2023 Blackpool Council election

2023 Blackpool Council election
All 42 seats to Blackpool Council; 22 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	27.05%
	Winner of each seat at the 2023 Blackpool Council election
Leader before election; Lynn Williams; Labour; No overall control	Leader after election ; Lynn Williams; Labour

The 2023 Blackpool Council election was held on 4 May 2023 to elect members of Blackpool Council in Lancashire, England. All 42 councillors were up for election. This was at the same time as other local elections across England.

Prior to the election the council was under no overall control, being led by a Labour minority administration. Labour won a majority of the seats on the council at this election.

Background

Elections were held for Blackpool Council on 4 May 2023 along with councils across England as part of the 2023 local elections. The members were elected in all-out elections, with all 42 councillors up for election across 21 wards every four years.^[2]^[3]

At the previous election in 2019, 23 Labour councillors and 15 Conservative councillors were elected, alongside 4 independent councillors. Due to a number of changes of allegiance, Labour lost its majority in April 2021.^[4] The council then remained under no overall control until the 2023 election with Labour running a minority administration.

In June 2020 former Council Leader Simon Blackburn was suspended by the Labour Party after allegations of inappropriate behaviour. The investigation was dropped a year later after he left the party. Lynn Williams, as Deputy Leader at the time, subsequently became the first female Leader of Blackpool Council.^[5] Councillor Blackburn remained an independent Councillor for Brunswick Ward but confirmed he was not seeking re-election in 2023.^[6]

In May 2021 Martin Mitchell, Labour Councillor, was removed from his position as Chairman of the Tourism, Economy and Communities Scrutiny Committee after refusing to back the party's proposals to redevelop Stanley Park Golf Course.^[7]

6 May 2021 also saw two by-elections following the deaths of two members, Lily Henderson and former Council Leader Peter Callow. Highfield Ward saw the election of Conservative Bradley Mitchell,^[8] while in Norbreck Ward Conservative Julie Sloman was also elected.^[9]

In April 2022 Martin Mitchell resigned from the Labour Party and remained an independent Councillor for Layton Ward as part of the 'Blackpool Independents' group alongside Debbie and Gary Coleman. He stood for re-election in 2023 as an independent candidate but was defeated.^[10]

Following the death of Conservative Councillor John Wing in August 2022, a by-election was held in Greenlands Ward in November which saw the election of Peter Wright for the Labour Party.^[11] Wright won the election by a small margin of 32 votes, against the Conservative candidate Jane Warne.^[12]

In November 2022 Councillor Derek Robertson was deselected by the Blackpool South Conservative Association as a candidate for the local elections. He had been councillor for Waterloo Ward since 2014 and resigned from the Conservative Party. He served the remainder of his term as an independent. He stood for re-election as a candidate for Reform UK, but was defeated.^[13]

In February 2023 Councillor Tony Williams, along with other Tory councillors, signed a letter of no confidence in the Blackpool South MP Scott Benton and was then suspended from the Conservative Party. He subsequently resigned as Leader of the Council's Conservative Group. He served the remainder of his term as an independent councillor. He stood for re-election as an independent in Norbreck Ward but was defeated.^[14]

Notice of candidates nominated was given on the 5th of April.^[15]

Labour and the Conservatives fielded 42 candidates across all wards. There were a total of 10 independent candidates, the highest in recent decades, followed by Reform UK with 5 candidates, the Green Party also with 5 candidates and lastly the Liberal Democrats with 4 candidates, their lowest number of candidates in Blackpool in recent times.

Incumbents not seeking re-election

Conservative

Christian Cox - Squires Gate
Don Clapham - Bispham (Retiring^[16])

Labour

David Collect - Tyldesley Ward
Amy Cross - Ingthorpe Ward
Adrian Hutton - Clifton Ward
Maria Kirkland - Park Ward
Allan Matthews - Tyldesley Ward
Peter Wright - Greenlands Ward
David O'Hara - Standing in Norbreck Ward, formerly Waterloo Cllr

Non-Aligned Independent

Simon Blackburn - Brunswick Ward (Not seeking re-election^[6])
David Owen - Victoria Ward
Tony Williams - Standing in Norbreck Ward, formerly Anchorsholme Cllr

Blackpool Independents

Debbie Coleman - Marton Ward (Not seeking re-election^[17])
Gary Coleman - Brunswick Ward (Not seeking re-election^[17])

Summary

Election result

Blackpool Council after the 2023 local elections

The results of the election were announced on the 5th of May. Net gains and losses are presented against the most recent standings prior to this election.

2023 Blackpool Council election
Party		Candidates	Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
	Labour	42	28	8	0	8	66.7	48.0	25,665	+4.1
	Conservative	42	14	1	0	1	33.3	42.8	22,895	-1.6
	Independent	10	0	0	9	9	0	5.4	2,880	-1.5
	Green	5	0	0	0	0	0	1.5	796	-1.1
	Reform UK	5	0	0	0	0	0	1.2	647	N/a
	Liberal Democrats	4	0	0	0	0	0	1.1	601	-1.0

Council composition

After the previous election, the composition of the council was:

↓
23	4	15
Labour	Independent	Conservative

Immediately ahead of this election, the composition of the council was:

↓
20	9	13
Labour	Independent	Conservative

Following this election, the composition of the council was:

↓
28	14
Labour	Conservative

Aftermath

Following the 2023 election, the composition of the council was 28 Labour, 14 Conservative.^[18] However on May 17th Councillor Jim Hobson, who was re-elected to represent Bloomfield ward at the May 4th local elections, was administratively suspended. The Labour Party officially declined to provide the reasons behind the measure pending an internal investigation.^[19] In late June 2023 Jim Hobson's suspension was lifted. He was reinstated into the Labour group and re-appointed to his previous role as cabinet member for children’s services.^[20]

The next election is due in 2027.

Ward results

Incumbent councillors seeking re-election are marked with an asterisk (*).

Anchorsholme

Anchorsholme (2 Seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Paul Galley*	1,106	65.3	−0.6
	Conservative	Anita Cooper	963	56.9	−6.3
	Labour	Jacqueline Boughton	584	34.5	+7.2
	Labour	Theresa Clark	568	33.5	+14.1
Majority
Turnout			1,704	33.99
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

Bispham

Bispham (2 Seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Paul Wilshaw*	671	50.6	+5.2
	Conservative	Tony Warne	666	50.2	−0.4
	Labour	Jim Elmes	621	46.8	+16.6
	Labour	Julia Walshaw	616	46.4	+17.7
Majority
Turnout			1,349	30.93
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

Bloomfield

Bloomfield (2 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Mel Fenlon	374	45.2	−20.5
	Labour	Jim Hobson*	371	44.8	−16.6
	Independent	Mark Butcher	261	31.5	N/A
	Independent	Graham Cain*	237	28.6	−37.1
	Conservative	Cody Milnes	195	23.6	−6.0
	Conservative	Malaya Nayak	129	15.6	−10.5
Majority
Turnout			829	18.21
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing

Brunswick

Brunswick (2 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Matthew Charles Thomas	761	67.2	+28.4
	Labour	Laura Marshall	717	63.3	+27.4
	Conservative	Paul Clark	368	32.5	+14.9
	Conservative	John Thomson	343	30.3	+14.0
Majority
Turnout			1,146	23.41
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour gain from Independent		Swing

Claremont

Claremont (2 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Ivan Taylor*	538	58.7	+0.5
	Labour	Lynn Williams*	504	55.0	+1.0
	Conservative	Harry Gordon	222	24.2	+0.1
	Conservative	Lawrence Sloman	179	19.5	−0.3
	Independent	Garry Richardson	144	15.7	−0.8
	Liberal Democrats	Sue Close	124	13.5	−0.1
Majority
Turnout			922	19.19
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing

Clifton

Clifton (2 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Paula Burdess*	713	61.6	+8.6
	Labour	Alistair Humphreys	694	59.9	+7.8
	Conservative	Robert Wilson	424	36.6	−2.6
	Conservative	Oliver Potts	346	29.9	−8.4
Majority
Turnout			1,175	24.09
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing

Greenlands

Greenlands (2 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Julie Jones	785	46.6	+0.6
	Labour	Dave Flanagan	771	45.7	+1.4
	Conservative	Jane Warne	701	41.6	−5.5
	Conservative	Rick Scott*	680	40.3	−9.3
	Green	Benjamin Thomas	167	9.9	N/A
	Reform UK	Lance Fogg	107	6.3	N/A
Majority
Turnout			1,689	31.66
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing

Hawes Side

Hawes Side (2 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Kim Critchley*	672	55.7	+10.5
	Labour	Neal Brookes*	657	54.5	+9.4
	Conservative	Karen Higgitt	485	40.2	+3.2
	Conservative	Frank Downing	478	39.6	+4.7
Majority
Turnout			1,216	23.89
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing

Highfield

Highfield (2 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Peter Hunter*	880	49.2	−1.1
	Conservative	Bradley Mitchell*	831	46.5	−1.7
	Conservative	Jack Robinson	763	42.6	−2.6
	Labour	Sharon Hoyle	734	41.0	+1.2
	Liberal Democrats	Bill Greene	172	9.6	N/A
Majority
Turnout			1,801	33.69
	Labour hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

Ingthorpe

Ingthorpe (2 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Jon Bamborough	743	55.7	+1.6
	Labour	Jo Farrell*	697	52.2	+2.5
	Conservative	Alexander Higgs	575	43.1	+0.2
	Conservative	James Murphy	538	40.3	+1.4
Majority
Turnout			1,339	26.60
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing

Layton

Layton (2 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Kath Benson*	733	51.9	−2.6
	Labour	John Boughton	678	48.0	+1.4
	Conservative	Chris Bates	381	27.0	−6.9
	Independent	Martin Mitchell*	378	26.8	−19.8
	Conservative	Roy Haskett	353	24.5	−9.3
	Independent	Lee Taylor-Jack	187	13.0	+0.9
Majority
Turnout			1,442	28.72
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing

Marton

Marton (2 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Sarah Smith	814	51.7	+16.5
	Labour	Shaun Brookes	799	50.7	+17.7
	Conservative	Andrew Stansfield*	630	40.0	+2.0
	Conservative	Glenn Priestley	595	37.8	+6.9
	Reform UK	Kerry Anderson-Riley	150	9.5	N/A
Majority
Turnout			1580	31.31
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing
	Labour gain from Independent		Swing

Norbreck

Norbreck (2 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Emma Ellison	714	41.7	+9.2
	Conservative	Julie Sloman*	652	38.1	+7.2
	Independent	Maxine Callow*	562	32.8	−6.4
	Independent	Tony Williams	501	29.2	−8.7
	Labour	Robert Harrison	440	25.7	+5.7
	Labour	David O'Hara	418	24.4	+5.9
Majority
Turnout			1,714	34.29
	Conservative gain from Independent		Swing
	Conservative gain from Independent		Swing

Park

Park (2 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Gillian Campbell*	616	61.5	+5.8
	Labour	Adrian Hoyle	551	55.0	+2.6
	Conservative	Frazer Rogers	365	36.4	+2.6
	Conservative	Paul Carter	358	35.7	−3.6
Majority
Turnout			1,016	20.81
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing

Squires Gate

Squires Gate (2 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Carl Mitchell	854	54.0	−2.8
	Conservative	Gerard Walsh*	782	49.4	+2.9
	Labour	Melanie Kelly	527	33.3	+0.2
	Labour	Danny Rossie	454	28.7	−2.1
	Green	Julie Daniels	178	11.3	−4.1
	Reform UK	Kim Knight	136	8.6	N/A
Majority
Turnout			1,583	31.32
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

Stanley

Stanley (2 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Graham Baker*	796	64.1	+3.0
	Conservative	Jason Roberts*	772	62.2	+3.9
	Labour	Laura White	418	33.7	+6.9
	Labour	Daniel Lovatt-Staines	412	33.2	+9.5
Majority
Turnout			1,246	29.52
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

Talbot

Talbot (2 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Mark Smith*	595	56.3	+11.0
	Labour	Jane Hugo*	572	54.2	+9.5
	Conservative	Will Banks	321	30.4	−8.6
	Conservative	Ian White	312	29.5	−7.4
	Independent	Danny Gee	182	17.2	N/A
Majority
Turnout			1,061	22.74
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing

Tyldesley

Tyldesley (2 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Lisette Roe	640	49.3	+0.8
	Labour	Portia Webb	599	46.1	−1.9
	Conservative	Andrew Binns	473	36.4	+3.7
	Conservative	John Ormston	421	32.4	+3.0
	Green	Georgina Eastwood	148	11.4	−9.0
	Reform UK	Paul Nield	88	6.8	N/A
	Independent	William Gee	83	6.4	N/A
Majority
Turnout			1,305	26.12
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing

Victoria

Victoria (2 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Pam Brookes	490	51.9	−2.4
	Labour	Fred Jackson*	468	49.6	−11.3
	Conservative	Neil Harvey	337	35.7	+1.4
	Conservative	Jacqui Frost	329	34.9	+3.4
	Green	Tracy Booker	133	14.1	N/A
Majority
Turnout			952	20.85
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing

Warbreck

Warbreck (2 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Danny Scott*	600	44.9	−8.6
	Conservative	Michelle Scott*	589	44.1	−7.9
	Labour	Matthew Haynes	574	42.9	+12.2
	Labour	Tommy Kirkwood	525	39.3	+10.9
	Liberal Democrats	Kevan Benfold	158	11.8	−6.6
	Liberal Democrats	Paul Hindley	147	11.0	N/A
Majority
Turnout			1,343	26.54
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

Waterloo

Waterloo (2 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Simon Cartmell	564	39.2	+5.6
	Conservative	Diane Marie Mitchell	509	35.3	−1.9
	Labour	Luke Bodenham	493	34.2	+1.7
	Conservative	Chris Higgitt	458	31.8	−1.5
	Independent	Jim O'Neill	345	24.0	N/A
	Green	Tina Rothery	170	11.8	−1.7
	Reform UK	Derek Robertson*	166	11.5	−25.7
Majority
Turnout			1,444	28.01
	Labour hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

References

^ Interim Leader
^ Of the nine independent councillors prior to the election, three formed the "Blackpool Independents" group led by Gary Coleman, and the remaining six independents were not aligned to any group

^ "Council make-up". Blackpool Council. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
^ "Local government structure and elections". GOV.UK. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
^ "Election Timetable in England" (PDF).
^ "Investigation into former Blackpool Council leader dropped". BBC News. 7 July 2021. Retrieved 20 May 2023.
^ "Lynn Williams Blackpool Council's first female leader". 20 July 2020 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
^ ^a ^b "Investigation into former Blackpool Council leader dropped". 7 July 2021 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
^ "Blackpool councillor who rebelled on golf course vote loses committee role". Blackpool Gazette. 26 May 2021.
^ https://www.blackpool.gov.uk/Your-Council/Voting-and-elections/Elections/By-elections/Highfield-ward-by-election-results.aspx>
^ "Norbreck ward by election results". www.blackpool.gov.uk.
^ "Further blow for Blackpool Labour as councillor resigns from party". Blackpool Gazette. 7 April 2022.
^ "Greenlands ward by election results". www.blackpool.gov.uk.
^ "Narrow victory for Labour as its candidate wins seat on Blackpool Council following hard fought by-election". Blackpool Gazette. 18 November 2022.
^ Parkinson, Shelagh (20 December 2022). "Blackpool Tory councillor switches to Reform Party after being dropped". LancsLive.
^ "Blackpool Tory group leader resigns after MP fallout". 22 February 2023 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
^ "Elections 2023 |Blackpool Council elections 2023". www.blackpool.gov.uk.
^ "Blackpool Tory ready for 'well earned rest' after 30 years serving the resort". Blackpool Gazette. 9 March 2023.
^ ^a ^b "Blackpool's mayoral pair leave ruling Labour party". Blackpool Gazette. 11 June 2018.
^ "Local elections 2023: full council results for England". The Guardian. 9 May 2023. Retrieved 20 May 2023.
^ "Blackpool councillor suspended by Labour". The Blackpool Gazette. 17 May 2023. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
^ Parkinson, Shelagh (30 June 2023). "Blackpool councillor's suspension lifted after investigation into 10-year-old Facebook photo". LancsLive. Retrieved 29 May 2024.

[2] Interim Leader

[3] Of the nine independent councillors prior to the election, three formed the "Blackpool Independents" group led by Gary Coleman, and the remaining six independents were not aligned to any group

[1] "Council make-up". Blackpool Council. Retrieved 4 May 2023.

[4] "Local government structure and elections". GOV.UK. Retrieved 27 April 2018.

[5] "Election Timetable in England" (PDF).

[6] "Investigation into former Blackpool Council leader dropped". BBC News. 7 July 2021. Retrieved 20 May 2023.

[7] "Lynn Williams Blackpool Council's first female leader". 20 July 2020 – via www.bbc.co.uk.

[auto1-8] "Investigation into former Blackpool Council leader dropped". 7 July 2021 – via www.bbc.co.uk.

[9] "Blackpool councillor who rebelled on golf course vote loses committee role". Blackpool Gazette. 26 May 2021.

[10] ttps://www.blackpool.gov.uk/Your-Council/Voting-and-elections/Elections/By-elections/Highfield-ward-by-election-results.aspx>

[11] "Norbreck ward by election results". www.blackpool.gov.uk.

[12] "Further blow for Blackpool Labour as councillor resigns from party". Blackpool Gazette. 7 April 2022.

[13] "Greenlands ward by election results". www.blackpool.gov.uk.

[14] "Narrow victory for Labour as its candidate wins seat on Blackpool Council following hard fought by-election". Blackpool Gazette. 18 November 2022.

[15] Parkinson, Shelagh (20 December 2022). "Blackpool Tory councillor switches to Reform Party after being dropped". LancsLive.

[16] "Blackpool Tory group leader resigns after MP fallout". 22 February 2023 – via www.bbc.co.uk.

[17] "Elections 2023 |Blackpool Council elections 2023". www.blackpool.gov.uk.

[18] "Blackpool Tory ready for 'well earned rest' after 30 years serving the resort". Blackpool Gazette. 9 March 2023.

[auto-19] "Blackpool's mayoral pair leave ruling Labour party". Blackpool Gazette. 11 June 2018.

[20] "Local elections 2023: full council results for England". The Guardian. 9 May 2023. Retrieved 20 May 2023.

[21] "Blackpool councillor suspended by Labour". The Blackpool Gazette. 17 May 2023. Retrieved 19 June 2023.

[22] Parkinson, Shelagh (30 June 2023). "Blackpool councillor's suspension lifted after investigation into 10-year-old Facebook photo". LancsLive. Retrieved 29 May 2024.

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