2023 Darlington Borough Council election

2023 English local election

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4 May 2023 (2023-05-04)

2027 →

All 50 seats to Darlington Borough Council
26 seats needed for a majority

	First party	Second party	Third party

Leader	Stephen Harker	Jonathan Dulston	Matthew Snedker
Party	Labour	Conservative	Green
Last election	20 seats, 33.2%	22 seats, 41.5%	2 seats, 13.2%
Seats won	24	15	7
Seat change	4	7	5
Popular vote	24,798	26,324	13,271
Percentage	34.9%	37.1%	18.7%
Swing	1.7%	4.4%	5.5%

	Fourth party	Fifth party

Leader	Anne-Marie Curry
Party	Liberal Democrats	Independent
Last election	3 seats, 4.2%	3 seats, 6.6%
Seats won	3	1
Seat change	0	2
Popular vote	3,347	3,273
Percentage	4.7%	4.6%
Swing	0.5%	2.0%

Winner of each seat at the 2023 Darlington Borough Council election

Leader before election

Jonathan Dulston
Conservative
No overall control

Leader after election

Stephen Harker
Labour
No overall control

The 2023 Darlington Borough Council election took place on 4 May 2023 to elect all 50 members of Darlington Borough Council in County Durham, England. This was at the same time as other local elections across England.

The council was under no overall control prior to the election, being led by a Conservative minority administration. The council remained under no overall control after the election, but Labour overtook the Conservatives to become the largest party. A Labour and Liberal Democrat coalition formed after the election, with Labour group leader Steven Harker being appointed leader of the council at the subsequent annual council meeting on 25 May 2023.

Results

Following the results, the council remained with no overall control, but Labour became the largest party.

2023 Darlington Borough Council election
Party		Candidates	Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
	Labour	50	24	5	1	4	48.0	34.9	24,798	+1.7
	Conservative	49	15	0	7	7	30.0	37.1	26,324	–4.4
	Green	50	7	7	0	5	14.0	18.7	13,271	+5.5
	Liberal Democrats	16	3	0	0	0	6.0	4.7	3,347	+0.5
	Independent	11	1	0	2	2	2.0	4.6	3,273	–2.0

Ward results

The candidates for each ward were named on 13 April 2023.

Bank Top and Lascelles

Bank Top and Lascelles (3 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Helen Crumbie*	593	52.9	+16.3
	Labour	David Ray	579	51.6	+15.2
	Labour	Andrew Anderson	577	51.4	+19.4
	Conservative	Jo Barker	354	31.6	+8.4
	Conservative	Emily Chamberlain	322	28.7	+5.8
	Conservative	Pat Tobin	312	27.8	N/A
	Independent	Darrien Wright*	157	14.0	–38.3
	Green	Helen Whittington	95	8.5	–13.8
	Green	Geoff Hill	84	7.5	N/A
	Green	Ian MacMurray	74	6.6	N/A
Turnout			1,122
	Labour hold
	Labour gain from Independent
	Labour hold

Brinkburn and Faverdale

Brinkburn and Faverdale (3 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Rebecca Baker	987	47.0	+14.9
	Labour	David Beckett	949	45.2	+14.8
	Conservative	Scott Durham*	891	42.4	–4.0
	Labour	Sarah Holt	880	41.9	+12.0
	Conservative	Sally Clarke	877	41.7	–2.7
	Conservative	Andrew Raw	843	40.1	+0.4
	Green	Sarah Siddle	166	7.9	–14.4
	Green	Ty Hankinson	139	6.6	N/A
	Green	Nick Wilson	129	6.1	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	Paul Bennett	86	4.1	N/A
Turnout			2,101
	Labour gain from Conservative
	Labour gain from Conservative
	Conservative hold

Cockerton

Cockerton (3 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Jan Cossins*	738	51.8	+7.2
	Labour	Jim Garner	652	45.7	+2.9
	Labour	Neil Johnson	634	44.5	+5.6
	Conservative	Vicky Bartch	486	34.1	–2.6
	Conservative	Sam Bell	485	34.0	+3.8
	Conservative	Jonathan Hodgson	473	33.2	+3.0
	Green	Vicky Atkinson	184	12.9	–8.2
	Green	Susie Broughton	143	10.0	N/A
	Green	Tamara Ullyart	128	9.0	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	Malcolm Dunstone	71	5.0	–6.7
Turnout			1,426
	Labour hold
	Labour hold
	Labour hold

College

College (2 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Green	Matthew Snedker*	1,255	64.9	+10.9
	Green	Bryony Holroyd*	1,245	64.3	+19.2
	Conservative	Mark Hardy	479	24.8	–16.2
	Conservative	Andy Maughan	442	22.8	–10.1
	Labour	Elizabeth Watson	152	7.9	–2.9
	Labour	Lian Hutchings	143	7.4	–2.2
	Liberal Democrats	Charlie Curry	32	1.7	N/A
Turnout			1,935
	Green hold
	Green hold

Eastbourne

Eastbourne (3 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Kevin Nicholson*	629	42.4	–28.8
	Conservative	Jonathan Dulston*	622	42.0	+5.2
	Labour	Joe Dillon	529	35.7	+13.6
	Labour	Chris Taylor	476	32.1	+11.3
	Labour	Jan Taylor	466	31.4	+12.1
	Independent	Maureen Martin	368	24.8	N/A
	Conservative	Alison Raynolds	276	18.6	N/A
	Independent	Steven Tait*	268	18.1	–44.3
	Green	Sue Morley	100	6.7	–16.2
	Green	Stuart Bramley	90	6.1	N/A
	Green	Richard Wise	69	4.7	N/A
Turnout			1,482
	Independent hold
	Conservative hold
	Labour gain from Independent

Harrowgate Hill

Harrowgate Hill (3 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Green	Roz Henderson	846	44.4	+21.9
	Green	Anna-Maria Toms	765	40.1	*N/A*
	Green	Richard Lawley	720	37.8	*N/A*
	Labour	Martin Landers	586	30.7	–6.9
	Labour	Joe Passman	563	29.5	–7.2
	Labour	Sophie Landers	561	29.4	–4.2
	Conservative	Jon Clarke*	489	25.6	–14.8
	Conservative	Samantha Bedingfield-Weller	475	24.9	–14.8
	Conservative	Mikey Vasey	421	22.1	–14.6
	Independent	Ian Ferguson	70	3.7	–16.8
Turnout			1,907
	Green gain from Conservative
	Green gain from Conservative
	Green gain from Labour

Haughton and Springfield

Haughton and Springfield (3 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Chris McEwan*	904	54.8	+8.7
	Labour	Nick Wallis*	846	51.3	+10.7
	Labour	Dawn Storr	811	49.2	+4.3
	Conservative	Paul Culley	627	38.0	–1.0
	Conservative	Robert Mills	587	35.6	+2.5
	Conservative	Joe Dunn	548	33.2	+0.3
	Green	Andrew Bramfitt	151	9.2	–13.2
	Green	Bill Stuart	130	7.9	N/A
	Green	Alex Swainston	124	7.5	N/A
Turnout			1,649
	Labour hold
	Labour hold
	Labour hold

Heighington and Coniscliffe

Heighton and Coniscliffe (2 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Gerald Lee*	869	55.9	–14.2
	Conservative	Paul Crudass*	665	42.8	–15.7
	Independent	Holly White	425	27.3	N/A
	Labour	Paul Harman	275	17.7	+4.0
	Labour	Tony Roberts	273	17.6	+4.0
	Green	Michael Cooke	178	11.4	–10.1
	Green	Michael Fearneyhough	122	7.8	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	Bill Oliver	67	4.3	N/A
Turnout			1,555
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Hummersknott

Hummersknott (2 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Green	Thomas Robinson	1,009	53.2	+32.2
	Green	Kate Mammolotti	985	51.9	*N/A*
	Conservative	Bill Galbraith	798	42.1	–13.0
	Conservative	Jack Sowerby*	732	38.6	–13.3
	Labour	Clare McAdam	93	4.9	–9.6
	Labour	Rebecca Taylor	85	4.5	–6.7
Turnout			1,897
	Green gain from Conservative
	Green gain from Conservative

Hurworth

Hurworth (2 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Lorraine Tostevin*	716	54.4	+3.3
	Conservative	Paul Walters	644	49.0	+4.1
	Liberal Democrats	Joe Kelley	325	24.7	–9.6
	Liberal Democrats	Nigel Boddy	278	21.1	N/A
	Labour	Hannah Guy	190	14.4	+3.2
	Green	Peter Commane	169	12.9	–18.1
	Labour	Elizabeth Muggleton	157	11.9	+1.7
	Green	Chris Fishwick	75	5.7	N/A
Turnout			1,315
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Mowden

Mowden (2 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Pauline Culley*	871	56.9	–5.8
	Conservative	Alan Marshall*	842	55.0	–5.0
	Labour	Bob Carson	441	28.8	+8.5
	Labour	Tom Paver	426	27.8	+8.0
	Green	Vanessa Hilton	187	12.2	–8.9
	Green	Paul Hilton	159	10.4	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	Laura Wilson	60	3.9	N/A
Turnout			1,532
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

North Road

North Road (3 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Anne-Marie Curry*	465	41.1	–5.7
	Liberal Democrats	Hilary Allen*	438	38.7	–3.0
	Liberal Democrats	James Coe	394	34.8	+0.5
	Labour	Jan Bowles	353	31.2	+1.9
	Labour	Jonnie Vasey	323	28.5	+2.8
	Labour	Syed Haque	293	25.9	+2.2
	Conservative	Nigel Kendrew	226	20.0	+8.6
	Conservative	Rachael Booth	197	17.4	+6.7
	Conservative	Pratish Thakkar	179	15.8	+5.7
	Green	Jon Barley	111	9.8	–4.3
	Green	Kathy Barley	104	9.2	N/A
	Green	Faith Lawley	100	8.8	N/A
Turnout			1,132
	Liberal Democrats hold
	Liberal Democrats hold
	Liberal Democrats hold

Northgate

Northgate (2 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Sonia Kane	380	50.6	–1.8
	Labour	Syeda Ali	373	49.7	+0.4
	Conservative	Yvonne Richardson	207	27.6	+5.4
	Conservative	Eldhose Saju	188	25.0	+7.5
	Liberal Democrats	David Collinge	80	10.7	N/A
	Green	Louise Maddison	72	9.6	–8.4
	Green	Neil Kang-Scarth	50	6.7	N/A
Turnout			751
	Labour hold
	Labour hold

Park East

Park East (3 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Libby McCollom*	704	52.7	+8.8
	Labour	Michael Nicholson*	680	50.9	+13.3
	Labour	Matthew Roche	663	49.6	+4.7
	Conservative	Martin Bell	413	30.9	+10.7
	Conservative	Chris Lowery	385	28.8	+9.0
	Conservative	Sarah Rose	342	25.6	+7.6
	Green	Ann Hunter	172	12.9	–9.0
	Green	Jane Mitchell	137	10.2	N/A
	Green	Kulvanth Kaur	133	9.9	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	Scott Wood	92	6.9	–8.9
	Independent	Janne Gandy	70	5.2	N/A
Turnout			1,337
	Labour hold
	Labour hold
	Labour hold

Park West

Park West (2 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Heather Scott*	789	42.5	–4.2
	Conservative	Bob Donoghue*	757	40.8	–2.9
	Labour	Mel McEvoy	399	21.5	+2.9
	Liberal Democrats	Sarah Sams	399	21.5	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	Simon Thorley	364	19.6	N/A
	Green	Martin Wood	324	17.5	–17.8
	Labour	John Sloss	319	17.2	–1.3
	Green	William Rowell	226	12.2	–18.8
Turnout			1,856
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Pierremont

Pierremont (3 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Steve Harker*	872	56.4	+6.4
	Labour	Mary Layton*	809	52.3	+7.7
	Labour	James McGill	756	48.9	+2.1
	Conservative	Roger Clark	488	31.5	–0.7
	Conservative	Mags Donoghue	461	29.8	–1.5
	Conservative	Catherine Hart	374	24.2	–2.4
	Green	Cat McConnachie	194	12.5	–11.0
	Green	Megan Hemsley	162	10.5	N/A
	Green	Amy Mycock	150	9.7	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	Gary Potter	97	6.3	N/A
Turnout			1,547
	Labour hold
	Labour hold
	Labour hold

Red Hall and Lingfield

Red Hall and Lingfield (2 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Mandy Porter	551	52.6	+4.3
	Labour	Amanda Riley	534	51.0	+5.7
	Conservative	KJ Hawkins	408	38.9	+5.6
	Conservative	David Willis	400	38.2	+6.9
	Green	Joanne Ashwood	64	6.1	–17.0
	Green	Mary Gravenor	61	5.8	N/A
Turnout			1,048
	Labour hold
	Labour hold

One of the two Red Hall and Lingfield seats had been vacant prior to the election, following the death in March 2023 of Labour councillor Hilary Lucas.

Sadberge and Middleton St George

Sadberge and Middleton St George (3 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Deborah Liang*	909	48.5	–13.3
	Conservative	Yvonne Renton	750	40.0	–31.9
	Conservative	Colin Pease	744	39.7	–31.7
	Independent	Maria Darling	645	34.4	N/A
	Independent	David Darling	596	31.8	N/A
	Labour	Sandy Thorne-Wallis	363	19.4	–3.4
	Labour	Lee Vasey	283	15.1	–0.6
	Labour	Paul Webster	259	13.8	–1.2
	Green	Suzy Lucas	227	12.1	–10.5
	Green	Paul Foster	224	12.0	N/A
	Green	Fred Greenhow	182	9.7	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	Christopher Marlowe	99	5.3	N/A
Turnout			1,874
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Stephenson

Stephenson (2 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Ian Haszeldine*	483	50.6	+14.6
	Labour	Mohammad Mahmud	432	45.2	+10.0
	Conservative	Mike Renton*	403	42.2	–11.1
	Conservative	Michael Walker	331	34.7	N/A
	Green	Lucy Chapman	79	8.3	–19.3
	Green	Pete Greenwood	48	5.0	N/A
	Independent	Monty Brack	23	2.4	N/A
	Independent	Frazer Spence	22	2.3	N/A
Turnout			955
	Labour hold
	Labour gain from Conservative

Whinfield

Whinfield (2 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Jamie Bartch*	615	44.6	–10.4
	Conservative	Andy Keir*	612	44.4	–10.5
	Green	Mike McTimoney	474	34.4	+19.5
	Green	Terri Hankinson	456	33.1	N/A
	Labour	Amanda McEwan	266	19.3	–11.6
	Labour	Josh Spears	234	17.0	–11.4
Turnout			1,379
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Changes 2023–2027

Yvonne Renton, elected as a Conservative, left the party in October 2023 to sit as an independent.

Colin Pease, elected as a Conservative, left the party in May 2024 to sit as an independent.

References

Edgar, Bill (26 May 2023). "Cllr Steve Harker elected as new Darlington Council Leader". Northern Echo. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
"Local Elections 2023: All you need to know as Darlington Labour become majority party". Yahoo News. Retrieved 2023-05-07.
"Darlington result - Local Elections 2023". BBC News. Retrieved 2023-05-07.
"Your councillors [pre-2023 election]". Darlington Borough Council. Archived from the original on 5 April 2023. Retrieved 21 May 2023.
"Election results by party, 4 May 2023 Darlington Borough Council". Darlington Borough Council. Retrieved 2023-05-09.
"Election results by Wards, 4 May 2023 Darlington Borough Council". Darlington Borough Council. Retrieved 2023-05-09.
"Darlington local elections 2023: Full list of candidates standing". The Northern Echo. Retrieved 2023-05-07.
Edgar, Bill (16 March 2023). "Tributes paid to Darlington councillor Hilary Lucas after death". Northern Echo. Retrieved 21 May 2023.
Edgar, Bill (4 October 2023). "Darlington Tory councillor Yvonne Renton becomes Independent". Northern Echo. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
Edgar, Bill (30 May 2024). "Darlington councillor Colin Pease quits Conservative Party". Northern Echo. Retrieved 3 June 2024.

v t e Council elections in County Durham
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Darlington Borough Council	1973 1976 1979 1983 1987 1991 1995 1996 1998 1999 2003 2007 2011 2015 2019 2023
Hartlepool Borough Council	1973 1976 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015 2016 2018 2019 2021 2022 2023 2024
Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council	1973 1976 1979 1983 1987 1991 1995 1999 2003 2005 2007 2011 2015 2019 2023
Cleveland County Council	1973 1977 1981 1985 1989 1993 Abolished
Chester-le-Street District Council	1973 1976 1979 1983 1987 1991 1995 1999 2003 2007 Abolished
Durham City Council	1973 1976 1979 1983 1987 1991 1995 1999 2003 2007 Abolished
Derwentside District Council	1973 1976 1979 1983 1987 1991 1995 1999 2003 2007 Abolished
Easington District Council	1973 1976 1979 1983 1987 1991 1995 1999 2003 2007 Abolished
Sedgefield Borough Council	1973 1976 1979 1983 1987 1991 1995 1999 2003 2007 Abolished
Teesdale District Council	1973 1976 1979 1983 1987 1991 1995 1999 2003 2007 Abolished
Wear Valley District Council	1973 1976 1979 1983 1987 1991 1995 1999 2003 2007 Abolished
Tees Valley Mayor	2017 2021 2024
See also: Wards Boundary changes

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