# Chesterfield Borough Council elections

Chesterfield Borough Council elections are held every four years. Chesterfield Borough Council is the local authority for the non-metropolitan district of Chesterfield in Derbyshire, England. Since the last boundary changes in 2003, 48 councillors have been elected from 19 wards. However, the 2023 elections will be fought under new boundaries with the number of Councillors reducing from 48 to 40.

## Political control

Chesterfield was a municipal borough from 1836 until 1974. The borough was reformed under the Local Government Act 1972, gaining Staveley and Brimington and becoming a non-metropolitan district. The first election to the reformed council was held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority before coming into its powers on 1 April 1974. Since 1973 political control of the council has been held by the following parties:
| Party in control | Years |
| Labour | 1973–2003 |
| Liberal Democrats | 2003–2011 |
| Labour | 2011–present |

### Leadership

The leaders of the council since 2001 have been:
| Councillor | Party | From | To |
| Bill Flanagan | Labour | May 1974 | 2001 |
| John Burrows | Labour | 2001 | May 2003 |
| Ray Russell | Liberal Democrats | May 2003 | 18 May 2011 |
| John Burrows | Labour | 18 May 2011 | 10 May 2017 |
| Tricia Gilby | Labour | 10 May 2017 | |

## Council elections

* 1973 Chesterfield Borough Council election
* 1976 Chesterfield Borough Council election
* 1979 Chesterfield Borough Council election (New ward boundaries)
* 1983 Chesterfield Borough Council election
* 1987 Chesterfield Borough Council election
* 1991 Chesterfield Borough Council election (Borough boundary changes took place but the number of seats remained the same)
* 1995 Chesterfield Borough Council election
* 1999 Chesterfield Borough Council election
* 2003 Chesterfield Borough Council election (New ward boundaries increased the number of seats by one)
* 2007 Chesterfield Borough Council election
* 2011 Chesterfield Borough Council election
* 2015 Chesterfield Borough Council election
* 2019 Chesterfield Borough Council election
* 2023 Chesterfield Borough Council election

## By-election results
### 1995-1999

West By-Election 14 November 1996 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Liberal Democrats | | 809 | 48.3 |
| | Conservative | | 545 | 32.5 |
| | Labour | | 322 | 19.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 264 | 15.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,676 | 44.6 |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | |
Holmbrook By-Election 10 April 1997 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Liberal Democrats | | 1,068 | 54.5 |
| | Labour | | 812 | 41.5 |
| | Conservative | | 78 | 4.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 256 | 13.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,958 | 51.5 |
| | Liberal Democrats gain from Labour | Liberal Democrats gain from Labour | Swing | |

### 1999-2003

New Whittington By-Election 15 March 2001 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | | 1,115 | 64.8 | +3.1 |
| | Labour | | 569 | 33.1 | −2.5 |
| | Conservative | | 37 | 2.1 | −0.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 546 | 31.7 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,721 | 45.6 | |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | | |

### 2003-2007

Loundsley Green By-Election 22 April 2004 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Jean Barr | 895 | 65.8 | +5.1 |
| | Labour | Thomas Murphy | 431 | 31.6 | −5.6 |
| | Conservative | Gary Hatton | 36 | 2.6 | +2.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 464 | 34.2 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,362 | 40.9 | |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | | |

### 2007-2011

Brimington South By-Election 6 May 2010 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | John Haywood | 1,500 | 47.9 | +4.1 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Stephen Hartley | 1,134 | 36.2 | −12.6 |
| | Conservative | Gary Hatton | 499 | 15.9 | +8.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 366 | 11.7 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,133 | 65.3 | |
| | Labour gain from Liberal Democrats | Labour gain from Liberal Democrats | Swing | | |

### 2015-2019

Moor By-Election 4 Oct 2018 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Tony Rogers | 532 | 47.1 | +12.1 |
| | Labour | Ron Mihaly | 445 | 39.4 | −9.9 |
| | Conservative | Gordon Franklin Partington | 84 | 7.4 | −8.3 |
| | UKIP | Barry Thompson | 69 | 6.1 | 6.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 87 | 7.7 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,130 | 31 | |
| | Liberal Democrats gain from Labour | Liberal Democrats gain from Labour | Swing | | |

### 2019-2023

Hollingwood and Inkersall By-Election 7 July 2022 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Debbie Wheeldon | 747 | 48.5 | +15.2 |
| | Independent | Dean Rhodes | 676 | 43.9 | +43.9 |
| | Green | Louis Hollingworth | 118 | 7.7 | +7.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 71 | 4.6 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,541 | | |
| | Labour gain from Independent | Labour gain from Independent | Swing | | |

### 2023-2027

Spire By-Election 4 July 2024 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | Sharon Blank | 1,521 | 45.1 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Ed Fordham | 621 | 18.4 |
| | Green | Vicky Noble | 511 | 15.2 |
| | Conservative | Jacob Rodgers | 499 | 14.8 |
| | Chesterfield And North Derbyshire Independents | Kris Stone | 220 | 6.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 900 | 26.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,372 | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | |
Staveley North By-Election 4 July 2024 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | Steve Lismore | 635 | 34.4 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Stephen Hartley | 592 | 32.1 |
| | Conservative | Harry Smith | 278 | 15.1 |
| | Independent | Martin Hibbert | 188 | 10.2 |
| | Green | Joshua Ward | 151 | 8.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 43 | 2.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,844 | |
| | Labour gain from Liberal Democrats | Labour gain from Liberal Democrats | Swing | |