2019 Breckland District Council election

The 2019 Breckland District Council election took place on 2 May 2019 to elect members of Breckland District Council in England. This was on the same day as other local elections. The boundaries for this election were the same as those used in 2015.

2019 Breckland District Council election

2 May 2019
All 49 council seats 26 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party Third party   Party Conservative Labour Independent Last election 42 2 1 Seats won 37 6 4 Seat change -5 +4 +3   Fourth party Fifth party   Party Green UKIP Last election 0 4 Seats won 2 0 Seat change +2 -4
Map of the 2019 election results. For vote leaders in the split wards, see the full results section.
Party before election Conservative Elected Party Conservative

The Conservative Party held the council with a very large majority, losing one seat to the Green Party (who also won an independent seat and thereby gained their first ever seats in the district) and three to independent candidates, though they gained one seat from UKIP. UKIP lost all four of its seats, with the remaining three being taken by the Labour Party, which became the second largest party on the council with six seats.

Summary

Election result

2019 Breckland District Council election
Party		Candidates	Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
	Conservative	47	37	1	6	5	75.5	58.3	28,126	+11.5
	Labour	31	6	4	0	4	12.2	21.2	10,247	+2.3
	Independent	8	4	3	0	3	8.2	11.1	5,346	+6.1
	Green	7	2	2	0	2	4.1	7.1	3,410	+0.5
	UKIP	2	0	0	4	4	0.0	1.3	630	–20.6
	Liberal Democrats	1	0	0	0		0.0	1.1	521	+0.2

Total votes cast: 48,280.

In addition to the elections, a referendum was held on the Swaffham neighbourhood plan. This passed 1,572 votes in favour (81.5%) to 334 votes against (18.5%). 1,930 ballot papers were issued and the turnout was 30.5%.

Breckland Politics 2015-2019

After the 2015 election, 42 councillors were Conservatives, 4 were UKIP, 2 Labour, and 1 independent. This had changed by 2015 in the following ways:

Party		Seats (2015 election)	Seats (April 2019)
	Conservative	42	38
	UKIP	4	3
	Labour	2	3
	Independent	1	3
	Ind. Unionist	0	1
Total		49	48

The Conservatives retained control of the council with a sizeable majority throughout this period, despite losing four councillors. The changes were caused by three defections or resignations from the Conservative group, one seat change in a by-election, and one death shortly before the 2019 election. Two Conservative councillors left to sit as independents. One was Pablo Dimoglou of Mattishall, who resigned after accusing Council leader William Nunn of an undisclosed connection to the ownership of a local golf club in which the council had invested, before apologising for the allegation and resigning from the group; the other was Thomas Monument of Dereham Withburga, who was found guilty of assault after head-butting and punching an ex girlfriend. One Conservative (John Rogers of Saham Toney) left to sit as a Unionist. There was also a Labour gain from the Conservatives in a by-election in the Thetford Priory ward in September 2017. A UKIP councillor, John Newton of Castle Ward in, died in January 2019; his seat was not filled by a by-election due to the close proximity of this election.

There were also a number of Conservative holds in by-elections: Attleborough Queens & Besthorpe in 2016, and Harling & Heathlands and Saham Toney in 2017.

In the run-up to the 2019 election, the parties nominated a variable number of candidates. The Conservatives again by a wide margin nominated the most candidates, this time nominating one fewer than in 2015 and thus failing to contest just two of the 49 council seats. The Labour Party nominated 31 candidates, up from a previous 25, being the only party to significantly increase their candidate total. This was a major factor in far fewer wards being uncontested than in 2015. There were also more independent candidates, a total of eight, up from a previous total of three. The Green party meanwhile nominated two fewer candidates; the largest drop in candidate numbers was seen by UKIP, who having stood eighteen candidates previously now only stood two. The Liberal Democrats further decreased their number of candidates from two to one.

Conservative Party (47/49)

Labour Party (31/49)

Independent (8/49)

Green Party (7/49)

UKIP (2/49)

Liberal Democrats (1/49)

Unlike in 2015, none of the council's 27 wards were uncontested.

Full results by ward

All Saints & Wayland

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Sarah Elizabeth Suggitt	983	64.2
	Conservative	Phil Cowen	971	63.5
	Labour	Irene Macdonald	384	25.1
	Labour	Joseph Dickerson	383	25.0
Majority
Turnout			1614	32.38
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

Ashill

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Fabian Royston Eagle	513	64.8	+14.0
	Green	Anne Patricia Melba Rix	179	22.6	+6.7
	Labour	James Gornall	100	12.6	+12.6
Majority
Turnout			814	37.39
	Conservative hold		Swing

Attleborough Burgh & Havercroft (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Keith Martin	563	51.0
	Independent	Taila Taylor	462	41.8
	Conservative	Adrian Charles Stasiak	428	38.7
	Labour	Timothy Clarke	247	22.4
	Labour	Peter Panayi	167	15.1
Majority
Turnout			1151	28.85
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Independent gain from Conservative		Swing

Attleborough Queens & Besthorpe (3 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Vera Julia Dale	712	54.1
	Conservative	Tristan John Ashby	593	45.1
	Conservative	Oliver Rhodri	578	44.0
	Independent	Anthony Crouch	526	40.0
	Labour	Phil Spiby	393	29.9
Majority
Turnout			1333	24.51
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

Note: Anthony Crouch also contested this seat for UKIP in 2015, getting 23.1% on that occasion.

Bedingfield

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Mike Nairn	483	74.3
	Labour	Natasha Morgan	167	25.7
Majority
Turnout			709	29.59
	Conservative hold		Swing

The Buckenhams and Banham

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Stephen Askew	458	54.9
	Green	Jan Prior	270	32.4
	Labour	Chrissie Nebbett	106	12.7
Majority
Turnout			843	33.10
	Conservative hold		Swing

Dereham Neatherd (3 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Green	Philip Neil Morton	837	52.9
	Conservative	Alison Mary Webb	834	52.7
	Conservative	Linda Helen Monument	821	51.9
	Conservative	William Robert James Richmond	750	47.4
Majority
Turnout
	Green gain from Conservative		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

Dereham Toftwood (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Philip James Duigan	556	51.8
	Conservative	Hilary Bushell	541	50.4
	Labour	Chris Bunting	470	43.8
	Labour	Kendra Cogman	397	37.0
Majority
Turnout			1129	25.91
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

Dereham Withburga (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Harry Clarke	455	44.9
	Conservative	Kay Elizabeth Grey	401	39.5
	Labour	Amy-Jane Brooks	383	37.8
	Independent	Thomas Monument	376	37.1
Majority
Turnout			1035	23.45
	Labour hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

Forest (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Samuel Hayden Chapman-Allen	459	70.7
	Conservative	Robert George Kybird	394	60.7
	Labour	David Hodgkinson	168	25.9
Majority
Turnout			692	31.07
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

Guiltcross

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Marion Penelope Chapman-Allen	584	67.7
	Labour	James Waters	279	32.3
Majority
Turnout			907	36.78
	Conservative hold		Swing

Harling and Heathlands

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	William Nunn	535	71.5
	Labour	Liz Bernard	213	28.5
Majority
Turnout			785	30.76
	Conservative hold		Swing

Hermitage

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Trevor Richard Carter	561	71.3
	Labour	Dawn Karen Fairbrother	226	28.7
Majority
Turnout			828	37.13
	Conservative hold		Swing

Launditch

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Mark Kiddle-Morris	472	73.5
	Labour	Mike Hirst	170	26.5
Majority
Turnout			690	33.81
	Conservative hold		Swing

Lincoln (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Roger David Atterwill	732	49.6
	Conservative	Richard William Duffield	696	47.2
	Conservative	Robert Ramsay Richmond	619	42.0
	Green	Henry Johnson	421	28.5
Majority
Turnout			1498	35.59
	Independent gain from Conservative		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

Mattishall (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Ian Robert Martin	931	54.5
	Conservative	Paul Donald Claussen	894	52.3
	Independent	Pablo Martin Marino Dimoglou	556	32.5
	Labour	Elizabeth Hunton	508	29.7
Majority
Turnout			1743	39.72
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

Nar Valley

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Peter Samuel Wilkinson	496	74.6
	Labour	Vic Peters	169	25.4
Majority
Turnout			702	31.95
	Conservative hold		Swing

Necton

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Nigel Charles Wilkin	445	61.4
	Labour	Joe Sisto	280	38.6
Majority
Turnout			756	35.59
	Conservative hold		Swing

Saham Toney (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Green	Timothy Edward Birt	525	52.3
	Conservative	Helen Susan Crane	522	52.0
	Conservative	Theresa Ruth Hewett	469	46.8
Majority
Turnout			1020	25.77
	Green gain from Conservative		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

Shipdham With Scarning (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Paul Jonathan Hewett	645	62.7
	Conservative	Lynda Susan Turner	579	56.3
	Labour	Linda Goreham	364	35.4
Majority
Turnout			1085	25.26
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

Swaffham (3 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	David Sydney Wickerson	1,187	54.9
	Conservative	Ed Colman	946	43.8
	Conservative	Ian Sherwood	876	40.5
	Conservative	Paul Darby	833	38.5
	Labour	Joanna Navarre	608	28.1
	Labour	John Zielinski	511	23.6
Majority
Turnout			2199	34.55
	Independent gain from Conservative		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

Thetford Boudica (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Mark Steven Robinson	419	54.1
	Labour	Stuart David Terry	360	46.5
	Conservative	Lesley Elizabeth Polley	335	43.2
Majority
Turnout			823	23.04
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Labour gain from UKIP		Swing

Thetford Burrell (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Terry Jermy	507	47.3
	Labour	Chris Harvey	400	37.3
	UKIP	Denis Melvin Crawford	236	22.0
	Independent	Carla Barreto	233	21.8
	Conservative	Mia Browne	205	19.1
	Conservative	Jason Allan Smith	188	17.6
Majority
Turnout			1092	26.21
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour gain from UKIP		Swing

Thetford Castle (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Roy Brame	467	50.7
	Conservative	Jane Lilian James	441	47.9
	Labour	David Curzon-Berners	336	36.5
	Labour	Toby Stokes	310	33.7
Majority
Turnout			1012	23.95
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative gain from UKIP		Swing

Thetford Priory (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Mike Brindle	489	44.8
	Labour	Susan Dowling	410	37.5
	UKIP	Mark Petrie Taylor	394	36.1
	Conservative	G.J. Bamber	243	22.3
	Conservative	David Edward Hills	227	20.8
Majority
Turnout
	Labour gain from UKIP		Swing
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing

Upper Wensum (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Stanley Gordon Bambridge	885	52.7
	Conservative	William Patrick Borrett	873	52.0
	Green	Jane Keidan-Cooper	635	37.8
	Liberal Democrats	Mark Foley	521	31.0
Majority
Turnout			1712	34.56
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

Watton (3 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Keith Stephen Gilbert	1,274	69.6
	Conservative	Tina Kiddell	897	49.0
	Conservative	Claire Rosemary Bowes	805	44.0
	Green	Peter Kevin Bate	543	29.7
	Labour	Keith David Prince	287	15.7
Majority
Turnout			1854	29.63
	Independent hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

By-elections

Hermitage

Hermitage: 2 December 2021

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Robert Hambidge	243	45.0	−26.3
	Liberal Democrats	James Minto	221	40.9	N/A
	Labour	Paul Siegert	66	12.2	−16.5
	Workers Party	Graeme Briggs-White	10	1.9	N/A
Majority			22	4.1
Turnout			542	23.4
	Conservative hold		Swing	33.6

Thetford Boudica

Thetford Boudica: 14 July 2022

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Terry Land	398	51.0	+4.7
	Conservative	Mac Macdonald	383	49.0	−4.7
Majority			15	2.0
Turnout			788	21.7
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	4.7