2019 Herefordshire Council election

2019 Herefordshire Council election
All 53 to Herefordshire Council; 27 seats needed for a majority
	Map of the results of the election. Colours denote the winning party, as shown in the main table of results.
Council control before election; ; Conservative	Council control after election ; No overall control; (Ind/IOC/Green coalition);

The 2019 Herefordshire Council election took place on 2 May 2019 to elect 52 of 53 members of Herefordshire Council in England.^[1] The election in Ross North ward was deferred until 6 June 2019 following the death of the UKIP candidate.

Summary

Election result

The election resulted in the Conservative Party losing its majority on the council for the first time since 2007, winning 13 seats. Independents made gains and became the largest group on the council after winning 18 seats, 9 seats short of a majority. The Liberal Democrats and Greens also made gains at the expense of the Conservatives, winning 7 seats each.^[2]^[3] Two non-party groupings, the 'Herefordshire Independents' (comprising 12 of the 18 Independents elected) and the localist It's Our County, formed a coalition with the Greens to govern the council.

2019 Herefordshire Council election
Party		Candidates	Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
	Independent	31	18	13	3	10	34.0	28.5	14,455	+9.8
	Conservative	53	13	1	17	16	24.5	34.2	17,334	–7.2
	It's Our County	11	8	2	6	4	15.1	8.7	4,425	–17.8
	Green	12	7	5	0	5	13.2	13.1	6,652	+8.7
	Liberal Democrats	18	7	5	0	5	13.2	9.9	5,041	+2.8
	Labour	10	0	0	0		0.0	3.5	1,773	+3.2
	UKIP	7	0	0	0		0.0	1.9	962	+0.4
	Democrats and Veterans	1	0	0	0		0.0	0.2	92	New

Ward results

Arrow

Arrow
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Roger Phillips	931	79.8	7.6
	Labour	Liz Lever	236	20.2	N/A
Turnout			1,167	40.2
	Conservative hold		Swing

Aylestone Hill

Aylestone Hill
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Ange Tyler	746	74.2	30.3
	Conservative	Frank Cornthwaite	260	25.8	1.1
Turnout			1,006	40.6
	Independent gain from It's Our County		Swing

Backbury

Backbury
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	John Hardwick	788	70.5	26.2
	Conservative	Barclay Rogers	329	29.5	5.3
Turnout			1,117	41.3
	Independent hold		Swing

Belmont Rural

Belmont Rural
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	It's Our County	Tracy Bowes	624	79.6	45.0
	Conservative	Jamie Price	160	20.4	12.6
Turnout			784	28.3
	It's Our County hold		Swing

Birch

Birch
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Green	Toni Fagan	779	64.5	N/A
	Conservative	David Atkinson	429	35.5	10.9
Turnout			1,208	49.3
	Green gain from Conservative		Swing

Bircher

Bircher
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Sebastian Bowen	1,330	94.3	33.3
	Conservative	Rachael Fitzgerald Finch	80	5.7	22.6
Turnout			1,410	45.6
	Independent hold		Swing

Bishops Frome & Cradley

Bishops Frome & Cradley
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Green	Ellie Chowns	974	78.6	47.2
	Conservative	Peter Hamblin	265	21.4	47.2
Turnout			1,239	48.0
	Green gain from Conservative		Swing

Bobblestock

Bobblestock
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Tim Price	326	49.2	N/A
	Conservative	Clive Butler	179	27.0	5.6
	UKIP	Gwyn Price	157	23.7	2.3
Turnout			662	25.9
	Independent gain from Conservative		Swing

Bromyard Bringsty

Bromyard Bringsty
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Nigel Shaw	540	53.0	15.1
	Independent	Roger Page	479	47.0	N/A
Turnout			1,019	37.4
	Conservative hold		Swing

Bromyard West

Bromyard West
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	It's Our County	Alan Seldon	395	60.1	5.4
	Conservative	Andrew Jones	262	39.9	5.4
Turnout			657	27.1
	It's Our County hold		Swing

Castle

Castle
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Graham Jones	752	62.6	N/A
	Conservative	Alan Watkins	449	37.4	6.7
Turnout			1,201	47.7
	Independent gain from Conservative		Swing

Central

Central
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Green	Jeremy Milln	471	53.9	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	Rob Owens	192	22.0	0.1
	Conservative	Allan Drew	121	13.8	13.4
	Independent	Jonathan Jones	90	10.3	N/A
Turnout			874	36.1
	Green gain from It's Our County		Swing

College

College
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	It's Our County	Kath Hey	374	46.2	19.0
	Conservative	Brian Wilcox	297	36.7	1.6
	UKIP	Stephen Cooke	139	17.2	N/A
Turnout			810	30.4
	It's Our County gain from Conservative		Swing

Credenhill

Credenhill
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Bob Matthews	717	80.9	32.6
	Conservative	Phil Marsh	169	19.1	7.3
Turnout			886	36.6
	Independent hold		Swing

Dinedor Hill

Dinedor Hill
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	It's Our County	David Summers	498	51.8	0.6
	Conservative	Esther Rudge	463	48.2	0.6
Turnout			961	35.0
	It's Our County hold		Swing

Eign Hill

Eign Hill
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	It's Our County	Elizabeth Foxton	476	66.6	7.0
	Conservative	Kieran Phillips	125	17.5	9.0
	Liberal Democrats	David Hurds	114	15.9	2.0
Turnout			715	38.8
	It's Our County hold		Swing

Golden Valley North

Golden Valley North
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Jennie Hewitt	697	52.7	N/A
	Conservative	Philip Price	485	36.7	8.5
	Labour	Anna-Maria Coda	141	10.7	N/A
Turnout			1,323	55.1
	Independent gain from Conservative		Swing

Golden Valley South

Golden Valley South
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Peter Jinman	805	73.4	N/A
	Conservative	Nicholas Savage	149	13.6	52.2
	Labour	Isabelle Watkins	142	13.0	N/A
Turnout			1,096	41.8
	Independent gain from Conservative		Swing

Greyfriars

Greyfriars
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Green	Diana Toynbee	531	52.9	N/A
	Independent	Sharon Michael	270	26.9	N/A
	Conservative	Anil Kuttikrishnan Nair	116	11.6	14.7
	Liberal Democrats	Stephen Williams	86	8.6	4.9
Turnout			1,003	36.0
	Green gain from It's Our County		Swing

Hagley

Hagley
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Paul Andrews	541	54.6	N/A
	Conservative	Dave Greenow	449	45.4	8.3
Turnout			990	33.8
	Independent gain from Conservative		Swing

Hampton

Hampton
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	It's Our County	John Harrington	611	56.6	19.2
	Conservative	Bruce Baker	468	43.4	13.1
Turnout			1,079	38.4
	It's Our County gain from Conservative		Swing

Hinton & Hunderton

Hinton & Hunderton
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Kevin Tillett	251	34.2	19.2
	Independent	Chris Chappell	192	26.2	12.9
	UKIP	Nigel Ely	173	23.6	N/A
	Conservative	Peter Harries	63	8.6	N/A
	Independent	Ashley Winter	54	7.4	N/A
Turnout			733	25.6
	Liberal Democrats gain from Independent		Swing

Holmer

Holmer
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Mark Millmore	347	36.5	3.5
	Independent	John Phipps	312	32.8	N/A
	Independent	Stephen Tannatt Nash	291	30.6	N/A
Turnout			950	32.3
	Conservative gain from Independent		Swing

Hope End

Hope End
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Tony Johnson	690	58.1	1.0
	Labour	Phil Probert	498	41.9	N/A
Turnout			1,188	41.8
	Conservative hold		Swing

Kerne Bridge

Kerne Bridge
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Yolande Watson	588	53.5	N/A
	Conservative	Paul Newman	511	46.5	3.3
Turnout			1,099	44.3
	Independent gain from Conservative		Swing

Kings Acre

Kings Acre
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Graham Andrews	534	70.5	N/A
	Conservative	Rob Williams	223	29.5	N/A
Turnout			757	28.6
	Independent gain from It's Our County		Swing

Kington

Kington
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Terry James	736	81.2	81.2
	Conservative	Roger Pendleton	170	18.8	N/A
Turnout			906	36.0
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Ledbury North

Ledbury North
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	It's Our County	Liz Harvey	451	54.5	5.6
	Conservative	Karl Bufton	376	45.5	5.6
Turnout			827	32.7
	It's Our County hold		Swing

Ledbury South

Ledbury South
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Helen I'Anson	285	38.6	9.9
	Liberal Democrats	Matthew Eakin	245	33.2	17.5
	Labour	Maria Mackness	150	20.3	N/A
	Independent	Emma Holton	59	8.0	N/A
Turnout			739	29.5
	Conservative hold		Swing

Ledbury West

Ledbury West
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Phillip Howells	312	47.5	N/A
	Independent	Phill Bettington	194	29.5	N/A
	Conservative	Debbie Baker	151	23.0	23.4
Turnout			657	24.3
	Liberal Democrats gain from It's Our County		Swing

Leominster East

Leominster East
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Green	Jenny Bartlett	654	72.3	25.5
	Conservative	Wayne Rosser	250	27.7	9.0
Turnout			904	30.8
	Green hold		Swing

Leominster North & Rural

Leominster North & Rural
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Stone	601	63.7	3.6
	Green	Tessa Smith-Winnard	342	36.3	3.6
Turnout			943	31.1
	Conservative hold		Swing

Leominster South

Leominster South
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Green	Trish Marsh	527	72.7	42.0
	Conservative	Angela Pendleton	198	27.3	0.8
Turnout			725	28.2
	Green gain from Independent		Swing

Leominster West

Leominster West
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Green	Felicity Norman	515	72.6	21.8
	Conservative	Thomas Mangnall	104	14.7	21.5
	Liberal Democrats	Clive Thomas	90	12.7	0.3
Turnout			709	32.3
	Green hold		Swing

Llangarron

Llangarron
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Elissa Swinglehurst	653	54.2	2.1
	Green	Maggie Setterfield	552	45.8	N/A
Turnout			1,205	44.4
	Conservative hold		Swing

Mortimer

Mortimer
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Carole Gandy	603	53.6	12.6
	It's Our County	Michael Guest	276	24.6	16.2
	Liberal Democrats	Jonathan Catling	245	21.8	N/A
Turnout			1,124	42.4
	Conservative hold		Swing

Newton Farm

Newton Farm
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Bernard Hunt	171	30.9	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	Jacqui Carwardine	147	26.5	14.7
	Labour	Margy Whalley	101	18.2	N/A
	Democrats and Veterans	Glen Powell	92	16.6	N/A
	Conservative	Jeremy Chapman	43	7.8	8.6
Turnout			554	18.6
	Independent hold		Swing

Old Gore

Old Gore
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Barry Durkin	629	58.3	4.1
	Green	Robert Palgrave	449	41.7	N/A
Turnout			1,078	43.0
	Conservative hold		Swing

Penyard

Penyard
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	William Wilding	573	47.7	N/A
	Conservative	Harry Bramer	524	43.6	20.4
	UKIP	David Howle	104	8.7	N/A
Turnout			1,201	43.6
	Independent gain from Conservative		Swing

Queenswood

Queenswood
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Pauline Crockett	834	80.8	39.4
	Conservative	Matthew Kirby	198	19.2	14.2
Turnout			1,032	38.7
	Independent hold		Swing

Red Hill

Red Hill
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Paul Rone	308	39.8	4.7
	Liberal Democrats	Daniel Powell	284	36.7	25.3
	Independent	Amanda Martin	181	23.4	N/A
Turnout			773	26.6
	Conservative hold		Swing

Ross East

Ross East
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Paul Symonds	536	46.0	29.5
	Conservative	Phillip Cutter	316	27.1	9.2
	It's Our County	Andrew Hotston	129	11.1	N/A
	UKIP	Clive Hamilton	93	8.0	6.9
	Labour	Terry Prince	92	7.9	N/A
Turnout			1,166	39.6
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative		Swing

Ross North

The election in Ross North ward was deferred until 6 June 2019 following the death of the UKIP candidate, Gareth Williams.^[3] The Liberal Democrats won the postponed election.^[4]

Ross North
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal Democrats	Christopher Bartrum	547	75.1
	Conservative	Nigel Gibbs	136	18.7
	Labour	Melvin Hodges	45	6.2
Turnout			728	26
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative		Swing

Ross West

Ross West
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Louis Stark	469	47.2	10.7
	Conservative	Simeon Cole	309	31.1	18.5
	Independent	Robert Taylor	216	21.7	N/A
Turnout			994	37.1
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative		Swing

Saxon Gate

Saxon Gate
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Gemma Dean	352	53.0	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	Aubrey Oliver	187	28.2	5.2
	Conservative	Mark McEvilly	125	18.8	17.2
Turnout			664	23.9
	Independent gain from Conservative		Swing

Stoney Street

Stoney Street
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	David Hitchiner	602	55.5	N/A
	Conservative	Stephen Williams	284	26.2	5.4
	Liberal Democrats	David Howerski	199	18.3	N/A
Turnout			1,085	41.1
	Independent gain from Conservative		Swing

Sutton Walls

Sutton Walls
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Kema Gaster	505	50.7	6.6
	Independent	Steve Williams	492	49.3	N/A
Turnout			997	39.9
	Conservative hold		Swing

Three Crosses

Three Crosses
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Jonathan Lester	699	61.6	1.0
	Green	Rebecca Tully	436	38.4	N/A
Turnout			1,135	40.7
	Conservative hold		Swing

Tupsley

Tupsley
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Jim Kenyon	776	79.9	N/A
	Conservative	Thomas Small	195	20.1	2.1
Turnout			971	39.8
	Independent gain from It's Our County		Swing

Weobley

Weobley
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Michael Jones	493	43.7	5.7
	Conservative	Mark Cooper	371	32.9	17.7
	Labour	Heather Morison	265	23.5	N/A
Turnout			1,129	39.0
	Independent gain from Conservative		Swing

Whitecross

Whitecross
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	It's Our County	Sue Boulter	400	47.7	18.7
	UKIP	Richard Smith	169	20.1	0.7
	Liberal Democrats	Tricia Hales	148	17.6	1.4
	Conservative	Keith Farmer	122	14.5	8.9
Turnout			839	32.2
	It's Our County hold		Swing

Widemarsh

Widemarsh
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Polly Andrews	253	39.5	0.7
	It's Our County	Paul Stevens	191	29.8	6.8
	UKIP	Mick Gunner	127	19.8	N/A
	Conservative	Michael Agyeman	70	10.9	13.7
Turnout			641	28.8
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Wormside

Wormside
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Christy Bolderson	549	51.1	10.9
	Green	Carole Protherough	422	39.3	N/A
	Labour	Stephen Hancorn	103	9.6	N/A
Turnout			1,074	39.7
	Conservative hold		Swing

Changes 2019–2023

Immediately following 2019 local elections

The 2019 election resulted in the Conservative Party losing its majority on the council for the first time since 2007, winning 13 seats. Independents made gains and became the largest group on the council after winning 18 seats, 15 of which formed the Herefordshire Independents Group. The Liberal Democrats and Greens also made gains at the expense of the Conservatives. It's Our County lost four seats, down to 8.

Following negotiations, a three-way coalition between 'Herefordshire Independents', 'It's Our County' and the Green Party was formed. Herefordshire Independents took four cabinet positions, and the Leader of the Council, the Greens took two cabinet positions and Deputy Leader of the Council and It's Our County took the remaining two cabinet positions.^[5]

Date		Herefordshire Independents		Conservative		It's Our County		Greens		Lib Dems		Independent		Vacant	Coalition Majority
3 May 2019	15		13		8		7		6		3		1		+7

The Ross North poll was postponed after the death of a UKIP candidate, leading to one unfilled vacancy at this point.

Defections and resignations

Following disagreements about a new by-pass road in the Herefordshire Independents group, five councillors left to form a new group, 'True Independents'.^[6]

Separately, Sue Boulter resigned shortly after being elected for It's Our County, in Whitecross, creating a second vacancy and temporarily reducing the number of It's Our County councillors.^[5]

Date		Herefordshire Independents		Conservative		It's Our County		Greens		Lib Dems		True Independents		Independent		Vacant	Coalition Majority
5 June 2019	10		13		7		7		6		5		3		2		-3

Two by-elections

The Liberal Democrats won the by-election in Ross North the day after the five True Independents defected from the Herefordshire Independents.^[7]

Date		Herefordshire Independents		Conservative		It's Our County		Greens		Lib Dems		True Independents		Independent		Vacant	Coalition Majority
6 June 2019	10		13		7		7		7		5		3		1		-4

Following Sue Boulter's resignation upon her election, her husband won the resulting by-election.^[8]

Date		Herefordshire Independents		Conservative		It's Our County		Greens		Lib Dems		True Independents		Independent		Vacant	Coalition Majority
11 July 2019	10		13		8		7		7		5		3		0		-3

Unaligned Independents join the Herefordshire Independents

By the end of the summer, former Hereford city mayor Jim Kenyon had temporarily joined the Herefordshire Independents to bolster their numbers, and since left again to sit as the last remaining standalone independent, as the other two previously unaligned independents have since joined the ruling coalition of Herefordshire Independents, taking Herefordshire Independents to 12 seats.^[9]

Date		Herefordshire Independents		Conservative		It's Our County		Greens		Lib Dems		True Independents		Independent	Coalition Majority
14 Sept 2019	12		13		8		7		7		5		1		+1

Bromyard West

Bromyard West: 10 March 2022
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Clare Davies	315	55.6	*New*
	Independent	Nick Ferguson	152	26.8	New
	Conservative	Mark Franklin	100	17.6	−22.2
Majority			163	28.8	N/A
Turnout			567	23.5	−3.6
	Independent gain from It's Our County		Swing	N/A

References

^ "Elections". Herefordshire Council. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
^ "Herefordshire Council". BBC News. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
^ ^a ^b "Local government elections - Ross North ward vacancy". Herefordshire Council. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
^ "Election of a District Councillor for the Ross North Ward - Declaration of result of poll" (PDF). Herefordshire Council. 7 June 2019. Retrieved 7 June 2019.
^ ^a ^b "Independent councillor set to lead Herefordshire Council". Hereford Times. 22 May 2019.
^ Garcia, Carmelo (5 June 2019). "Eastern bypass spat splits ruling group". Hereford Times. Retrieved 8 June 2019.
^ "Ross North Ward - Declaration of result of poll" (PDF). Herefordshire Council. 6 June 2019.
^ "Whitecross Ward - Declaration of result of poll" (PDF). Herefordshire Council. 11 July 2019.
^ "Former mayor leaves council group". Evesham Journal. 14 September 2019.

[1] "Elections". Herefordshire Council. Retrieved 4 May 2019.

[2] "Herefordshire Council". BBC News. Retrieved 4 May 2019.

[RossNorth-3] "Local government elections - Ross North ward vacancy". Herefordshire Council. Retrieved 5 May 2019.

[4] "Election of a District Councillor for the Ross North Ward - Declaration of result of poll" (PDF). Herefordshire Council. 7 June 2019. Retrieved 7 June 2019.

[autogenerated1-5] "Independent councillor set to lead Herefordshire Council". Hereford Times. 22 May 2019.

[6] Garcia, Carmelo (5 June 2019). "Eastern bypass spat splits ruling group". Hereford Times. Retrieved 8 June 2019.

[7] "Ross North Ward - Declaration of result of poll" (PDF). Herefordshire Council. 6 June 2019.

[8] "Whitecross Ward - Declaration of result of poll" (PDF). Herefordshire Council. 11 July 2019.

[9] "Former mayor leaves council group". Evesham Journal. 14 September 2019.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]