Happy Monday, Exchangers,
We imagine, like us, your weeks are currently being scheduled by England’s World Cup exploits — two days since a tight win against Norway; three more working days until the semi-final.
For those not interested, just seven days to go until it’s all over, or potentially three days for England (but let’s not go there).
It’s been a busy weekend for both our journalists. Mia is surrounded by boxes after moving into her new Leeds home. She quite likes the ‘box fortress’ life and is considering not bothering to unpack at all. To that end she spent much of Sunday at her spiritual home, the car boot sale, and discovered the joys of Otley’s 20p shop.
A leaving do for Brad on Friday (don’t worry, he’s not leaving The Exchange) at Golden Palms, a “luxury all day buffet that opened in the former Bradford Telegraph & Argus press hall earlier this year, moved into pint-drinking at a Stag Do at York Races on Saturday. Not a penny was won, but plenty were spent. That was only exacerbated when watching the England game at Springwell Brewery in Meanwood.
Sunday was the proverbial day of rest for Brad, who turns 31 tomorrow (Happy Birthday!) meaning recovery time is extending as each year passes.
Now: your Monday briefing.
The round-up
Top story: Unlocking the deadlock in Kirklees Council
Three’s a charm: Ahead of a third planned leadership vote this Wednesday, Kirklees councillors are engaged in a flurry of proposals and counter-proposals.
All the action has one aim: resolving the ongoing stalemate between Reform group leader Sarah Wood and Greens group leader Andrew Cooper, who each received 29 votes — short of the needed 35 — at the last full council meeting on 28 May.
Very different blocs: Wood’s support comes exclusively from her 29 Reform councillors but with no other parties supporting her bid. She’s also lost two councillors (citing ill health and defection), potentially bringing her down to 27. Meanwhile, Cooper has assembled a coalition of Greens, Lib Dems, and various independents. The Greens’ priorities for Kirklees have been potholes, accessing external funding, tackling flytippers, protecting Castle Hill from development, and road safety. Reform has run on a promise of reducing the council’s debt and improving public services.
Reform step up: Last Tuesday, Reform proposed a motion — to be put to a vote on Wednesday — to allow minority governance by the “biggest party” — ie, themselves, as Local Democracy Reporter Lyra Auld first revealed. “The largest political group should ordinarily be afforded the opportunity to form a minority administration,” their proposal argues. They note a precedent for this with the Labour minority administration that preceded the elections.
The coalition strikes back: Cooper’s backers have proposed various amendments to the motion, noting that coalition governance is also a viable model, a scenario in which they have greater numbers. But the key amendment proposed by the Green-led faction is that whoever is elected leader would be subject to re-election annually, not the standard once-every-four-years.
The Conservatives are kingmakers in this battle, holding nine votes that would handily grant a majority in either direction. So far, they’ve provided neither candidate with the votes needed, and the amendments proposed by Cooper’s group — which hang a sword of Damocles over whoever prevails — could be seen potentially as a means of tempting them with political cover to get off the fence either way, allowing them to argue that it’s only for a year, after all.
Not forgetting what’s important here, Conservative councillor Martyn Bolt tells The Exchange he is attempting to move Wednesday’s meeting to a day that doesn’t threaten an overlap with England’s World Cup semi final kick-off, as a long meeting could mean a clash. He has not yet prevailed.
Elsewhere…
- The sale of Pudsey Town Hall is set to go ahead after a bid to award it listed status failed. Historic England, which makes the call on these things, said that various alterations over the years detracted from its bid. “Agreed, this is a good local building, but is too altered overall to qualify for statutory listing,” the body said. Conservative councillor Andrew Carter, who has been campaigning on the issue, called it a “massive betrayal of the people of Pudsey.” However, the council, citing funding cuts, said it is too expensive to maintain the building, which has not been in use since 2020. (West Leeds Dispatch)
- A change from rain stopping play: a sun-baked rugby ground in Dewsbury was deemed unsafe to play on on Sunday. Ahead of a planned derby match between the Dewsbury Rams and the Keighley Cougars, a referee cancelled the game “due to the pitch being too hard,” according to a social media post by the Rams. (Dewsbury Reporter)
- Continuing its much-needed scrutiny of Yorkshire Water, the Yorkshire Post dug into the company’s annual report — published this month — where it admitted it was responsible for an average of five polluting incidents a week. The company logged 260 incidents in 2025-2026, a steep increase from 151 for the previous year. In the report, the company said it is “extremely disappointed” at this and that it had invested in both staffing and tech to try and prevent incidents. (Yorkshire Post)
The big picture
It takes a moment to spot the figure there, aligned almost perfectly with the shadow of the background. A quiet moment of phone checking near Leeds Station by ofallframes — follow for more moody, cinematic shots of the city.
Home of the week
We’ve found this little gem in the picturesque spa town of Ilkley and what struck us is the price. £270,000 for a two-bedroom (doubles) mid-terraced home in an area where house prices were £467,541 on average over the last year, according to Rightmove.
It also has a lovely snug courtyard garden. Whatever you do though, don’t fall into the crowd and tell people you live in Leeds. Ilkley is categorically Bradford, and you should be proud of it. See it here.
Catching up and coming up
- David Barnett brought us a tale of two book festivals last week, as the ‘middle-class’ Bradford Lit Fest goes head to head with its “scrappy, working-class cousin”, UK BookFest in Albion Mills. Who prevails? You can read Barnett’s compare and contrast here.
- Where to start on the mercurial Humphrey Smith? The man behind Samuel Smith’s in the modern era passed away aged 81 last month. He was well known for his idiosyncrasies but in our weekend read, Mia took a deeper dive into Humphrey and what this huge change means for the brewery’s pubs in Leeds, one of which has been closed for a decade.
Mia Jankowicz
- Richard Myers is a name many will be familiar with in Leeds, for both his indulgent desserts and larger-than-life public persona. Myers’ bakery, GetBaked is a runaway Leeds success. So much so that when GetBaked shuttered its flagship Headingley location, citing rent hikes, before opening in notoriously expensive London, Myers faced hefty backlash. If you’ve had interactions with GetBaked or Myers, or have thoughts/experiences of the West Yorkshire bakery scene, let us know for an upcoming piece. Email Brad on brad@theexchange.news.
Editor’s inbox
Readers enjoyed our piece on Bradford’s coexisting book events. While the article concluded that there’s room for both approaches, commenter Quentin Kean landed decidedly on the side of Steven White’s UK BookFest pop-up, writing:
Nice article. It's very heartening that Stephen White is turning a profit selling cheap books to ordinary people. His warehouse sales are a great way to spend a couple of hours. I wish I could say the same for the LitFest, which is hamstrung in content and audience by the virtuous orthodoxies of the progressive cultural left. I scoured the brochure from beginning to end and thought 'bugger that for a lark'.
Readers also emailed The Exchange about Mia’s weekend read about Samuel Smith’s pubs, noting the effect the late Humphrey Smith had on Tadcaster (which we didn’t focus on, due to it being outside our West Yorkshire patch). What shone through was a desire to see shuttered pubs re-opened — which might well happen with a new generation of Smiths steering the ship…
Things to do:
🖍️ Halloween may be a distant thought with the heat right now but if you’re in need of relaxation then look no further than the Summerween event at Waterstones in Leeds tonight. The evening is dedicated to the new Coco Wyo colouring book, Spooky Cutie, featuring themed music and Halloween treats. It’s from 7pm until 9pm with tickets £11 (which includes the book).
⛪ This one’s for the architecture geeks. Bradford Cathedral is offering enthusiasts the chance to take a tour of the magnificent building and discover its 1,400-year story alongside the church’s expert historian. Saxon fragments, Victorian and 20th century extensions, this has it all.
Join the tour (11am-12pm on Thursday) by buying a ticket for £7.38 here.
🍂 The Leeds Nature Recovery & Connection Conference 2026 takes place on Wednesday at Meanwood Valley Urban Farm between 12pm and 5pm. This event explores how community-led action can contribute towards nature recovery where you live, through knowledge-sharing and hands on sessions. Tickets are free, or you can donate towards the lunch that is included.
