Burn Valley councillor Graham Harrison has been elected leader of the party’s group on the local authority
(Image: Getty Images)
Hartlepool Borough Council’s Reform UK group has a new leader following its election clean sweep. Burn Valley councillor Graham Harrison has been elected leader of the party’s group on the local authority.
Rural West councillor Mike Young, who quit the Conservatives to join Reform in August 2025 and previously held the council’s top political role in the 2023/24 municipal year, has been chosen as the group’s deputy leader. It comes after the local elections saw Reform UK become the biggest party on the council with 15 councillors after winning all 12 available seats in the polls – with Cllr Harrison one of those who was successful in being elected.
He said: “I’m truly humbled that residents in Burn Valley ward voted for me and that my fellow Reform UK councillors have placed their trust in me as group leader. It’s a responsibility I take seriously, and I won’t let them, or the residents who sent us all to the council, down.”
The 54-year-old, who has lived in Hartlepool all his life, takes over from Cllr Amanda Napper as leader of the Reform group on the council, who retained her seat in the Throston ward in the recent polls. Cllr Harrison added: “The year ahead is about rolling our sleeves up and getting on with it.
“I’ll make sure this council works for the people of our town, and that every councillor in our group has the clear direction and solid support they need to deliver real progress for Hartlepool as we look to take the council in a positive direction.”
Following Reform’s success in the local elections the council is in a state of ‘no overall control’ – as no group or party has the 19 needed to hold an overall majority.
Hartlepool Borough Council’s annual meeting will take place on Thursday, May 21, where key positions will be confirmed for the coming year including leader, deputy leader and ceremonial mayor.
Labour has had control of the council since May 2024, however the party lost six councillors at the latest polls, including local authority leader Pamela Hargreaves, to leave them with 14.
Party bosses in Hartlepool have already signalled they “will not seek to form a coalition” with any of the seven independent councillors, paving the way for Reform to try to do so.
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