2021 Gloucestershire County Council election

2021 Gloucestershire County Council election

6 May 2021 (2021-05-06)
All 53 seats to Gloucestershire County Council 27 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party   Party Conservative Liberal Democrats Last election 31 seats, 45.1% 14 seats, 27.4% Seats won 28 16 Seat change 3 2 Popular vote 87,833 49,528 Percentage 43.9% 24.8% Swing 1.2% 2.6%   Third party Fourth party   Party Labour Green Last election 5 seats, 14.4% 1 seat, 7.7% Seats won 5 4 Seat change 2 Popular vote 30,832 25,916 Percentage 15.4% 13.0% Swing 1.0% 5.3%
Map showing the results of the 2021 Gloucestershire County Council election
Council control before election Conservative Council control after election Conservative

The 2021 Gloucestershire County Council election took place on 6 May 2021 alongside other local elections. All 53 seats to Gloucestershire County Council were up for election. The Conservatives retained their majority, albeit a smaller one than in 2017.

Background and election campaign

Gloucestershire in 2017.

Gloucestershire in 2019.

In the 2017 Gloucestershire County Council election, the Conservatives won overall control of the council.

At the 2019 United Kingdom general election, the Labour Party lost their only parliamentary seat in Gloucestershire.

Before the election, the council consisted of 28 Conservatives, 13 Liberal Democrats, 5 Labour (4 being Labour Co-op), 2 Green, 1 People Against Bureaucracy, 3 Independents and 1 vacant seat.

There was some controversy over alleged delivery of election material and campaigning due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom. One candidate in the election was reported to the Gloucestershire Constabulary for allegedly breaching lockdown regulations but she denied this and claimed that the leaflets were not election related. The Liberal Democrats in the county claimed that it was a politically motivated attack on their campaign by the Conservative Party.

Council composition

After 2017 election			Before 2021 election			After 2021 election
Party		Seats	Party		Seats	Party		Seats
	Conservative	31		Conservative	28		Conservative	28
	Liberal Democrats	14		Liberal Democrats	13		Liberal Democrats	16
	Labour	3		Labour Co-op	4		Labour Co-op	4
	Green	2		Independent	3		Green	4
	Labour Co-op	2		Green	2		Labour	1
	PAB	1		Labour	1
				PAB	1
				Vacant	1

Summary

Election result

2021 Gloucestershire County Council election
Party		Candidates	Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
	Conservative	53	28	4	7	3	52.8	43.9	87,833	–1.2
	Liberal Democrats	44	16	3	1	2	30.2	24.8	49,528	–2.6
	Labour	49	5	2	2		9.4	15.4	30,832	+1.0
	Green	39	4	3	1	2	7.5	13.0	25,916	+5.3
	Independent	14	0	0	0		0.0	2.2	4,340	+1.0
	Reform UK	2	0	0	0		0.0	0.2	432	N/A
	Freedom Alliance (UK)	3	0	0	0		0.0	0.2	315	N/A
	TUSC	5	0	0	0		0.0	0.1	179	N/A
	Libertarian	2	0	0	0		0.0	0.1	169	N/A
	UKIP	1	0	0	0		0.0	0.1	91	–3.1
	Liberal	1	0	0	0		0.0	<0.1	77	N/A
	Heritage	1	0	0	0		0.0	<0.1	68	N/A
	PAB	0	0	0	1	1	0.0	0.0	0	–0.9

Results by Division

Cheltenham

All Saints and Oakley

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Colin Hay	1,385	47.00	−6
	Conservative	Jake Hardy	897	30.44	−1
	Green	Jessica West	396	13.44	+6
	Labour	Isobel Laing	269	9.13	−1
Majority			488	16.56	−5
Turnout			2,947	34.78	+2.01
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Battledown and Charlton Kings

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Matt Babbage	1,988	45	−1
	Liberal Democrats	Paul McCloskey	1,767	40	−5
	Green	Lorraine Mason	430	10	+5
	Labour	Ella Rees	216	5	±0
Majority			221	5	+4
Turnout			4,401	48.49	+2.15
	Conservative hold		Swing

Benhall and Up Hatherley

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Roger Whyborn	2,037	50	−2
	Conservative	Jonathan Beeston	1,557	38	−2
	Green	Samantha Hodges	360	9	+5
	Labour	Robin Carey	148	4	±0
Majority			480	12	±0
Turnout			4,102	50.77	+4.43
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Charlton Park and College

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Paul Baker	2,106	48	−13
	Conservative	Graham Bocking	1,608	37	+5
	Green	Sharon Wallington	432	10	+6
	Labour	Robert Arnott	216	5	+2
Majority			498	11	−18
Turnout			4,362	52.57	+5.64
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Hesters Way and Springbank

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Suzanne Williams	1,333	48	−6
	Conservative	Laura Haley	972	35	+5
	Labour	Thomas Johnson	252	9	+1
	Green	Adrian Becker	220	8	+5
Majority			361	13	−11
Turnout			2,777	27.82	+1.51
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Lansdown and Park

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Tim Harman	2,101	48	−2
	Liberal Democrats	Paul Wheat	1,636	38	−4
	Green	Stephen Bell	620	14	+10
Majority			465	10	+2
Turnout			4,357	48.07	−2.15
	Conservative hold		Swing

Leckhampton and Warden Hill

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Margaret Nelson	1,982	42	−1
	Liberal Democrats	Iain Dobie	1,878	40	−9
	Green	Peter Frings	684	15	+11
	Labour	Ian White	133	3	−1
Majority			104	2	−4
Turnout			4,677	53.70	+3.48
	Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats		Swing

Pittville and Prestbury

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Stephan Fifield	2,327	53	+32
	Liberal Democrats	Jason Potter-Peachey	1,143	26	−9
	Green	Billy Wassell	561	13	+10
	Labour	Julie Farmer	375	9	+6
Majority			1,184	27	+24
Turnout			4,406	45.82	+0.79
	Conservative gain from PAB		Swing

St Mark’s and St Peter’s

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	David Willingham	1,651	49	−10
	Conservative	Daniel Ruff	941	28	+5
	Green	Malcolm Allison	404	12	+5
	Labour	Clive Harriss	344	10	+2
Majority			710	21	−15
Turnout			3,340	32.71	+1.96
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

St Paul’s and Swindon

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Bernie Fisher	1,135	40	−10
	Conservative	Rhiannon Evans	755	27	+3
	Green	Tabi Joy	650	23	+16
	Labour	Kenneth Syme	297	10	−8
Majority			380	13	−13
Turnout			2,837	32.52	+5.26
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Cotswold

Bourton-on-the-Water and Northleach

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Paul Hodgkinson	2,136	56	−4
	Conservative	Tom Bradley	1,241	32	−8
	Labour	Timothy Davies	242	6	+6
	Green	Bob Irving	150	4	+4
	Liberal	Byron Hadley	77	2	+2
Majority			895	24	+4
Turnout			3,846	43.69	−2.71
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Campden-Vale

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Lynden Stowe	2,323	63	−5
	Green	Clare Turner	735	20	+15
	Reform UK	Robert McNeil-Wilson	359	10	+7
	Labour	John Callinan	290	8	+8
Majority			1,588	43	−2
Turnout			3,707	43.20	+4.70
	Conservative hold		Swing

Cirencester Beeches

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Joe Harris	2,085	54	−4
	Conservative	David Fowles	1,422	37	+3
	Green	Erin Hughes	207	5	+1
	Labour	Sebastian Parkinson	126	3	+3
	TUSC	Alan Mackenzie	33	1	+1
Majority			663	17	−7
Turnout			3,873	43.41	+4.61
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Cirencester Park

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Rebecca Halifax	1,824	54	−9
	Conservative	Robert Gibson	1,106	33	+6
	Green	Ariana Strait	225	7	+5
	Labour	Robin Layfield	215	6	+1
Majority			718	21	−15
Turnout			3,370	40.49	−1.01
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Fairford and Lechlade on Thames

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Dom Morris	2,326	59	+4
	Liberal Democrats	Tony Dale	1,344	34	+2
	Labour	Sharon Aldrick	261	7	+1
Majority			982	25	+2
Turnout			3,931	45.20	+5.40
	Conservative hold		Swing

South Cerney

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Lisa Spivey	2,133	51	+3
	Conservative	Shaun Parsons	1,816	43	−6
	Labour	Maggie Elsey	189	4	+4
	Reform UK	Simon Moxon	77	2	+2
Majority			317	8	+7
Turnout			4,215	48.38	+6.38
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative		Swing

Stow-on-the-Wold

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Mark Mackenzie-Charrington	2,272	53	−10
	Liberal Democrats	Clive Webster	1,780	42	+15
	Labour	John Beer	226	5	+5
Majority			492	11	−25
Turnout			4,278	41.54	+3.84
	Conservative hold		Swing

Tetbury

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Stephen Hirst	2,006	56	−13
	Green	Sabrina Poole	1,155	32	+7
	Labour	Simon Bye	425	12	+12
Majority			851	24	−20
Turnout			3,586	41.16	+4.16
	Conservative hold		Swing

Forest of Dean

Blakeney and Bream

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Green	Beki Hoyland	1,345	34	+24
	Conservative	Richard Boyles	1,328	34	+1
	Independent	Richard Leppington	662	17	−11
	Labour	Khady Gueye	622	16	−4
Majority			17	0.4	−5
Turnout			3,957	42
	Green gain from Conservative		Swing

Cinderford

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Graham Morgan	1,125	51	−3
	Conservative	Carol Thomas	736	33	+8
	Green	Alison Bruce	264	12	+4
	Liberal Democrats	Peter Brown	65	3	±0
	TUSC	Ian Quick	22	1	+1
Majority			489	18	−11
Turnout			2,212	27
	Labour hold		Swing

Coleford

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Carole Allaway-Martin	1,149	44	−4
	Labour	Matt Bishop	688	26	±0
	Independent	Ian Whitburn	633	24	+24
	Liberal Democrats	Peter Taylor	158	6	−4
Majority			461	18	−4
Turnout			2,628	31
	Conservative hold		Swing

Drybrook and Lydbrook

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Terry Hale	1,039	33	±0
	Independent	Thom Forester	804	26	+26
	Labour Co-op	Di Martin	775	25	−1
	Green	Sid Phelps	411	13	+13
	Liberal Democrats	Andrew Cooley	73	2	−3
Majority			235	7	+5
Turnout			3,102	38
	Conservative hold		Swing

Lydney

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Alan Preest	1,514	54	+8
	Labour	Mel Farrant	566	20	−4
	Green	Andy Wright	417	15	+4
	Liberal Democrats	Terry Tull	137	5	−1
	UKIP	Alan Grant	91	3	−11
	TUSC	Claude Mickleson	63	2	+2
Majority			948	34	+12
Turnout			2,788	34
	Conservative hold		Swing

Mitcheldean

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Philip Robinson	1,669	48	−7
	Independent	Brian Robinson	795	23	−32
	Labour	Shaun Stammers	565	16	+2
	Green	Jackie Dale	429	12	+7
Majority			874	25	−10
Turnout			3,458	41
	Conservative hold		Swing

Newent

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Gill Moseley	1,651	51	+42
	Conservative	Will Windsor-Clive	1,579	49	−14
Majority			72	2	−50
Turnout			3,230	38
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative		Swing

Sedbury

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Green	Chris McFarling	2,326	61	+38
	Conservative	Patrick Molyneux	1,492	39	±0
Majority			834	22	+6
Turnout			3,818	47
	Green gain from Conservative		Swing

Gloucester

Abbey

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Andrew Gravells	2,499	65	−5
	Liberal Democrats	Alwin Wiederhold	712	19	+7
	Labour	Sam Maynard	607	16	−2
Majority			1,787	46	−6
Turnout			3,818	40.59
	Conservative hold		Swing

Barnwood and Hucclecote

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	David Brown	2,173	51	+1
	Conservative	Fred Ramsey	1,416	33	−8
	Labour	Trevor Howard	376	9	+2
	Green	Frances Griffiths	148	3	+1
	Independent	Jim Woods	107	2	+2
	Green	Anthony Bergonzi	66	2	±0
Majority			757	18	+9
Turnout			4,286	46.13
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Barton and Tredworth

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Sajid Patel	1,791	54	+3
	Labour	Usman Bhaimia	1,194	36	−4
	Independent	Simon Collins	154	5	+5
	Liberal Democrats	Sandra Adams	152	5	+1
Majority			525	18	+7
Turnout			3,291	37.29
	Conservative hold		Swing

Coney Hill and Matson

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Alastair Chambers	1,271	51	+14
	Labour	Lesley Williams	677	27	−16
	Liberal Democrats	Luke Shervey	215	9	−1
	Independent	Robert McCormick	157	6	+6
	Green	Adam Shearing	152	6	+6
	TUSC	Susan Powell	30	1	+1
Majority			594	24	+18
Turnout			2,502	29.95
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing

Grange and Kingsway

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	David Norman	1,774	57	±0
	Labour	Gary Mills	725	23	−2
	Green	Robert Brookes	236	8	+4
	Independent	Scott Clacher	213	7	+7
	Liberal Democrats	Paul Caiden	169	5	−2
Majority			1,049	34	+2
Turnout			3,117	30.40
	Conservative hold		Swing

Hempsted and Westgate

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Pam Tracey	1,365	42	−8
	Labour	Jake Pier	803	25	−5
	Liberal Democrats	Rebecca Trimnell	746	23	+14
	Green	Mike Byfield	213	7	+2
	Independent	Philip Nash	94	3	+3
Majority			563	17	−3
Turnout			3,221	35.30
	Conservative hold		Swing

Kingsholm and Wotton

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Jeremy Hilton	1,574	50	−2
	Conservative	Peter Sheehy	779	25	+1
	Labour	Ola Kareem	500	16	−2
	Green	Jonathan Ingleby	196	6	+3
	Independent	John McStay	73	2	+2
Majority			795	25	−3
Turnout			3,122	38.46
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Longlevens

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Kathy Williams	2,087	52	+3
	Liberal Democrats	Sarah Sawyer	1,350	33	−3
	Labour	Ellis Fincham	461	11	+3
	Libertarian	Matthew Young	101	2	−2
	Independent	Stuart Love	46	1	+1
Majority			737	19	+6
Turnout			4,045	43.10
	Conservative hold		Swing

Quedgeley

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Mark Hawthorne	1,633	53	+3
	Liberal Democrats	Liam Harries	665	22	−6
	Labour	Jack Fayter	438	14	+2
	No Description	Anna Mozol	296	10	−18
	Freedom Alliance	Rhondda Lee	29	1	+1
Majority			968	31	+9
Turnout			3,061	35.29
	Conservative hold		Swing

Tuffley

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Andrew Miller	1,817	51	−1
	Labour	Tracy Millard	1,006	28	−8
	Liberal Democrats	Sebastian Field	327	9	+3
	Green	Sharon Byfield	244	7	+7
	Independent	Gary Cleaver	187	5	+5
Majority			811	23	+7
Turnout			3,581	37.97
	Conservative hold		Swing

Stroud

Bisley and Painswick

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Susan Williams	2,386	47	−3
	Green	Alan Mossman	2,001	39	+11
	Labour Co-op	Helen Fenton	694	14	+14
Majority			385	8	−14
Turnout			5,081	52
	Conservative hold		Swing

Cam Valley

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Brian Tipper	2,431	55	+1
	Labour Co-op	Natalie Bennett	1,231	28	−8
	Green	Martyn Cutcher	417	9	+9
	Liberal Democrats	Richard Blackwell-Whitehead	331	8	−2
Majority			1,200	27	+9
Turnout			4,410	42
	Conservative hold		Swing

Dursley

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour Co-op	Wendy Thomas	2,080	50.45	+12
	Conservative	Loraine Patrick	2,043	49.55	+5
Majority			37	0.90	−6
Turnout			4,123	45
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing

Hardwicke and Severn

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Stephen Davies	2,197	61	+3
	Labour	Oakley Pollard	857	24	+8
	Liberal Democrats	Mike Stayte	551	15	−2
Majority			1,340	37	−4
Turnout			3,605	39
	Conservative hold		Swing

Minchinhampton

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Green	Chloe Turner	3,390	61	+11
	Conservative	Julia Judd	2,041	37	−13
	Freedom Alliance	Karen McWalter	103	2	+2
Majority			1,349	24	+24
Turnout			5,534	54
	Green hold		Swing

Nailsworth

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour Co-op	Steve Robinson	2,582	54	+12
	Conservative	Ewan Denning	1,732	37	−1
	Liberal Democrats	Rhianna Wilsher	424	9	±0
Majority			850	17	+13
Turnout			4,738	52
	Labour hold		Swing

Rodborough

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour Co-op	John Bloxsom	1,598	35	−10
	Conservative	Bob Trusty	1,306	29	−2
	Green	Philip Blomberg	1,048	23	+8
	Independent	Graham Stanley	415	9	+9
	Liberal Democrats	Adam Cain	125	3	−6
	Heritage	Richard Nurse	68	1	+1
Majority			292	6	−8
Turnout			4,560	44
	Labour hold		Swing

Stonehouse

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Nicholas Housden	1,244	43	+11
	Labour Co-op	Taz Jones	790	27	−19
	Green	Carol Kambites	651	22	+14
	Liberal Democrats	Robert Jewell	128	4	−3
	Libertarian	Glenville Gogerly	68	2	−4
	TUSC	Chris Moore	31	1	+1
Majority			454	16	+2
Turnout			2,912	37
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing

Stroud Central

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour Co-op	David Drew	2,265	43.90	+14
	Green	Molly Scott Cato	1,668	32.33	−9
	Conservative	Anthony Blackburn	1,019	19.75	−4
	Freedom Alliance	Arthur Edwards	118	2.29	+2
	Liberal Democrats	George James	90	1.76	−4
Majority			597	11.57
Turnout			5,160	49
	Labour gain from Green		Swing

Wotton-under-Edge

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Linda Cohen	1,899	46	−1
	Conservative	Graham Smith	1,777	43	+2
	Labour	David Carter	451	11	+2
Majority			122	3	−3
Turnout			4,127	48
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Tewkesbury

Bishop's Cleeve

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Alex Hegenbarth	2,655	54	+27
	Conservative	Robert Bird	1,910	39	−22
	Labour	Andrew Williams	327	7	−1
	Freedom Alliance	Richard Brooke	65	1	+1
Majority			745	15	−19
Turnout			4,957	40.39
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative		Swing

Brockworth

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Robert Vines	2,073	53	±0
	Labour	Joe Ambrose	967	25	+25
	Liberal Democrats	Clare Softley	846	22	−10
Majority			1,106	28	+7
Turnout			3,886	32.28
	Conservative hold		Swing

Churchdown

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Ben Evans	1,978	59	+8
	Conservative	Paul Grierson	1,003	30	−10
	Labour	Rosy Varden	234	7	−2
	Green	Campbell Milne	149	4	+4
Majority			975	29	+18
Turnout			3,364	40.14
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Highnam

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Phil Awford	2,723	66.22	−5
	Green	Su Billington	492	11.96	+5
	Liberal Democrats	Martin Griffiths	458	11.14	+1
	Labour	Stephen Miller	439	10.68	−2
Majority			2,231	54.26	−4
Turnout			4,112	37.69
	Conservative hold		Swing

Tewkesbury

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Green	Cate Cody	1,781	52	+52
	Conservative	Kevin Cromwell	1,444	42	+1
	Labour	Simon O’Rourke	219	6	−3
Majority			337	10	+8
Turnout			3,444	41.43
	Green gain from Conservative		Swing

Tewkesbury East

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Vernon Smith	1,510	46	−18
	Liberal Democrats	Christopher Coleman	1,145	35	+18
	Labour	Zoe Darlington	328	10	−4
	Green	Jan Millett	269	8	+3
Majority			365	11	−36
Turnout			3,252	35.14
	Conservative hold		Swing

Winchcombe and Woodmancote

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	David Gray	2,416	53	−11
	Liberal Democrats	Nigel Adcock	1,358	30	+5
	Labour	Susan Sturgeon	418	9	+2
	Green	Stuart Galey	374	8	+3
Majority			1,058	23	−16
Turnout			4,566	44.90
	Conservative hold		Swing

Changes 2021–2025

• Alistair Chambers, elected as a Conservative, became an independent in February 2022.
• Sue Williams, elected as a Conservative, joined the Green Party in May 2024. As a result of this change, the Conservatives lost their majority and the council went under no overall control.

Highnam By-Election 4 May 2023

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Paul McLain	2,041	50.7	−15.5
	Liberal Democrats	James Joyce	1,411	35.1	+24.0
	Green	Jonathan Bristow	572	14.2	+2.2
Majority			630	15.7
Turnout			4,024
	Conservative hold		Swing