a majority and will need to rely on the remaining members of the rebel group to govern.

One seat is up for election in each of Sheffield's 28 council wards, plus a second in Firth Park due to Labour Councillor Abtisam Mohamed stepping down to run for parliament in Sheffield Central. However, the result of the election is likely to be decided by just a small number of battleground wards. With Labour focused on regaining control of the council, they are pushing hard in the seats that they lost in 2021.

• These include Walkley, Nether Edge and Sharrow, Broomhill and Sharrow Vale, Hillsborough, Gleadless Valley, Beighton, West Ecclesfield and East Ecclesfield. They will also be targeting the only Conservative held ward on Sheffield Council, Stocksbridge and Upper Don, where Lewis Chinchen is stepping down.
• With Labour riding high in the polls nationally, you can expect the other parties to adopt a more defensive strategy. Last year there was no change in the overall allocation of seats, with the Lib Dems remaining on 29 and the Greens staying on 14. If they can retain all their seats again, both parties will be very happy.

South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard is also up for election this year. His term of office was shortened by two years when he was somewhat controversially given the powers of the police and crime commissioner role. Up against him are Nick Allen, a Conservative councillor from Doncaster, Hannah Kitching, a Lib Dem from Barnsley, Sheffield Green councillor Douglas Johnson, and the SDP’s David Bettney. Don’t expect any surprises here, however. Barring a truly major shock, Coppard will clobber the competition.

Bottom line: This year’s local elections are a big test for Labour. The party is potentially just months away from government and last year removed Terry Fox in the hope that a new leader could help them retake control of Sheffield Council. But the long tail of the tree saga continues to eat away at their vote in several key wards. And new problems like the impact of the group of eight rebel Sheffield Community Councillors and the national party’s stance on the war in Gaza threaten to further complicate things. Whatever happens, we should be in for an exciting night on May 2.

For a full list of all the candidates standing in this year’s local elections, click here.

The Weekly Whitworth ✍️

Our cartoonist James Whitworth with his own take on this week’s big story.

Our media picks 🔗

Student flats plagued by rats, tenants claim 🐀 Students living at accommodation run by the company Unite Students are threatening to withhold rent unless their complaints about the standard of the building are resolved. Leadmill Point and Archways — both in the city centre — are mainly occupied by international students and, according to tenants, are overrun with rats, mice and mould. A spokesperson for the company claimed it always treats student welfare and safety as an “utmost priority,” encouraged residents to report any maintenance issues and said it would be offering “extra weekly cleaning support” where necessary. 

Blue plaque honours 70 killed in hotel during Sheffield Blitz 🏨 A new blue plaque was unveiled in Sheffield over the weekend, honouring 70 people who were killed by a single bomb during the Blitz — the biggest loss of life in this city during WWII. Sheffield was a common target in this period, as a major arms supplier for the Allied forces, and is thought to have been attacked by more than 330 aircraft in just three days in December 1940. On 12th December, a bomb hit The Marples hotel — now a pawnshop — on the corner of Fitzalan Square and High Street, killing the civilians who were sheltering in its cellar. Our piece on the Marples Hotel from 2021 is here.

Tea and toast at Cathedral grows into a charity helping thousands ☕ The Archer Project is now one of Sheffield’s best-known charities — and for good reason. What is less well-known, however, is that it began as a response to the decline of Sheffield’s manufacturing industry in the 1980s, when Sheffield Cathedral began offering free breakfasts to those who were suddenly out of a job. According to this piece on the Church of England website, the project has helped at least 10,000 people over the last 34 years, and demand is at an all time high.

Home of the week 🏡

This beautiful four-bedroomed stone-fronted Victorian terrace on Ecclesall Road is spread over four floors and is just a few minutes walk from Endcliffe Park. It is on the market for £300,000.

Tribune Tips: If you want to tell us about a story or give us some information, please email editor@sheffieldtribune.co.uk. We are always happy to speak to people off the record in the first instance, and we will treat your information with confidence and sensitivity.

Things to do 📆

Outdoors 🐑 This Wednesday and Thursday, Whirlow Hall Farm will be opening their doors for their most exciting time of year — lambing. As well as lots of cute newborn lambs, there will also be face-painting, magic and comedy shows, tractor trailer rides, a bouncy castle and food stalls. The farm is open from 10am-3pm both days and tickets are priced £5 for adults, £6 for children and £20 for a family of four (based on two adults and two children). Children under two are free.

Music 🎸 On Wednesday, the University of Sheffield’s Octagon Centre has a line-up for the ages. As well as headliners, legendary “Madchester” band the Happy Mondays, support comes from the wonderful Inspiral Carpets and Stereo MCs of Connected fame. While the Mondays might not look as good as they used to, with tunes like 24 Hour Party People, Wrote for Luck, Step On and Loose Fit, it’s sure to be a great night. Tickets are £44 and doors open at 6.30pm.

Theatre 🎭 On Tuesday, Theatre Deli are hosting a scratch night of work responding to Eleanor May Blackburn’s play Virtuous. A scratch night is a way for artists to “test” a current work on a live audience, who then give feedback. On the night, 12 new pieces of writing by up and coming directors, writers and actors will be performed, including an extract from Virtuous itself, which is supported by Sheffield Theatres’ Bank Cohort 2023. Tickets are £12 and doors open at 7pm.