2023 Harlow District Council election
← 2022 4 May 2023 (2023-05-04) 2024 →
11 out of 33 seats to Harlow District Council
17 seats needed for a majority
Turnout25.2%
  First party Second party
  Blank Blank
Leader Russell Perrin Chris Vince
Party Conservative Labour
Last election 23 seats, 48.1% 10 seats, 40.1%
Seats before 20 13
Seats won 5 6
Seats after 21 12
Seat change Increase 1 Decrease 1
Popular vote 6,675 7,041
Percentage 41.5% 43.8%
Swing Decrease 6.6% Increase 3.7%
Winner of each seat at the 2023 Harlow District Council election
Leader before election

Russell Perrin
Conservative

Leader after election

Dan Swords
Conservative

The 2023 Harlow District Council election took place on 4 May 2023 to elect members of Harlow District Council in Essex, England.[1] This was on the same day as other local elections across England. One third of the council was up for election.

The Conservatives retained their majority on the council.[2] Immediately after the election the Conservative leader of the council, Russell Perrin, announced his resignation as leader.[3] At the subsequent annual council meeting on 25 May 2023 the new Conservative leader, 22-year-old Dan Swords, was appointed leader of the council.[4]

Summary

Election result

2023 Harlow District Council election
Party This election Full council This election
Seats Net Seats % Other Total Total % Votes Votes % +/−
  Conservative 5 Increase 1 45.5 16 21 63.6 6,675 41.5 –6.6
  Labour 6 Decrease 1 54.5 6 12 36.4 7,041 43.8 +3.7
  Green 0 Steady 0.0 0 0 0.0 1,524 9.5 +0.5
  Harlow Alliance 0 Steady 0.0 0 0 0.0 455 2.8 +0.5
  Liberal Democrats 0 Steady 0.0 0 0 0.0 235 1.5 +1.3
  Reform UK 0 Steady 0.0 0 0 0.0 111 0.7 N/A
  TUSC 0 Steady 0.0 0 0 0.0 42 0.3 +0.1

Ward results

The Statement of Persons Nominated, which details the candidates standing in each ward, was released by Harlow District Council following the close of nomination on 5 April 2023.[5] The results were:[6]


Bush Fair

Bush Fair[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Co-op Jodi Dunne* 687 50.9 +6.7
Conservative Emma Ghaffari 450 33.3 –11.3
Green Jennifer Steadman 142 10.5 +2.9
Liberal Democrats Christopher Millington 63 4.7 +1.6
Majority 237 17.6 N/A
Turnout 1,350 24.7 –2.9
Registered electors 5,469
Labour Co-op hold Swing Increase9.0

Church Langley

Church Langley[8]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Andrew Johnson* 1,000 64.1 –5.3
Labour Michael Danvers 402 25.8 +4.9
Green Bengeman White 154 9.9 +0.4
Majority 598 38.3 –10.4
Turnout 1,561 24.5 –3.2
Registered electors 6,378
Conservative hold Swing Decrease5.1

Great Parndon

Great Parndon[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative David Carter* 749 51.9 –0.2
Labour John Strachan 441 30.6 +0.8
Harlow Alliance Nicholas Taylor 173 12.0 –5.9
Green Paul King 77 5.3 N/A
Majority 308 21.4 –1.0
Turnout 1,442 29.8 –4.3
Registered electors 4,837
Conservative hold Swing Decrease0.5

Harlow Common

Harlow Common[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Mark Wilkinson* 707 46.9 +2.1
Conservative Danielle Brown 645 42.8 –5.1
Green Nathan Ederton 149 9.9 +2.9
Majority 62 4.1 N/A
Turnout 1,507 27.8 –3.0
Registered electors 5,429
Labour hold Swing Increase3.6

Little Parndon and Hare Street

Little Parndon and Hare Street[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Margaret Hulcoop 988 65.2 +14.3
Conservative Jayne Saunders 450 29.7 –8.3
Green Klara Bow 66 4.4 –5.9
Majority 538 35.5 +22.3
Turnout 1,516 23.6 –4.2
Registered electors 6,415
Labour hold Swing Increase11.3

Mark Hall

Mark Hall[9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Aiden O'Dell 626 47.4 +4.3
Conservative Geoffrey Longster 320 24.2 –16.5
Green Jamie Gilbert 176 13.3 –2.5
Reform UK Mark Gough 111 8.4 N/A
Liberal Democrats Lesley Rideout 82 6.2 N/A
Majority 306 23.2 +20.7
Turnout 1,320 24.8 –4.6
Registered electors 5,332
Labour hold Swing Increase10.4

Netteswell

Netteswell[8]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Nancy Watson* 705 52.0 +2.3
Conservative Elena Hardware 452 33.3 –6.0
Green Kim O'Connor 103 7.6 –3.0
Liberal Democrats Robert Thurston 90 6.7 N/A
Majority 253 18.6 +8.2
Turnout 1,357 22.8 –4.9
Registered electors 5,944
Labour hold Swing Increase4.2

Old Harlow

Old Harlow[8]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Sue Livings* 1,073 48.7 –3.8
Labour Stefan Mullard 747 33.9 +5.1
Green Yasmin Gregory 325 14.7 –1.1
TUSC Paul Lenihan 42 1.9 ±0.0
Majority 326 14.8 –8.7
Turnout 2,204 25.5 –3.8
Registered electors 8,652
Conservative hold Swing Decrease4.5

Staple Tye

Staple Tye[9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative John Steer 504 42.7 –9.6
Labour Co-op Jake Shepherd 476 40.4 +1.4
Harlow Alliance Karen James 105 8.9 N/A
Green Gareth Williams 90 7.6 –0.7
Majority 28 2.4 –11.0
Turnout 1,179 23.1 –3.6
Registered electors 5,096
Conservative gain from Labour Swing Decrease5.5

Sumners & Kingsmoor

Sumners & Kingsmoor[9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Clive Souter* 574 43.5 –8.1
Labour Anita Schultschik 481 36.4 +4.4
Harlow Alliance Alan Leverett 177 13.4 +2.3
Green David Margetts 86 6.5 +1.4
Majority 93 7.0 –12.6
Turnout 1,321 26.2 –3.0
Registered electors 5,049
Conservative hold Swing Decrease6.3

Toddbrook

Toddbrook[9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Daniella Pritchard 781 56.0 +7.9
Conservative Brian Kasule 458 32.8 –6.9
Green Julie Taylor 156 11.2 –1.0
Majority 323 23.0 N/A
Turnout 1,402 25.2 –3.9
Registered electors 5,557
Labour hold Swing Increase7.4

Reactions

The Conservative leader of the council, Russell Perrin, said the election was a "brilliant result" for the party.[10] Robert Halfon, the Conservative MP for Harlow, thanked voters and noted that the gain from Labour in Staple Tye resulted in the ward having all Conservative councillors for the first time.[11]

The leader of the Labour group on the council, Chris Vince, called the election a "good result for Harlow Labour", pointing to the party winning the popular vote and the majority of seats up for election.[12]

References

  1. ^ "Notice of Election" (PDF). Harlow District Council. 24 March 2023. Retrieved 9 April 2023.
  2. ^ "Local elections 2023: Conservatives lose control of Brentwood council". BBC News. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  3. ^ "Leader of Harlow Council resigns over work life balance". BBC News. 12 May 2023. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
  4. ^ Meyler, Piers (26 May 2023). "Harlow councillor, 22, becomes one of youngest council leaders in the country". Essex Live. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
  5. ^ "Statement of Persons Nominated" (PDF). Harlow District Council. 5 April 2023. Retrieved 9 April 2023.
  6. ^ "Local council election results". Harlow Council. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
  7. ^ a b c d @HarlowCouncil (May 4, 2023). "Full result sheets for the Bush Fair, Great Parndon, Harlow Common and Little Parndon & Hare Street wards" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  8. ^ a b c @HarlowCouncil (May 4, 2023). "Full result sheets for Church Langley, Netteswell and Old Harlow wards" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  9. ^ a b c d @HarlowCouncil (May 4, 2023). "Full result sheets for the Mark Hall, Staple Tye, Sumners & Kingsmoor and Toddbrook wards" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  10. ^ "Harlow Council leader responds to election night result". Your Harlow. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  11. ^ "Harlow MP pleased as Tories retain council". Your Harlow. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  12. ^ "Harlow Labour leader in positive mood following local election results". Your Harlow. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
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