2023 Rutland County Council election
4 May 2023
All 27 seats on Rutland County Council
14 seats needed for a majority
  First party Second party Third party
  Blank Blank Blank
Leader Gale Waller N/A Lucy Stephenson
Party Liberal Democrats Independent Conservative
Last election 3 8 15
Seats before 6 13 6
Seats after 11 7 6
  Fourth party Fifth party
  Blank Blank
Leader N/A N/A
Party Labour Green
Last election 0 1
Seats before 1 1
Seats after 2 1
Leader before election

Lucy Stephenson
Conservative
No overall control

 Leader after election

Gale Waller
Liberal Democrat
No overall control

The 2023 Rutland County Council election was held on 4 May 2023 to elect members of Rutland County Council in England.[1][2][3] This was on the same day as other local elections across England.

Prior to the election the council was under no overall control, being run by a coalition of the Conservatives and independents. After the election the council remained under no overall control, but the Liberal Democrats became the largest party.[4][5] They subsequently formed a minority administration with the Green Party councillor.[6]

Overview

There had been several by-elections and changes of allegiance between the last full council election in 2019 and 2023. Immediately before the 2023 election there were four political parties represented on the council and 13 independent councillors who did not belong to a registered political party. Some of the parties and independents formed political groups:

  • The "Independent & Green Group", led by Rosemary Powell, comprised five of the independent councillors plus the one Green councillor.
  • "Together4Rutland", led by Nick Begy, comprised four of the independent councillors, all of whom had originally been elected as Conservatives.

The other parties formed their own groups, and the remaining four independent councillors (three of whom had originally been elected as Conservatives) were not aligned to any group. The council was led by the Conservatives with support from the Independent & Green Group. The Conservative leader, Lucy Stephenson, was leader of the council, and Independent & Green Group leader, Rosemary Powell, was deputy leader of the council.[7]

After the election the Liberal Democrats were the largest party with 11 seats and formed a new group with the one Green councillor which formed a minority administration. Liberal Democrat & Green group leader Gale Waller was elected leader of the council at the annual meeting on 22 May 2023 by 15 votes to 12 over Independent Rosemary Powell.[6][8]

Results summary

Political group
Seats +/⁠–
Liberal Democrats 11 +8
Independent 7 -1
Conservative 6 -9
Labour 2 +2
Green 1 0
Total 27 0

Results by ward

Rutland County Council election result.[9]

Sitting councillors are marked with an asterisk (*).

Barleythorpe

Barleythorpe (2 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Independent Tracy Carr 366 68.0 N/A
Green Hans Zollinger-Ball 280 52.0 N/A
Conservative Sue Coleman 126 23.4 -5.7
Turnout 539 28.96
Independent gain from Independent
Green gain from Independent

Braunston & Martinsthorpe

Braunston & Martinsthorpe (2 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats Andrew Johnson 522 57.0 +7.5
Conservative Giles Clifton 408 44.5 -5.4
Conservative Edward Baines* 377 41.2 -12.9
Turnout 918 45.60
Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative
Conservative hold

Cottesmore

Cottesmore (2 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats Abigail MacCartney* 331 58.9 +8.4
Independent Samantha Harvey* 302 53.7 -0.5
Conservative Graeme Douglas 195 34.7 -11.8
Turnout 568 28.43
Liberal Democrats hold
Independent gain from Conservative

Samantha Harvey had been elected as a Conservative in 2019 but left the party to sit as an independent in May 2022. She was re-elected as an independent in 2023, which is recorded here as an independent gain from the Conservatives to allow comparison with the previous election.

Exton

Exton
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Kiloran Heckels 225 51.8 +51.8
Independent June Fox* 209 48.2 +48.2
Majority 16 3.6 N/A
Turnout 444 37.41
Conservative hold Swing N/A

June Fox had been elected as a Conservative in 2019 but left the party to sit as an independent in the Together4Rutland group in April 2022. She stood as an independent in 2023 but was defeated. The seat is recorded here as Conservative hold to allow comparison with the previous election.

Greetham

Greetham
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Independent Nick Begy* 333 79.3 +79.3
Conservative Jonathan Collins 87 20.7 +20.7
Majority 246 58.6 N/A
Turnout 424 37.39
Independent gain from Conservative Swing N/A

Nick Begy had been elected as a Conservative in 2019 but left the party to sit as an independent in the Together4Rutland group in April 2022. He was re-elected as an independent, which is recorded here as an independent gain from the Conservatives to allow comparison with the previous election.

Ketton

Ketton (2 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Karen Payne* 391 52.0 +2.2
Conservative Matthew Farina 387 51.5 -11.9
Liberal Democrats Mary Canham 346 46.0 +16.5
Turnout 754 33.30
Conservative hold
Conservative hold

The other previous incumbent for this seat, Gordon Brown, had been elected as a Conservative in 2019 but left the party in April 2022 to sit as an independent in the Together4Rutland group. He did not stand for re-election. The seat is recorded as a Conservative hold here to allow comparison with the previous election.

Langham

Langham
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Independent Oliver Hemsley* 218 47.2 -27.2
Conservative Edward Heckels 163 35.3 -39.1
Liberal Democrats Andrew Davies 81 17.5 -8.1
Majority 55 11.9 N/A
Turnout 465 40.05
Independent gain from Conservative Swing N/A

Oliver Hemsley had been elected as a Conservative in 2019 but left the party to sit as an independent in May 2022. He was re-elected as an independent, which is recorded here as an independent gain from the Conservatives to allow comparison with the previous election.

Lyddington

Lyddington
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Independent Andrew Brown* Unopposed
Independent hold Swing

Normanton

Normanton (2 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats Gale Waller* 603 67.9 +67.9
Liberal Democrats Tim Smith 582 65.5 N/A
Conservative Jonathan Gibbs 243 27.4 +27.4
Conservative Ian Coleman 235 26.5 N/A
Turnout 894 37.45
Liberal Democrats hold
Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative

Oakham North East

Oakham North East (2 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats Hannah Edwards 497 74.5 N/A
Liberal Democrats Mark Chatfield 427 64.0 N/A
Conservative Chris Booth 197 29.5 -27.9
Turnout 671 31.24
Liberal Democrats gain from Independent
Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative

One of the previous incumbents, Alan Walters, had been elected as a Conservative in 2019 but left the party in November 2021 to sit as an independent. He did not stand for re-election in 2023. That seat is recorded here as a Liberal Democrat gain from Conservatives to allow for comparison with the previous election.

Oakham North West

Oakham North West (2 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Steve McRobb 276 44.4 N/A
Labour Ramsay Ross 217 34.9 N/A
Conservative Christopher Clark 166 26.7 +26.7
Independent Paul Ainsley* 151 24.3 +24.3
Independent Christopher Nix 139 22.4 N/A
Independent David Romney 91 14.7 N/A
Turnout 624 24.82
Labour gain from Conservative
Labour gain from Independent

Paul Ainsley had been elected as a Conservative in 2019 but left the party to sit as an independent in 2021, subsequently joining the Together4Rutland group. He stood for re-election as an independent in 2023 but was defeated. The seat is recorded here as a Labour gain from the Conservatives to allow comparison with the previous election. The other Oakham North West seat had been won by Labour in a by-election in 2021.

Oakham South

Oakham South (3 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats Diane Ellison 920 68.0 +1.3
Liberal Democrats Paul Browne* 909 67.2 N/A
Liberal Democrats Ray Payne* 811 59.9 N/A
Conservative Michael Rook 363 26.8 -21.5
Independent Martin Brookes 249 18.4 N/A
Turnout 1,355 36.07
Liberal Democrats hold
Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative
Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative

At the 2019 election, one of the three Oakham South seats had been won by the Liberal Democrats and two by Conservatives. The Liberal Democrats had gained the other two seats in by-elections in 2021 and 2022.

Ryhall & Casterton

Ryhall & Casterton (2 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative David Wilby* 345 52.6 +52.6
Independent Kevin Corby 334 50.9 N/A
Liberal Democrats Darnley Rayside 202 30.8 N/A
Conservative Lee Bushby 200 30.5 N/A
Turnout 657 29.08
Conservative hold
Independent gain from Independent

The independent elected in May 2019 did not meet the deadline to formally accept his position as a councillor; a Conservative won the by-election in September 2019. A Green won a second by-election in March 2022 but did not contest the seat in 2023.

Uppingham

Uppingham (3 seats)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats Stephen Lambert* 904 75.9 N/A
Liberal Democrats Christine Wise 780 65.5 N/A
Conservative Lucy Stephenson* 579 48.6 -8.6
Conservative Mo Cerrone 236 19.8 -21.9
Turnout 1,199 38.40
Liberal Democrats gain from Green
Liberal Democrats gain from Independent
Conservative hold

Stephen Lambert had won a by-election in May 2022.

Whissendine

Whissendine
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Independent Rosemary Powell* Unopposed
Independent hold Swing

References

  1. ↑ "Upcoming Elections". Rutland County Council. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
  2. ↑ "Election timetable in England". UK Government. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
  3. ↑ "People standing for election as Rutland County Councillor". Rutland & Stamford Mercury. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
  4. ↑ "Rutland election result". BBC News. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  5. ↑ "Rutland County Councillors reaction after elections leaves no party in overall control". Rutland and Stamford Mercury. 10 May 2023. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  6. 1 2 Scholes, Andrea (23 May 2023). "Rutland County Council appoints new Lib Dem and Green leader Gale Waller". Rutland and Stamford Mercury. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
  7. ↑ "Council minutes, 9 May 2022". Rutland County Council. 9 May 2022. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
  8. ↑ "Annual Council Meeting, 22 May 2023". Rutland County Council. 22 May 2023. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
  9. ↑ "Rutland County Council elections 2023". Rutland County Council. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
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