2023 Dartford Borough Council election

Last updated
2023 Dartford Borough Council election
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←  2019 4 May 2023 (2023-05-04)2027 →
All 42 seats to Dartford Borough Council
22 seats needed for a majority
 First partySecond partyThird party
  No image wide.svg No image wide.svg No image wide.svg
LeaderJeremy KiteKelly GrehanLaura Edie [a]
Party Conservative Labour Green
Last election29 seats, 53.1%10 seats, 29.4%0 seats, 0.6%
Seats before3171
Seats won29111
Seat changeSteady2.svgIncrease2.svg 1Increase2.svg 1
Popular vote27,40417,1412,069
Percentage55.8%34.9%4.2%
SwingIncrease2.svg 3.0%Increase2.svg 5.1%Increase2.svg 3.6%
 Fourth partyFifth party
  No image wide.svg No image wide.svg
Party Residents Independent
Last election3 seats, 5.4%0 seats, 1.6%
Seats before12
Seats won10
Seat changeDecrease2.svg 2Steady2.svg
Popular vote1,640117
Percentage3.3%0.2%
SwingDecrease2.svg 2.1%Decrease2.svg 1.4%
Dartford UK ward map 2023.svg
Results by ward
Leader before election

Jeremy Kite
Conservative

Leader after election

Jeremy Kite
Conservative

The 2023 Dartford Borough Council election took place on 4 May 2023 to elect all 42 members of Dartford Borough Council in Kent, England. [2]

Contents

This election took place alongside other local elections across England.

The council remained under Conservative majority control after the election. [3]

Changes since 2019 election

After Cllr Jonathon Hawkes, leader of the Labour Group, lost his seat in 2019, Cllr Sacha Gosine was elected as the new Leader of the Opposition. He was replaced by Cllr Kelly Grehan in 2022. Between 2019 and 2023, the Labour Group lost 3 councillors. Deputy Leader Cllr Adrian Oakley-Dow resigned from the party following the election of a new Deputy. Around this time, Cllr Romana Gosine was expelled by the party for an alleged "breach of the rules". [4] Cllr Laura Edie left the Labour Party after criticising the national party's policies, and sat as a Green Party councillor for the remainder of her term. She was re-elected as a Green councillor in 2023. [5]

In April 2021, 2 councillors from the Swanscombe and Greenhithe Residents Association, Cllrs Sue Butterfill and Anita Barham, left the party to form a new Independent Party Group. They later joined the Conservative Party. Cllr Barham stood as a Conservative candidate in Swanscombe in 2023, but was not elected. [6]

Cllr Ann Allen died in October 2021, triggering a by-election in Maypole & Leyton Cross. Cllr Lucas Reynolds also stood down for personal reasons, triggering a by-election in Wilmington, Sutton-At-Hone & Hawley. Both seats were held by the Conservatives with large majorities. [7]

In May 2022, it was announced that Cllr Laura Edie and Cllr Peter Harman (of the Swanscombe and Greenhithe Residents Association) had formed the Alliance Group together. [8]

A by-election was also held in February 2023, once again in Wilmington, Sutton-At-Hone & Hawley, where the Conservative majority was increased. [9]

Summary

Election result

2023 Dartford Borough Council election [10]
PartyCandidatesSeatsGainsLossesNet gain/lossSeats %Votes %Votes+/−
  Conservative 422911Steady2.svg69.055.827,404+2.7
  Labour 421121Increase2.svg 126.234.917,141+5.5
  Green 9110Increase2.svg 12.44.22,069+3.6
  Residents 4102Decrease2.svg 22.43.31,640–2.1
  Reform UK 5000Steady2.svg0.01.0503N/A
  Britain First 2000Steady2.svg0.00.3168N/A
  Independent 1000Steady2.svg0.00.2117–1.4
  Liberal Democrats 1000Steady2.svg0.00.163–0.1

Ward results

The Statement of Persons Nominated, which details the candidates standing in each ward, was released by Dartford Borough Council following the close of nominations on 4 April 2023. [11] The results for each ward were as follows: [12]

Bean & Village Park

Bean & Village Park
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative David Hammock* 392 74.5 −7.0
Labour Graham Windram13425.5+7.0
Turnout 52627.42
Conservative hold Swing

Brent

Brent (2 seats)
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative Rosanna Currans* 840 63.4 +1.5
Conservative Peter Whapshott 718 54.2 −2.5
Labour Sarah Crook35927.1+4.4
Labour Marian Benford35526.8+5.8
Green Claire Edie1309.8N/A
Liberal Democrats Cullen O'Donnell634.8N/A
Turnout 1,32430.33
Conservative hold Swing
Conservative hold Swing

Bridge

Bridge
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative Clement Quaqumey 316 61.5 −0.8
Labour Peter Grehan19838.5+16.7
Turnout 51419.93−5.17
Conservative hold Swing

Burnham

Burnham
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative Matthew Davis* 358 56.1 +5.1
Labour Amanda Cook28043.9−5.1
Turnout 63828.94
Conservative hold Swing

Darenth

Darenth
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative Paul Denman 215 35.8 −11.6
Labour Catherine Stafford20734.5+2.9
Independent Tony Prentice11719.5N/A
Britain First Nicholas Scanlon6110.2N/A
Turnout 60030.32
Conservative hold Swing

Ebbsfleet

Ebbsfleet (3 seats)
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative Danny Nicklen* 615 55.3 +17.5
Labour Jonathon Hawkes 535 48.1 +8.5
Labour Victoria Akintomie-Akinwamide 507 45.6 +7.0
Labour Victoria Oguntope47943.1+6.2
Conservative Subhash Goswami40636.5+9.9
Conservative Edith Nwachukwu39235.3+12.7
Turnout 1,11227.51
Conservative hold Swing
Labour hold Swing
Labour hold Swing

Greenhithe & Knockhall

Greenhithe & Knockhall (3 seats)
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Residents Peter Harman* 623 51.7 +8.0
Conservative David Mote* 499 41.4 +2.9
Conservative Carol Gale 359 29.8 +0.1
Residents Dawn Johnston35429.4−14.4
Conservative Safiul Azam34528.7+0.7
Residents Elizabeth Wickham33527.8−5.3
Labour Lisa Bullock27022.4+5.4
Labour Joshua Grills22418.6+5.7
Labour James Ray20517.0+4.2
Turnout 1,20422.40
Residents hold Swing
Conservative gain from Residents Swing
Conservative hold Swing

Heath

Heath (2 seats)
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative Andrew Lloyd* 910 62.5 −0.9
Conservative Patsy Thurlow* 837 57.4 +1.5
Labour David Celino-Stock40527.8+4.5
Labour Sally Wainwright24316.7−6.0
Reform UK Michael Brown1419.7N/A
Turnout 1,45733.10
Conservative hold Swing
Conservative hold Swing

Joyden's Wood

Joyden's Wood (2 seats)
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative Brian Garden* 1,131 80.6 +6.4
Conservative Marilyn Peters* 1,067 76.0 +1.8
Labour Carole Jones25318.0+5.3
Labour Peter Summers24517.5+7.2
Turnout 1,40434.28
Conservative hold Swing
Conservative hold Swing

Longfield, New Barn & Southfleet

Longfield, New Barn & Southfleet (3 seats)
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative Jeremy Kite* 1,431 71.7 +2.5
Conservative Steven Brown* 1,406 70.4 +4.3
Conservative Roger Perfitt* 1,317 65.9 +5.0
Labour Timothy Cook38819.4+6.7
Labour Lacey Povey37518.8+7.8
Labour Allan Fisher32716.4+4.5
Green Alastair Humphreys25612.8N/A
Turnout 1,99736.36
Conservative hold Swing
Conservative hold Swing
Conservative hold Swing

Maypole & Leyton Cross

Maypole & Leyton Cross
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative Kyle Stealey* 435 68.7 −15.4
Labour David Brooker19831.2+15.4
Turnout 63329.3+2.6
Conservative hold Swing

Newtown

Newtown (2 seats)
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Debbie Graham 528 38.9 −3.2
Green Laura Edie* 509 37.5 +24.9
Labour Jonathan Wynne40129.5−9.7
Conservative Andrew Mensah39929.4−6.6
Conservative Sheun Oke36526.9−6.8
Green Julian Hood34825.6N/A
Turnout 135533.18−2.02
Labour hold Swing
Green gain from Labour Swing

Princes

Princes (2 seats)
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Ricky Jones* 490 47.9 +3.8
Labour Alina Vaduva 395 38.6 +0.2
Conservative Monjur Showkat38838.0+2.3
Conservative Rebecca Storey*38637.8−0.8
Green Ciara O'Hare767.4N/A
Green Kerry O'Hare605.9N/A
Reform UK Lou Sparrow492.7N/A
Turnout 102124.73−6.77
Labour hold Swing
Labour gain from Conservative Swing

Stone Castle

Stone Castle (3 seats)
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative Paul Cutler* 518 56.0 +11.5
Conservative Lucy Canham* 491 53.0 +2.8
Conservative John Burrell* 440 47.5 −0.3
Labour Trevor Donnelly36239.1+4.0
Labour Pat Kelly32034.6−0.1
Labour Rachel Gogo31534.1+5.7
Turnout 92517.10−7.1
Conservative hold Swing
Conservative hold Swing
Conservative hold Swing

Stone House

Stone House (2 seats)
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative Tom Oliver* 667 52.4 +9.7
Labour Rachael Anne 556 43.7 −2.4
Conservative Milan Suter53542.0+1.8
Labour Karl Harris49138.6+1.7
Green Louise Maclean1259.8N/A
Turnout 127227.3+1.5
Conservative hold Swing
Labour hold Swing

Swanscombe

Swanscombe (2 seats)
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Emma Ben Moussa* 732 61.2 +21.6
Labour Claire Pearce 476 39.8 +7.7
Conservative Anita Barham*37931.7−6.4
Residents Lorna Cross32827.4−10.7
Conservative Santosh Patil12510.4+1.0
Britain First Paul Golding 1078.9N/A
Turnout 1,19725.67
Labour hold Swing
Labour gain from Residents Swing

Temple Hill

Temple Hill (3 seats)
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Kelly Grehan* 796 62.1 +19.1
Labour Alina Gaskin* 737 57.5 +15.6
Labour Darren Povey 704 55.0 +15.0
Conservative Thomas Denman39330.7+3.8
Conservative Thomas Shippam32725.5+0.6
Conservative Ganesh Malyala32225.1+0.9
Reform UK Barry Taylor1028.0−17.4
Reform UK Enrique Martin-Garcia937.3−16.7
Turnout 1,28121.14
Labour hold Swing
Labour hold Swing
Labour hold Swing

Town

Town (2 seats)
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative Christopher Shippam* 544 62.4 +9.4
Conservative Richard Wells* 530 60.8 +10.0
Labour Justina Lambert30935.4−1.9
Labour Jiri Marek29233.5−2.4
Turnout 87223.83
Conservative hold Swing
Conservative hold Swing

West Hill

West Hill (3 seats)
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative Julie Ozog* 1,096 57.0 +4.8
Conservative Denzil Reynolds* 1,062 55.2 +4.9
Conservative Drew Swinerd* 969 50.4 +3.1
Labour Robert Celino-Stock63232.9+0.7
Labour Suyi Michelli60031.2+0.3
Labour Sandra Woodeson58030.2±0.0
Green Garry Turner37419.4N/A
Turnout 1,92333.04
Conservative hold Swing
Conservative hold Swing
Conservative hold Swing

Wilmington, Sutton-at-Hone & Hawley

Wilmington, Sutton-at-Hone & Hawley (3 seats)
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative George Holt* 1,270 68.3 +8.2
Conservative Eddy Lampkin* 1,162 62.5 +6.1
Conservative Av Sandhu 1,047 56.3 +4.5
Labour Abigail Jones44924.1+8.2
Labour Raymond Kelleher41422.3+5.7
Labour Geoffrey Prout37520.2+5.3
Green Richard Moore19110.3N/A
Reform UK Marc Mason1186.3N/A
Turnout 1,86030.54
Conservative hold Swing
Conservative hold Swing
Conservative hold Swing

Changes 2023-2027

Affiliation changes

By-elections

Greenhithe and Knockhall

Greenhithe and Knockhall by-election: 21 November 2024
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Reform UK Michael Brown 284 31.2 N/A
Residents Dawn Johnston25127.6–17.2
Green Sacha Gosine15016.5N/A
Labour Peter Summers11312.4–7.0
Conservative Edith Nwachukwu11212.3–23.5
Majority 333.6N/A
Turnout 91416.1–6.3
Registered electors 5,662
Reform UK gain from Residents

Maypole & Leyton Cross

Maypole & Leyton Cross by-election: 17 July 2025
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Reform UK Stephen Ridley 303 53.8 N/A
Conservative Steven Campbell15828.1–40.6
Labour David Johnson-Lang7112.6–18.6
Green Lewis Glynn315.5N/A
Majority 14525.7N/A
Turnout 56324.9–4.4
Registered electors 2,257
Reform UK gain from Conservative

Stone House

Stone House by-election: 17 July 2025
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Reform UK James Buchan 475 45.2 N/A
Labour Suneetha Giridhar29928.5–12.8
Conservative Milan Suter19018.1–31.4
Green Julian Hood878.3–1.0
Majority 17616.7N/A
Turnout 1,05122.2–5.1
Registered electors 4,728
Reform UK gain from Conservative

References

  1. ↑ Leading "Alliance Group" of the Green Party and one of the independent councillors. [1]
  1. ↑ "Council minutes, 11 May 2022". Dartford Borough Council. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
  2. ↑ "Notice of Election". Dartford Borough Council. 17 March 2023. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
  3. ↑ Greenwood, Keely (5 May 2023). "Kent local elections 2023: Dartford council remains under Tory control as Britain First falls short". Kent Online. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
  4. ↑ "Dartford Labour vote in new opposition council leader amid local party shake up". Kent Online. 12 April 2022. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  5. ↑ "Dartford councillor for Newtown Laura Edie quits Labour Party over handling of school closures". Kent Online. 5 January 2021. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  6. ↑ "Swanscombe and Greenhithe Resident's Association councillors quit to form new Independent Party Group on Dartford Council". Kent Online. 21 April 2022. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
  7. ↑ "Conservatives retain three Wilmington by-election seats in Dartford council and Kent County Council". Kent Online. 31 January 2022. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  8. ↑ "Council minutes, 11 May 2022". Dartford Borough Council. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
  9. ↑ "Wilmington, Sutton-at-Hone & Hawley Borough Ward - Thursday 9 February 2023". Dartford Borough Council. 9 February 2023. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  10. ↑ "Dartford Borough Council Elections - Thursday 4 May 2023". Dartford Borough Council. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
  11. ↑ "Statement of Persons Nominated". Dartford Borough Council. 4 April 2023. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
  12. ↑ Clarke, Amy (5 May 2023). "Dartford Borough Council election results by ward". News Shopper. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
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