Wakefield Council Lib Dem group leader Tom Gordon announces decision to stand down

Councillor Tom Gordon confirmed today that he will not stand for election next year in his home town ward of Knottingley and Ferrybridge.

Coun Gordon was elected in 2019 in a shock victory, gaining with 63.1 per cent of the vote in one of Labour’s safest council wards, becoming the first Lib Dem elected to Wakefield Council in almost a decade.

The 28 year old, who also stood in the Batley and Spen parliamentary by-election last year, said: “This is a decision that I have thought long and hard about, and one that has taken a great deal of time to arrive at.

“After spending almost half a decade, and most of my twenties, serving and representing people as a councillor I have decided to take some time to pause and reflect on what comes next.

“Knottingley and Ferrybridge will always have a special place in my heart, and it has been the honour of a lifetime to have represented my hometown.

“I can stand down knowing that our towns are in safe hands and that residents will still get the representation they deserve in the more than capable and competent hands of my excellent Lib Dem Councillor colleagues, councillor Adele Hayes and councillor Pete Girt.

“I will be forever grateful for the opportunities, experiences, and the friends of all political persuasion that I have made through my involvement in local government.

"I am thoroughly looking forward to whatever adventures and challenges await me.”