2021 Cannock Chase District Council election

Elections to Cannock Chase District Council took place on 6 May 2021[1] on the same day as the Staffordshire County council election and other local elections in England. These elections were due to take place on 7 May 2020 but were delayed by 12 months due to the coronavirus pandemic. All but two of the council's wards were up for election, meaning a total of 13 councillors were elected.

Map of the results of the 2021 Cannock Chase District Council election. Conservatives in blue and the Chase Community Independents Group in dark green. White areas indicate wards where no seat was up for election.

Before the election, the Labour Party held control of the council with a minority administration supported by an independent councillor (who was elected as Labour) and two Liberal Democrat councillors. They were defending eight seats and hoping to regain another following a defection. The Conservatives were looking to build on modest gains made at the 2018 election to increase the size of their 14-strong group. Since the 2019 election, a new localist party, the Chase Community Independent Group, was created consisting of four former Green Party councillors and one former Labour councillor;[2] they were defending their group leader's Hednesford South seat which he previously won as a Green. The Liberal Democrats were aiming for a third consecutive victory in the Brereton & Ravenhill ward.

The result was a landslide victory for the Conservatives who won all but one of the 13 seats up for election. They gained seats in wards previously considered safe for the Labour Party and gained the first ever Conservative overall majority in Cannock Chase District Council's 48-year history.[3] They also won more than 50% of all votes cast, the first time the Conservatives have achieved this feat on this council and the first time any party has achieved it since the Labour Party racked up 53.6% in 2012.

Results

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Cannock Chase District Council election, 2021
Party Seats Gains Losses Net gain/loss Seats % Votes % Votes +/−
  Conservative 12 9 0  9 92.3 52.6 10,550  25.1
  Chase Indies 1 0 0  0 7.7 11.5 2,307 New
  Labour 0 0 9  9 0.0 29.3 5,866  7.6
  Green 0 0 0  0 0.0 4.2 846  2.7
  Liberal Democrats 0 0 0  0 0.0 1.6 316  1.7
  Independent 0 0 0  0 0.0 0.4 87 New
  Reform UK 0 0 0  0 0.0 0.4 70 New

Council Composition

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Prior to the election, the composition of the council was:

17 14 5 2 1 1 1
Labour Conservative Chase Indies LD Grn Ind Vac

After the election, the composition of the council was:

24 9 5 2 1
Conservative Labour Chase Indies LD Grn

Ward results

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Vote share changes are based on the results achieved by parties in 2016 when these seats were last contested.

Brereton and Ravenhill

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Brereton and Ravenhill
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Louis Arduino 634 42.0  27.3
Labour Alan Dudson 498 33.0  1.4
Liberal Democrats Peter Johnson 316 20.9  10.5
Green David Green 63 4.2  1.9
Majority 136 9.0 N/A
Turnout 1,511 28.8  1.2
Conservative gain from Labour Swing  13.0

Cannock East

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Cannock East
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Johnny McMahon 732 50.9  30.4
Labour Co-op Christine Mitchell 597 41.5  3.1
Green Joanne Elson 108 7.5  4.8
Majority 135 9.4 N/A
Turnout 1,437 27.4  2.7
Conservative gain from Labour Swing  16.8

Cannock North

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Cannock North
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Phil Jones 591 45.6  31.5
Labour Jacquie Prestwood 573 44.2  9.0
Green Jordan Morris 131 10.1  5.3
Majority 18 1.4 N/A
Turnout 1,295 24.4  1.7
Conservative gain from Labour Swing  20.3

Cannock South

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Cannock South
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Peter Kruskonjic 794 50.8  24.5
Labour Jessica Cooper 489 31.3  15.3
Chase Indies Sarah Findlay 203 13.0 N/A
Green Matthew Jackson 77 4.9  2.0
Majority 305 19.5 N/A
Turnout 1,563 25.8  1.9
Conservative gain from Labour Swing  19.9

Cannock West

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Cannock West
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Doug Smith 1,479 69.3  17.8
Labour Michael Holder 393 18.4  8.4
Chase Indies Sharon Jagger 154 7.2 N/A
Green Maire Smith 107 5.0  0.4
Majority 1,086 50.9  26.2
Turnout 2,133 37.2  3.3
Conservative hold Swing  13.1

Etching Hill and the Heath

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Etching Hill and the Heath
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Justin Johnson 1,189 68.1  35.4
Labour Co-op Darren Foley 427 24.4  1.0
Green Michael Sheridan 131 7.5  4.4
Majority 762 43.6  40.3
Turnout 1,747 34.0  4.5
Conservative hold Swing  18.2

Hagley

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Hagley
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Nick Lyons 389 43.7  23.2
Labour Co-op Christine Martin 298 33.4  14.5
Chase Indies Ian Pyke 179 20.1 N/A
Green Stuart Kennedy 25 2.8  1.4
Majority 91 10.3 N/A
Turnout 891 27.0  1.0
Conservative gain from Labour Swing  18.9

Hawks Green

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Hawks Green
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Philippa Haden 909 56.5  20.5
Chase Indies Paul Dadge 432 26.9 N/A
Labour Co-op Les Bullock 267 16.6  11.2
Majority 477 29.7  24.9
Turnout 1,608 29.7  5.2
Conservative hold Swing  3.2

Heath Hayes East & Wimblebury

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Heath Hayes East & Wimblebury
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Lisa Wilson 746 54.0  29.4
Labour Diane Todd 439 31.8  8.3
Chase Indies Jodie Ashford 147 10.6 N/A
Green Ken Beardmore 49 3.5  2.2
Majority 307 22.2 N/A
Turnout 1,381 28.6  2.1
Conservative gain from Labour Swing  18.9

Hednesford North

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Hednesford North
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Matt McCall 634 39.3  17.5
Labour Alan Pearson 537 33.3  14.6
Chase Indies Darrell Mawle 441 27.4 N/A
Majority 97 6.0 N/A
Turnout 1,612 30.5  2.9
Conservative gain from Labour Swing  16.1

Hednesford South

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Hednesford South
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Chase Indies Paul Woodhead ^ 680 49.4 N/A
Conservative Josh Bancroft 505 36.7  14.5
Labour Ryan Tipton 192 13.9  6.6
Majority 175 12.7  7.7
Turnout 1,404 33.5  2.2
Chase Indies hold Swing  3.9

^ Paul Woodhead was the sitting councillor for the Hednesford South ward and previously defected from the Greens to the newly formed Chase Community Independents Group. Changes to his majority and swing are calculated based on his 2016 result.

Norton Canes

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Norton Canes
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Mike Hoare 1,013 55.6  25.0
Labour Zaphne Stretton 610 33.5  5.9
Chase Indies Linda Mawle 71 3.9 N/A
Reform UK Paul Allen 70 3.8 N/A
Green Glen Tapper 57 3.1  0.4
Majority 403 22.1 N/A
Turnout 1,821 29.1  0.7
Conservative gain from Labour Swing  15.5

Western Springs

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Western Springs
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Charlie Frew 935 56.1  24.5
Labour David Gaye 546 32.8  2.1
Green Warren Cocker 98 5.9  0.9
Independent Niamh Mahon 87 5.2 N/A
Majority 389 23.3 N/A
Turnout 1,666 32.0  3.5
Conservative gain from Labour Swing  15.5

References

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  1. ^ "District Election Results 2021". Cannock Chase District Council. 4 May 2021. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  2. ^ "New Chase political group has name bid rejected". Express & Star. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
  3. ^ "Elections 2021: Tory takeover of Cannock 'fantastic' says leader". BBC. 8 May 2021. Retrieved 26 June 2021.