Amid the drama of Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer resigning and Andy Burnham seemingly taking his place, another leadership struggle was taking place in North Yorkshire.

Cllr Carl Les, Conservative leader of North Yorkshire Council, announced he will stand down last week after an agreement was reached which put to bed a potential contest to lead the Tories locally.

Cllr Les had been embroiled in a contest to lead the Tory-led group with high-profile Conservative colleague, Councillor Keane Duncan.

However, despite the two being pictured shaking hands in an attempt to push the conversation about the leadership into next year, it still raises questions over the future of the local party.

1. Who will replace Carl Les?

The obvious question from the fallout of the Tory leadership saga is who is going to replace Cllr Les?

Cllr Les will step down at Conservative and Independent leader in May 2027, paving the way for a new leader for the first time since 2015.

The move raises questions about who will now replace Cllr Les and lead the party going forward.

Cllr Duncan is expected to challenge for the position given his desire to take the helm.

However, other challengers have currently not made their feelings on leading the party known.

This week, the Stray Ferret asked Cllr Michael Harrison, who is the most senior Conservative in the Harrogate district, if he would consider standing for the leadership.

He said:

2. What about the threat of Reform?

While the Tories have managed to kick their leadership contest into next year, the potential threat to their control of the council remains.

Since 2001, the Conservatives have ruled the council either in overall control or as a minority administration.

However, with the rise of Reform UK and a series of defections, the party faces the prospect of heavy losses next May.

As part of the agreement announced last week, Cllr Duncan will oversee the Conservative strategy for the 2027 local elections.

Cllr Duncan said last week:

The strategy will need to be one which counters the rise of Reform locally — or finds a way to work with them.

The Tories’ performance in the most recent council by-election in Eastfield saw them pick up just 40 votes. Reform won comfortably with 538.

3. Could they be forced into alliances?

There’s a strong chance that whichever party emerges as the largest following the elections next year will need to enter into pacts with other parties.

This is already the case at the moment, with the Tories relying on the support of the Independents to shore up its control of the council.

But the changing make-up of the council could see the situation get messy.

Should Reform make inroads into Tory seats, we could see a scenario where the Conservative leadership may need to broach the subject of forging an alliance with Nigel Farage’s party.

The conversation is still 10 months away, but is likely to come across the desk of whoever is leader next year.

4. What about the deputy leader?

One story which got lost in the coverage of the Tory leadership struggle is that the position of deputy leader is up for grabs.

In May, Cllr Gareth Dadd, who has held the role since 2015, told colleagues he will not seek re-election to the position when the council’s Conservative group held its annual general meeting.

He will then step down as the councillor for Thirsk — a role he will have held at North Yorkshire Council and its predecessor unitary authority for 22 years — at next year’s local election.

Unlike the Tory leadership, several councillors have confirmed that they intend to stand for the role as deputy leader.

The three candidates are Cllrs Mark Crane, Richard Foster and George Jabbour.