2021 Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council election

The 2021 Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council election was held on 6 May 2021 as part of the 2021 United Kingdom local elections and alongside elections for Warwickshire County Council and Warwickshire Police and Crime Commissioner. Half of the borough council seats were up for election and the results provided the Conservative Party with a majority on the council, with the party winning all but two seats up for election.[1]

2021 Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council election

← 2018 6 May 2021 2022 →

17 of 34 seats on Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council
18 seats needed for a majority
  First party Second party Third party
 
Leader Kris Wilson Julie Jackson Keith Kondakor
Party Conservative Labour Green
Leader's seat Whitestone[a] Wem Brook (defeated) Weddington
Last election 5 11 1
Seats won 15 1 1
Seat change Increase10 Decrease 10 Steady
Popular vote 19,380 8,749 4,467
Percentage 58.2 26.3 13.4
Swing Increase 25.5 pp Decrease 14.0 pp Increase 2.4 pp

Map showing the results of the 2021 NBBC election

Council control before election

No overall control

Council control after election

Conservative Party

Background

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Nuneaton and Bedworth operates a divided election cycle. Each ward is represented by two councillors who each serve staggered four year terms.[2] The result is that seventeen members of the borough council are elected every two years. The seats contested in this election were originally scheduled to be facing election in 2020 but these elections were postponed (alongside all local and national elections in the UK) due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

At the 2018 Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council election, the Conservative Party gained nine seats, including eight from the Labour Party. As a result, Labour lost control of the council and it had no overall control going into the election. Prior to the election, the Conservative Party had not won a majority on the borough council since the 2008 election.[3]

Results

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Half of the council's 34 seats were contested in the election. At the last election, the Labour Party won twelve of these seats, the Conservative Party won four and the Green Party won one. Conservative candidates won a total of eleven seats from Labour incumbents, providing them with overall control of the Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council. Labour held only the Abbey ward while the Green incumbent retained his seat in Weddington.

2021 Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council election
Party This election Full council This election
Seats Net Seats % Other Total Total % Votes Votes % +/−
  Conservative 15  10 88.2 9 24 70.6 19,380 58.2 +25.5
  Labour 1  10 5.9 6 7 20.6 8,749 26.3 -14.0
  Green 1   5.9 0 1 2.9 4,467 13.4 +2.4
  TUSC 0   0.0 0 0 0.0 193 0.6 New
  Reform UK 0   0.0 0 0 0.0 34 0.1 New
  Independent 0   0.0 2 2 5.9 457 1.4 +1.0

Council composition

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As a result of winning eleven seats, the Conservative Party secured a majority on the borough council. Prior to the election, Nuneaton and Bedworth had a Labour-led administration despite no single party having overall control of the council.

After 2018 election Before 2021 election After 2021 election
Party Seats Party Seats Party Seats
Labour 17 Labour 17 Conservative 24
Conservative 16 Conservative 13 Labour 7
Green 1 Independent[b] 3 Independent[b] 2
Green 1 Green 1

Party reaction

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Local members of the Conservative Party celebrated the result.[4] Marcus Jones, the Conservative MP for Nuneaton, described being 'absolutely ecstatic' over 'a brilliant night with fantastic results'.[3] Kris Wilson, who became the Conservative leader of the borough council after the election, positioned the results in the broader political context of Conservative gains in traditional Labour-voting areas. Referencing the 'red wall', he said 'I think we have seen that red wall crumble here in Nuneaton and Bedworth too, people want change, people have been out and voted for it'.[4] After losing her seat in the Wem Brook ward, Labour council leader Julie Jackson pledged that the party would respond: 'we will fight and we will be back out there listening hard to the good people of Nuneaton and Bedworth'.[5]

Ward results

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Changes shown compared to the 2016 Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council election, when these seats were last contested. Swing figures are calculated between the winning candidate and the candidate in second place. Turnout figures do not include spoiled ballots.

Abbey

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2021 Nuneaton and Bedworth Council election: Abbey
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Jill Sheppard 886 48.0   7.1
Conservative Louisa DiGirolamo 680 36.9   19.2
Green Sophie Bonner 278 15.1   7.7
Majority 206 11.1
Turnout 1,844
Labour hold Swing   13.1

Arbury

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2021 Nuneaton and Bedworth Council election: Arbury
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Clare Golby 1,212 67.4   24.1
Labour Co-op Joe Bevan 463 25.7   10.0
Green Margaret Morrissey 98 5.4   0.2
Independent Katrina Slomczynski 26 1.4   1.4
Majority 749 41.7
Turnout 1,799
Conservative hold Swing   17.0

Attleborough

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2021 Nuneaton and Bedworth Council election: Attleborough
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Richard Baxter-Payne 980 51.5   13.3
Labour June Tandy 401 21.1   17.7
Independent Kieran Brown 377 19.8   19.8
Green Laurel Brindley 110 5.8  
Reform UK Robin Howard 34 1.8   1.8
Majority 579 30.4
Turnout 1,902
Conservative gain from Labour Swing   15.5

Barpool

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2021 Nuneaton and Bedworth Council election: Barpool
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Jack Kennaugh 917 55.8   25.9
Labour Co-op Paul Edwards 538 32.7   14.5
Green Theresa Brookes 135 8.2   3.0
Independent Alan Baxter 54 3.3   3.3
Majority 379 23.1
Turnout 1,644
Conservative gain from Labour Swing   20.2

Bede

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2021 Nuneaton and Bedworth Council election: Bede
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Brian Hammersley 982 61.3   40.9
Labour Bill Hancox 621 38.7   17.8
Majority 361 22.6 N/A
Turnout 1,603
Conservative gain from Labour Swing   29.3

Bulkington

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2021 Nuneaton and Bedworth Council election: Bulkington
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Ljubisa Cvetkovic 1,727 80.1   43.4
Labour Alan Lewis 428 19.9   21.0
Majority 1299 60.2 N/A
Turnout 2,155
Conservative gain from Labour Swing   32.2

Camp Hill

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2021 Nuneaton and Bedworth Council election: Camp Hill
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Anthony Cooper 737 53.4   35.7
Labour Ian Lloyd 449 32.6   16.1
Green Laura Hulme 151 10.9   5.6
TUSC Paul Reilly 42 3.0   0.0
Majority 288 20.8 N/A
Turnout 1,379
Conservative gain from Labour Swing   25.9

Exhall

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In 2016, the Exhall ward elected two councillors in the same election. For this reason, directly comparing results is not possible.

2021 Nuneaton and Bedworth Council election: Exhall
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Lee Downs 1,183 59.7
Labour Helen Sinclair 606 30.6
Green Merle Gering 128 6.5
TUSC Margaret Hunter 65 3.3
Majority 577 29.1
Turnout 1,982
Conservative gain from Labour Swing

Galley Common

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Daniel Gissane was elected as a Conservative candidate in Galley Common in the 2016 Nuneaton and Bedworth Council election but left the party to sit as an independent alongside the Nuneaton Community Independents.[6] He did not stand for re-election.

2021 Nuneaton and Bedworth Council election: Galley Common
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Mandy Tromans 1,118 62.8   26.1
Labour Eric Amaechi 511 28.7   5.4
Green Spring Vernon 151 8.5   3.8
Majority 607 34.1
Turnout 1,780
Conservative hold Swing   15.8

Heath

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2021 Nuneaton and Bedworth Council election: Heath
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Jasbir Singh 1,232 65.8   31.3
Labour Robert Copland 639 34.2   18.0
Majority 593 31.6 N/A
Turnout 1,871
Conservative gain from Labour Swing   24.7

Kingswood

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2021 Nuneaton and Bedworth Council election: Kingswood
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Brett Beetham 793 55.3   33.4
Labour Kathleen Price 530 36.9   12.3
Green Max Wilson 80 4.7   0.9
TUSC Catherine Mosey 32 2.2   0.6
Majority 263 18.4 N/A
Turnout 1,435
Conservative gain from Labour Swing   22.9

Poplar

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2021 Nuneaton and Bedworth Council election: Poplar
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Susan Markham 1,052 59.0   31.3
Labour Danny Aldington 605 33.9   38.4
Green Alice Twyman 126 7.1   7.1
Majority 447 25.1 N/A
Turnout 1,783
Conservative gain from Labour Swing   34.8

Slough

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2021 Nuneaton and Bedworth Council election: Slough
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Martin Walsh 1,188 67.7   25.0
Labour John Swift 422 24.0   7.0
Green Ian Morrissey 92 5.2   5.2
TUSC Maximilian McGee 54 3.1   3.1
Majority 766 43.7
Turnout 1,756
Conservative hold Swing   16.0

St. Nicolas

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2021 Nuneaton and Bedworth Council election: St. Nicolas
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Jeffrey Clarke 1,536 52.3   4.2
Green Michele Kondakor 1,113 37.9   0.8
Labour Abiola Olaifa 287 9.8   5.0
Majority 423 14.4
Turnout 2,936
Conservative hold Swing   1.7

Weddington

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2021 Nuneaton and Bedworth Council election: Weddington
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Green Keith Kondakor 1,520 49.7   5.7
Conservative Kamaljeet Thiara 1,223 40.0   8.8
Labour Brian Walmsley 314 10.3   3.1
Majority 297 9.7
Turnout 3,057
Green hold Swing   7.2

Wem Brook

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Due to the extremely close nature of the result, the Wem Brook ward ballots were subject to two re-counts.[7]

2021 Nuneaton and Bedworth Council election: Wem Brook
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Scott Harbison 703 44.8   18.7
Labour Julie Jackson 699 44.6   18.2
Green Jeremey Millen 167 10.6   4.7
Majority 4 0.2
Turnout 1,402
Conservative gain from Labour Swing   23.5

Whitestone

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2021 Nuneaton and Bedworth Council election: Whitestone
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Julian Gutteridge 2,117 85.8   27.2
Labour Jack Bonner 350 14.2   4.5
Green Michael Wright 318 12.9   7.7
Majority 1767 71.6
Turnout 2,467
Conservative hold Swing   15.9

By-elections

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Bar Pool

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Bar Pool: 25 November 2021
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Jamie Hartshorn 508 55.3 −0.5
Labour Abi Olaifa 215 23.4 −9.3
Green Andrew Heritage 196 21.3 +13.1
Majority 293 31.9
Turnout
Conservative gain from Labour Swing  4.4

See also

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Footnotes

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  1. ^ Wilson's seat was not up for election in this cycle.
  2. ^ a b Elected as Conservatives but sitting as Nuneaton Community Independents.

References

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  1. ^ "Election results 2021". Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council. Archived from the original on 7 May 2021. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
  2. ^ "Election timetable" (PDF). Gov.uk. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  3. ^ a b BBC News (8 May 2021). "Elections 2021: Conservatives take control of Nuneaton and Bedworth council". Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  4. ^ a b Harrison, Claire (7 May 2021). "'The red wall has crumbled in Nuneaton and Bedworth' say election-winning Conservatives". CoventryLive. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  5. ^ Harrison, Claire (7 May 2021). "Labour pledge to fight to win back voters in Nuneaton and Bedworth after dramatic election loss". CoventryLive. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  6. ^ "Councillors by Name". Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
  7. ^ Harrison, Claire. "Coventry and Warwickshire local elections - all of the results as they happened". Coventry Telegraph. Retrieved 7 May 2021.