2015 Cheshire West and Chester Council election

The 2015 Cheshire West and Chester Council election took place on 7 May 2015, electing members of Cheshire West and Chester Council in England.[1] This was on the same day as other local elections across the country as well as the general election.

2015 Cheshire West and Chester Council election

7 May 2015
All 75 seats to Cheshire West and Chester Council 38 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	68.2% (24.7%)
Leader Samantha Dixon Mike Jones Party Labour Conservative Leader's seat Chester City Tattenhall Last election 32 seats, 35.3% 42 seats, 44.2% Seats before 32 42 Seats won 38 36 Seat change 6 6 Popular vote 64,996 68,580 Percentage 34.7% 36.7% Swing 0.6% 7.5%   Leader Bob Thompson Party Independent Liberal Democrats Leader's seat Hoole (Did not run for re-election) Last election 0 seats, 4.0% 1 seat, 13.3% Seats before 0 1 Seats won 1 0 Seat change 1 1 Popular vote 5,627 18,273 Percentage 3.0% 9.8% Swing 1.0% 3.5%
Colours denote winning party. Striped wards have mixed representation.
Leader of the Council before election Mike Jones Conservative Leader of the Council after election Samantha Dixon Labour

All 75 seats were contested. Labour won a small majority with a total of 38 seats on a 3.2% swing from the Conservatives,[2] meaning that the council moved from Conservative control to Labour control.

Cheshire West and Chester was the only council to change hands in this way in the 2015 elections,[3] and this unique result has been variously attributed to public dissatisfaction with fracking in the area,[4][5][6] local planning issues,[4] the organisation and leadership of the local parties,[2][7][8][9] and to a generally difficult climate for Conservatives in the area.[8] In addition, the only Liberal Democrat (Lib Dem) seat on the council was lost, while an independent was elected to the Parkgate ward. No other minor party won a seat, but both the Green Party and United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) fielded large numbers of candidates and saw significant positive swings. Labour's Samantha Dixon became the first woman to lead the council, while the previous leader Mike Jones survived a Conservative leadership challenge and became Leader of the Opposition.

Background

HQ, the headquarters of Cheshire West and Chester Council

Cheshire West and Chester (CWaC) had been governed since its formation in 2009 by the Conservative Party.[10] However, the Conservatives lost seats in CWaC against the national trend at the 2011 local election,[11] and the Chester area was identified by The Economist before the election as a challenging area for the party.[12] The election also took place at an especially bad period nationally for the Liberal Democrats, who lost 310 councillors in England at the previous local elections,[13][14] and at a period of growth for other minor parties – especially UKIP, who won the CWaC council area in the 2014 European Parliament elections and were identified by the BBC as potential spoiler candidates.[10] Although there were several by-elections in the 2011-2015 term,[15][16] the number of councillors representing each party did not change over the course of the Council.

In total, there were 75 Conservative candidates, 75 Labour candidates, 45 Green candidates, 43 Liberal Democrat candidates, 33 UKIP candidates, 4 TUSC candidates, 1 Socialist Labour candidate and 9 candidates running as independents.[17] Of the incumbents, 14 did not seek re-election, including several parliamentary candidates:[5] Bob Thompson, formerly the only Lib Dem on the council, stood for Parliament in City of Chester;[18] the former Labour councillor Julia Tickridge stood in Weaver Vale;[19] and Justin Madders, previous leader of the Labour group, stood in and was elected to Ellesmere Port and Neston.[20]

Election proceedings

Turnout by ward, from lowest (darkest) to highest (lightest)

The Statement of Persons Nominated was published on Friday 10 April 2015.[21] The election took place on 7 May 2015, on the same day as the general election, various parish council elections, town council elections in Frodsham, Neston, Northwich and Winsford, and a referendum on town planning in Malpas.[22] As is standard for council elections in England, first-past-the-post voting was used in single seat wards, and block voting was used in multi-seat wards. All 75 seats on the CWaC council were up for election. Of around 34,000 postal ballots issued, about 1,300 papers for Frodsham and the Garden Quarter district of Chester were voided and re-issued due to a printing error that removed the party emblems of some candidates,[23] and 284 were not delivered in time for the election.[24] An attack leaflet targeted at Labour leader Samantha Dixon was distributed to Chester city centre residents on the day of the election which lacked printing details and may have contained "incorrect information", in violation of the Representation of the People Act 1983.[25] Cheshire Police confirmed that they were investigating the leaflet.[25]

The count for the parliamentary election to City of Chester took priority, and so the count for CWaC began on at 2 PM, 8 May.[22][26] The count took place at Northgate Arena, and ended up running through the whole of the allotted 9 hour day without a decisive result.[5] The count was suspended on a "cliffhanger", with Labour and the Conservatives tied at 36 seats each after a recount was called on the two decisive two-seat ward of the Newton.[5] The count resumed on 9 May, and after a quick "bundle recount" suggested a Labour lead, the Conservative Party asked for a full recount, lasting another three and a half hours.[27] The second recount revealed that Labour's Gill Watson led by 34 votes over the incumbent Adrian Walmsley in the final seat.[5][27] The final result was delivered at 5.30 PM on 9 May 2015 after 14 hours of counting.[28]

Vote share

  Conservative (36.66%)

  Labour (34.75%)

  Lib Dem (9.77%)

  UKIP (9.22%)

  Green (6.34%)

  Independent & other (3.26%)

Seats

  Labour (50.7%)

  Conservative (48.0%)

  Independent (1.3%)

The final results saw the Conservatives retain the largest share of the popular vote, but with a smaller proportion than at the previous election. Labour gained 6 seats (5 from Conservative, 1 from Lib Dem), the Conservatives lost 6 seats (5 to Labour, 1 to independent) and the Lib Dems lost their only seat in Hoole to Labour.[6] Labour therefore won an absolute majority, with 38 seats to the Conservatives 36 on the 75 seat council.[3] This made CWaC the only council in the entire country to transfer from Conservative to Labour control at the 2015 elections,[lower-alpha 1] a result that was described by ConservativeHome as a "catastrophic loss"[9] and by the Chester Chronicle as "deeply embarrassing" for the local Conservative party.[3][6][36]

No minor parties won any seats, but UKIP and the Greens saw large positive swings both across the borough and in individual wards, including a 9% swing to UKIP in Blacon[37] and a 17.5% swing to the Greens in Garden Quarter where they finished second.[26]

 Summary of the 2015 Cheshire West and Chester Council election results[38]

Political party		Group leader	Candidates	Total votes	Total seats	Seats gained	Seats lost	Seats, net change	Seats, of total (%)	Votes, of total (%)	Total votes, change (%)
	Conservative	Mike Jones	75	68,580	36	0	6	6	48.0	36.7	7.5
	Labour	Samantha Dixon	75	64,996	38	6	0	6	50.7	34.7	0.6
	Liberal Democrats	Bob Thompson (outgoing)[lower-roman 1]	43	18,273	0	0	1	1	0.0	9.8	3.5
	UKIP	N/A	33	17,240	0	0	0		0.0	9.2	7.3
	Green	N/A	45	11,867	0	0	0		0.0	6.3	5.4
	Independent	N/A[lower-roman 2]	9	5,627	1	1	0	1	1.3	3.0	1.0
	Socialist Labour	N/A	1	286	0	0	0		0.0	0.2
	TUSC	N/A	4	184	0	0	0		0.0	0.1	New
Total			285	187,053	75	-	-	-	Turnout	68.2	-

Seat composition before (top) and after (bottom):

↓

42	32	1
Conservative	Labour	LD

↓

38	36	1
Labour	Conservative	I

1. As the only Lib Dem on the council, Thompson was the de facto group leader but did not stand for re-election. No Lib Dems were subsequently elected.
2. As the only independent on the council, Martin Barker is the de facto independent group leader.

In all, there were 22 new councillors to CWaC council – 12 from Labour, 9 from the Conservatives and one independent.[27] Local Labour leader Samantha Dixon became the council leader, making her the first woman to hold the role,[7] while former council leader Mike Jones remained leader of the Conservative group despite a leadership challenge.[36]

Following the election, the first council meeting under Labour control took place on 21 May 2015.[39] The new administration significantly restructured the council: the existing scrutiny committees were merged while new local committees were established for Chester, Ellesmere Port, Northwich and Winslow, and rural Cheshire, and the roles of Lord Mayor of Chester and Chair of the Council were separated.[39] This meant that the casting vote remained with former Lord Mayor, Bob Rudd (Labour), instead of the new Lord Mayor, Hugo Deynem (Conservative), which Conservatives criticized for politicizing the role.[39] The new overview and scrutiny committee was arranged on a nonpartisan basis, with equal numbers of Labour and Conservative members and the casting vote given to the independent Martin Barker.[39]

Reactions and analysis

Butler swing from 2011

Labour/Conservative swing by ward

Largest party/second party swing by ward

As leader of the only Labour group to take control of a former Conservative council at the elections, Samantha Dixon described her local party as "a little ray of hope in the North West" but warned that it would be difficult to operate Labour policies under a national Conservative majority government, and proposed a more consensual cross-party approach to running the council.[6][7] The outgoing Conservative leader, Mike Jones, suggested that a Labour majority of just one would decrease private sector confidence in the council.[7][36]

Fracking was noted by both the Chester Chronicle and BBC News as a politically hot topic in Cheshire, particularly around Upton where one gas company had planning permission for a drilling site,[40][41] and the Conservative loss was partly attributed to community fears about the practice.[4][6] Matt Bryan, an anti-fracking Labour candidate in Upton unseated the sitting Conservative councillor in what the Chester Chronicle described as arguably "the biggest poll shock".[5] The Labour MP for City of Chester, Chris Matheson, who had similarly defeated the incumbent Stephen Mosley against the national trend, described unhappiness with fracking planning permission procedures and planning more generally as key issues that had helped Labour locally.[4]

The loss of the safe Conservative seat of Parkgate to the independent Martin Barker was also described as a "surprise" by AboutMyArea.[42] Barker stood on a platform of localism for Parkgate and his victory was attributed by the site to dissatisfaction with the choice of Conservative candidate, who lived outside Parkgate in Mickle Trafford.[42][43]

On taking office, Dixon credited the result to a "positive campaign" by the Labour Party rather than any mistakes by the Conservative Party.[7] However, Private Eye's "Rotten Boroughs" column blamed "own goals" by Jones – such as removing the planning committee chairperson[44] and withdrawing the party whip from councillors who voted against developments that Jones supported,[45] insulting members of the public,[46] and removing a respect clause from the council constitution[47] – for having "handed victory to Labour".[2][8] There was similar criticism from ConservativeHome, whose correspondent accused Jones of behaving "in a way which allowed our opponents to paint us as dodgy, or even corrupt",[9] and from councillor Mark Stocks, who launched an unsuccessful leadership challenge against Jones, saying:

"As the only council in the entire country to make the transition from Conservative to Labour, someone has to take the responsibility for what must be considered a monumental defeat. This responsibility has to start at the top. For me, it is an unavoidable belief that with proper leadership, Cheshire West and Chester would have followed the national trend and remained under Conservative control."[8]

Jones, supported by other Conservative councillors, rejected this suggestion, noting the fact that the local Conservative Party had taken the largest share of the popular vote at the council election and retained the parliamentary seat of Weaver Vale against opinion poll predictions. When looked at this way, Jones said, the result "does not seem like a catastrophe".[8]

Results

Councillor changes

Outgoing councillors Elton Watson (Davenham and Moulton, Conservative) Justin Madders (Ellesmere Port Town, Labour) Herbert Manley (Hartford and Greenbank, Conservative) Keith Musgrave (Hartford and Greenbank, Conservative) Les Ford (Helsby, Conservative) Bob Thompson (Hoole, Liberal Democrat)

Seat changes

Conservative to Independent (1) Parkgate Conservative to Labour (5) Elton Newton (2 seats) Upton (1 seat) Whitby (1 seat) Liberal Democrat to Labour (1) Hoole (1 seat)

Results by ward

• Vote share by ward
• 
  Conservative vote share by ward
• 
  Labour vote share by ward
• 
  Lib Dem vote share by ward
• 
  Green vote share by ward
• 
  UKIP vote share by ward
• 
  Independent and other vote share by ward

Turnout by ward

Ward	Turnout (%)
Blacon	61.2
Boughton	63.0
Chester City	63.5
Chester Villages	78.0
Davenham and Moulton	70.4
Dodleston and Huntington	77.3
Ellesmere Port Town	55.7
Elton	66.2
Farndon	74.5
Frodsham	71.4
Garden Quarter	58.6
Gowy	74.3
Grange	57.0
Great Boughton	76.1
Handbridge Park	76.0
Hartford and Greenbank	75.1
Helsby	73.5
Hoole	71.9
Kingsley	76.7
Lache	65.3
Ledsham and Manor	73.4
Little Neston and Burton	76.1
Malpas	70.0
Marbury	68.9
Neston	63.7
Netherpool	61.9
Newton	69.2
Parkgate	77.1
Rossmore	59.3
Saughall and Mollington	75.3
Shakerley	65.4
St Paul's	65.7
Strawberry	73.6
Sutton	67.2
Tarporley	75.0
Tarvin and Kelsall	73.7
Tattenhall	74.3
Upton	71.5
Weaver and Cuddington	71.3

Blacon

Blacon (3 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	Jones, Reginald Francis	3,579	21.07
	Labour	Nelson, Marie	3,349	19.72
	Labour	Gahan, Carol Margaret	3,119	18.36
	Conservative	Dunn, Christian Philip	1,109	6.53
	UKIP	Ingram, Steve	1,054	6.21
	UKIP	Erskine, Chris	1,037	6.11
	Conservative	Roberts, Alexander Edward	979	5.76
	Conservative	Jackson, Jack Alex	941	5.54
	UKIP	Hutchison, Liz	805	4.74
	Green	Watson, Christine	482	2.84
	Green	Gorzelak, Zoe Marie	303	1.78
	Green	Watson, Colin Drysdale	227	1.34
Turnout			6,295	61.2[48]
	Labour hold
	Labour hold
	Labour hold

Boughton

Boughton (1 seat)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	Delaney, Martyn	1,308	46.53
	Conservative	Vaughan, Kate Elizabeth	933	33.19
	Green	Parkes, Allison Clare	308	10.96
	UKIP	Nichols, Stephen Carter	262	9.32
Turnout			2,827	63.0
	Labour hold

Chester City

Chester City (1 seat)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	Dixon, Samantha Kate	909	47.52
	Conservative	Dunn, Carlotta Eva	607	31.73
	Green	Davidson, Andy	178	9.30
	UKIP	Erskine, Katie	125	6.53
	Liberal Democrats	McGlinchey, Noel	94	4.91
Turnout			1,928	63.5
	Labour hold

Chester Villages

Chester Villages ( Christleton, Guilden Sutton, Mickle Trafford and Waverton), (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Parker, Margaret Phyllis	2,744	28.04
	Conservative	Parker, Stuart	2,734	27.94
	Labour	Davies, Steve	1,241	12.68
	Labour	Rudd, Sandra	1,019	10.41
	Liberal Democrats	Hopkinson, Ian	587	6.00
	UKIP	Rees, Paul	585	5.98
	Green	D'Arcy, Paula Irene	536	5.48
	Green	Burling, Darren James	341	3.48
Turnout			5,430	78.0
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Davenham and Moulton

Davenham and Moulton (3 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Weltman, Helen Catherine	3,283	17.52
	Conservative	Pearson, James	3,262	17.41
	Conservative	Sinar, Gaynor Jean	2,971	15.86
	Labour	Cooper, Rebecca	2,417	12.90
	Labour	Cooper, Andrew Graham	2,316	12.36
	Labour	McGregor, Kyle	1,796	9.59
	UKIP	McDonald, Simon Gerald	1,040	5.55
	UKIP	Roberts, Glyn	854	4.56
	Liberal Democrats	Gaskill, Pamela Joyce	798	4.26
Turnout			7,421	70.4
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Dodleston and Huntington

Dodleston and Huntington (1 seat)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Williams, Mark Graham	1,439	52.65
	Labour	Creswick, Jacky	717	26.23
	Liberal Democrats	Ward, Christopher John	321	11.75
	UKIP	Evans, David S	256	9.37
Turnout			2,748	77.3
	Conservative hold

Ellesmere Port Town

Ellesmere Port Town, (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	Clare, Lynn	2,386	36.03
	Labour	Crook, Jess	2,134	32.23
	UKIP	Starkey, Jeanette	802	12.11
	Conservative	Meldrum, Gordon Douglas	403	6.09
	Conservative	Pritchard, Graham	395	5.96
	Green	Boyle, Stefanie Anne	307	4.64
	Green	Benzie, James Douglas	195	2.94
Turnout			3,759	55.7
	Labour hold
	Labour hold

Elton

Elton (1 seat)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	Smith, Stephen Robert	1,224	53.13
	Conservative	Heatley, Graham	1,080	46.88
Turnout			2,335	66.2
	Labour gain from Conservative

Farndon

Farndon (1 seat)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Greenwood, Howard	1,138	45.59
	Liberal Democrats	Roberts, Paul David	990	39.66
	Labour	Cornwell, Paul Alfred	244	9.78
	Green	Clement, Alexander James	124	4.97
Turnout			2,504	74.5
	Conservative hold

Frodsham

Frodsham (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Dawson, Andrew William	2,456	26.08
	Conservative	Riley, Lynn	2,178	23.13
	Labour	Garvey, Michael	1,435	15.24
	Labour	Fletcher, Deborah	1,305	13.86
		Pusey, Michael John	493	5.24
	Independent	Reynolds, Tom	477	5.07
	Green	Pendlebury, Jonny	421	4.47
	Green	Beesley, Sue	409	4.34
	Liberal Democrats	Roberts, Vera Sandra	242	2.57
Turnout			5,321	71.4
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Garden Quarter

Garden Quarter (1 seat)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	Bob Rudd	953	40.9
	Green	Catherine Green	802	34.5
	Conservative	Ed Longe	491	21.1
	Liberal Democrats	Chris Senior	82	3.5
Majority			151	6.4
Turnout			2,328	58.6
	Labour hold

Gowy

Gowy (1 seat)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Johnson, Eleanor	1,367	60.97
	Labour	Dixon, Nick	367	16.37
	UKIP	Davies, Mandie	211	9.41
	Green	Mitchell, Steven	151	6.74
	Liberal Democrats	Jones, Trevor Glyn	146	6.51
Turnout			2,446	74.3
	Conservative hold

Grange

Grange (1 seat)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	Sherlock, Tony	1,545	79.43
	Conservative	Eardley, Simon James Vernon	269	13.83
	Green	Isaac, Ged	131	6.74
Turnout			1,962	57.0
	Labour hold

Great Boughton

Great Boughton (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Board, Keith William Edward	2,191	21.62
	Conservative	Hall, Pamela Theresa	2,153	21.24
	Labour	Creswick, John	1,464	14.44
	Labour	Bradshaw, Lee	1,373	13.55
	Liberal Democrats	Price, Rose	909	8.97
	UKIP	Cowley, Harry	652	6.43
	UKIP	Lowe, Peter James	597	5.89
	Green	Hannay, Philip	407	4.02
	Green	Weaver, Graham John	390	3.85
Turnout			5,581	76.1
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Handbridge Park

Handbridge Park (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Daniels, Razia	2,852	26.88
	Conservative	Sullivan, Neil Anthony	2,558	24.11
	Labour	Freeman, Jim	1,438	13.55
	Labour	McGuirk, Pat	1,400	13.20
	Green	Davies, Alexandra Valerie	679	6.40
	Liberal Democrats	Speirs, Peter James	546	5.15
	UKIP	Smillie, Fraser	453	4.27
	UKIP	Weddell, Allan Andrew James	349	3.29
	Green	Leeson, Dominic	335	3.16
Turnout			5,684	76.0
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Hartford and Greenbank

Hartford and Greenbank (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Kaur, Susan	2,496	28.09
	Conservative	Parkes, Patricia Mary	2,027	22.81
	Labour	Bowden, Derek	1,288	14.49
	Labour	Naylor, Peter	1,230	13.84
	UKIP	Loftus, Martin David	854	9.61
	Liberal Democrats	Jones, Wendy	519	5.84
	Green	Hardiker, Owen Robert	472	5.31
Turnout			4,958	75.1
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Helsby

Helsby (1 seat)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	McKie, Alan Leonard	1,511	52.10
	Labour	Long, Una	1,064	36.69
	Green	Hampton, David	191	6.59
	Liberal Democrats	Melnyczuk, Valerie A	134	4.62
Turnout			2,934	73.5
	Conservative hold

Hoole

Hoole (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	Black, Alex	2,215	21.45
	Labour	Chidley, Angie	1,829	17.72
	Conservative	George, Lesley Elizabeth	1,190	11.53
	Liberal Democrats	Williams, Mark Andrew	1,170	11.33
	UKIP	Rogers, Rosemary	1,149	11.13
	Conservative	Lucas, Aden	1,051	10.18
	Liberal Democrats	Rollo, Alan	769	7.45
	Green	Wilderspin-Jones, Diana Mary	540	5.23
	Green	Jones, Steven Richard	411	3.98
Turnout			5,178	71.9
	Labour gain from Liberal Democrats
	Labour hold

Kingsley

Kingsley (1 seat)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Oultram, Ralph Edward	1,520	55.37
	Labour	Peacock, Jill	500	18.21
	UKIP	Proudfoot, Chris	292	10.64
	Green	Dedman, Alex	220	8.01
	Liberal Democrats	England, George Martin	213	7.76
Turnout			2,720	76.7
	Conservative hold

Lache

Lache (1 seat)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	Mercer, Jane	1,341	52.12
	Conservative	Tomlinson, Michael	784	30.47
	UKIP	Stroud, John	240	9.33
	Green	Smart, Kevin	119	4.62
	Liberal Democrats	Hassan, Aminul	89	3.46
Turnout			2,586	65.3
	Labour hold

Ledsham and Manor

Ledsham and Manor (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	Rooney, Peter	2,004	24.07
	Conservative	Anderson, Gareth	1,803	21.66
	Conservative	Griffiths, Rob	1,585	19.04
	Labour	Zaman, Brenda Margaret	1,581	18.99
	UKIP	Starkey, Jonathan Charles	659	7.92
	Liberal Democrats	Taylor, Robert Michael	493	5.92
	Independent	McQuade, Ann	200	2.40
Turnout			4,738	73.4
	Labour hold
	Conservative hold

Little Neston and Burton

Little Neston and Burton (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Jones, Nige	2,174	21.84
	Labour	Gittins, Louise Clare	2,108	21.18
	Conservative	Loch, Kay	1,961	19.70
	Labour	McHale, Ray	1,473	14.80
	Liberal Democrats	Cummins, Tony	853	8.57
	UKIP	Kettle, Sue	736	7.39
	Liberal Democrats	Farrance, Richard Adam	544	5.46
	TUSC	Rimmington, Joe	106	1.06
Turnout			5,370	76.1
	Conservative hold
	Labour hold

Malpas

Malpas (1 seat)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Whitehurst, Chris	1,241	52.01
	Independent	Lowick Higgie, Charles	777	32.56
	Labour	Black, Janet	206	8.63
	Green	Boxall, Michael John	162	6.79
Turnout			2,419	70.0
	Conservative hold

Marbury

Marbury (3 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Gibbon, Lynn Joyce	3,253	20.10
	Conservative	Wright, Norman Geoffrey	2,952	18.24
	Conservative	Hammond, Don	2,898	17.90
	Labour	Dalby, Debbie	1,886	11.65
	Labour	Morlidge, Jo	1,698	10.49
	Labour	Falzon, Michael	1,481	9.15
	Liberal Democrats	Makepeace, Annie	1,193	7.37
	Green	Ismail, Sez	826	5.10
Turnout			6,580	68.9
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Neston

Neston (1 seat)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	Williams, Andrew	1,058	50.69
	Conservative	Lloyd, Paul	693	33.21
	Green	Nicholls, Geoffrey Lane	161	7.71
	Liberal Democrats	Gaskell, Derek	140	6.71
	TUSC	Khan, Declan Wells	35	1.68
Turnout			2,097	63.7
	Labour hold

Netherpool

Netherpool (1 seat)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	Roberts, Diane Elizabeth	1,127	66.06
	Conservative	Harris, Jack	302	17.70
	UKIP	Kirk, Alistair	207	12.13
	Green	Sinclair, Kier Aaron	70	4.10
Turnout			1,714	61.9
	Labour hold

Newton

Newton (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	Beacham, Richard Mark	2,101	19.96
	Labour	Watson, Gill	1,672	15.88
	Conservative	Walmsley, Adrian Peter	1,638	15.56
	Conservative	Brown, Pauline Frances	1,554	14.76
	Liberal Democrats	Gant, Mark Edward	827	7.86
	UKIP	Samuel, Frank	626	5.95
	Green	Brown, Simon Ward	581	5.52
	Independent	Ebo, John Brian	505	4.80
	Liberal Democrats	Mead, Annie	501	4.76
	Green	Horbury, Mary Elizabeth	477	4.53
	TUSC	Cunningham, Kenny	46	0.44
Turnout			5,460	69.2
	Labour gain from Conservative
	Labour gain from Conservative

Parkgate

Parkgate (1 seat)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independent	Barker, Martin	931	39.22
	Conservative	Merrill, Andrew	878	36.98
	Labour	Jilani, Abdul Kadir	314	13.23
	Green	Peers, Oliver James	251	10.57
Turnout			2,411	77.1
	Independent gain from Conservative

Rossmore

Rossmore (1 seat)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	Merrick, Pat	1,074	59.17
	Conservative	Jones, Linda Ellen	328	18.07
	Socialist Labour	Spain, Kenny	286	15.76
	Green	Evans-Stone, Joanne Frances	127	7.00
Turnout			1,831	59.3
	Labour hold

Saughall and Mollington

Saughall and Mollington (1 seat)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Crowe, Brian	1,280	44.93
	Independent	Jones, Carl Denis	737	25.87
	Labour	Atkin, Sally Clare	572	20.08
	UKIP	Walton, John	172	6.04
	Liberal Democrats	Senior, Sally Louise	88	3.09
Turnout			2,872	75.3
	Conservative hold

Shakerley

Shakerley (1 seat)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Stocks, Mark Lister	1,414	63.95
	Labour	Jamieson, Philippa	597	27.00
	Liberal Democrats	Thompson, Mary Elizabeth	200	9.05
Turnout			2,237	65.4
	Conservative hold

St Paul's

St Paul's (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	Claydon, Angela Janette	2,789	36.83
	Labour	Bisset, Robert Ian	2,286	30.19
	Conservative	Kwateng, Francis	1,216	16.06
	Conservative	Loch, Steve	830	10.96
	Liberal Democrats	Handley, Graham	452	5.97
Turnout			4,436	65.7
	Labour hold
	Labour hold

Strawberry

Strawberry (1 seat)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	Henesy, Mark Anthony	1,493	48.66
	Conservative	Hebson, Nicholas	1,155	37.65
	UKIP	Mugridge, Sarah Jane	377	12.29
	TUSC	Lee, Dan	43	1.40
Turnout			3,082	73.6
	Labour hold

Sutton

Sutton (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	Donovan, Paul Francis	2,649	30.99
	Labour	Meardon, Nicole	2,241	26.22
	Conservative	Evans, Sandra	1,053	12.32
	Conservative	Evans, Lee David	1,042	12.19
	UKIP	Moore, Alan	923	10.80
	Green	Joinson, Chloe	360	4.21
	Liberal Democrats	Handley, Rosemarie	280	3.28
Turnout			4,784	67.2
	Labour hold
	Labour hold

Tarporley

Tarporley (1 seat)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Moore Dutton, Eveleigh	1,938	67.36
	Liberal Democrats	Priestner, Ian Douglas	510	17.73
	Labour	Wilson, Carol	429	14.91
Turnout			2,906	75.0
	Conservative hold

Tarvin and Kelsall

Tarvin and Kelsall (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Leather, John	2,588	29.37
	Conservative	Deynem, Hugo William Edward	2,414	27.39
	Liberal Democrats	Lush, Ted	1,066	12.10
	Liberal Democrats	Hyde, Andrew Paul	957	10.86
	Labour	Edwards, David	686	7.78
	Labour	Lewis, Gina	611	6.93
	Green	McEvoy, Louis	491	5.57
Turnout			5,082	73.7
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Tattenhall

Tattenhall (1 seat)[49]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Jones, Mike	1,414	52.23
	Liberal Democrats	Walley, Edward	448	16.55
	Labour	Vernon, John Robert	439	16.22
	UKIP	Hill, Ray	406	15.00
Turnout			2,723	74.3
	Conservative hold

Upton

Upton (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Houlbrook, Jill	1,956	21.24
	Labour	Bryan, Matt	1,723	18.71
	Conservative	McNae, Hilarie June	1,657	17.99
	Labour	Ford, David Vincent	1,429	15.51
	Liberal Democrats	Evans, Jean Elizabeth	814	8.84
	Liberal Democrats	Cameron, James Alexander	591	6.42
	UKIP	Evans, Jules	545	5.92
	Green	Howells, Aled Rhys	496	5.38
Turnout			5,045	71.5
	Conservative hold
	Labour gain from Conservative

Weaver and Cuddington

Weaver and Cuddington (3 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Fifield, Charles	3,194	16.86
	Conservative	Williams, Paul	3,180	16.79
	Conservative	Tonge, Harry	2,580	13.62
	Labour	Cernik, Robert	1,772	9.35
	Independent	Edwards, Gillian	1,764	9.31
	Labour	Bryce, Callum	1,745	9.21
	Labour	Stott, Andy	1,603	8.46
	UKIP	Watkin, Chris	1,357	7.16
	Liberal Democrats	Donhue, Stephen M	928	4.90
	Green	Robinson, Andy	820	4.33
Turnout			7,380	71.3
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Whitby

Whitby (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	Jones, Brian	2,104	25.82
	Labour	Shore, Karen Louise	1,828	22.43
	Conservative	Anderson, Brian	1,368	16.79
	Conservative	Crompton, Robert Redford	1,248	15.31
	UKIP	Lomax, Glen	905	11.10
	Green	Bowers, Sarah Ann	267	3.28
	Liberal Democrats	Marlow, Tom	223	2.74
	Green	Griffiths, Tony	207	2.54
Turnout			3,983	60.9
	Labour hold
	Labour gain from Conservative

Willaston and Thornton

Willaston and Thornton (1 seat)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Hogg, Myles	1,912	75.39
	Labour	Evans, James Robert	624	24.61
Turnout			2,569	76.8
	Conservative hold

Winnington and Castle

Winnington and Castle (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	Naylor, Sam	1,719	23.75
	Labour	Dolan, Paul	1,675	23.14
	Conservative	Sinar, Jim	1,193	16.48
	Conservative	Ford, Kathy	1,147	15.85
	UKIP	Wright, Amos Daniel	588	8.12
	Green	Bower, Darrelle Ann	391	5.40
	Liberal Democrats	Chapman, Alice Philippa	305	4.21
	Northwich Independent	Bower, Phillip Michael Dawson	220	3.04
Turnout			4,284	59.6
	Labour hold
	Labour hold

Winsford Over and Verdin

Winsford Over and Verdin (3 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	Blackmore, Tom	2,279	15.59
	Labour	Beckett, Don	2,154	14.74
	Conservative	Baynham, Michael	1,717	11.75
	Labour	Neil, Arthur Leslie	1,684	11.52
	Conservative	Jones, Lynda	1,589	10.87
	Conservative	Dolphin, Margaret	1,440	9.85
	UKIP	Fawley-Hopkins, Kerrie Jane	1,059	7.24
	Liberal Democrats	Barton, Bob	796	5.45
	Liberal Democrats	Parkinson, Charlie	659	4.51
	Liberal Democrats	Parkey, Brandon	545	3.73
	Green	Quormby, Sue	350	2.39
	Green	Brown, Alice Rebecca	346	2.37
Turnout			5,847	59.3
	Labour hold
	Labour hold
	Conservative hold

Winsford Swanlow and Dene

Winsford Swanlow and Dene (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	Burns, Stephen	1,677	23.20
	Labour	Armstrong, David	1,306	18.07
	Liberal Democrats	Gaskill, Malcolm Ian	945	13.07
	Conservative	Rimmer, Phil	861	11.91
	Liberal Democrats	Theron, Bev	767	10.61
	Conservative	Greenwood, Lesley	744	10.29
	UKIP	Kendrick, David Michael	705	9.75
	Green	Hatton, Marc William Vincent	224	3.10
Turnout			4,120	60.4
	Labour hold
	Labour hold

Winsford Wharton

Winsford Wharton (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	Clarke, Brian Michael	1,920	28.08
	Labour	Booher, Pamela	1,785	26.10
	Conservative	Hardy, Charles	926	13.54
	Conservative	Jones, Peter	903	13.21
	Liberal Democrats	Bore, Chris	437	6.39
	Liberal Democrats	Fitzmaurice, Janet	351	5.13
	Green	Barwell, Lyndsay	288	4.21
	Green	Molton, Ian	228	3.33
Turnout			4,181	58.1
	Labour hold
	Labour hold

Witton

Witton (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	Lawrenson, Tony	2,011	34.22
	Labour	Armstrong, Val	1,355	23.06
	Conservative	McDowell, George	1,222	20.79
	Conservative	Nelson, Linda	924	15.72
	Liberal Democrats	Hinde, Keith	365	6.21
Turnout			3,665	57.2
	Labour hold
	Labour hold

Changes between 2015 and 2019

Ellesmere Port Town by-election 2018

Labour councillor Lynn Clare (Ellesmere Port Town) died in February 2018.[50] The by-election was held on 3 May.[51] This was on the same day as other local elections.

Ellsmere Port Town by-election, 3 May 2018

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Mike Edwardson	1,447	82.9	22.6
	Conservative	Robert Griffiths	239	13.7	3.5
	Green	Mathew Roberts	60	3.4	4.4
Majority			1,208	69.2	29.2
Turnout			1,748	24.5	31.2
Rejected ballots			2	0.1
	Labour hold		Swing	14.6

[52]

Footnotes

1. Although CWaC elects all members at once every four years, many councils elect members in thirds and have more frequent elections. This means that although CWaC was the only council to transfer directly from Labour to Conservative control at the 2015 elections, it was not the only one to change hands this way between 2011 and 2015. Labour also gained two councils – Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council and West Lancashire Borough Council – from no overall control at the 2015 elections.[29] West Lancashire was also held by the Conservatives at the 2011 election, but elects its representatives in thirds.[30] This means there were other elections intervening, and West Lancashire went into no overall control at the 2014 local election.[31] In addition, Crawley, Derbyshire,[32] Dudley, Harlow, Nottinghamshire,[33] Redditch and Southamption were gained by Labour from Conservative control at some point between the 2011 and 2014 local elections and held at the 2015 elections.[29][14][34][35]

References

1. "Upcoming elections & referendums". The Electoral Commission. Archived from the original on 15 March 2015. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
2. Rotten Boroughs (26 May 2015). "Dickhead Alert". Private Eye (1393).
3. "Labour take control of Cheshire West and Chester Council". Northwich Guardian. 9 May 2015. Retrieved 13 May 2015.
4. David Holmes (20 May 2015). "Chester Labour MP Chris Matheson back from his first week at Parliament". Chester Chronicle. Retrieved 27 May 2015.
5. Michael Green (8 May 2015). "Election 2015: Cheshire West and Chester Council on a knife-edge as count is suspended overnight". Chester Chronicle. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
6. David Holmes (9 May 2015). "WATCH Election 2015: Labour take control of Cheshire West and Chester Council". Chester Chronicle. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
7. Carmella de Lucia, David Holmes and Frances Barrett (9 May 2015). "Election 2015: Cheshire West and Chester Council set for first woman leader". Chester Chronicle. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
8. David Holmes (27 May 2015). "Chester Tory leadership challenger launches damaging attack on Conservative CWaC chief Mike Jones". Chester Chronicle. Retrieved 27 May 2015.
9. "A Conservative councillor: Why was Cheshire West and Chester a Labour gain?". ConservativeHome. 26 May 2015. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
10. Phil McCann (6 May 2015). "Election 2015: Cheshire's long-awaited council votes". BBC News. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
11. "ELECTION: Cheshire West and Chester remains Tory controlled". Chester Chronicle. 6 May 2011. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
12. "The Boomtown Reds". The Economist. 28 March 2015. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
13. Patrick Wintour and Nicholas Watt (23 May 2014). "Lib Dem local election results suggest party could lose 20 parliamentary seats". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
14. "England council results". BBC News. 22 May 2014. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
15. "Labour returned in Ellesmere Port's Town Ward". Talking West Cheshire. 21 October 2011. Archived from the original on 17 June 2015. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
16. Frances Barrett (11 July 2014). "Labour celebrate victory in both council by-elections". Chester Chronicle. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
17. Frances Barrett (10 April 2015). "Election 2015: Cheshire West and Chester Council candidates revealed". Chester Chronicle. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
18. David Holmes (16 April 2015). "General Election 2015: City of Chester Parliamentary candidates". Chester Chronicle. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
19. "Weaver Vale Labour Party choose Julia Tickridge to fight general election". Chester Chronicle. 4 July 2013. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
20. Michael Green (8 May 2015). "Election 2015: Ellesmere Port and Neston won by Labour". Chester Chronicle. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
21. "Statements of Persons Nominated - Local elections". Cheshire West and Chester Council. Archived from the original on 30 May 2015. Retrieved 30 April 2015.
22. "Town and Parish". West Cheshire Elections 2015. Chester West and Chester Council. Archived from the original on 26 May 2015. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
23. Frances Barrett (23 April 2015). "Cheshire West and Chester ballot papers re-issued due to printing error". Chester Chronicle. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
24. David Holmes (6 May 2015). "Election 2015: Postal votes in Cheshire West still not arrived". Chester Chronicle. Retrieved 24 May 2015.
25. David Holmes (8 May 2015). "Election 2015: Chester police investigate leaflet attacking Labour leader". Chester Chronicle. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
26. Michael Green (8 May 2015). "Election 2015 Live: Cheshire West and Chester Council election results". Chester Chronicle. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
27. "Double delight for Labour as party controls Cheshire West and Chester Council". Chester Standard. 11 May 2015. Archived from the original on 26 May 2015. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
28. Michael Green (9 May 2015). "Local elections live: Cheshire West and Chester Council election count resumes". Chester Chronicle. Retrieved 27 May 2015.
29. "Local Election Results 2015". BBC News. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
30. "Election 2011 - England council elections - West Lancashire". BBC News. 10 May 2011. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
31. "Vote 2014 - West Lancashire Borough Council". BBC News. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
32. "Derbyshire election 2013: Labour wins back control". BBC News. 3 May 2013. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
33. "Nottinghamshire election 2013: Narrow win for Labour". BBC News. 3 May 2013. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
34. "Vote 2012 - English Council Results". BBC News. 4 May 2012. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
35. "Election 2011 - English council elections". BBC News. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
36. David Holmes (20 May 2015). "Chester Tory chief Mike Jones survives leadership challenge after election defeat". Chester Chronicle. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
37. David Holmes (4 May 2015). "Election 2015: Chester UKIP candidate for parliament and council 'proud' to have stood for party". Chester Chronicle. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
38. "Local Election Results 2015 Cheshire West and Chester". Local Elections Archive Project.
39. David Holmes (26 May 2015). "Cheshire West and Chester Council have bad-tempered first meeting under Labour control". Chester Chronicle. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
40. Phil McCann (6 May 2015). "Will fracking decide Chester?". BBC News. Retrieved 29 May 2015.
41. "Anti-frackers build for demonstration outside HQ after Tory majority rejects debate". Chester Chronicle. 22 March 2015. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
42. "Parkgate Electorate Vote Local in Historic Victory for an Independent". AboutMyArea. 9 May 2015. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
43. "Candidate Statements - CWAC Elections 2015 : Parkgate Ward". AboutMyArea. 21 April 2015. Archived from the original on 27 May 2015. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
44. David Holmes (23 May 2013). "Was I sacked over student village vote?' asks ex-chairman of Cheshire West and Chester Council's key planning committee". Chester Chronicle. Retrieved 27 May 2015.
45. Jim Green (23 September 2013). "Come clean call in row on Chester village vote". Chester Standard. Archived from the original on 27 May 2015. Retrieved 27 May 2015.
46. "Probe over d***head comment by council leader". Chester Standard. 23 August 2012. Archived from the original on 10 June 2015. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
47. David Holmes (3 March 2015). "Cheshire West and Chester Council loses respect (clause)". Chester Chronicle. Retrieved 27 May 2015.
48. "Official turnout for borough wards". Cheshire West and Chester Council. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 13 May 2015.
49. "Elections 2015 - Results for Tattenhall Ward". Retrieved 8 May 2015.
50. Holmes, David (12 February 2018). "Tributes paid to 'passionate' Ellesmere Port councillor". chesterchronicle. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
51. "Page Moss: CTRL – DEL | LocalCouncils.co.uk". localcouncils.co.uk. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
52. "Election results for Claughton". Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council.

External links

• Borough election details, Cheshire West Elections 2015
• Election 2015, Cheshire West and Chester Council