2023 Burnley Borough Council election

Election

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4 May 2023 (2023-05-04)

2024 →

15 out of 45 seats to Burnley Borough Council
23 seats needed for a majority

	First party	Second party	Third party

Leader	Afrasiab Anwar	Alan Hosker	Scott Cunliffe
Party	Labour	Conservative	Green
Last election	18 seats, 38.9%	8 seats, 26.1%	6 seats, 16.6%
Seats before	19	6	6
Seats won	8	2	2
Seats after	21	7	7
Seat change	3	1	1
Popular vote	8,131	4,342	3,229
Percentage	42.2%	22.5%	16.7%
Swing	3.3%	3.6%	0.1%

	Fourth party	Fifth party	Sixth party

Leader	Gordon Birtwistle	Mark Payne
Party	Liberal Democrats	BAPIP	Independent
Last election	8 seats, 12.8%	5 seats, 5.4%	0 seats, 0.2%
Seats before	8	5	1
Seats won	2	1	0
Seats after	7	3	0
Seat change	1	2
Popular vote	2,594	824	92
Percentage	13.5%	4.3%	0.5%
Swing	0.7%	1.1%	0.3%

The winner of each seat in the 2023 Burnley Borough Council Election

Leader before election

Afrasiab Anwar
Labour
No overall control

Leader after election

Afrasiab Anwar
Labour
No overall control

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

Summary

The council was under no overall control prior to the election, being run by a Labour and Liberal Democrat coalition, led by Labour councillor Afrasiab Anwar. The council remained under no overall control after the election; Labour gained seats but remained two seats short of an overall majority. A Labour minority administration formed after the election, with the Liberal Democrats withdrawing from the coalition.

Election result

2023 Burnley Borough Council election
Party		This election			Full council			This election
Party		Seats	Net	Seats %	Other	Total	Total %	Votes	Votes %	+/−
	Labour	8	2	53.3	13	21	46.7	8,131	42.2	+3.3
	Conservative	2	1	13.3	5	7	15.6	4,342	22.5	–3.6
	Green	2	1	13.3	5	7	15.6	3,229	16.7	+0.1
	Liberal Democrats	2	1	13.3	5	7	15.6	2,594	13.5	+0.7
	BAPIP	1	2	6.7	2	3	6.7	824	4.3	–1.1
	Independent	0		0.0	0	0	0.0	92	0.5	+0.3
	Heritage	0		0.0	0	0	0.0	66	0.3	N/A
	UKIP	0	1	0.0	0	0	0.0	N/A	N/A	N/A

Ward results

The Statement of Persons Nominated, which details the candidates standing in each ward, was released by Burnley Borough Council following the close of nominations on 5 April 2023. The results for each ward were as follows:

Bank Hall

Bank Hall
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Sehrish Lone*	927	74.1	–1.1
	Conservative	Susan Nutter	130	10.4	–4.7
	Green	Julie Hart	109	8.7	–1.0
	Liberal Democrats	Khalil Pascall	85	6.8	N/A
Majority			797	63.7	+3.6
Turnout			1,251	30.3	–0.9
Registered electors			4,155
	Labour hold		Swing	1.8

Briercliffe

Briercliffe
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Anne Kelly*	614	49.6	–0.9
	Labour	Pete Coles	356	28.7	+8.4
	Conservative	Richard Sagar	219	17.7	–6.4
	Green	Oliver Sanderson	50	4.0	–1.1
Majority			258	20.9	–5.5
Turnout			1,239	29.2	+0.5
Registered electors			4,259
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing	4.7

Brunshaw

Brunshaw
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour Co-op	Mark Townsend*	573	45.3	+3.4
	Green	Alex Hall	514	40.7	+4.3
	Conservative	Claire Ingham	177	14.0	–7.7
Majority			59	4.6	–0.9
Turnout			1,264	27.9	+0.9
Registered electors			4,554
	Labour Co-op hold		Swing	0.6

Cliviger with Worsthorne

Cliviger with Worsthorne
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Green	Beki Hughes	799	44.1	–3.5
	Conservative	Cosima Towneley*	760	42.0	–5.0
	Labour	Peter Kenyon	151	8.3	+3.0
	Liberal Democrats	John Hill	101	5.6	N/A
Majority			39	2.1	+1.5
Turnout			1,811	42.7	–1.5
Registered electors			4,253
	Green gain from Conservative		Swing	0.7

Coal Clough with Deerplay

Coal Clough with Deerplay
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Howard Baker*	563	47.0	–13.0
	Labour	Mubashar Lone	274	22.9	+2.7
	Conservative	Jackie Clarke	245	20.5	+4.7
	Green	Janet Hall	115	9.6	+5.5
Majority			289	24.1	–15.7
Turnout			1,197	31.2	–5.1
Registered electors			3,853
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing	7.9

Daneshouse with Stoneyholme

Daneshouse with Stoneyholme
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Nussrat Kazmi	1,137	76.5	–10.4
	Liberal Democrats	Mohammed Haji-Nazrul	244	16.4	+8.9
	Conservative	Linda Whittaker	54	3.6	+0.3
	Green	Sarah Hall	51	3.4	+1.0
Majority			893	60.1	–19.3
Turnout			1,486	31.9	–3.4
Registered electors			4,694
	Labour hold		Swing	9.7

Gannow

Gannow
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	BAPIP	Charlie Briggs*	486	48.3	+3.8
	Labour Co-op	Gemma Haigh	371	36.8	+2.9
	Conservative	Tom Watson	94	9.3	–3.5
	Green	Jai Redman	56	5.6	–3.3
Majority			115	11.5	+0.9
Turnout			1,007	23.1	–3.4
Registered electors			4,356
	BAPIP hold		Swing	0.5

Gawthorpe

Gawthorpe
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	John Harbour*	783	65.4	+5.9
	Conservative	Adam Brierley	335	28.0	–6.1
	Green	Nigel Baldwin	79	6.6	+0.1
Majority			448	37.4	+12.0
Turnout			1,197	27.5	+0.3
Registered electors			4,397
	Labour hold		Swing	6.0

Hapton with Park

Hapton with Park
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Joanne Broughton	738	55.1	–11.9
	Labour	Ashley Brown	481	35.9	+14.8
	Green	Anna Hewitt	121	9.0	–2.9
Majority			257	19.2	–26.7
Turnout			1,340	28.2	–2.8
Registered electors			4,769
	Conservative gain from UKIP		Swing	13.4

Lanehead

Lanehead
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour Co-op	Fiona Wild	655	50.5	–5.4
	Conservative	Abdul Shahid	348	26.8	+2.6
	Liberal Democrats	Pippa Lishman	217	16.7	+1.6
	Green	Barbara Baldwin	77	5.9	+1.1
Majority			307	23.7	–8.0
Turnout			1,297	28.7	–0.1
Registered electors			4,528
	Labour Co-op hold		Swing	4.0

Queensgate

Queensgate
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Mohammed Ishtiaq*	939	68.7	+0.7
	Conservative	Bailey Webster	178	13.0	–10.3
	Liberal Democrats	Christine Taylor	163	11.9	N/A
	Green	Fiona Hornby	87	6.4	–2.4
Majority			761	55.7	+11.0
Turnout			1,367	32.8	+0.1
Registered electors			4,189
	Labour hold		Swing	5.5

Rosegrove with Lowerhouse

Rosegrove with Lowerhouse
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Paul Reynolds	523	44.9	+3.5
	BAPIP	Lorraine Mehanna*	338	29.0	+4.0
	Conservative	Maison McGowan-Doe	170	14.6	–9.6
	Liberal Democrats	Kathryn Haworth	72	6.2	+1.3
	Green	Jane Curran	61	5.2	+0.7
Majority			185	15.9	–0.5
Turnout			1,164	23.7	–1.9
Registered electors			4,907
	Labour gain from BAPIP		Swing	0.3

Rosehill with Burnley Wood

Rosehill with Burnley Wood
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Margaret Brindle	480	38.4	+14.8
	Liberal Democrats	Russell Neal	468	37.4	–18.8
	Conservative	Kev Shackell	168	13.4	–1.7
	Green	Carol Fredlund	68	5.4	+0.3
	Heritage	Catherine Ramsay	66	5.3	N/A
Majority			12	1.0	N/A
Turnout			1,250	28.3	–2.3
Registered electors			4,438
	Labour gain from Liberal Democrats		Swing	16.8

Trinity

Trinity
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Green	Helen Bridges	552	64.0	–2.7
	Labour	Shoaib Hashmi	233	27.0	+3.1
	Conservative	Dale Ferrier	78	9.0	–0.3
Majority			319	37.0	–5.8
Turnout			863	21.9	–2.0
Registered electors			3,960
	Green hold		Swing	2.9

Whittlefield with Ightenhill

Whittlefield with Ightenhill
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Lee Ashworth	648	41.9	+3.6
	Green	Andrew Newhouse	490	31.7	+3.7
	Labour	Shaun Sproule	248	16.1	+1.2
	Independent	Mitchell Cryer	92	6.0	+3.9
	Liberal Democrats	Frank Bartram	67	4.3	N/A
Majority			158	10.2	–0.1
Turnout			1,545	34.1	–1.7
Registered electors			4,549
	Conservative gain from BAPIP		Swing	0.1

Changes between 2023–2024

The Burnley and Padiham Independent Party was wound up in August 2023. Of that party's three councillors, Mark Payne and Neil Mottershead then sat as independents, while Charlie Briggs joined Labour.

By-elections

Trinity

Trinity: 26 October 2023
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Green	Alexander Hall	347	59.5	–4.5
	Labour	Mubashar Lone	163	28.0	+1.0
	Conservative	Susan Nutter	73	12.5	+3.5
Majority			184	31.5
Turnout			588	15.1
Registered electors			3,903
	Green hold		Swing	2.8

The Trinity ward and Burnley Central West division by-elections were triggered by the resignation of Green councillor Andy Fewings.

References

Including one vacant seat in Whittlefield and Ightenhill ward previously held by BAPIP councillor Emma Payne prior to her resignation in January 2023.
Including one vacant seat in Hapton with Park ward previously held by Peter Gill, who was elected for UKIP in May 2019, changed to the Brexit Party in August 2019, joined the Conservatives in January 2020, left the party to sit as an independent in September 2022 and resigned his seat in April 2023 shortly before the election.

Boothroyd, David (13 January 2023). "Did you insinuate we'd lost three seats on Plymouth". Local Councils. Thorncliffe. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
Jacobs, Bill (22 April 2023). "Burnley Labour set to make progress in its rebuilding programme". Lancashire Telegraph. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
"Notice of Election" (PDF). Burnley Borough Council. 27 March 2023. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
"Local elections 2023: Labour narrowly fails to take control of Burnley". BBC News. 5 May 2023. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
Longworth, Laura (5 May 2023). "Burnley Council Election 2023 Results: Green Party unseats Mayor of Burnley Cosima Towneley after 16 years". Burnley Express. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
Jacobs, Bill (24 May 2023). "Burnley: Labour take control of council as a minority". Lancashire Telegraph. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
"Statement of Persons Nominated" (PDF). Burnley Borough Council. 5 April 2023. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
"Elections and voting". Burnley Borough Council. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
"Burnley and Padiham Independent Party". The Electoral Commission. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
Jacobs, Bill (18 September 2023). "Two Burnley councillors defect to leave town on knife edge". Lancashire Telegraph. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
Longworth, Laura (19 September 2023). "Burnley Green Party leader praises former councillor who made history in Burnley". Burnley Express. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
Longworth, Laura (27 October 2023). "Burnley Green Party successfully defends seats on Burnley Borough Council and Lancashire County Council". Burnley Express. Retrieved 27 October 2023.

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See also: Wards Boundary changes

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