2023 Hartlepool Borough Council election

The 2023 Hartlepool Borough Council election took place on 4 May 2023 to elect members of Hartlepool Borough Council in County Durham, England. This was on the same day as other local elections across England.

2023 Hartlepool Borough Council election

← 2022 4 May 2023 (2023-05-04) 2024 →
12 out of 36 seats to Hartlepool Borough Council 19 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	24.20%
First party Second party   Leader Brenda Harrison Mike Young Party Labour Conservative Last election 11 seats, 42.3% 15 seats, 34.2% Seats before 13 13 Seats after 18 12 Seat change 5 1   Third party Fourth party   Leader N/A Shane Moore Party Independent IU Last election 8 seats, 12.5% 2 seats, 4.2% Seats before 8 2 Seats after 5 1 Seat change 3 1
Winner of each seat at the 2023 Hartlepool Borough Council election
Leader before election Shane Moore Independent Union No overall control Leader after election Mike Young Conservative No overall control

Prior to the election the council was under no overall control, being run by a coalition of the Conservatives and Independent Union, led by Shane Moore of the Independent Union. The council remained under no overall control after the election. Labour made significant gains but remained one seat short of taking a majority. The Conservatives and independents formed an administration after the election, with Conservative leader Mike Young being appointed leader of the council at the subsequent annual council meeting on 16 May 2023.^[1][2]

Summary

Election result

2023 Hartlepool Borough Council election
Party		This election			Full council			This election
		Seats	Net	Seats %	Other	Total	Total %	Votes	Votes %	+/−
	Labour	9	5	75.0	9	18	50.0	7,630	44.6	+2.3
	Conservative	2	1	16.7	10	12	33.3	3,864	22.6	–11.6
	Independent	1	3	8.3	4	5	13.9	3,532	20.6	+8.1
	IU	0	1	0.0	1	1	2.8	535	3.1	-1.1
	Reform UK	0	0	0.0	0	0	0.0	1,289	7.5	+5.1
	Liberal Democrats	0	0	0.0	0	0	0.0	263	1.5	-0.6

Ward results

The Statement of Persons Nominated, which details the candidates standing in each ward, was released by Hartlepool Borough Council following the close of nominations on 5 April 2023.^[3]

Burn Valley

Burn Valley^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Ged Hall*	895	60.8	−8.2
	Conservative	Margaret Lyall	271	18.4	−12.6
	Independent	John Hayes	197	13.4	N/A
	Reform UK	James Brewer	108	7.3	−23.7
Majority			624	42.4
Turnout			1,471
	Labour hold

De Bruce

De Bruce ^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour Co-op	Brenda Harrison*	759	63.84	+11.1
	Reform UK	Paul Manley	237	19.93	N/A
	Conservative	Rodney Pangbourne	193	16.23	−10.8
Majority			522	43.91
Turnout			1,189
	Labour Co-op hold

Fens & Greatham

Fens & Greatham ^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour Co-op	Philip Holbrook	780	41.69	−8.2
	Conservative	Marc Owens	468	25.01	−26.1
	Independent	Angela Falconer*	307	16.41	N/A
	Independent	Tony Richardson	220	11.76	N/A
	Reform UK	Roger Scott Jones	96	5.13	N/A
Majority			312	16.68
Turnout			1,871
	Labour Co-op gain from Independent

Foggy Furze

Foggy Furze ^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour Co-op	Martin Dunbar	711	52.39	+12.8
	Conservative	Kevin Tiplady*	372	27.41	+2.9
	Liberal Democrats	Barry McKinstray	173	12.75	+7.7
	Reform UK	Leah Syead	101	7.44	N/A
Majority			339	24.98
Turnout			1,357
	Labour Co-op gain from Conservative

Hart

Hart ^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Rob Darby	493	31.56	−7.1
	Labour	David Innes	491	31.43	−2.7
	Independent	Rob Cook*	477	30.54	N/A
	Independent	Pauline Phillips	101	6.47	N/A
Majority			2	0.13
Turnout			1,562
	Conservative gain from Independent

Headland & Harbour

Headland & Harbour ^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour Co-op	Matthew Dodds	550	40.80	+7.1
	IU	Tim Fleming*	535	39.69	−5.1
	Conservative	Arthur Southcott	263	19.51	−1.9
Majority			15	1.11
Turnout			1,348
	Labour Co-op gain from IU

Manor House

Manor House ^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour Co-op	Ben Clayton*	549	58.16	+8.0
	Conservative	Angela Jackson	176	18.64	−9.1
	Reform UK	Steve Wright	129	13.67	+3.0
	Liberal Democrats	Donna Hotham	90	9.53	−1.8
Majority			373	39.52
Turnout			944
	Labour Co-op hold

Rossmere

Rossmere ^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour Co-op	Tom Feeney*	538	52.03	+9.4
	Independent	Jaime Horton	375	36.27	+5.3
	Reform UK	Tracy Connolly	121	11.70	+8.1
Majority			163	15.76
Turnout			1,034
	Labour Co-op hold

Rural West

Rural West ^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Mike Young*	980	47.39	−6.9
	Labour Co-op	Malcolm Walker	563	27.22	−1.4
	Independent	Pam Shurmer	450	21.76	N/A
	Reform UK	John O'Brien	75	3.63	N/A
Majority			417	20.17
Turnout			2,068
	Conservative hold

Seaton

Seaton ^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Leisa Smith*	850	52.12	N/A
	Conservative	Josh Bagnall	318	19.50	−36.1
	Labour	Ralph Gabbatiss	316	19.38	−7.7
	Reform UK	Glynis Jones	147	9.01	−8.4
Majority			532	32.62
Turnout			1,631
	Independent hold

Throston

Throston ^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour Co-op	Steve Wallace	717	50.25	−0.4
	Independent	Peter Jackson*	555	38.89	N/A
	Reform UK	Trevor Rogan	155	10.86	N/A
Majority			162	11.36
Turnout			1,427
	Labour Co-op gain from Independent

Victoria

Victoria ^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour Co-op	Karen Oliver	761	62.84	+2.6
	Conservative	Misra Bano-Mahroo	330	27.25	−1.3
	Reform UK	Thomas Bird	120	9.91	N/A
Majority			431	35.59
Turnout			1,211
	Labour Co-op hold

Changes 2023–2024

Steve Wallace, elected as a Labour councillor, left the party in July 2023 to sit as an independent.^[5]