2023 Stafford Borough Council election

2023 UK local government election

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4 May 2023 (2023-05-04)

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All 40 seats to Stafford Borough Council
21 seats needed for a majority

	First party	Second party	Third party

Leader	Patrick Farrington	Aidan Godfrey	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	8	3	7
Popular vote	20,843	16,764	10,094
Percentage	36.1%	29.1%	17.6%
Swing	12.4%	1.9%	N/A

	Fourth party	Fifth party	Sixth party

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	4	1	7
Popular vote	7,704	1,417	107
Percentage	13.4%	2.5%	0.2%
Swing	10.4%	1.6%	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. Shortly before the election, eight of the nine independent councillors registered as a new localist party called the Stafford Borough Independents.

The council remained under no overall control after the election. The Conservative leader of the council, Patrick Farrington, lost his seat. 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.

Overall results

The overall results were:

2023 Stafford Borough Council election
Party		Candidates	Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
	Conservative	39	14	0	8	8	35.0	36.1	20,843	–12.4
	Labour	32	13	3	0	3	32.5	29.1	16,764	+1.9
	Stafford Ind.	14	7	7	0	7	17.5	17.5	10,094	N/A
	Green	24	5	4	0	4	12.5	13.4	7,704	+10.4
	Liberal Democrats	3	1	1	0	1	2.5	2.5	1,417	+1.6
	Reform UK	7	0	0	0		0.0	1.3	777	N/A
	Independent	3	0	0	7	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. The results for each ward were as follows, with an asterisk (*) indicating an incumbent councillor standing for re-election.

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. Seats shown as gains from Conservative to allow comparison with 2019 results.

References

"Councillor Patrick M M Farrington". Stafford Borough Council. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
"Councillor Aidan T A Godfrey". Stafford Borough Council. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
^ Ashdown, Kerry (28 March 2022). "Tories lose Stafford Council majority as councillor couple go independent". Express and Star. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
^ "Councillors". Stafford Borough Council. Archived from the original on 5 April 2023. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
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.
"Stafford Borough Independents". The Electoral Commission. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
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.
Madeley, Peter (16 May 2023). "New council leader to bring 'positive change' to Stafford after Labour gains". Express and Star. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
"Local elections 2023: full council results for England". The Guardian. 9 May 2023. Retrieved 28 December 2023.
"Statement of Persons Nominated" (PDF). Stafford Borough Council. 5 April 2023. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
"Borough Election Results 2023". Stafford Borough Council. Retrieved 29 December 2023.

v t e Council elections in Staffordshire
Staffordshire County Council	1889 1892 1895 1898 1901 1904 1907 1910 1913 1919 1922 1925 1928 1931 1934 1937 1946 1949 1952 1955 1958 1961 1964 1967 1970 1973 1977 1981 1985 1989 1993 1997 2001 2005 2009 2013 2017 2021 2025
Cannock Chase District Council	1973 1976 1978 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
East Staffordshire Borough Council	1973 1976 1979 1983 1987 1991 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 2015 2019 2023
Lichfield District Council	1973 1976 1979 1983 1987 1991 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 2015 2019 2023
Newcastle-under-Lyme 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 2022
South Staffordshire District Council	1973 1976 1979 1983 1987 1991 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 2015 2019 2023
Stafford Borough Council	1973 1976 1979 1983 1987 1991 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 2015 2019 2023
Staffordshire Moorlands District Council	1973 1976 1979 1983 1987 1991 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 2015 2019 2023
Stoke-on-Trent City 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 2015 2019 2023
Tamworth Borough Council	1973 1976 1978 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
See also: Wards Boundary changes

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