2023 Wyre Forest District Council election

The 2023 Wyre Forest District Council election took place on 4 May 2023, to elect all 33 members of Wyre Forest District Council in Worcestershire, England. This was on the same day as other local elections across England.

2023 Wyre Forest District Council election

← 2019 4 May 2023 (2023-05-04) 2027 →
All 33 seats on Wyre Forest District Council 17 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party Third party   Leader Marcus Hart Helen Dyke Leigh Whitehouse Party Conservative Independent Labour Last election 14 seats, 31.6% 5 seats, 10.6% 2 seats, 16.1% Seats before 14 5 2 Seats after 20 6 4 Seat change 6 1 2 Popular vote 8,609 5,595 6,969 Percentage 29.6 19.3 24.0 Swing 2.0 8.7 7.9   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   Leader Fran Oborski Party Liberal Democrats Green Independent Health Concern Last election 3 seats, 10.5% 1 seat, 7.7% 8 seats, 17.3% Seats before 3 1 8 Seats after 2 1 0 Seat change 1 8 Popular vote 4,081 3,799 n/a Percentage 14.0 13.1 Swing 3.5 5.4
Map of the results
Leader before election Helen Dyke Independent No overall control Leader after election Marcus Hart Conservative

Prior to the election the council was under no overall control, being run by a "progressive alliance" of Independent Health Concern, Labour, Green and independent councillors. The Conservatives won a majority of the seats at this election. Wyre Forest was one of only two councils where the Conservatives gained control in the 2023 elections, with the party generally losing seats and councils elsewhere.

Summary

Prior to the election the eight Independent Health Concern councillors, five independent councillors and the one Green councillor had sat together as one "Independent Group", led by independent councillor Helen Dyke. The Independent Group and Labour together formed the council's administration, calling themselves a progressive alliance, with Helen Dyke serving as leader of the council.^[1] Local party Independent Health Concern announced in 2022 that it would no longer be fielding candidates at elections; its sitting councillors who chose to stand for re-election in 2023 did so as independent candidates.^[2]

The Conservatives and Labour saw gains, whilst the Liberal Democrats and independents (when including the former Independent Health Concern councillors) suffered loses. The only Green councillor retained her seat. Whilst the Conservatives suffered loses throughout the country, in Wyre Forest the Conservatives won a majority of the seats. Torbay and Wyre Forest were the only two councils where the Conservatives gained a majority at this election.^[3]

Conservative leader Marcus Hart was appointed leader of the council at the subsequent annual council meeting on 17 May 2023.^[4]

Overall Results

The overall results were as follows:^[5]

2023 Wyre Forest District Council election
Party		Candidates	Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
	Conservative	33	20	7	1	6	60.6	29.6	8,609	2.0
	Labour	15	4	2	0	2	12.1	24.0	6,969	7.9
	Independent	17	6	2	1	1	18.2	19.3	5,595	8.7
	Liberal Democrats	17	2	0	1	1	6.1	14.0	4,081	3.5
	Green	17	1	0	0		3.0	13.1	3,799	5.4

Ward results

The results for each ward were as follows, with an asterisk (*) indicating an incumbent councillor standing for re-election:^[6][7]

Aggborough and Spennells

Aggborough and Spennells

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Helen Elizabeth Dyke*	1,324	64.6	−2.9
	Independent	Peter Dyke*	1,213	59.2	−2.8
	Independent	John Cedric Aston*	1,142	55.7	+1.2
	Conservative	Owen Boyd Cave	483	23.6	+3.3
	Labour	George Price	426	20.8	+9.6
	Conservative	Thomas Jordan	366	17.9	N/A
	Conservative	Richard Simon Sherrey (Simon Sherrey)	328	16.0	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	Rachel Louise Akathiotis	283	13.8	N/A
Turnout			2,049	31.31
Registered electors			6,570
	Independent hold
	Independent hold
	Independent hold

Areley Kings and Riverside

Areley Kings and Riverside

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Kenneth James Henderson* (Ken Henderson)	795	46.1	+14.4
	Conservative	Daniel Carberry Russell (Danny Russell)	656	38.1	+8.7
	Conservative	Alan Sutton	562	32.6	+6.2
	Labour	Carol Gwyneth Warren	519	30.1	+5.5
	Labour	Nick Bartram-Savage	485	28.1	+7.4
	Independent	Robert John Lloyd (Rob Lloyd)	424	24.6	+4.0
	Independent	John William Roland Thomas*	325	18.9	−18.8
	Green	Valerie Margaret Wood	307	17.8	+2.2
	Independent	Jason Foster	288	16.7	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	Ingrid Ruth Schmeising-Barnes	186	10.8	+5.6
Turnout			1,723	27.16
Registered electors			6,365
	Conservative gain from Independent Health Concern
	Conservative gain from Independent Health Concern
	Conservative hold

John Thomas had been a Health Concern councillor prior to the election.

Bewdley and Rock

Bewdley and Rock

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Emily Elizabeth Bourne	939	42.8	+3.0
	Conservative	Daniel Morehead (Dan Morehead)	841	38.3	+2.7
	Conservative	Nicholas Charles Wilson (Nick Wilson)	723	33.0	−2.0
	Labour	Rodney Stanczyszyn (Rod Stanczyszyn)	685	31.2	−2.5
	Independent	Calne Elaine Edginton-White*	629	28.7	−10.2
	Labour	Nigel Knowles	608	27.7	N/A
	Green	Janice Christine Bell	461	21.0	N/A
	Independent	Anna Coleman*	372	17.0	−22.8
	Green	Nigel Alastair Geary	297	13.5	N/A
	Independent	Roger Hugh Coleman*	253	11.5	−24.1
	Liberal Democrats	Cloud Gollop	156	7.1	N/A
Turnout			2,194	31.74
Registered electors			6,985
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold
	Conservative gain from Independent

Anna Coleman and Roger Coleman had both been elected as Conservatives but left the party in 2020 and joined Health Concern. Seat change compared to 2019 result.^[8]

Blakebrook and Habberley South

Blakebrook and Habberley South

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Green	Victoria Ann Caulfield* (Vicky Caulfield)	765	42.7	+8.5
	Conservative	Tracey Lee Onslow-Fage* (Tracey Onslow)	690	38.5	−1.4
	Labour	Leigh Whitehouse*	678	37.8	+4.1
	Conservative	Juliet Denise Smith	551	30.7	−1.1
	Green	John Edward Davis	511	28.5	N/A
	Conservative	Edward James Stokes	505	28.2	−2.4
	Green	Anthony Clive Wood (Clive Wood)	385	21.5	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	Adrian Stanley Beavis	212	11.8	−14.6
	Liberal Democrats	Heidi Ruth Worth	187	10.4	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	Simon Ford	114	6.4	N/A
Turnout			1,793	26.23
Registered electors			6,851
	Green hold
	Conservative hold
	Labour hold

Broadwaters

Broadwaters

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Mary Alice Rayner*	893	60.3	+20.0
	Labour	Mary McDonnell	634	42.8	+15.9
	Independent	Peter Winston Montgomery Young*	611	41.3	+3.2
	Liberal Democrats	Alan John Totty*	431	29.1	+8.1
	Conservative	Tony Andrew Muir	373	25.2	+4.8
	Conservative	Craig James Pedley	354	23.9	N/A
	Conservative	Howard Stuart Williams	252	17.0	N/A
Turnout			1,481	22.39
Registered electors			6,674
	Independent hold
	Labour hold
	Independent gain from Independent Health Concern

Peter Young was a Health Concern councillor prior to the election; seat shown as independent gain from Health Concern to allow comparison with 2019 results.

Foley Park and Hoobrook

Foley Park and Hoobrook

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Nathan John Desmond*	834	48.9	+8.0
	Conservative	Nichola Lynnette Gale* (Nicky Gale)	742	43.5	+9.9
	Conservative	Kevin George Gale	694	40.7	+2.9
	Labour	Diane Constance Smith (Di Smith)	561	32.9	+15.9
	Liberal Democrats	Clare Cassidy	449	26.3	+11.4
	Green	Douglas Peter Hine (Doug Hine)	346	20.3	N/A
	Green	Nicholas Atkinson (Nick Atkinson)	278	16.3	N/A
	Independent	Susan Caroline Meekings (Sue Meekings)	262	15.3	−17.1
	Green	David John Finch (Dave Finch)	254	14.9	−6.1
Turnout			1,707	23.16
Registered electors			7,883
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Franche and Habberley North

Franche and Habberley North

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Benjamin Richard Brookes* (Ben Brookes)	823	41.6	+13.6
	Conservative	George Anthony Connolly	793	40.1	N/A
	Conservative	David Richard Ross*	747	37.8	+13.9
	Labour	John Beckingham	685	34.6	+6.6
	Liberal Democrats	Jackie Anne Madden	551	27.9	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	Oliver Yasha Walker	526	26.6	+12.7
	Independent	Mark Watkins	492	24.9	N/A
	Green	Lisa Jane Allsopp	398	20.1	+5.9
Turnout			1,978	26.46
Registered electors			7,505
	Conservative gain from Independent Health Concern
	Conservative gain from Independent Health Concern
	Conservative gain from Independent Health Concern

Ben Brookes and David Ross had previously won their seats in by-elections in 2021 and 2022; their seats shown as Conservative gains from Health Concern to allow comparison with 2019 results.

Lickhill

Lickhill

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	David Little	266	40.7	+6.6
	Liberal Democrats	Timothy Francis Schmeising-Barnes (Tim Schmeising-Barnes)	145	22.2	+13.3
	Labour	William Stephen Thorneycroft	137	20.9	+5.5
	Independent	Dixon Raymond Sheppard*	106	16.2	−21.0
Turnout			654	31.03
Registered electors			2,127
	Conservative gain from Independent Health Concern

Dixon Sheppard was a Health Concern councillor prior to the election.

Mitton

Mitton

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Nicola Jayne Martin* (Nicky Martin)	771	41.1	−11.7
	Labour	Jacqueline Elizabeth Griffiths (Jackie Griffiths)	733	39.1	+17.7
	Conservative	Christopher John Rogers* (Chris Rogers)	733	39.1	+4.6
	Conservative	Dale Morris	684	36.4	+9.6
	Conservative	Berenice Susan Dawes*	638	34.0	+0.3
	Green	Michael Timothy Allarton	546	29.1	+6.9
	Liberal Democrats	Peter Christopher Pratt (Chris Pratt)	471	25.1	+13.4
Turnout			1,877	25.05
Registered electors			7,502
	Independent gain from Independent Health Concern
	Labour gain from Conservative
	Conservative hold

Nicky Martin had been a Health Concern councillor prior to the election; seat shown as independent gain from Health Concern.

Offmore and Comberton

Offmore and Comberton

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Frances Mary Oborski* (Fran Oborski)	777	39.4	−17.2
	Liberal Democrats	Shazu Miah*	685	34.7	−11.2
	Labour	Liam Denzel Peter Carroll	599	30.4	+11.5
	Liberal Democrats	Nigel John Grace	561	28.4	−15.9
	Conservative	Rosemary Elizabeth Bishop (Rose Bishop)	548	27.8	+7.3
	Conservative	William Thomas Hopkins (Bill Hopkins)	482	24.4	+6.0
	Conservative	Martin John Stooke	438	22.2	N/A
	Independent	Oliver Swain (Ollie Swain)	438	22.2	N/A
	Green	Brett Raymond Caulfield	326	16.5	N/A
Turnout			1,973	27.12
Registered electors			7,308
	Liberal Democrats hold
	Liberal Democrats hold
	Labour gain from Liberal Democrats

Wribbenhall and Arley

Wribbenhall and Arley

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Paul Harrison*	692	48.0	+6.0
	Conservative	John Frederick Byng*	685	47.5	+6.6
	Labour	Nicole Harper	426	29.5	+4.1
	Green	Corinne Lesley Bailey	272	18.9	−6.8
	Independent	Pauline Watkins	256	17.8	N/A
	Green	Robert Charles Ireland (Rob Ireland)	208	14.4	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	Christopher John Harvey (Chris Harvey)	129	8.9	N/A
Turnout			1,442	33.82
Registered electors			4,284
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Wyre Forest Rural

Wyre Forest Rural

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Marcus John Hart*	1,433	56.0	+14.7
	Conservative	Robin Macdonald Drew	1,325	51.7	+16.2
	Conservative	Ian David Hardiman*	1,222	47.7	+5.6
	Labour	Dean Anthony Cox	886	34.6	+15.3
	Labour	David Paul Jones	809	31.6	+13.7
	Green	Katherine Spohrer (Kate Spohrer)	378	14.8	−0.9
	Green	Gilda Maria Davis	336	13.1	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	Marcin Gorecki	291	11.4	N/A
	Green	Dean Jon Warren	200	7.8	N/A
Turnout			2,561	33.95
Registered electors			7,597
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

References

1. "Your District Councillor". Wyre Forest District Council. Archived from the original on 17 August 2022. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
2. Rawlins, Jack (18 May 2022). "Independent Health Concern party to 'retire' from political fray". Kidderminster Shuttle. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
3. Madeley, Peter. "Leader vows to 'get the basics right' as Tories take over Wyre Forest in rare council gain". www.expressandstar.com. Retrieved 2023-05-07.
4. Rawlins, Jack (18 May 2023). "Wyre Forest District Council: New council chairman and leader elected". Kidderminster Shuttle. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
5. "Wyre Forest result - Local Elections 2023". BBC News. Retrieved 2023-05-07.
6. "2023 election results". Wyre Forest District Council. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
7. "Council". Wyre Forest District Council. Archived from the original on 27 June 2022. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
8. Boothroyd, David (25 September 2020). "Lib Dems climb the Mendips". Local Councils. Thorncliffe. Retrieved 12 February 2024.