2023 Stafford Borough Council election

2023 Stafford Borough Council election
← 2019 4 May 2023 (2023-05-04) 2027 →
All 40 seats to Stafford Borough Council
21 seats needed for a majority
  First party Second party Third party
  Blank Blank Blank
Leader Patrick Farrington[1] Aidan Godfrey[2] Robert Kenney
Party Conservative Labour Stafford Ind.
Last election 22 seats, 48.5% 10 seats, 27.2% N/A
Seats before 20 10 8
Seats won 14 13 7
Seat change Decrease 8 Increase 3 Increase 7
Popular vote 20,843 16,764 10,094
Percentage 36.1% 29.1% 17.6%
Swing Decrease 12.4% Increase 1.9% N/A
  Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party
  Blank Blank Blank
Party Green Liberal Democrats Independent
Last election 1 seat, 3.0% 0 seats, 0.9% 7 seats, 14.7%
Seats before 1 0 1
Seats won 5 1 0
Seat change Increase 4 Increase 1 Decrease 7
Popular vote 7,704 1,417 107
Percentage 13.4% 2.5% 0.2%
Swing Increase 10.4% Increase 1.6% Decrease 14.5%
Winner of each seat at the 2023 Stafford Borough Council election
Leader before election

Patrick Farrington
Conservative
No overall control

Leader after election

Aidan Godfrey
Labour
No overall control

The 2023 Stafford Borough Council election took place on 4 May 2023 to elect members of Stafford Borough Council in Staffordshire, England. This was on the same day as other local elections across England.

The council remained under no overall control, but went from being run by a Conservative minority administration to being run by a coalition of Labour, local party the Stafford Borough Independents, and the Greens.

Overview

The council had been under no overall control prior to the election, being run by a Conservative minority administration. The Conservatives had won a majority of the seats at the previous election in 2019, but lost their majority in March 2022 when two councillors left the party to sit as independents.[3] Shortly before the election, eight of the nine independent councillors registered as a new localist party called the Stafford Borough Independents.[4][5][6]

The council remained under no overall control after the election. The Conservative leader of the council, Patrick Farrington, lost his seat.[7] The Labour group leader, Aidan Godfrey, was appointed the new leader of the council at the subsequent annual council meeting on 13 May 2023 with support from the Greens and Stafford Borough Independents, with those three parties each taking positions on the council's cabinet.[8]

Overall results

The overall results were:[9]

2023 Stafford Borough Council election
Party Candidates Seats Gains Losses Net gain/loss Seats % Votes % Votes +/−
  Conservative 39 14 0 8 Decrease 8 35.0 36.1 20,843 –12.4
  Labour 32 13 3 0 Increase 3 32.5 29.1 16,764 +1.9
  Stafford Ind. 14 7 7 0 Increase 7 17.5 17.5 10,094 N/A
  Green 24 5 4 0 Increase 4 12.5 13.4 7,704 +10.4
  Liberal Democrats 3 1 1 0 Increase 1 2.5 2.5 1,417 +1.6
  Reform UK 7 0 0 0 Steady 0.0 1.3 777 N/A
  Independent 3 0 0 7 Decrease 7 0.0 0.2 107 –14.5

Ward results

The Statement of Persons Nominated, which details the candidates standing in each ward, was released by Stafford Borough Council following the close of nominations on 5 April 2023.[10] The results for each ward were as follows, with an asterisk (*) indicating an incumbent councillor standing for re-election.[11][4]

Barlaston

Barlaston
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Evan Jones* 368 54.0 −22.4
Labour Richard Sidley 209 30.7 N/A
Green Karen Davies 104 15.3 N/A
Majority 159 23.3
Turnout 681 30.3
Conservative hold Swing

Baswich

Baswich (2 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Ann Edgeller* 915 49.9 −13.9
Conservative Marnie Phillips* 688 37.5 −10.2
Labour Alison Carr 633 34.5 +4.4
Labour Kulwant Kang 524 28.6 −0.6
Stafford Ind. Maria Davies 357 19.5 N/A
Stafford Ind. Paul Woodhead 346 18.9 N/A
Green Timothy Boardman 205 11.2 N/A
Turnout 39.6
Conservative hold
Conservative hold

Common

Common
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Co-op Aidan Godfrey* 439 63.0 +13.6
Conservative Peter Martin 178 25.5 +9.0
Green Daniel Laidler 80 11.5 −5.9
Majority 261 37.5
Turnout 23.3
Labour Co-op hold Swing

Coton

Coton (2 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Co-op Louise Nixon* 645 68.3 +8.3
Labour Co-op Ant Reid 564 59.7 −4.6
Conservative Neil Glover 214 22.7 −10.5
Conservative Paul Startin 160 16.9 −15.4
Green Michael Spight 131 13.9 N/A
Reform UK Michael Riley 100 10.6 N/A
Reform UK Steven Spennewyn 74 7.8 N/A
Turnout 19.7
Labour Co-op hold
Labour Co-op hold

Doxey and Castletown

Doxey and Castletown
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Green Tony Pearce* 447 56.1 −2.7
Labour Richard Duffy 146 18.3 +0.5
Conservative James Brampton 97 12.2 −11.1
Independent Eleanor Tristram 60 7.5 −10.3
Independent Isabella Davies 47 5.9 −17.4
Majority 301 37.8
Turnout 28.8
Green hold Swing

Eccleshall

Eccleshall (2 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Jeremy Pert* 1,028 61.4 −3.0
Conservative Peter Jones* 949 56.7 −5.0
Labour Kate Hanley 591 35.3 +16.8
Labour Sally Osborne-Town 444 26.5 N/A
Green Gillian Douce 338 20.2 N/A
Turnout 33.6
Conservative hold
Conservative hold

Forebridge

Forebridge
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Co-op Julian Thorley 418 56.1 +15.6
Conservative James Cantrill 188 25.2 N/A
Green Robert Norman 139 18.7 N/A
Majority 230 30.9
Turnout 28.0
Labour Co-op gain from Independent Swing

Fulford

Fulford (2 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats Alec Sandiford 693 54.5 +17.9
Conservative Michael Dodson* 576 45.3 −10.9
Conservative Lynne Bakker-Collier 515 40.5 −17.8
Liberal Democrats Maria Moore 429 33.7 N/A
Labour Charlie Nutt 331 26.0 +2.4
Turnout 30.2
Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative
Conservative hold

Gnosall and Woodseaves

Gnosall and Woodseaves (2 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Mark Winnington* 962 48.6 −6.8
Green Scott Spencer 926 46.8 N/A
Conservative Patrick Farrington* 914 46.1 −10.4
Green Dave Whittaker 828 41.8 N/A
Reform UK Richard Harris 171 8.6 N/A
Reform UK Susan Harris 160 8.1 −14.5
Turnout 38.0
Conservative hold
Green gain from Conservative

Haywood and Hixon

Haywood and Hixon (2 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Stafford Ind. Brandan McKeown* 1,088 72.4 +33.8
Conservative Andy Cooper 861 57.3 +22.8
Labour Julian Porter 684 45.5 +29.2
Green Victoria Door 373 24.8 N/A
Turnout 36.4
Stafford Ind. gain from Independent
Conservative hold

Highfields and Western Downs

Highfields and Western Downs (2 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Co-op Andy McNaughton 597 55.4 +1.8
Labour Co-op Dee McNaughton* 548 50.9 −2.5
Conservative Roy Clarke 358 33.2 −9.4
Conservative Barbara Riddle 334 31.0 −11.4
Green Jake Mahal 162 15.0 N/A
Green Rosemary Musson 156 14.5 N/A
Turnout 23.3
Labour Co-op hold
Labour Co-op hold

Holmcroft

Holmcroft (2 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Frank James 797 49.9 +23.5
Conservative Bryan Cross* 790 49.5 +0.4
Conservative Jonathan Price* 783 49.0 −1.1
Labour Mick Lupton 583 36.5 +14.0
Green Jonathan Moore 242 15.1 +0.8
Turnout 31.2
Labour gain from Conservative
Conservative hold

Littleworth

Littleworth (2 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Co-op Gillian Pardesi* 775 58.6 +20.4
Labour Co-op Tony Nixon* 704 53.2 +17.9
Conservative Maria Redfern 370 28.0 −2.0
Conservative William Taylor 370 28.0 +0.4
Green Andrew Murray 202 15.3 −2.1
Reform UK Michael Bailey 120 9.1 N/A
Reform UK Martyn Garbett 106 8.0 N/A
Turnout 32.0
Labour Co-op hold
Labour Co-op hold

Manor

Manor (2 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Angela Loughran* 853 62.1 +8.5
Labour Anne Hobbs* 785 57.2 +5.6
Conservative Alex Oldridge 450 32.8 −10.2
Conservative Robert Gwynn 432 31.5 −10.1
Green Hayley Percival 227 16.5 N/A
Turnout 28.5
Labour hold
Labour hold

Milford

Milford
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Peter Edgeller 444 48.6 −7.4
Labour Nicholas Shaw 344 37.6 +14.9
Green Katherine Dewey 126 13.8 −7.4
Majority 100 11.0
Turnout 38.2
Conservative hold Swing

Milwich

Milwich (2 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Frances Beatty* 836 49.2 −2.8
Conservative Karine Aspin 752 44.2 −5.6
Stafford Ind. Jim Davies 424 24.9 N/A
Labour Kathryn Williams 414 24.4 +6.4
Stafford Ind. Susan McKeown 403 23.7 N/A
Labour Paul McGee 365 21.5 N/A
Green Tom Harris 205 12.1 N/A
Turnout 34.5
Conservative hold
Conservative hold

Penkside

Penkside
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Ralph Cooke* 324 54.5 −8.1
Conservative Anthony Boucker 169 28.4 −9.0
Green Roisin Chambers 56 9.4 N/A
Reform UK Fran Clark 46 7.7 N/A
Majority 155 26.1
Turnout 23.7
Labour hold Swing

Rowley

Rowley
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Green Doug Rouxel 496 41.3 +21.2
Conservative Carolyn Trowbridge* 406 33.8 −18.3
Labour Deborah Hawkes 300 25.0 −2.7
Majority 90 7.5
Turnout 1,202 40.1
Green gain from Conservative Swing

Seighford and Church Eaton

Seighford and Church Eaton (2 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Green Emma Carter 974 55.8 N/A
Green Jack Rose 777 44.5 N/A
Conservative Cathy Collier 710 40.7 −29.5
Conservative Geoff Collier 681 39.0 −31.1
Labour Joe McCormick 349 20.0 −8.6
Turnout 1,860 33.6
Green gain from Conservative
Green gain from Conservative

St Michaels and Stonefield

St Michaels and Stonefield (3 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Stafford Ind. Rob Kenney* 1,323 59.8 +10.9
Stafford Ind. Philip Leason* 1,306 59.0 +10.3
Stafford Ind. Ian Fordham* 1,219 55.1 +11.1
Labour Mike Osborne-Town 863 39.0 +20.5
Conservative Simon Bell 795 35.9 +10.8
Conservative Adrian Harding 679 30.7 +6.5
Conservative Duncan Sandbrook 454 20.5 −3.3
Turnout 32.9
Stafford Ind. gain from Independent
Stafford Ind. gain from Independent
Stafford Ind. gain from Independent

Swynnerton and Oulton

Swynnerton and Oulton (2 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Roy James* 676 43.8 +43.8
Conservative James Nixon* 546 35.4 +35.4
Labour Adrian Holmes 435 28.2 N/A
Stafford Ind. Kerry Dawson 356 23.0 N/A
Labour Paul Warman 347 22.5 N/A
Liberal Democrats Philip Jones 295 19.1 N/A
Stafford Ind. Jason Metters 239 15.5 N/A
Green Simon Capewell 195 12.6 N/A
Turnout 32.2
Conservative hold
Conservative hold

Walton

Walton (2 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Stafford Ind. Jill Hood* 1,144 81.6 +7.8
Stafford Ind. Jon Powell 658 46.9 −6.8
Labour Bill Lockwood 536 38.2 +18.1
Conservative Ivor Parry 252 18.0 −3.8
Conservative Stephen Walker 213 15.2 −3.1
Turnout 27.7
Stafford Ind. gain from Independent
Stafford Ind. gain from Independent

Weeping Cross and Wildwood

Weeping Cross and Wildwood (2 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Stafford Ind. Jenny Barron* 639 36.6 −24.3
Labour Julie Read 630 36.1 −1.7
Stafford Ind. Ray Barron* 592 33.9 −25.8
Labour James Withington 587 33.6 −4.7
Conservative Steph Travis 372 21.3 −39.6
Conservative Lianne al-Khaldi 358 20.4 −39.3
Green Sarah Matthews 189 10.8 N/A
Green Martin Sandbrook 126 7.2 N/A
Turnout 38.0
Stafford Ind. gain from Conservative
Labour gain from Conservative

Jenny Barron and Ray Barron had both been elected as Conservatives in 2019 but left the party in March 2022 to sit as independents, subsequently joining the Stafford Borough Independents.[3] Seats shown as gains from Conservative to allow comparison with 2019 results.

References

  1. ^ "Councillor Patrick M M Farrington". Stafford Borough Council. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
  2. ^ "Councillor Aidan T A Godfrey". Stafford Borough Council. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
  3. ^ a b Ashdown, Kerry (28 March 2022). "Tories lose Stafford Council majority as councillor couple go independent". Express and Star. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  4. ^ a b "Councillors". Stafford Borough Council. Archived from the original on 5 April 2023. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  5. ^ Cook, Jon (23 March 2023). "Stafford Borough Independent councillors form new political party ahead of upcoming elections". A Little Bit of Stone. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  6. ^ "Stafford Borough Independents". The Electoral Commission. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  7. ^ Madeley, Peter (5 May 2023). "Stafford Borough Council election results in full as leader loses seat and Labour gains". Express and Star. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  8. ^ Madeley, Peter (16 May 2023). "New council leader to bring 'positive change' to Stafford after Labour gains". Express and Star. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  9. ^ "Local elections 2023: full council results for England". The Guardian. 9 May 2023. Retrieved 28 December 2023.
  10. ^ "Statement of Persons Nominated" (PDF). Stafford Borough Council. 5 April 2023. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  11. ^ "Borough Election Results 2023". Stafford Borough Council. Retrieved 29 December 2023.