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2023 Braintree District Council election

← 2019 4 May 2023 (2023-05-04) 2027 →
All 49 seats to Braintree District Council 25 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party Third party   Leader Graham Butland David Mann n/a Party Conservative Labour Independent Last election 34 seats, 45.5% 2 seats, 21.1% 3 seats, 5.9% Seats before 33[a] 3 3 Seats after 26 9 7 Seat change 8 7 4 Popular vote 26,211 17,677 6,727 Percentage 39.8% 26.8% 10.2% Swing 5.7pp 5.7pp 4.3pp   Fourth party Fifth party   Leader James Abbott Jackie Pell Party Green Halstead Residents Last election 6 seats, 17.8% 4 seats, 4.3% Seats before 6 4[b] Seats after 4 3 Seat change 2 1 Popular vote 10,187 2,330 Percentage 15.5% 3.5% Swing 2.3pp 0.8pp
Winner of each seat at the 2023 Braintree District Council election
Leader before election Graham Butland Conservative Leader after election Graham Butland Conservative

The 2023 Braintree District Council election took place on 4 May 2023 to elect members of Braintree District Council in Essex, England.^[2] This was on the same day as other local elections in England.

The Conservatives retained control of the council, but with a reduced majority.^[3]

Prior to the election the Conservatives had a majority of 17 seats on the council. They had held a majority since 2007. There were four registered political parties represented on the council plus three independent councillors. The three independents formed a political group with the Greens called the "Green and Independent Group", led by Green councillor James Abbott.^[4]

After the election, the Conservatives retained their majority but it was reduced to just 3 seats. Conservative group leader Graham Butland continued to serve as leader of the council, a position he had held continuously since 2004.^[5] The Greens and independents continued to form a group after the election, but renamed the "Independent and Green Group" and with the group leadership passing to independent councillor Jo Beavis. The Labour group also changed their leader after the election; their previous leader David Mann had not stood for re-election so Lynn Jefferis was appointed to that role.^[6]

2023 Braintree District Council election
Party			Candidates	Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
	Conservative		49	26	3	11	8	53.1	39.8	26,211	–5.7
	Green and Independent group (G&I)
		Green	22	4	0	2	2	8.2	15.5	10,187	–2.3
		Independent	8	7	4	0	4	14.3	10.1	6,663	+6.5
	G&I total		30	11	4	2	2	22.4	25.6	16,850	+4.2
	Labour		49	9	7	1	7	18.4	26.8	17,677	+5.7
	Halstead Residents		4	3	0	1	1	6.1	3.5	2,330	–0.8
	Liberal Democrat		10	0	0	0		0.0	3.5	2,298	–0.5
	Reform UK		4	0	0	0		0.0	0.5	321	N/A
	UKIP		1	0	0	0		0.0	0.1	68	–1.1
	Independent		1	0	0	0		0.0	0.1	64	–2.2
	Heritage		1	0	0	0		0.0	0.1	51	N/A
Total			149	49	Turnout

The Statement of Persons Nominated, which details the candidates standing in each ward, was released by Braintree District Council following the close of nomination on 5 April 2023.^[7] The results of the district council election were released on 5 May 2023.^[8]

Incumbent councillors are marked with an asterisk *.

Bocking Blackwater

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Lyn Walters*	815	50.3	+9.4
	Conservative	Justin Wrench	804	49.7	+6.3
	Conservative	Lynette Bowers-Flint	773	47.7	+5.2
	Green (G&I)	Dormer Andrews	582	35.9	+6.8
	Labour	Jasmine Curitz	576	35.6	+11.1
	Labour	David Chidgey	540	33.4	+14.1
	Labour	Richard Parsons	421	26.0	+7.9
	Liberal Democrats	James Card	347	21.4	N/A
Turnout				25.0	–1.5
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Bocking North

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Lynn Jefferis	565	51.6	+0.5
	Conservative	John Baugh	522	47.6	+9.3
	Labour	Keiran Martin	506	46.2	–2.8
	Conservative	Felicia Ayo-Ajala	372	33.9	N/A
	Green (G&I)	Andrea Phillips	226	20.6	–1.0
Turnout				28.9	+0.3
	Labour hold
	Conservative gain from Labour

Bocking South

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Jack Edwards	511	46.8	+1.5
	Labour	Moia Thorogood	485	45.8	+11.3
	Conservative	Trevor McArdle*	479	45.3	+8.8
	Labour	Robert Heath	459	43.4	+9.6
	Green (G&I)	Karl Handy	181	17.1	–8.7
Turnout				24.7	–0.4
	Conservative hold
	Labour gain from Conservative

Braintree Central & Beckers Green

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Shirley Mason	699	48.9	+19.5
	Labour	Thomas Diamond	694	48.6	+20.2
	Labour	Jonathan Ayten	687	48.1	+20.7
	Conservative	Karen Brown	488	30.5	+3.7
	Conservative	Sandra Canning	475	30.0	+3.3
	Conservative	Andrew Hensman*	425	29.8	–5.7
	Green (G&I)	Simon Attwood	422	27.3	+2.3
	Independent (G&I)	Colin Riches	393	26.8	+0.7
Turnout				24.5	–1.7
	Labour gain from Conservative
	Labour gain from Conservative
	Labour gain from Conservative

Braintree South

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Martin Green*	468	44.6	+14.5
	Conservative	Kevin Bowers*	457	43.6	–5.9
	Labour	Jacqueline Thurgood	444	42.3	+13.2
	Conservative	Saif Rehman*	399	38.1	–10.4
	Green (G&I)	Stuart Wicks	185	17.6	–4.2
	Liberal Democrats	Tom Hughes	144	13.7	N/A
Turnout				24.4	+0.4
	Labour hold
	Conservative hold

Martin Green previously gained the seat in the 2022 by-election.

Braintree West

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Mary Cunningham*	727	55.1	–0.1
	Conservative	George Prime	692	52.4	–1.1
	Labour	Alexander Wilsdon	457	34.6	+9.3
	Labour	Peter Wyatt	426	32.2	+14.9
	Green (G&I)	Nick Scales	341	25.8	+0.9
Turnout				30.6	–0.8
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Bumpstead

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Diana Garord*	479	60.2	–16.0
	Labour	Gary Knights	236	29.6	+5.8
	Reform UK	Norma Saggers	81	10.2	N/A
Majority			243	30.6	–21.8
Turnout			796	34.6	–1.8
	Conservative hold		Swing	10.9

Coggeshall (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent (G&I)	Tom Walsh*	981	56.5	+3.0
	Independent (G&I)	Dennis Abram*	928	53.4	–7.7
	Conservative	Sue Wilson	540	31.1	+2.9
	Conservative	Chris Siddall	478	27.5	–0.4
	Labour	Robert Powers	287	16.5	+5.0
	Labour	Usha Agarwal-Hollands	260	15.0	+5.0
Turnout				39.0	–4.3
	Independent hold
	Independent hold

Gosfield & Greenstead Green

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Peter Schwier*	396	52.6	+1.0
	Green (G&I)	Jenny Bishop	219	29.1	–5.3
	Labour	Deborah Warren	138	18.3	+4.3
Majority			177	23.5	+6.3
Turnout			753	34.9	–6.5
	Conservative hold		Swing	3.2

Great Notley & Black Notley

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Graham Butland*	1,028	54.6	–5.0
	Conservative	Frankie Ricci*	979	52.0	–0.2
	Conservative	Tom Cunningham*	969	51.5	–1.2
	Green (G&I)	Poppy Gerrard-Abbott	490	26.0	–0.8
	Labour	Andrew Beatty	428	22.7	+7.8
	Liberal Democrats	Brian Smith	387	20.5	N/A
	Labour	Antony Jones	384	20.4	+6.9
	Labour	Bronislaw Jagniaszek	354	18.8	+8.2
	Liberal Democrats	David Toombs	347	18.4	+3.2
	Liberal Democrats	Graham Sheppard	284	15.1	–1.7
Turnout				27.0	–1.2
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Halstead St. Andrews

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Halstead Residents	Jim Bond	664	56.7	+3.8
	Halstead Residents	Andy Munday*	632	53.9	+6.5
	Conservative	David Finch	289	24.7	+2.0
	Labour	Steven Knight	286	24.4	+10.5
	Labour	Kathleen Tearle	255	21.8	+8.7
	Conservative	Olatunbosun Senbanjo	150	12.8	–7.2
	UKIP	Judy Wood	68	5.8	N/A
Turnout				25.7	–4.9
	Halstead Residents hold
	Halstead Residents hold

Halstead Trinity

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Halstead Residents	Jackie Pell*	625	54.0	–10.5
	Labour	Malcolm Fincken	520	44.9	+18.4
	Labour	Garry Warren	437	37.8	+14.4
	Halstead Residents	Linda Hilton	409	35.4	–12.4
	Conservative	Barry Britten	180	15.6	–5.0
	Conservative	Libby Poole	143	12.4	N/A
Turnout				24.3	–2.5
	Halstead Residents hold
	Labour gain from Halstead Residents

Hatfield Peverel & Terling

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Charley Dervish	877	63.7	+0.3
	Conservative	James Coleridge*	855	62.1	+2.3
	Green (G&I)	Jonathan Barker	409	29.7	+6.1
	Labour	Linda Bennison	312	22.7	+14.3
	Labour	Tony Bennett	299	21.7	+11.9
Turnout				30.8	–2.8
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Hedingham

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent (G&I)	Jo Beavis*	941	73.8	+27.2
	Independent (G&I)	Wendy Taylor	764	59.9	N/A
	Conservative	Jason Ferrando	304	23.9	–21.9
	Conservative	Philip Rawlinson	236	18.5	–8.9
	Labour	Christine Calver	156	12.2	+4.4
	Labour	Matthew Creamer	148	11.6	–2.7
Turnout				30.1	+0.1
	Independent hold
	Independent gain from Conservative

Kelvedon & Feering

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Green (G&I)	Paul Thorogood*	1,096	57.4	+15.6
	Green (G&I)	Camilla Finch	940	49.2	–0.8
	Conservative	Robert Mitchell	668	35.0	–4.2
	Conservative	India Jayatillake	644	33.7	–3.0
	Labour	Eileen Davidson	246	12.9	–3.5
	Labour	Pamela Carlaw	226	11.8	+1.6
Turnout				43.6	+3.3
	Green hold
	Green hold

Rayne

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent (G&I)	Ann Hooks	528	64.0	N/A
	Conservative	Glenn Young	218	26.4	–27.9
	Labour	Nigel Gibson	79	9.6	–3.3
Majority			310	37.6	N/A
Turnout			825	37.6	+1.8
	Independent gain from Conservative		Swing	N/A

Silver End & Cressing

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Green (G&I)	James Abbott*	1,198	75.2	–1.7
	Green (G&I)	Bob Wright*	1,017	63.8	+2.7
	Conservative	Jacky Bayford	300	18.8	+4.5
	Conservative	Darrin Hammond	297	18.6	N/A
	Labour	Steven Bennison	134	8.4	+2.6
	Labour	Ann Griffin	126	7.9	+0.9
	Independent	Annetta Hawkins	64	4.0	N/A
	Heritage	Andrew Page	51	3.2	N/A
Turnout				31.5	–7.0
	Green hold
	Green hold

Stour Valley North

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Iona Parker*	507	55.6	–28.7
	Labour	Peter Long	172	18.9	+3.2
	Green (G&I)	Mark Posen	167	18.3	N/A
	Reform UK	Raymond Richards	66	7.2	N/A
Majority			335	36.7	–32.0
Turnout			912	36.0	–3.1
	Conservative hold		Swing	16.0

Stour Valley South

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	David Holland	549	59.3	–2.4
	Green (G&I)	Paul Robinson	221	23.9	N/A
	Labour	Frederick Hearn	156	16.8	+8.4
Majority			328	35.4	+3.6
Turnout			926	38.0	–0.9
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A

The Colnes

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	George Courtauld*	724	56.3	–9.1
	Conservative	Gabrielle Spray*	707	55.0	–7.4
	Green (G&I)	James Astley	549	42.7	–2.1
	Labour	Sandra Hindley	346	26.9	+8.2
	Labour	Felix Preston	247	19.2	+8.6
Turnout				30.8	+4.3
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Three Fields

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent (G&I)	Mark Ault	995	53.1	N/A
	Independent (G&I)	Michael Staines	851	45.4	N/A
	Conservative	John Warner	818	43.6	–26.2
	Conservative	Stephen Canning	593	31.6	–30.0
	Labour	William Edwards	265	14.1	–3.7
	Labour	Stephen Newton	228	12.2	–5.2
Turnout				43.2	+10.2
	Independent gain from Conservative
	Independent gain from Conservative

Witham Central

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Sindhu Rajeev	510	39.7	–6.0
	Conservative	Toby Williams	486	37.9	+1.5
	Labour	Lucy Barlow	362	28.2	+11.5
	Green (G&I)	Edwyn Gerrard-Abbott	358	27.9	–3.9
	Labour	Joan Coleman	288	22.4	+6.5
	Liberal Democrats	Barry Fleet	259	20.2	–10.7
	Liberal Democrats	Helen Waring	198	15.4	N/A
	Reform UK	Richard Thomson	107	8.3	N/A
Turnout				27.9	–0.1
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Witham North

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Billy Taylor	568	39.6	+10.2
	Conservative	Ethan Williams	543	37.8	+8.8
	Labour	Philip Barlow	477	33.2	+1.4
	Labour	Leanora Headley	418	29.1	+4.8
	Green (G&I)	Stephen Hicks*	401	27.9	–7.9
	Green (G&I)	Phillip Hughes	396	27.6	–12.0
	Reform UK	Tim Blaxill	67	4.7	N/A
Turnout				26.9	–3.1
	Conservative gain from Green
	Conservative gain from Green

Witham South

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Paul Heath	501	44.5	+21.1
	Labour	Jacqueline Martin	473	42.0	+20.2
	Conservative	William Korsinah	448	39.8	–14.7
	Conservative	Joe Trigg	424	37.6	–12.7
	Green (G&I)	Stephanie Bills	174	15.4	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	Paul Hewitt	137	12.2	–16.7
	Liberal Democrats	Charlie Ryland	97	8.6	–17.6
Turnout				26.0	+2.0
	Labour gain from Conservative
	Labour gain from Conservative

Witham West

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Jon Hayes	533	40.1	–3.5
	Conservative	Ron Ramage*	520	39.1	–2.1
	Labour	Jack Coleman	467	35.1	+9.2
	Labour	Jack Robertson	427	32.1	+14.5
	Green (G&I)	Susan Ager	361	27.1	–2.3
	Green (G&I)	Steven Crane	254	19.1	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	Andrew Holt	98	7.4	–6.5
Turnout				28.3	–0.8
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Yeldham

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Richard Van Dulken	312	44.2	–27.9
	Independent (G&I)	Julia Allen	282	39.9	N/A
	Labour	Denis Franklin	112	15.9	–12.0
Turnout			706	32.1	+1.0
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A