Chester-le-Street District Council elections

Local government elections in County Durham, England

Chestler-le-Street District Council elections were generally held every four years between the council's creation in 1974 and its abolition in 2009. Chester-le-Street was a non-metropolitan district in County Durham, England. On 1 April 2009 the council's functions passed to Durham County Council, which became a unitary authority.

Political control

The first election to the council was held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority before coming into its powers on 1 April 1974. Political control of the council from 1973 until its abolition in 2009 was held by the following parties:^[1]

Party in control		Years
	Labour	1973–2009

Leadership

The leaders of the council from 1976 until its abolition in 2009 were:^[2]

Councillor		From	To
George Staines	Labour	1976	10 May 1991
Malcolm Pratt^[3]	Labour	10 May 1991	4 May 2003
Linda Ebbatson^[4]	Labour	13 May 2003	31 Mar 2009

Council elections

Election	Labour	Liberal Democrat^[a]	Conservative	Independent	Total	Notes
Election					Total	Notes
1973^[5]	23	6	0	4	33
1976^[6]	22	6	0	5	33
1979^[7]	21	7	0	5	33	New ward boundaries^[8]
1983^[9]	23	4^[b]	1	5	33
1987^[10]	24	4^[c]	1	4	33	District boundary changes took place but the number of seats remained the same^[11]
1991^[12]	27	1	1	4	33
1995^[13]	30	1	1	1	33	District boundary changes took place but the number of seats remained the same^[14]^[15]^[16]
1999^[17]	30	1	1	1	33
2003^[18]	29	0	1	4	34	New ward boundaries^[19]
2007^[20]	26	1	2	5	34

By-election results

The following is an incomplete list of by-elections to Chester-le-Street District Council.

1995-1999

Chester Central By-Election 1 August 1996
Party		Votes	%
	Labour	188	54.0
	Liberal Democrats	95	27.3
	Conservative	65	18.6
Majority		93	26.7
Turnout		348	27.3
	Labour hold	Swing

Pelton By-Election 20 March 1997
Party		Votes	%
	Labour	667	88.1
	Liberal Democrats	90	11.9
Majority		577	76.2
Turnout		757	19.0
	Labour hold	Swing

1999-2003

Ouston By-Election 30 September 1999
Party		Votes	%
	Labour	422	83.9
	Conservative	81	16.1
Majority		341	67.8
Turnout		503	20.5
	Labour hold	Swing

Chester-le-Street West By-Election 5 April 2001
Party		Votes	%	±%
	Labour		60.3	−13.6
	Conservative	454	33.9	+33.9
	Independent	44	5.8	+5.8
Majority		199	26.4
Turnout
	Labour hold	Swing

2003-2007

Chester North By-Election 2 October 2003
Party		Votes	%	±%
	Labour	1,114	48.2	−10.0
	Conservative	604	26.1	−15.7
	Liberal Democrats	423	18.3	+18.3
	BNP	170	7.4	+7.4
Majority		510	22.1
Turnout		2,311	60.4
	Labour hold	Swing

Edmondsley and Waldridge By-Election 16 September 2004
Party		Votes	%
	Labour	628	42.2
	Liberal Democrats	537	36.1
	Conservative	324	21.8
Majority		91	6.1
Turnout		1,489	37.9
	Labour hold	Swing

Pelton Fell By-Election 10 February 2005
Party		Votes	%
	Labour	310	87.0
	Liberal Democrats	46	12.9
Majority		264	74.1
Turnout		356	33.6
	Labour hold	Swing

Pelton By-Election 15 June 2006
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Dorothy Rand	530	64.0	+23.8
	Conservative	Amanda Hall	139	16.8	−1.8
	Liberal Democrats	Philip Nathan	113	13.6	+13.6
	Independent	George Gardner	46	5.6	−35.6
Majority			391	47.2
Turnout			828	19.8
	Labour hold		Swing

2007-2009

Chester Central By-Election 27 September 2007
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Lawson Armstrong	324	59.4	−11.1
	Conservative	Nick Varley	89	16.3	−13.2
	Liberal Democrats	Sean Kilkenny	81	14.9	+14.9
	BNP	Andrew Gowland	51	9.4	+9.4
Majority			235	43.1
Turnout			545	25.7
	Labour hold		Swing

Notes

^ Liberal Party prior to 1983, SDP-Liberal Alliance in 1983 and 1987.
^ 4 Liberal, 0 SDP
^ 4 Liberal, 0 SDP

References

^ "Compositions calculator". The Elections Centre. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
^ "Council minutes". Durham County Council. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
^ "Council's new leader". Newcastle Evening Chronicle. 11 May 1991. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
^ "Council to have first woman leader". Northern Echo. 9 May 2003. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
^ "Liberals capture Eastbourne and exceed ambition to win 1,000 loval government seats". The Times. 9 June 1973.
^ "Heavy Labour losses in district polls". The Times. 8 May 1976.
^ Local elections in Britain: a statistical digest, edited by Colin Rallings and Michael Thrasher. 1993
^ The District of Chester-le-Street (Electoral Arrangements) Order 1976
^ "How votes were cast in local government elections". The Times. 7 May 1983. p. 4.
^ "Results in Thursday's local elections". The Times. 9 May 1987.
^ The Durham (District Boundaries) Order 1986
^ "Complete round-up of results from Thursday's local council elections". The Times. 4 May 1991.
^ "Complete list of results from Thursday's council elections". The Times. 6 May 1995. p. 10.
^ legislation.gov.uk - The Durham and Tyne and Wear (County and District Boundaries) Order 1992. Retrieved on 5 November 2015.
^ legislation.gov.uk - The Durham and Tyne and Wear (County and District Boundaries) (Variation) Order 1993. Retrieved on 5 November 2015.
^ legislation.gov.uk - The Durham, Northumberland and Tyne and Wear (County and District Boundaries) Order 1992. Retrieved on 5 November 2015.
^ "Chester-le-Street". BBC News. Retrieved 13 April 2013.
^ "Chester-le-Street". BBC News. Retrieved 13 April 2013.
^ legislation.gov.uk - The District of Chester-le-Street (Electoral Changes) Order 1999. Retrieved on 4 October 2015.
^ "Chester-le-Street". BBC News. 4 May 2007. Retrieved 13 April 2013.