The 2023 Cheshire West and Chester Council election took place on 4 May 2023 to elect members of Cheshire West and Chester Council in England. This was on the same day as other local elections, including contested elections in the civil parishes of Broxton, Dutton, Great Boughton, Mouldsworth and Tarporley and the towns of Frodsham, Northwich and Winsford.
The council had been under no overall control prior to the election, being run by a Labour minority administration. Labour won a majority on the council at this election, taking 39 of the 70 seats.
Wards and candidates Seat composition between 2019 (top) and 2023 (bottom): + 35 28 4 2 1
The Statement of Persons Nominated for each electoral ward was published on 5 April 2023, twenty-four hours after nominations closed.
New councillors Sherin Akhtar (Labour, Upton) Martin Beveridge (Independent, Winsford Gravel) Stuart Bingham (Labour, Winsford Over and Verdin) Simon Boone (Labour, Winsford Swanlow) Matt Carter (Labour, Handbridge Park) Paul Chamberlain (Labour, Chester City and The Garden Quarter) Tom Cooper (Conservative, Tarvin and Kelsall) Chris Copeman (Green, Helsby) Felicity Davies (Labour, Northwich Winnington and Castle) Olwyn Dean (Labour, Rudheath) Caroline Ellis (Labour, Sutton Villages) Michael Garvey (Labour, Frodsham) Charles Hardy (Conservative, Tarporley) Katie Kendrick (Labour, Netherpool) Katrina Kerr (Labour, Chester City and The Garden Quarter) Martin Loftus (Conservative, Hartford and Greenbank) Ted Lush (Liberal Democrats, Tarvin and Kelsall) Elizabeth MacGlashan (Labour, Great Boughton) Dan Marr (Conservative, Davenham, Moulton and Kingsmead) Arthur Neil (Labour, Northwich Winnington and Castle) Phil Rimmer (Conservative, Weaver and Cuddington) John Roach (Green, Whitby Park) Jimmy Shannon (Labour, Whitby Groves) Gaynor Sinar (Conservative, Davenham, Moulton and Kingsmead) Alan Smith (Labour, Blacon) Lynn Stocks (Conservative, Weaver and Cuddington) Lucy Sumner (Labour, Frodsham) Alex Tate (Labour, Lache) Adrian Waddelove (Conservative, Farndon) Ben Walker (Labour, Chester City and The Garden Quarter)
Outgoing councillors Val Armstrong (Labour) Chris Basey (Conservative) Mike Baynham (Independent) Keith Board (Conservative) Paul Bowers (Green) Kate Cernik (Labour) Robert Cernik (Labour) Martyn Delaney (Independent) Samantha Dixon (Labour) Charles Fifield (Conservative) Mal Gaskill (Liberal Democrats) Phil Herbert (Conservative) Jill Houlbrook (Conservative) Brian Jones (Labour) John Leather (Conservative) Nicole Meardon (Labour) Joanne Moorcroft (Labour) Eveleigh Moore Dutton (Independent) Trish Richards (Labour) Lynn Riley (Conservative) Diane Roberts (Labour) Paul Roberts (Liberal Democrats) Peter Rooney (Labour) Bob Rudd (Labour) Neil Sullivan (Conservative) Harry Tonge (Conservative) Helen Treeby (Conservative) Elton Watson (Conservative) Helen Weltman (Conservative) Paul Williams (Conservative)
Re-elected councillors Martin Barker (Independent, Parkgate) Richard Beacham (Labour, Newton and Hoole) Robert Bisset (Labour, Central and Grange) Tommy Blackmore (Labour, Winsford Over and Verdin) Matt Bryan (Labour, Upton) Mandy Clare (Independent, Winsford Dene) Steve Collings (Labour, Great Boughton) Andrew Cooper (Labour, Northwich Leftwich) Razia Daniels (Conservative, Handbridge Park) Lisa Denson (Labour, Westminster) Hugo Deynem (Conservative, Sandstone) Paul Donovan (Labour, Sutton Villages) Simon Eardley (Conservative, Saughall and Mollington) Gillian Edwards (Independent, Weaver and Cuddington) Michael Edwardson (Labour, Wolverham) Carol Gahan (Labour, Blacon) Lynn Gibbon (Conservative, Marbury) Louise Gittins (Labour, Little Neston) Gareth Gould (Labour, Strawberry) Graham Heatley (Conservative, Gowy Rural) Myles Hogg (Conservative, Willaston and Thornton) Mike Jones (Conservative, Tattenhall) Adam Langan (Labour, Newton and Hoole) Gina Lewis (Labour, Winsford Over and Verdin) Sheila Little (Labour, Blacon) Phil Marshall (Conservative, Marbury) Keith Millar (Labour, Neston) Sam Naylor (Labour, Northwich Witton) Nathan Pardoe (Labour, Winsford Wharton) Margaret Parker (Conservative, Gowy Rural) Stuart Parker (Conservative, Christleton and Huntington) Patricia Parkes (Conservative, Hartford and Greenbank) Karen Shore (Labour, Central and Grange) Mark Stocks (Conservative, Shakerley) Christine Warner (Labour, Ledsham and Manor) Gill Watson (Labour, Newton and Hoole) Peter Wheeler (Labour, Ledsham and Manor) Mark Williams (Conservative, Christleton and Huntington) Rachel Williams (Conservative, Malpas) Norman Wright (Conservative, Marbury)
Seat changes
Conservative to Labour (7) Frodsham (2 seats) Great Boughton (1 seat) Handbridge Park (1 seat) Rudheath Upton (1 seat) Winsford Over and Verdin (1 seat)
Conservative to Liberal Democrat (1) Tarvin (1 seat)
Independent to Conservative (2) Hartford and Greenbank (1 seat) Tarporley
Labour to Green (1) Whitby Park
Labour to Independent (2) Winsford Dene Winsford Gravel
Liberal Democrat to Conservative (1) Farndon
Liberal Democrat to Independent (1) Winsford Swanlow
Ward results Blacon
Central and Grange
Chester City and the Garden Quarter
Christleton and Huntington
Davenham, Moulton and Kingsmead
Farndon
Frodsham
Gowy Rural
Great Boughton
Handbridge Park
Hartford and Greenbank
Helsby
Lache
Ledsham and Manor
Little Neston
Malpas
Marbury
Neston
Netherpool
Newton and Hoole
Northwich Leftwich
Northwich Winnington and Castle
Northwich Witton
Parkgate
Rudheath
Sandstone
Saughall and Mollington
Shakerley
Strawberry
Sutton Villages
Tarporley
Tarvin and Kelsall
Tattenhall
Upton
Weaver and Cuddington
Westminster
Whitby Groves
Whitby Park
Willaston and Thornton
Winsford Dene
Winsford Gravel
Winsford Over and Verdin
Winsford Swanlow
Winsford Wharton
Wolverham
Changes 2023–2027
Gill Watson, elected as a Labour councillor for Newton and Hoole, had the whip withdrawn in May 2023 in a dispute over financial contributions to the local Labour group, and has sat as an independent since. Matt Bryan, elected as a Labour councillor for Upton, resigned from the council's cabinet in September 2023 and had the whip withdrawn pending investigation, and has sat as a non-aligned independent since. Mandy Clare, elected as an independent councillor for Winsford Dene, joined the Party of Women in March 2024, before resigning her membership in July 2024 to sit as an independent again. She went on to join Reform UK in March 2025. Graham Heatley, elected as a Conservative councillor for Gowy Rural, defected to Reform UK in April 2025. Jimmy Shannon (Whitby Groves) and Elizabeth MacGlashan (Great Boughton), both elected as Labour councillors, left the party in June 2025 to sit as independents, resulting in the council losing its overall Labour majority. Shannon went on to join the Green Party in April 2026, becoming the first sitting Cheshire councillor to do so. Mark Williams, elected as a Conservative councillor for Christleton and Huntington, defected to Reform UK in September 2025, becoming the second Cheshire West and Chester Conservative councillor to do so after Heatley.
By-elections
Wolverham The Wolverham by-election was triggered by the resignation of Labour councillor Michael Edwardson.
Northwich Leftwich The Northwich Leftwich by-election was triggered when Labour councillor Andrew Cooper resigned his seat after being elected Member of Parliament for Mid Cheshire at the 2024 United Kingdom general election, held on the same day.
Strawberry The Strawberry by-election was triggered by the resignation of Labour councillor Gareth Gould on health grounds.
Willaston and Thornton The by-election was caused by the death of Conservative councillor Myles Hogg on 12 November 2025.
Christleton and Huntington The by-election was caused by the death of Conservative councillor Stuart Parker MBE on 5 April 2026.
Weaver and Cuddington The by-election was triggered by the resignation of Conservative councillor Phil Rimmer, who stood down with immediate effect due to a change in professional and personal circumstances.
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