Steve Lewis was elected as a Reform UK councillor for Normanton ward on Wakefield Borough Council at the May 2026 local elections.

This is a significant result. Normanton is a former mining town in south-east Wakefield — the sort of place Labour has relied on for decades. For a newer party like Reform UK to win a seat there shows they can turn their national popularity into actual ward-level success.

Lewis now sits on Wakefield's full council — a 63-seat chamber that makes decisions on schools, social care, planning, housing and roads. Every new councillor who gets elected represents a fresh politician who will vote on these issues and potentially run for higher office later.

Wakefield is a metropolitan borough council in West Yorkshire. This means it's responsible for major local services. There's also a separate layer above it — the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, led by Mayor Tracy Braib — which handles transport and economic development across the wider region. Lewis will work within both these levels.

The Normanton win fits into a bigger picture. Reform UK made gains across English councils in May 2026 — not just headline numbers, but real seats in local government. Each ward victory matters because it shows the party is putting down roots at grassroots level.

The real question now is whether Reform UK can keep these gains and make them work. A council seat is one thing; building an effective team of councillors who can scrutinise budgets, push motions and shape local policy is another. Results like Lewis's election will help answer that question, one ward at a time.