2023 Maldon District Council election

2023 Maldon District Council election

←  2019 4 May 2023 (2023-05-04) 2027 →
All 31 seats to Maldon District Council 16 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party Third party   Leader Penny Channer Richard Siddall Party Conservative Maldon Independents Independent Last election 17 seats, 45.8% N/A 14 seats, 48.1% Seats before 14 11 6 Seats won 10 7 7 Seat change 7 7 7 Popular vote 8,705 5,239 3,973 Percentage 33.9% 20.4% 15.5% Swing 11.9% N/A 32.6%   Fourth party Fifth party   Party Liberal Democrats Labour Last election N/A 0 seats, 5.4% Seats before 1 0 Seats won 6 1 Seat change 6 1 Popular vote 5,535 1,784 Percentage 21.6% 7.0% Swing N/A 1.6%
Winner of each seat at the 2023 Maldon District Council election
Leader before election Penny Channer Conservative No overall control Leader after election Richard Siddall Maldon Independents No overall control

The 2023 Maldon District Council election took place on 4 May 2023 to elect members of Maldon District Council in Essex, England. ^[1] This was on the same day as other local elections.

Summary

The result at the 2019 election was 17 Conservative and 14 Independent councillors. ^[2] Following resignations and splits amongst both the Conservatives and the Independent Group, and two by-elections, the political make up at January 2022 was 10 Conservative, 3 non-aligned Conservatives, 11 Independent Group, 6 non-aligned Independents, and one vacant seat. ^[3] Penny Channer, a Conservative, was appointed leader of the council at a meeting on 18 January 2022, effectively leading a Conservative minority administration. ^{[4] [5]} She chose not to stand for re-election. ^[6]

Prior to the 2023 election the council was under no overall control. The Conservatives ran the council, with the Maldon District Independent Group in opposition. ^[7] The Liberal Democrats elected a first councillor in a by-election in 2022, ^[8] and stood a record number of candidates in these elections. ^[9]

After the election the council remained under no overall control. After some weeks of post-election discussions between the councillors, Richard Siddall, leader of the Maldon District Independent Group, was appointed leader of the council on 8 June 2023. ^[10]

Election result

The overall results were: ^[11]

2023 Maldon District Council election
Party		Candidates	Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
	Conservative	24	10	2	9	7	32.3	33.9	8,705	–11.9
	Maldon District Independent Group	13	7	7	0	7	22.6	20.4	5,239	N/A
	Independent	14	7	2	9	7	22.6	15.5	3,973	–32.6
	Liberal Democrats	18	6	6	0	6	19.4	21.6	5,535	N/A
	Labour	8	1	1	0	1	3.2	7.0	1,784	+1.6
	Green	3	0	0	0		0.0	1.6	423	N/A

Ward results

The Statement of Persons Nominated, which details the candidates standing in each ward, was released by Maldon District Council following the close of nominations on 5 April 2023. ^[12]

Seat gains/losses are compared to the 2019 election and do not take into account by-elections or defections. The results for each ward were: ^[13]

Althorne

Althorne (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Maldon Independents	Tony Fittock	675	63.6	N/A
	Maldon Independents	Mark Bassenger*	512	48.3	N/A
	Conservative	Clint Bardwell	390	36.8	–9.5
	Liberal Democrats	Peter Wynn	115	10.8	N/A
Turnout			1,061	31.4	+2.0
Registered electors			3,382
	Maldon Independents gain from Conservative
	Maldon Independents gain from Independent

Burnham-on-Crouch North

Burnham-on-Crouch North (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Wendy Stamp*	927	76.4	–6.9
	Labour	Una Siddall-Norman	391	32.2	+17.2
	Conservative	Anne Hull*	362	29.8	–2.1
	Liberal Democrats	Blake Matthews	170	14.0	N/A
Turnout			1,214	31.1	–4.9
Registered electors			3,902
	Independent hold
	Labour gain from Conservative

Burnham-on-Crouch South

Burnham-on-Crouch South (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Vanessa Bell*	531	50.5	–14.7
	Conservative	Doug Brown	358	34.0	+10.2
	Independent	Jennie Donnelly	296	28.1	N/A
	Labour	Jackie Brown	168	16.0	+4.5
	Maldon Independents	Stephen Stratton	105	10.0	N/A
	Green	Claire White	97	9.2	N/A
	Green	James Taylor	83	7.9	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	Eileen Rowlands	67	6.4	N/A
	Independent	Joscelyn McInnes	42	4.0	N/A
Turnout			1,052	32.6	–2.0
Registered electors			3,223
	Independent hold
	Conservative gain from Independent

Great Totham

Great Totham (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Maldon Independents	Richard Siddall*	670	53.3	N/A
	Maldon Independents	Jade Hughes	591	47.1	N/A
	Conservative	John Keyes*	427	34.0	–21.0
	Conservative	Nicholas Snelling	345	27.5	–28.3
	Green	Isobel Doubleday	243	19.3	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	Deirdre Haslam	75	6.0	N/A
Turnout			1,256	42.0
Registered electors			2,994
	Maldon Independents gain from Conservative
	Maldon Independents gain from Conservative

Heybridge East

Heybridge East (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Nick Spenceley	504	51.3	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	Nikki Swindle	441	44.9	N/A
	Conservative	Anne Beale*	316	32.2	–17.0
	Maldon Independents	Colin Edmond	299	30.4	N/A
	Conservative	Bruce Heubner*	259	26.4	–27.6
Turnout			982	30.6	+3.0
Registered electors			3,206
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative

Heybridge West

Heybridge West (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Paula Spenceley*	539	67.0	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	Simon Burwood	475	59.1	N/A
	Conservative	Hayley Board	195	24.3	–15.2
	Maldon Independents	Michael Edwards*	174	21.6	N/A
Turnout			804	23.5	+0.8
Registered electors			3,429
	Liberal Democrats gain from Independent
	Liberal Democrats gain from Independent

Maldon East

Maldon East

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Andrew Lay	153	37.9	N/A
	Independent	Christopher Swain*	130	32.2	–18.5
	Conservative	Robert Roe	121	30.0	+6.3
Majority			23	5.7	N/A
Turnout			411	22.8	–1.9
Registered electors			1,803
	Independent gain from Independent		Swing	N/A

Maldon North

Maldon North (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Kevin Jennings	736	63.0	N/A
	Conservative	Nigel Miller	401	34.3	+3.6
	Maldon Independents	Carlie Mayes*	375	32.1	N/A
	Labour	Robert Shrimpton	248	21.2	N/A
Turnout			1,168	34.9	+0.8
Registered electors			3,347
	Liberal Democrats gain from Independent
	Conservative gain from Independent

Maldon South

Maldon South (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Kevin Lagan*	528	52.6	–12.5
	Maldon Independents	Jeanette Stilts*	424	42.2	N/A
	Conservative	Martin Harvey	361	36.0	+4.4
	Conservative	Paul Hole	264	26.3	+0.3
	Liberal Democrats	John Main	202	20.1	N/A
Turnout			1,004	33.3	+0.1
Registered electors			3,014
	Independent hold
	Maldon Independents gain from Independent

Maldon West

Maldon West (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	John Driver	552	43.3	N/A
	Maldon Independents	Flo Shaughnessy*	550	43.1	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	Robert Jones	432	33.9	N/A
	Conservative	Jhual Hafiz	277	21.7	+3.0
	Maldon Independents	Lisa Cullumbine	271	21.2	N/A
	Labour	John Joyce	124	9.7	N/A
	Independent	Tom Kelly	89	7.0	N/A
Turnout			1,276	34.2	–5.9
Registered electors			3,734
	Liberal Democrats gain from Independent
	Maldon Independents gain from Independent

Mayland

Mayland (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Linda Haywood	617	61.9	N/A
	Conservative	Wendy Laybourn	390	39.1	N/A
	Conservative	Linda Pailing	278	27.9	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	James Eley	225	22.6	N/A
Turnout			997	29.3	N/A
Registered electors			3,407
	Independent gain from Conservative
	Conservative hold

Purleigh

Purleigh (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Sue White*	558	61.1	–1.4
	Conservative	Lisa Wiffen	481	52.7	–14.0
	Labour	Pamela Calabro	185	20.3	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	Lynne Harrington	180	19.7	N/A
	Maldon Independents	Ashley Jones	125	13.7	N/A
	Independent	Neil Page	86	9.4	N/A
	Independent	Bridget Eyre	41	4.5	N/A
Turnout			913	31.0	–3.0
Registered electors			2,950
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Southminster

Southminster (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Adrian Fluker	533	58.7	N/A
	Conservative	Ron Pratt	339	37.3	+6.7
	Labour	Timothy Aves	182	20.0	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	Ben Bhattacharya	130	14.3	N/A
Turnout			802	22.6	–3.8
Registered electors			3,547
	Independent gain from Independent
	Conservative hold

Tillingham

Tillingham

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Matthew Neall	Unopposed
Registered electors			N/A
	Independent gain from Conservative

Tollesbury

Tollesbury

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Maldon Independents	Emma Stephens*	468	75.1	N/A
	Conservative	Deborah Keating	116	18.6	–53.9
	Liberal Democrats	Ross Woolfenden	39	6.3	N/A
Majority			352	56.5	N/A
Turnout			625	38.6	+1.8
Registered electors			1,621
	Maldon Independents gain from Conservative		Swing	N/A

Tolleshunt D'Arcy

Tolleshunt D'Arcy (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Clive Morley*	607	58.8	–9.2
	Conservative	Maddie Thompson*	581	56.2	–15.9
	Liberal Democrats	John Beal	408	39.5	N/A
Turnout			1,033	30.3	–1.5
Registered electors			3,406
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Wickham Bishops and Woodham

Wickham Bishops and Woodham (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Mark Durham*	644	58.2	+1.2
	Conservative	Simon Morgan	635	57.4	–7.8
	Labour	Jane Williams	260	23.5	+9.1
	Liberal Democrats	Anne Church	245	22.1	N/A
	Labour	David Baker	226	20.4	N/A
Turnout			1,107	37.7	–3.5
Registered electors			2,933
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Changes 2023–2027

Affiliation changes

• Sue White, elected as a Conservative, left the party in June 2023 to sit as an independent. ^[14]
• Jeanette Stilts, elected for the Maldon District Independent Group, subsequently sat instead in the 'District Support Group' of independent councillors. ^[15]

By-elections

Maldon North

Maldon North by-election: 27 March 2025

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	James Burrell-Cook	462	41.1	+18.3
	Liberal Democrats	Robert Jones	409	36.4	–5.4
	Reform UK	Joe Ross	187	16.7	N/A
	Green	Isobel Doubleday	65	5.8	N/A
Majority			53	4.7	N/A
Turnout			1,126	33.2	–1.7
Registered electors			3,397
	Conservative hold		Swing	11.9

Maldon West

Maldon West by-election: 29 May 2025 ^[16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Sarah Dodsley	573	41.5	+6.8
	Reform UK	Gary Robert Power	488	35.3	N/A
	Conservative	Jhual Hafiz	204	14.8	–2.6
	Maldon Independents	Carlie Mayes	83	6.0	–28.5
	Green	Janet Mary Band	33	2.4	N/A
Majority			85	6.2	N/A
Turnout			1,381	33.1	–1.1
Registered electors			4,172
	Liberal Democrats gain from Maldon Independents

By-election triggered by death of Maldon District Independent Group councillor Flo Shaughnessy. ^[17]

References

1. "Election Notices 2023". Maldon District Council . Retrieved 8 April 2023.
2. Council, Maldon District. "Election Results 2 May 2019 - District Council". maldon.gov.uk. Retrieved 2021-07-06.
3. "Your Councillors". Maldon District Council. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
4. "Councillor Mrs Penny A Channer". Maldon District Council. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
5. "Extraordinary Meeting, Council - Tuesday 18 January 2022". Maldon District Council. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
6. Shahrabi, Ben (4 April 2023). "Local Elections 2023: Council Leader Penny Channer to stand down after 28 years as Maldon District Councillor". Maldon Nub News. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
7. "All local elections 2023 candidates standing for Maldon District Council". Essex Live . Retrieved 26 April 2023.
8. "By-Election Results 24 February 2022". Maldon District Council . Retrieved 26 April 2023.
9. "Maldon Liberal Democrats field record number of candidates". Maldon Standard . Retrieved 26 April 2023.
10. Meyler, Piers (9 June 2023). "Ex-Tory councillor who received homophobic abuse from colleague now Maldon council leader". Essex Live. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
11. "Maldon election result". BBC News. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
12. "Statement of Persons Nominated for Election 4 May 2023". Maldon District Council . Retrieved 7 April 2023.
13. Emmett, Millie (5 May 2023). "Maldon District Council local elections full results list". Maldon Standard. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
14. Boothroyd, David (2 June 2023). "Warning of Gales in South Hampstead". Local Councils. Thorncliffe. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
15. "Council report, 8 June 2023" (PDF). Maldon District Council. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
16. "Maldon West District Ward By-Election 29 May 2025 - Results". Maldon District Council. Retrieved 31 May 2025.
17. Brewster, Chloe (17 February 2025). "Former town mayor Flo Shaughnessy dies". Maldon Nub News. Retrieved 31 May 2025.