2011 Cheshire West and Chester Council election

The 2011 elections to Cheshire West and Chester Borough Council were the first elections to this Council after it had been re-warded into a mixture of single-, two- and three-member wards. They took place on 5 May alongside the 2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum. The previous election held for 2008 were based on the old Cheshire County Council electoral divisions each of which returned 3 members. The 2008 elections elected 72 members to serve first on the shadow authority and then, with effect from 1 April 2009, the new Council when it took over responsibility for the delivery of local government services.

Given the re-warding that took place in time for the 2011 elections, direct comparisons between the 2008 and 2011 results are problematic. Superficially, the 2011 results give the impression of a dramatic swing to Labour when compared with the 2008 results; however, this is misleading. In 2008, the Labour Party was particularly unpopular, with the local government elections taking place shortly after the '10p tax rate' had been abolished, plunging Labour support to a particular low. This unpopularity, coupled with the then large electoral wards electing three councillors per ward, and the first-past-the-post system, very much favoured the then leading party in the opinion polls – the Conservatives – who, in 2008, won a much greater majority than had otherwise been predicted.

The 2011 elections with the re-warding took place one year into the national Conservative–Liberal Democrat coalition, at a time when support for the Liberal Democrats was at a particular low. Nationally, Labour's support had rallied considerably when compared with 2008.

Before the elections in 2011, the majority Conservative party suffered a small number of defections, principally almost certainly associated with existing councillors failing to be selected by the party to fight the seat of their choice.

As noted, the Conservatives had reduced in number from 55 to 50 through resignations, defections and withdrawal of the party whip associated with the processes for selection of candidates to fight the 2011 election.

Four political groups which had unsuccessfully put forward candidates in 2008 did not do so in 2011. Several deselected Conservatives stood without the party whip, but there were no other independent candidates.

Results summary

Summary of the 2011 Cheshire West and Chester Council election results^[1][2][3]

Political party		Group leader	Candidates	Total votes	Total seats	Seats, net change	Seats, of total (%)	Votes, of total (%)	Total votes, change (%)
	Conservative	Mike Jones	75	84,705	42	8	56	45.34
	Labour	Derek Bateman	75	69,829	32	19	42.6	37.38
	Liberal Democrats	—	51	22,223	1	3	1.33	11.90
	Independent	—	9	5,732	0	4	0	3.07
	UKIP	Richard Lowe[a]	15	2,889	0	1	0	1.55
	Green	—	4	1,042	0		0	0.56
	Socialist Labour	—	1	251	0		0	0.13
	BNP	—	1	151	0		0	0.08

Seat composition between 2008 (top) and 2011 (bottom):

55

13

4

42

32

1

Councillor changes

New councillors

• David Armstrong (Labour, Winsford Swanlow and Dene)
• Alex Black (Labour, Hoole)
• Tom Blackmore (Labour, Winsford Over and Verdin)
• Stephen Burns (Labour, Winsford Swanlow and Dene)
• Keith Butcher (Labour, Ledsham and Manor)
• Samantha Dixon (Labour, Chester City)
• Paul Dolan (Labour, Winnington and Castle)
• Charles Fifield (Conservative, Weaver and Cuddington)
• Carolyn Graham (Labour, Blacon)
• Howard Greenwood (Conservative, Farndon)
• Louise Gittins (Labour, Little Neston and Burton)
• Don Hammond (Conservative, Marbury)
• Graham Heatley (Conservative, Elton)
• Mark Henesy (Labour, Sutton)
• Brian Jones (Labour, Whitby)
• Lynda Jones (Conservative, Winsford Over and Verdin)
• Tony Lawrenson (Labour, Witton and Rudheath)
• John Leather (Conservative, Tarvin and Kelsall)
• Nicole Meardon (Labour, Sutton)
• Amy Mercer-Bailey (Labour, Winnington and Castle)
• Eveleigh Moore Dutton (Conservative, Tarporley)
• Margaret Parker (Conservative, Chester Villages)
• Ben Powell (Labour, St Paul's)
• Diane Roberts (Labour, Netherpool)
• David Robinson (Labour, Boughton)
• Bob Rudd (Labour, Garden Quarter)
• Gaynor Sinar (Conservative, Davenham and Moulton)
• Neil Sullivan (Conservative, Handbridge Park)
• Julia Tickridge (Labour, Witton and Rudheath)
• Elton Watson (Conservative, Davenham and Moulton)
• Andrew Williams (Labour, Neston)

Outgoing councillors

• Brian Anderson (Conservative)
• Kimberley Anderson (Conservative)
• Brian Bailey (Independent)
• Bob Barton (Liberal Democrats)
• Kate Birtwistle (Conservative)
• Terry Birtwistle (Conservative)
• Lynn Clare (Labour)
• Linda Cooper (Conservative)^[b]
• Max Drury (Conservative)^[b]
• John Ebo (Conservative)
• Malcolm Gaskill (Liberal Democrats)
• Arthur Harada (Conservative)^[b]
• Mark Ingram (Conservative)^[b]
• Katherine Lord (Conservative)^[b]
• Pat Lott (Conservative)^[b]
• Richard Lowe (UKIP)
• Jan Mashlan (Conservative)^[b]
• Simon McDonald (Independent)
• William Mealor (Conservative)
• George Miller (Conservative)
• Andrew Needham (Conservative)^[b]
• Charlie Parkinson (Liberal Democrats)
• Neil Ritchie (Conservative)^[b]
• Barbara Roberts (Independent)
• Richard Short (Conservative)
• Graham Smith (Conservative)
• Andrew Storrar (Independent)
• Keith Wilson (Conservative)^[b]

Re-elected councillors

• Gareth Anderson (Conservative, Ledsham and Manor)
• Derek Bateman (Labour, Ellesmere Port Town)
• Don Beckett (Winsford Over and Verdin, Labour)
• Keith Board (Conservative, Great Boughton)
• Pamela Booher (Labour, Winsford Wharton)
• Malcolm Byram (Conservative, Marbury)
• Brian Clarke (Labour, Winsford Wharton)
• Angela Claydon (Labour, St Paul's)
• Bob Crompton (Conservative, Whitby)
• Brian Crowe (Conservative, Saughall and Mollington)
• Razia Daniels (Conservative, Handbridge Park)
• Andrew Dawson (Conservative, Frodsham)
• Hugo Deynem (Conservative, Tarvin and Kelsall)
• Paul Donovan (Labour, Sutton)
• Brenda Dowding (Conservative, Parkgate)
• Leslie Ford (Conservative, Helsby)
• John Grimshaw (Conservative, Weaver and Cuddington)
• Pamela Hall (Conservative, Great Boughton)
• Myles Hogg (Conservative, Willaston and Thornton)
• Jill Houlbrook (Conservative, Upton)
• Eleanor Johnson (Conservative, Gowy)
• Mike Jones (Conservative, Tattenhall)
• Reggie Jones (Labour, Blacon)
• Kay Loch (Conservative, Little Neston and Burton)
• Justin Madders (Labour, Ellesmere Port Town)
• Herbert Manley (Conservative, Hartford and Greenbank)
• Alan McKie (Conservative, Weaver and Cuddington)
• Hilarie McNae (Conservative, Upton)
• Pat Merrick (Labour, Rossmore)
• Keith Musgrave (Conservative, Hartford and Greenbank)
• Marie Nelson (Labour, Blacon)
• Ralph Oultram (Conservative, Kingsley)
• Stuart Parker (Conservative, Chester Villages)
• Tom Parry (Conservative, Newton)
• Lynn Riley (Conservative, Frodsham)
• Tony Sherlock (Labour, Grange)
• Mark Stocks (Conservative, Shakerley)
• Alexandra Tate (Labour, Lache)
• Bob Thompson (Liberal Democrats, Hoole)
• Adrian Walmsley (Conservative, Newton)
• Helen Weltman (Conservative, Davenham and Moulton)
• Mark Williams (Conservative, Dodleston and Huntington)
• Ann Wright (Conservative, Malpas)
• Norman Wright (Conservative, Marbury)

Results by ward

Blacon

Blacon (3 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Reggie Jones	2,103	24.20
	Labour	Marie Nelson	1,906	21.93
	Labour	Carolyn Graham	1,725	19.85
	Conservative	Bob Blacker	850	9.78
	Conservative	Danny Worley	722	8.88
	Conservative	Nick Watkins	735	8.46
	UKIP	Alan Weddell	302	3.48
	UKIP	David Evans	297	3.42

Boughton

Boughton (1 seat)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	David Robinson	960	52.09
	Conservative	Michael Turvey	744	40.37
	Liberal Democrats	James Latham	139	7.54

Chester City

Chester City (1 seat)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Samantha Dixon	519	46.88
	Conservative	Pauline Brown	465	42.01
	Liberal Democrats	Sandy Clyne	82	7.41
	UKIP	David Scott	41	3.70

Chester Villages

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

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Stuart Parker	1,941	28.54
	Conservative	Margaret Parker	1,880	27.64
	Labour	Paul Cornwall	815	11.98
	Independent	Brian Bailey	812	11.94
	Labour	Steve Davies	758	11.15
	Independent	Michael Roberts	595	8.75

Davenham and Moulton

Davenham and Moulton (3 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Elton Watson	1,638	15.82
	Conservative	Helen Weltman	1,619	15.64
	Conservative	Gaynor Sinar	1,432	13.83
	Labour	Mark Green	1,056	10.2
	Labour	Robert Harmston	1,056	10.2
	Labour	David Speak	1,016	9.81
	Liberal Democrats	Arthur Wood	724	6.99
	Independent	Sarah Flannery	674	6.51
	Green	Howard Thorp	447	4.32
	Independent	Emma Guy	405	3.91
	Independent	Simon McDonald	285	2.75

Dodleston and Huntington

Dodleston and Huntington (1 seat)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Mark Williams	1,008	63.40
	Labour	John Creswick	372	23.40
	Liberal Democrats	Christopher Ward	210	13.21

Ellesmere Port Town

Ellesmere Port Town (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Derek Bateman	1,522	45.47
	Labour	Justin Madders	1,212	36.21
	Conservative	Graham Pritchard	258	7.71
	Conservative	Gordon Meldrum	226	6.75
	Liberal Democrats	Michael Shipman	129	3.85

Elton

Elton (1 seat)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Graham Heatley	683	51.05
	Labour	Tony Mills	655	48.95

Farndon

Farndon (1 seat)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Howard Greenwood	937	55.67
	Liberal Democrats	Paul Roberts	548	32.56
	Labour	Susan Pearson	198	11.76

Frodsham

Frodsham (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Andrew Dawson	1,801	30.55
	Conservative	Lynn Riley	1,625	27.57
	Labour	Anna Huchinson	1,163	19.73
	Labour	Kyle McGregor	1,021	17.32
	Liberal Democrats	Marilyn Theron	285	4.83

Garden Quarter

Garden Quarter (1 seat)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Bob Rudd	497	48.82
	Conservative	Aden Lucas	270	26.52
	Liberal Democrats	Sarah-Jane Smith	105	10.31
	Green	Simon Brown	74	7.27
	UKIP	Richard Lowe	72	7.07

Gowy

Gowy (1 seat)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Eleanor Johnson	1,118	64.81
	Green	Jackie Tait	248	14.38
	Labour	Nick Dixon	230	13.33
	Liberal Democrats	Andrew Hyde	129	7.48

Grange

Grange (1 seat)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Tony Sherlock	844	82.58
	Conservative	Sandra Evans	178	17.42

Great Boughton

Great Boughton (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Pamela Hall	1,551	22.84
	Conservative	Keith Board	1,502	22.12
	Labour	Helen Heaviside	827	12.18
	Liberal Democrats	Ann Farrell	795	11.71
	Labour	Peter Barnard	783	11.53
	Liberal Democrats	Rose Price	751	11.06
	UKIP	Peter Lowe	335	4.93
	UKIP	Charles Dodman	247	3.46

Handbridge Park

Handbridge Park (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Razia Daniels	2,406	31.43
	Conservative	Neil Sullivan	2,030	26.52
	Labour	Pamela Stanley	1,167	15.25
	Labour	Phillip Tate	1,016	13.27
	Liberal Democrats	Phil Taylor	392	5.12
	Liberal Democrats	Christopher Reeve	321	4.19
	UKIP	Wendy Moore	172	2.25
	UKIP	Peter Steele	150	1.96

Hartford and Greenbank

Hartford and Greenbank (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Herbert Manley	1,718	32.30
	Conservative	Keith Musgrave	1,694	31.85
	Labour	George Gibson	797	14.98
	Labour	Eric Mashiter	612	11.51
	Liberal Democrats	Allan Clark	498	9.36

Helsby

Helsby (1 seat)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Leslie Ford	886	50.80
	Labour	Una Long	646	37.04
	Liberal Democrats	Joan Laming	212	12.16

Hoole

Hoole (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Bob Thompson	1,211	18.80
	Labour	Alex Black	1,108	17.20
	Conservative	John Ebo	989	15.35
	Liberal Democrats	David Mead	943	14.64
	Conservative	Lesley George	904	14.04
	Labour	Jason Stiles	740	11.49
	Green	Diana Wilderspin-Jones	273	4.24
	Independent	John Whittingham	110	1.71
	UKIP	Stephen Nichols	90	1.40
	UKIP	Roger Coston	73	1.13

Kingsley

Kingsley (1 seat)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Ralph Oultram	1,192	65.86
	Labour	Jill Peters	416	22.98
	Liberal Democrats	George England	202	11.16

Lache

Lache (1 seat)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Alexandra Tate	916	52.73
	Conservative	Mike Tomlinson	653	37.59
	UKIP	John Moore	96	5.53
	Liberal Democrats	Aminul Hassan	72	4.15

Ledsham and Manor

Ledsham and Manor (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Gareth Anderson	1,213	24.53
	Labour	Keith Butcher	1,138	23.01
	Labour	Edward Lloyd	1,089	22.02
	Conservative	Graham Smith	1,067	21.58
	UKIP	Neil Gregory	246	4.97
	Liberal Democrats	Robert Taylor	192	3.88

Little Neston and Burton

Little Neston and Burton (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Kay Loch	1,373	21.09
	Labour	Louise Gittins	1,036	15.91
	Conservative	Richard Short	989	15.19
	Liberal Democrats	Tony Cummins	961	14.76
	Liberal Democrats	Derek Gaskell	957	14.70
	Labour	Robert Perry	895	13.75
	UKIP	Henry Crocker	300	4.61

Malpas

Malpas (1 seat)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Ann Wright	988	69.77
	Liberal Democrats	Sherrie Roberts	253	17.87
	Labour	Nonny Shearer	175	12.36

Marbury

Marbury (3 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Malcolm Byram	2,328	22.27
	Conservative	Norman Wright	2,265	21.67
	Conservative	Don Hammond	2,035	19.47
	Labour	Gillian Gough	1,184	11.33
	Labour	Andy Stott	1,122	10.73
	Labour	Noel Huchinson	948	9.07
	Liberal Democrats	Alan Bailey	572	5.47

Neston

Neston (1 seat)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Andrew Williams	708	51.83
	Conservative	William Mealor	549	40.19
	Liberal Democrats	Tom Marlow	109	7.98

Netherpool

Netherpool (1 seat)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Diane Roberts	707	79.89
	Conservative	Nigel Hunt	178	20.11
Majority			529	59.77

Newton

Newton (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Tom Parry	1,432	22.01
	Conservative	Adrian Walmsley	1,415	21.75
	Labour	Frank Baker	1,063	16.34
	Labour	Jenny Baker	1,042	16.02
	Liberal Democrats	Mark Williams	674	10.36
	Liberal Democrats	Neil Christian	643	9.88
	UKIP	Steven Woolfe	237	3.64

Parkgate

Parkgate (1 seat)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Brenda Dowding	1,085	66.77
	Labour	Susan Davies	393	24.18
	Liberal Democrats	Richard Farrance	147	9.05

Rossmore

Rossmore (1 seat)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Pat Merrick	467	50.87
	Socialist Labour	Kenny Spain	251	27.34
	Conservative	John Wilson	200	21.79

Saughall and Mollington

Saughall and Mollington (1 seat)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Brian Crowe	917	46.74
	Independent	Andrew Storrar	705	35.93
	Labour	Janet Black	340	17.33

Shakerley

Shakerley (1 seat)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Mark Stocks	913	66.40
	Labour	Eira Bowden	324	23.56
	Liberal Democrats	Patricia Higgins	138	10.04

St Paul's

St Paul's (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Angela Claydon	1,496	32.56
	Labour	Ben Powell	1,329	28.92
	Conservative	Brian Anderson	760	16.54
	Conservative	Richard Soper	615	13.38
	UKIP	Andrew Roberts	231	5.03
	Liberal Democrats	Joan Butcher	164	3.57

Strawberry

Strawberry (1 seat)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Mark Henesy	962	49.79
	Conservative	Nicholas Hebson	848	43.89
	Liberal Democrats	Hilary Chrusciezl	122	6.31

Sutton

Sutton (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Paul Donovan	2,002	38.66
	Labour	Nicole Meardon	1,672	32.28
	Conservative	Kimberley Anderson	757	14.62
	Conservative	Nicholas Lacey	560	10.81
	Liberal Democrats	Graham Handley	188	3.63

Tarporley

Tarporley (1 seat)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Eveleigh Moore Dutton	1,313	73.93
	Labour	Ann Pearce	279	15.71
	Liberal Democrats	Jo Gaskill	184	10.36

Tarvin and Kelsall

Tarvin and Kelsall (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Leather	1,707	30.15
	Conservative	Hugo Deynem	1,530	27.03
	Independent	Barbara Roberts	847	14.96
	Liberal Democrats	Raymond Williams	671	11.85
	Labour	Christine Davies	495	8.74
	Labour	Sandra Rudd	411	7.26

Tattenhall

Tattenhall (1 seat)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Mike Jones	1,197	67.21
	Labour	John Vernon	300	16.84
	Liberal Democrats	Vera Roberts	284	15.95

Upton

Upton (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Jill Houlbrook	1,735	27.54
	Conservative	Hilarie McNae	1,527	24.24
	Labour	Yvonne Gibson	1,113	17.67
	Labour	Ian Gibson	1,024	16.25
	Liberal Democrats	Jean Evans	587	9.32
	Liberal Democrats	Elizabeth Jewkes	314	4.98

Weaver and Cuddington

Weaver and Cuddington (3 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Charles Fifield	1,972	16.26
	Conservative	John Grimshaw	1,823	15.03
	Conservative	Alan McKie	1,519	12.53
	Liberal Democrats	Val Godfrey	1,406	11.59
	Independent	Gillian Edwards	1,299	10.71
	Labour	Derek Bowden	977	8.06
	Labour	Robert Cernik	912	7.52
	Labour	Val Armstrong	863	7.12
	Liberal Democrats	Peter Hampson	762	6.28
	Liberal Democrats	Sybil Turner	594	4.90

Whitby

Whitby (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Brian Jones	1,489	28.64
	Conservative	Bob Crompton	1,180	22.70
	Labour	Abdul Jilani	1,175	22.60
	Conservative	Kathy Lord	1,130	21.73
	Liberal Democrats	Kurt Jewkes	225	4.33

Willaston and Thornton

Willaston and Thornton (1 seat)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Myles Hogg	1,396	78.96
	Labour	Lynn Clare	276	15.61
	Liberal Democrats	Trish Derraugh	96	5.43

Winnington and Castle

Winnington and Castle (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Paul Dolan	1,041	27.11
	Labour	Amy Mercer-Bailey	995	25.91
	Conservative	Kate Birtwistle	744	19.38
	Conservative	Terry Birtwistle	704	18.33
	Liberal Democrats	Paul Carter	205	5.34
	BNP	Jon Westerby	151	3.93

Winsford Over and Verdin

Winsford Over and Verdin (3 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Don Beckett	1,152	13.64
	Labour	Tom Blackmore	1,167	13.81
	Conservative	Lynda Jones	1,106	13.09
	Conservative	Mark Garratt	1,099	13.01
	Labour	Mike Burns	1,077	12.75
	Conservative	Susan Kaur	959	11.35
	Liberal Democrats	Des Worthington	712	8.43
	Liberal Democrats	Charlie Parkinson	626	7.41
	Liberal Democrats	Brandon Parkey	550	6.51

Winsford Swanlow and Dene

Winsford Swanlow and Dene (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Stephen Burns	899	20.26
	Labour	David Armstrong	817	18.41
	Liberal Democrats	Malcolm Gaskill	744	16.77
	Conservative	Sue Langley	681	15.35
	Liberal Democrats	Bob Barton	679	15.30
	Conservative	Stacey Collister	617	13.91

Winsford Wharton

Winsford Wharton (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Brian Clarke	1,119	28.07
	Labour	Pamela Booher	1,110	27.84
	Conservative	Margaret Dolphin	611	15.32
	Conservative	Stephen Lorriman	573	14.37
	Liberal Democrats	Bev Theron	332	8.33
	Liberal Democrats	Janet Fitzmaurice	242	6.07

Witton and Rudheath

Witton and Rudheath (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Tony Lawrenson	1,319	33.63
	Labour	Julia Tickridge	1,071	27.31
	Conservative	George Miller	751	19.15
	Conservative	Nick Goulding	639	16.29
	Liberal Democrats	Graham Newton	142	3.62

Notes

References