2023 Chelmsford City Council election

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The 2023 Chelmsford City Council election took place on 4 May 2023 to elect members of Chelmsford City Council in Essex, England.[3] This was on the same day as other local elections across England.

Quick facts All 57 seats to Chelmsford City Council 29 seats needed for a majority, First party ...
2023 Chelmsford City Council election
← 2019
4 May 2023 (2023-05-04)
2027 →
All 57 seats to Chelmsford City Council
29 seats needed for a majority
  First party Second party
  Blank Blank
Leader Stephen Robinson Roy Whitehead
Party Liberal Democrats Conservative
Last election 31 seats, 39.8% 21 seats, 40.5%
Seats before 30[a] 22[b]
Seats after 33 21
Seat change Increase 2 Steady
Popular vote 39,567 37,771
Percentage 41.7% 39.8%
Swing Increase1.9% Decrease 0.7%
  Third party Fourth party
  Blank Blank
Leader Richard Hyland Ian Roberts
Party Independent SWFCTA
Last election 3 seats, 4.3% 2 seats, 2.4%
Seats before 3 2
Seats after 3 0
Seat change Steady Decrease2
Popular vote 4,111 2,003
Percentage 4.3% 2.1%
Swing Steady 0.0% Decrease 0.3%
Winner of each seat at the 2023 Chelmsford City Council election
Leader before election

Stephen Robinson
Liberal Democrats

 Leader after election

Stephen Robinson
Liberal Democrats

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The Liberal Democrats retained their majority on the council.

Overview

The Liberal Democrats went into the election holding a majority of the council's seats, having taken control from the Conservatives at the previous election in 2019. At the 2023 election the Liberal Democrats increased their majority, making a net gain of two extra seats at the expense of local party the South Woodham Ferrers Council Taxpayers Association, which lost both of the seats it had held on the council.[4][5]

A new record was set for the youngest person ever to serve on the council with the election of 22-year-old Liberal Democrat candidate Kieron Franks in the Great Baddow East ward.[6]

Election result

The overall results were:[7][8][9]

More information Party, Candidates ...
2023 Chelmsford City Council election
Party Candidates Seats Gains Losses Net gain/loss Seats % Votes % Votes +/−
  Liberal Democrats 57 33 3 1 Increase 2 57.9 41.7 39,567 +1.9
  Conservative 51 21 1 1 Steady 36.8 39.8 37,771 –0.7
  Independent 9 3 0 0 Steady 5.3 4.3 4,111 0.0
  Labour 37 0 0 0 Steady 0.0 9.2 8,737 +2.5
  Green 10 0 0 0 Steady 0.0 2.6 2,445 –2.5
  South Woodham Ferrers Council Taxpayers Association 4 0 0 2 Decrease 2 0.0 2.1 2,003 –0.3
  UKIP 1 0 0 0 Steady 0.0
  Heritage 1 0 0 0 Steady 0.0 0.2 193 N/A
  TUSC 1 0 0 0 Steady 0.0 0.1 85 N/A
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Independent Network candidates are included with the independents in the summary above, but candidates who stood under that banner are recorded as such in the detailed ward results below.

Ward results

The Statement of Persons Nominated, which details the candidates standing in each ward, was released by Chelmsford City Council following the close of nominations on 5 April 2023.[10] The ward results were as follows, with sitting councillors standing in their previous wards marked with asterisks(*) and sitting councillors standing in different wards marked with double daggers(‡):[11][12]

Bicknacre and East and West Hanningfield

More information Party, Candidate ...
Bicknacre and East and West Hanningfield (2 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Sue Dobson* 777 67.9 ±0.0
Conservative Mark Taylor 740 64.7 –10.9
Liberal Democrats Amanda Wilson 279 24.4 –6.0
Liberal Democrats Robin Stevens 258 22.5 –3.7
Labour Maria Blakemore 235 20.5 N/A
Turnout 31.1 –2.3
Conservative hold
Conservative hold
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Boreham and the Leighs

More information Party, Candidate ...
Boreham and the Leighs (2 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative James Raven* 697 61.5 –0.4
Conservative Victoria Canning 669 59.0 –15.9
Liberal Democrats Terence Beckett 366 32.3 +7.6
Liberal Democrats Jyothi Kurra 317 28.0 +7.9
Labour John Devane 219 19.3 +1.0
Turnout 26.0 –2.6
Conservative hold
Conservative hold
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Broomfield and the Walthams

More information Party, Candidate ...
Broomfield and the Walthams (3 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Mike Steel* 1,148 47.0 +8.4
Conservative Philip Wilson 889 36.4 +2.8
Liberal Democrats Nicola Bugbee 870 35.6 +18.1
Liberal Democrats Darren Johnson 850 34.8 +17.7
Conservative Colin Todd 841 34.4 –0.6
Liberal Democrats Tayo Udoh 716 29.3 N/A
Independent Wendy Daden* 691 28.3 –31.8
Labour Kuldeep Golla 357 14.6 –5.4
Labour Peter Dixon 342 14.0 N/A
Green Mike Thompson 333 13.6 –16.4
Labour David Howell 295 12.1 N/A
Turnout
Conservative gain from Independent
Conservative hold
Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative
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Chelmer Village and Beaulieu Park

More information Party, Candidate ...
Chelmer Village and Beaulieu Park (3 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats Rose Moore* 1,177 49.1 –2.3
Liberal Democrats Steve Hall 1,092 45.6 +1.6
Conservative Susan Sullivan 1,083 45.2 ±0.0
Conservative Sunil Gupta 1,026 42.8 +1.2
Conservative Geoff Walker 1,025 42.8 +1.8
Liberal Democrats Daniel Jeffreys 1,025 42.8 +0.6
Labour Louis Dearmer 304 12.7 +2.2
Labour David Sweeney 262 10.9 +0.5
Heritage Eloise Schultz 193 8.1 N/A
Turnout 33.1 +2.2
Liberal Democrats hold
Liberal Democrats hold
Conservative hold
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Chelmsford Rural West

More information Party, Candidate ...
Chelmsford Rural West (1 seat)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Nicolette Chambers* 573 69.3 –6.7
Liberal Democrats Olly Fenwick 135 16.3 –7.7
Labour Steve Maclean 119 14.4 +14.4
Turnout 827 34.4 +1.4
Conservative hold
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Galleywood

More information Party, Candidate ...
Galleywood (2 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Janette Potter* 740 57.9 +1.3
Ind. Network Richard Hyland* 552 43.2 –3.2
Conservative Alan Chambers 530 41.5 –2.9
Liberal Democrats Ian Gale 213 16.7 –5.5
Liberal Democrats Kenneth Hay 180 14.1 –3.4
Labour Robert Croft 179 14.0 +1.1
Labour Alan Haines 162 12.7 N/A
Turnout 33.6 +1.5
Conservative hold
Ind. Network hold
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Goat Hall

More information Party, Candidate ...
Goat Hall (2 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats Linda Mascot* 845 56.0 –9.8
Liberal Democrats Hazel Clark 790 52.4 –4.5
Conservative Christine Garrett 529 35.1 +0.7
Conservative Yvonne Spence 480 31.8 –1.3
Labour Joy Chandler 145 9.6 –0.2
Green Jeremy Crook 122 8.1 N/A
Labour Thomas Medici 105 7.0 N/A
Turnout 35.3 +1.4
Liberal Democrats hold
Liberal Democrats hold
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Great Baddow East

More information Party, Candidate ...
Great Baddow East (3 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats Kieron Franks 871 50.5 –3.2
Liberal Democrats Pete Davey 869 50.4 +7.9
Liberal Democrats Andrew Sosin* 829 48.1 –0.7
Conservative Anthony McQuiggan 671 38.9 +12.5
Conservative Carol Spingthorpe 617 35.8 +9.6
Ind. Network Mary Cordeiro 534 31.0 N/A
Green Lynne Wye 327 19.0 N/A
Labour Nicola Hesper 275 16.0 +8.1
UKIP Nigel Carter 178 10.3 N/A
Turnout 34.0 –5.5
Liberal Democrats hold
Liberal Democrats hold
Liberal Democrats hold
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Great Baddow West

More information Party, Candidate ...
Great Baddow West (2 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats Sue Young* 702 60.4 +10.6
Liberal Democrats Jannetta Sosin* 637 54.8 +8.4
Conservative Renga Subramanian 512 44.0 +1.2
Ind. Network Andy Graham 309 26.6 N/A
Labour Jessica Peacock 166 14.3 +4.1
Turnout 31.8 +0.5
Liberal Democrats hold
Liberal Democrats hold
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Little Baddow, Danbury and Sandon

More information Party, Candidate ...
Little Baddow, Danbury and Sandon (3 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Steph Scott 1,499 72.7 +0.1
Conservative Jacob Armstrong 1,466 71.1 –1.0
Conservative Julia Jeapes 1,432 69.4 +7.0
Liberal Democrats Sue Baker 508 24.6 –3.5
Liberal Democrats David Whiteing 455 22.1 –0.6
Liberal Democrats Annette Longford 421 20.4 +0.4
Labour Stephen Capper 205 9.9 N/A
Labour Conor Hicks 202 9.8 N/A
Turnout 35.1 +0.7
Conservative hold
Conservative hold
Conservative hold
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Marconi

More information Party, Candidate ...
Marconi (2 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats Jude Deakin* 771 60.8 +9.7
Liberal Democrats Smita Rajesh* 631 49.8 +5.9
Conservative John Scott 283 22.3 –5.4
Labour Paul Bishop 273 21.5 –5.7
Green Ronnie Bartlett 192 15.1 N/A
Labour Jonathan Legg 177 14.0 –9.6
Ind. Network Kevin Daines 124 9.8 N/A
TUSC Tony O'Donnell 85 6.7 N/A
Turnout 25.4 –1.8
Liberal Democrats hold
Liberal Democrats hold
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Moulsham and Central

More information Party, Candidate ...
Moulsham and Central (3 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats Marie Goldman* 1,737 58.8 +8.1
Liberal Democrats Charlene Adutwim 1,491 50.5 +5.8
Liberal Democrats Graham Pooley* 1,392 47.1 +6.6
Conservative Kim Gisby 914 30.9 –6.4
Conservative Liz Hall 903 30.6 –5.3
Conservative Seena Shah 871 29.5 –2.9
Green Sally Kershaw 474 16.0 –2.1
Labour Philip Etheridge 385 13.0 –2.7
Labour Edward Massey 368 12.5 –2.0
Labour Richard Parry 330 11.2 –1.3
Turnout 34.3 –2.5
Liberal Democrats hold
Liberal Democrats hold
Liberal Democrats hold
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Moulsham Lodge

More information Party, Candidate ...
Moulsham Lodge (2 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats Simon Goldman 742 47.9 –16.1
Liberal Democrats Ashley Thompson 691 44.7 –13.4
Conservative Robert Gisby* 676 43.7 +14.8
Conservative Jake Smith 625 40.4 +16.2
Labour Tim Wright 188 12.1 +3.3
Green Claire Young 173 11.2 –4.8
Turnout 32.3 –6.7
Liberal Democrats hold
Liberal Democrats hold
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Both Moulsham Lodge seats had been won by Liberal Democrats in 2019, but Robert Gisby had won one of the seats for the Conservatives in a by-election in May 2021. He stood for re-election but was defeated. Seat recorded as a Liberal Democrat hold to allow for comparison with 2019 election.

Patching Hall

More information Party, Candidate ...
Patching Hall (3 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats Chris Davidson* 1,104 59.1 +7.6
Liberal Democrats Lynne Foster 1,076 57.6 +3.1
Conservative Vetri Pappa 984 52.6 +16.2
Conservative Mike Holoway 926 49.5 +14.2
Liberal Democrats Sean Manley 821 43.9 –4.3
Green Angela Thompson 361 19.3 +7.0
Labour Adam Kenningham–Brown 336 18.0 +8.0
Turnout 35.0 –1.7
Liberal Democrats hold
Liberal Democrats hold
Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats
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Rettendon and Runwell

More information Party, Candidate ...
Rettendon and Runwell (2 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Independent Paul Clark* 800 55.7 –8.7
Independent Steve Davis 729 50.8 N/A
Conservative Jim Knight 545 38.0 –18.7
Conservative Dave Phillips 534 37.2 –18.9
Labour Yvonne Waterhouse 142 9.9 N/A
Liberal Democrats Jenifer Goldfinch 73 5.1 –17.8
Liberal Democrats Richard Pennicard 48 3.3 N/A
Turnout 30.2 –5.4
Independent hold
Independent gain from Conservative
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South Hanningfield, Stock and Margaretting

More information Party, Candidate ...
South Hanningfield, Stock and Margaretting (2 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Ian Grundy* 1,000 79.9 –1.0
Conservative Roy Whitehead* 938 75.0 +1.5
Liberal Democrats Gerhard Petri 221 17.7 –6.8
Liberal Democrats Maike Windhorst 205 16.4 –4.6
Labour Mark Reilly 139 11.1 N/A
Turnout 31.8 –3.8
Conservative hold
Conservative hold
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South Woodham Ferrers – Chetwood and Collingwood

More information Party, Candidate ...
South Woodham Ferrers – Chetwood and Collingwood (3 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Bob Massey* 708 57.8 +2.7
Conservative Malcolm Sismey* 656 53.6 +3.6
Conservative Ashley John* 534 43.6 –5.2
SWFCTA Jackie Birch 527 43.1 ±0.0
SWFCTA Scott Wilson 495 40.4 N/A
Labour Jonathan Gatenby 218 17.8 N/A
Liberal Democrats Amanda Powling 205 16.7 +0.1
Liberal Democrats Ian Powling 170 13.9 N/A
Liberal Democrats Mary Regnier–Wilson 159 13.0 N/A
Turnout 23.7 ±0.0
Conservative hold
Conservative hold
Conservative hold
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South Woodham Ferrers – Elmwood and Woodville

More information Party, Candidate ...
South Woodham Ferrers – Elmwood and Woodville (3 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats Donna Eley 618 49.9 +28.2
Liberal Democrats Terry Sherlock 582 47.0 N/A
Conservative Murrough O'Brien 527 42.5 +17.2
SWFCTA Keith Bentley* 518 41.8 –11.6
SWFCTA Ian Roberts* 463 37.4 –14.1
Liberal Democrats Dee Davey 435 35.1 N/A
Conservative Scott Wilson 396 32.0 +7.8
Labour Anthony Weaver 179 14.4 N/A
Turnout 24.9 +0.9
Liberal Democrats gain from SWFCTA
Liberal Democrats gain from SWFCTA
Conservative hold
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Springfield North

More information Party, Candidate ...
Springfield North (3 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats Dan Clark‡ 943 44.9 –12.5
Liberal Democrats Ian Fuller* 925 44.0 –13.4
Liberal Democrats Chloe Tron* 897 42.7 –8.7
Conservative Paul Hutchinson 893 42.5 +5.5
Conservative Emmanuel Aluko 781 37.2 +5.0
Conservative John Pioli 767 36.5 +8.6
Ind. Network Martin Lovett 245 11.7 N/A
Labour Steven Haigh 236 11.2 +0.3
Labour Karen Kennedy 222 10.6 N/A
Labour Russell Kennedy 210 10.0 N/A
Green Reza Hossain 187 8.9 –7.7
Turnout 30.6 –1.6
Liberal Democrats hold
Liberal Democrats hold
Liberal Democrats hold
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‡Dan Clark was a sitting councillor for Chelmer Village and Beaulieu Park ward before the election.

St. Andrew's

More information Party, Candidate ...
St. Andrew's (3 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats Ann Davidson* 1,161 70.9 +11.8
Liberal Democrats Stephen Robinson* 1,155 70.5 +8.3
Liberal Democrats Joanne Hawkins 1,104 67.4 +6.7
Conservative Peter Cousins 555 33.9 +7.6
Conservative Chloe Ahmed 398 24.3 +0.6
Labour Megan Francis 297 18.1 +2.7
Labour Mark Thornley 246 15.0 –0.4
Turnout
Liberal Democrats hold
Liberal Democrats hold
Liberal Democrats hold
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The Lawns

More information Party, Candidate ...
The Lawns (2 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats Richard Lee* 854 53.0 –3.4
Liberal Democrats Natacha Dudley* 821 50.9 –6.6
Conservative Joel Alderman 581 36.0 –3.8
Conservative Jane Edwards 555 34.4 –3.5
Labour Diane McDermott 169 10.5 +2.2
Ind. Network Beata Chadwick 127 7.9 N/A
Green Luke Wotton 118 7.3 N/A
Turnout 41.5 –1.4
Liberal Democrats hold
Liberal Democrats hold
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Trinity

More information Party, Candidate ...
Trinity (2 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats Julia Frascona* 889 59.1 +13.5
Liberal Democrats Eleanor Sampson‡ 809 53.8 +5.8
Conservative Bob Adams 564 37.5 +11.3
Conservative David Kimberlin 543 36.1 +12.1
Labour Sarah Jones 205 13.6 +6.4
Turnout 36.7 –0.2
Liberal Democrats hold
Liberal Democrats hold
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‡Eleanor Sampson was a sitting councillor for Waterhouse Farm ward before the election.

Waterhouse Farm

More information Party, Candidate ...
Waterhouse Farm (2 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats Jennie Lardge* 732 49.5 –16.1
Liberal Democrats Nora Walsh‡ 641 43.3 –18.2
Labour Penny Richards 494 33.4 +15.5
Labour Pankaj Sharma 467 31.6 N/A
Conservative Brian Jeapes 337 22.8 –5.4
Conservative Gilbert Smith 288 19.5 –7.3
Turnout 34.7 +1.9
Liberal Democrats hold
Liberal Democrats hold
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‡Nora Walsh was a sitting councillor for Great Baddow East ward before the election.

Writtle

More information Party, Candidate ...
Writtle (2 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Andrew Thorpe–Apps* 796 54.5 +0.2
Conservative Barry Knight‡ 749 51.3 –16.7
Liberal Democrats David Loxton 552 37.8 –6.3
Liberal Democrats Sanjeev Valdaya 507 34.7 +1.1
Green Robert Jordan 158 10.8 N/A
Labour Sandra Massey 157 10.8 N/A
Turnout 25.0 –7.6
Conservative hold
Conservative hold
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‡Barry Knight was a sitting councillor for Broomfield and the Walthams ward before the election.

Post-election changes

Affiliation changes

  • Barry Knight (Writtle) and Mark Taylor (Bicknacre & East and West Hanningfield), both elected as Conservatives, left the party in November 2023 to sit as independents.[13]

By-elections

Moulsham & Central

More information Party, Candidate ...
Moulsham & Central by-election: 1 May 2025
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats Helen Ayres 1,384 51.9 +2.4
Liberal Democrats Seán Manley 1,285 48.2 –1.3
Reform Darren Brooke 572 21.5 N/A
Reform Simon Lowe 541 20.3 N/A
Conservative Seena Shah 477 17.9 –8.1
Conservative Renga Subramanian 411 15.4 –10.6
Green Ronnie Bartlett 200 7.5 –6.0
Labour Penny Richards 191 7.2 –3.8
Green Edward Massey 143 5.4 –8.1
Labour Oli Winters 128 4.8 –6.2
Turnout ~2,666 27.2 –7.1
Liberal Democrats hold
Liberal Democrats hold
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References

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