2023 Dartford Borough Council election
← 2019 4 May 2023 (2023-05-04) 2027 →
All 42 seats to Dartford Borough Council
22 seats needed for a majority
  First party Second party Third party
  Blank Blank Blank
Leader Jeremy Kite Kelly Grehan Laura Edie[a]
Party Conservative Labour Green
Last election 29 seats, 53.1% 10 seats, 29.4% 0 seats, 0.6%
Seats before 31 7 1
Seats won 29 11 1
Seat change Steady Increase 1 Increase 1
Popular vote 27,404 17,141 2,069
Percentage 55.8% 34.9% 4.2%
Swing Increase 3.0% Increase 5.1% Increase 3.6%
  Fourth party Fifth party
  Blank Blank
Party Residents Independent
Last election 3 seats, 5.4% 0 seats, 1.6%
Seats before 1 2
Seats won 1 0
Seat change Decrease 2 Steady
Popular vote 1,640 117
Percentage 3.3% 0.2%
Swing Decrease 2.1% Decrease 1.4%
Leader before election

Jeremy Kite
Conservative

Leader after election

Jeremy Kite
Conservative

The 2023 Dartford Borough Council election took place on 4 May 2023 to elect all 42 members of Dartford Borough Council in Kent, England.[2]

This election took place alongside other local elections across England.

The council remained under Conservative majority control after the election.[3]

Changes since 2019 election

After Cllr Jonathon Hawkes, leader of the Labour Group, lost his seat in 2019, Cllr Sacha Gosine was elected as the new Leader of the Opposition. He was replaced by Cllr Kelly Grehan in 2022. Between 2019 and 2023, the Labour Group lost 3 councillors. Deputy Leader Cllr Adrian Oakley-Dow resigned from the party following the election of a new Deputy. Around this time, Cllr Romana Gosine was expelled by the party for an alleged "breach of the rules".[4] Cllr Laura Edie left the Labour Party after criticising the national party's policies, and sat as a Green Party councillor for the remainder of her term. She was re-elected as a Green councillor in 2023.[5]

In April 2021, 2 councillors from the Swanscombe and Greenhithe Residents Association, Cllrs Sue Butterfill and Anita Barham, left the party to form a new Independent Party Group. They later joined the Conservative Party. Cllr Barham stood as a Conservative candidate in Swanscombe in 2023, but was not elected.[6]

Cllr Ann Allen died in October 2021, triggering a by-election in Maypole & Leyton Cross. Cllr Lucas Reynolds also stood down for personal reasons, triggering a by-election in Wilmington, Sutton-At-Hone & Hawley. Both seats were held by the Conservatives with large majorities.[7]

In May 2022, it was announced that Cllr Laura Edie and Cllr Peter Harman (of the Swanscombe and Greenhithe Residents Association) had formed the Alliance Group together.[8]

A by-election was also held in February 2023, once again in Wilmington, Sutton-At-Hone & Hawley, where the Conservative majority was increased.[9]

Summary

Election result

2023 Dartford Borough Council election[10]
Party Candidates Seats Gains Losses Net gain/loss Seats % Votes % Votes +/−
  Conservative 42 29 1 1 Steady 69.0 55.8 27,404 +2.7
  Labour 42 11 2 1 Increase 1 26.2 34.9 17,141 +5.5
  Green 9 1 1 0 Increase 1 2.4 4.2 2,069 +3.6
  Residents 4 1 0 2 Decrease 2 2.4 3.3 1,640 –2.1
  Reform UK 5 0 0 0 Steady 0.0 1.0 503 N/A
  Britain First 2 0 0 0 Steady 0.0 0.3 168 N/A
  Independent 1 0 0 0 Steady 0.0 0.2 117 –1.4
  Liberal Democrats 1 0 0 0 Steady 0.0 0.1 63 –0.1

Ward results

The Statement of Persons Nominated, which details the candidates standing in each ward, was released by Dartford Borough Council following the close of nominations on 4 April 2023.[11] The results for each ward were as follows:[12]

Bean & Village Park

Bean & Village Park
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative David Hammock* 392 74.5 -7.0
Labour Graham Windram 134 25.5 +7.0
Turnout 526 27.42
Conservative hold Swing

Brent

Brent (2 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Rosanna Currans* 840 63.4 +1.5
Conservative Peter Whapshott 718 54.2 -2.5
Labour Sarah Crook 359 27.1 +4.4
Labour Marian Benford 355 26.8 +5.8
Green Claire Edie 130 9.8 N/A
Liberal Democrats Cullen O'Donnell 63 4.8 N/A
Turnout 1,324 30.33
Conservative hold Swing
Conservative hold Swing

Bridge

Bridge
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Clement Quaqumey 316 61.5 -0.8
Labour Peter Grehan 198 38.5 +16.7
Turnout 514 19.93 -5.17
Conservative hold Swing

Burnham

Burnham
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Matthew Davis* 358 56.1 +5.1
Labour Amanda Cook 280 43.9 -5.1
Turnout 638 28.94
Conservative hold Swing

Darenth

Darenth
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Paul Denman 215 35.8 -11.6
Labour Catherine Stafford 207 34.5 +2.9
Independent Tony Prentice 117 19.5 N/A
Britain First Nicholas Scanlon 61 10.2 N/A
Turnout 600 30.32
Conservative hold Swing

Ebbsfleet

Ebbsfleet (3 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Danny Nicklen* 615 55.3 +17.5
Labour Jonathon Hawkes 535 48.1 +8.5
Labour Victoria Akintomie-Akinwamide 507 45.6 +7.0
Labour Victoria Oguntope 479 43.1 +6.2
Conservative Subhash Goswami 406 36.5 +9.9
Conservative Edith Nwachukwu 392 35.3 +12.7
Turnout 1,112 27.51
Conservative hold Swing
Labour hold Swing
Labour hold Swing

Greenhithe & Knockhall

Greenhithe & Knockhall (3 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Residents Peter Harman* 623 51.7 +8.0
Conservative David Mote* 499 41.4 +2.9
Conservative Carol Gale 359 29.8 +0.1
Residents Dawn Johnston 354 29.4 -14.4
Conservative Safiul Azam 345 28.7 +0.7
Residents Elizabeth Wickham 335 27.8 -5.3
Labour Lisa Bullock 270 22.4 +5.4
Labour Joshua Grills 224 18.6 +5.7
Labour James Ray 205 17.0 +4.2
Turnout 1,204 22.40
Residents hold Swing
Conservative gain from Residents Swing
Conservative hold Swing

Heath

Heath (2 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Andrew Lloyd* 910 62.5 -0.9
Conservative Patsy Thurlow* 837 57.4 +1.5
Labour David Celino-Stock 405 27.8 +4.5
Labour Sally Wainwright 243 16.7 -6.0
Reform UK Michael Brown 141 9.7 N/A
Turnout 1,457 33.10
Conservative hold Swing
Conservative hold Swing

Joyden's Wood

Joyden's Wood (2 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Brian Garden* 1,131 80.6 +6.4
Conservative Marilyn Peters* 1,067 76.0 +1.8
Labour Carole Jones 253 18.0 +5.3
Labour Peter Summers 245 17.5 +7.2
Turnout 1,404 34.28
Conservative hold Swing
Conservative hold Swing

Longfield, New Barn & Southfleet

Longfield, New Barn & Southfleet (3 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Jeremy Kite* 1,431 71.7 +2.5
Conservative Steven Brown* 1,406 70.4 +4.3
Conservative Roger Perfitt* 1,317 65.9 +5.0
Labour Timothy Cook 388 19.4 +6.7
Labour Lacey Povey 375 18.8 +7.8
Labour Allan Fisher 327 16.4 +4.5
Green Alastair Humphreys 256 12.8 N/A
Turnout 1,997 36.36
Conservative hold Swing
Conservative hold Swing
Conservative hold Swing

Maypole & Leyton Cross

Maypole & Leyton Cross
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Kyle Stealey* 435 68.7 -15.4
Labour David Brooker 198 31.2 +15.4
Turnout 633 29.3 +2.6
Conservative hold Swing

Newtown

Newtown (2 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Debbie Graham 528 38.9 -3.2
Green Laura Edie* 509 37.5 +24.9
Labour Jonathan Wynne 401 29.5 -9.7
Conservative Andrew Mensah 399 29.4 -6.6
Conservative Sheun Oke 365 26.9 -6.8
Green Julian Hood 348 25.6 N/A
Turnout 1355 33.18 -2.02
Labour hold Swing
Green gain from Labour Swing

Princes

Princes (2 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Ricky Jones* 490 47.9 +3.8
Labour Alina Vaduva 395 38.6 +0.2
Conservative Monjur Showkat 388 38.0 +2.3
Conservative Rebecca Storey* 386 37.8 -0.8
Green Ciara O'Hare 76 7.4 N/A
Green Kerry O'Hare 60 5.9 N/A
Reform UK Lou Sparrow 49 2.7 N/A
Turnout 1021 24.73 -6.77
Labour hold Swing
Labour gain from Conservative Swing

Stone Castle

Stone Castle (3 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Paul Cutler* 518 56.0 +11.5
Conservative Lucy Canham* 491 53.0 +2.8
Conservative John Burrell* 440 47.5 -0.3
Labour Trevor Donnelly 362 39.1 +4.0
Labour Pat Kelly 320 34.6 -0.1
Labour Rachel Gogo 315 34.1 +5.7
Turnout 925 17.10 -7.1
Conservative hold Swing
Conservative hold Swing
Conservative hold Swing

Stone House

Stone House (2 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Tom Oliver* 667 52.4 +9.7
Labour Rachael Anne 556 43.7 -2.4
Conservative Milan Suter 535 42.0 +1.8
Labour Karl Harris 491 38.6 +1.7
Green Louise Maclean 125 9.8 N/A
Turnout 1272 27.3 +1.5
Conservative hold Swing
Labour hold Swing

Swanscombe

Swanscombe (2 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Emma Ben Moussa* 732 61.2 +21.6
Labour Claire Pearce 476 39.8 +7.7
Conservative Anita Barham* 379 31.7 -6.4
Residents Lorna Cross 328 27.4 -10.7
Conservative Santosh Patil 125 10.4 +1.0
Britain First Paul Golding 107 8.9 N/A
Turnout 1,197 25.67
Labour hold Swing
Labour gain from Residents Swing

Temple Hill

Temple Hill (3 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Kelly Grehan* 796 62.1 +19.1
Labour Alina Gaskin* 737 57.5 +15.6
Labour Darren Povey 704 55.0 +15.0
Conservative Thomas Denman 393 30.7 +3.8
Conservative Thomas Shippam 327 25.5 +0.6
Conservative Ganesh Malyala 322 25.1 +0.9
Reform UK Barry Taylor 102 8.0 -17.4
Reform UK Enrique Martin-Garcia 93 7.3 -16.7
Turnout 1,281 21.14
Labour hold Swing
Labour hold Swing
Labour hold Swing

Town

Town (2 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Christopher Shippam* 544 62.4 +9.4
Conservative Richard Wells* 530 60.8 +10.0
Labour Justina Lambert 309 35.4 -1.9
Labour Jiri Marek 292 33.5 -2.4
Turnout 872 23.83
Conservative hold Swing
Conservative hold Swing

West Hill

West Hill (3 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Julie Ozog* 1,096 57.0 +4.8
Conservative Denzil Reynolds* 1,062 55.2 +4.9
Conservative Drew Swinerd* 969 50.4 +3.1
Labour Robert Celino-Stock 632 32.9 +0.7
Labour Suyi Michelli 600 31.2 +0.3
Labour Sandra Woodeson 580 30.2 ±0.0
Green Garry Turner 374 19.4 N/A
Turnout 1,923 33.04
Conservative hold Swing
Conservative hold Swing
Conservative hold Swing

Wilmington, Sutton-at-Hone & Hawley

Wilmington, Sutton-at-Hone & Hawley (3 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative George Holt* 1,270 68.3 +8.2
Conservative Eddy Lampkin* 1,162 62.5 +6.1
Conservative Av Sandhu 1,047 56.3 +4.5
Labour Abigail Jones 449 24.1 +8.2
Labour Raymond Kelleher 414 22.3 +5.7
Labour Geoffrey Prout 375 20.2 +5.3
Green Richard Moore 191 10.3 N/A
Reform UK Marc Mason 118 6.3 N/A
Turnout 1,860 30.54
Conservative hold Swing
Conservative hold Swing
Conservative hold Swing

References

  1. ^ Leading "Alliance Group" of the Green Party and one of the independent councillors.[1]
  1. ^ "Council minutes, 11 May 2022". Dartford Borough Council. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
  2. ^ "Notice of Election". Dartford Borough Council. 17 March 2023. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
  3. ^ Greenwood, Keely (5 May 2023). "Kent local elections 2023: Dartford council remains under Tory control as Britain First falls short". Kent Online. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
  4. ^ "Dartford Labour vote in new opposition council leader amid local party shake up". Kent Online. 12 April 2022. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  5. ^ "Dartford councillor for Newtown Laura Edie quits Labour Party over handling of school closures". Kent Online. 5 January 2021. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  6. ^ "Swanscombe and Greenhithe Resident's Association councillors quit to form new Independent Party Group on Dartford Council". Kent Online. 21 April 2022. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
  7. ^ "Conservatives retain three Wilmington by-election seats in Dartford council and Kent County Council". Kent Online. 31 January 2022. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  8. ^ "Council minutes, 11 May 2022". Dartford Borough Council. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
  9. ^ "Wilmington, Sutton-at-Hone & Hawley Borough Ward - Thursday 9 February 2023". Dartford Borough Council. 9 February 2023. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  10. ^ "Dartford Borough Council Elections - Thursday 4 May 2023". Dartford Borough Council. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
  11. ^ "Statement of Persons Nominated". Dartford Borough Council. 4 April 2023. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
  12. ^ Clarke, Amy (5 May 2023). "Dartford Borough Council election results by ward". News Shopper. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
Categories