# 2015 Wyre Forest District Council election

The 2015 Wyre Forest District Council election took place on 7 May 2015 to elect members of Wyre Forest District Council in Worcestershire, England. The whole council was up for election after boundary changes reduced the number of seats by nine. The Conservative Party gained overall control of the council from no overall control.

## Background

After the last election in 2014 no party had a majority on Wyre Forest District Council. The Conservatives were the largest party with 15 councillors, while Labour had 9, Health Concern 7, the UK Independence Party 5, independents 4 and there were 2 Liberals. Following the election the Conservatives formed an alliance with the 4 independents and 2 Liberals to run the council with exactly half of the seats.
In June 2014 Mike Price defected from the Liberal Party to the Conservatives, meaning that Fran Oborski was left as the only Liberal councillor. By the time of the 2015 election the Conservative group had increased to 17 councillors, as independent Julian Phillips joined the party.
The whole of Wyre Forest District Council was elected in 2015 after boundary changes reduced the number of wards from 17 to 12 and the number of councillors from 42 to 33. These changes meant ten wards elected three councillors each, while one ward elected two councillors and one ward elected a single councillor. However the election in the Areley Kings and Riverside ward was delayed until June 2015 after the death of one of the candidates.
Four councillors stood down and did not seek re-election in 2015, Douglas Godwin, Pauline Hayward, Lynn Hyde and Mike Kelly.

## Election result

The Conservatives gained a majority on the council after winning 21 of the 30 seats contested on 7 May. Both Labour and Health Concern were reduced to two seats on the council, while the UK Independence Party only won one seat. Among those to lose seats were the leader of the UK Independence Party on the council, Michael Wrench, and the Health Concern mayor of Stourport, Cliff Brewer. Independents won all three seats in Aggborough and Spennells, while Fran Oborski was re-elected as the only Liberal councillor.
Opposition candidates were concerned that the reduction in the number of polling stations after the boundary changes had resulted in long queues to vote.
After the delayed election in Areley Kings and Riverside resulted in two Conservatives and one Labour councillors being elected, the Conservatives had 23 seats and Labour had 3 seats.
Wyre Forest local election result 2015 :
| Party | Seats | Net gain/loss | Seats % | Votes % | Votes | +/− |
| Conservative | 23 | +6 | 69.7 | 38.1 | 42,669 | +11.9% |
| Labour | 3 | -6 | 9.1 | 15.8 | 17,693 | -2.2% |
| Independent | 3 | 0 | 9.1 | 3.9 | 4,421 | +0.6% |
| Health Concern | 2 | -5 | 6.1 | 13.6 | 15,261 | -7.2% |
| UKIP | 1 | -4 | 3.0 | 20.7 | 23,180 | -5.1% |
| Liberal | 1 | 0 | 3.0 | 2.4 | 2,651 | -1.8% |
| Green | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.5 | 4,992 | +3.1% |
| Liberal Democrats | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.6 | 642 | +0.6% |
| TUSC | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.4 | 469 | +0.1% |
| Patriotic Socialist Party | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 34 | +0.0% |
The above results include the delayed election in Areley Kings and Riverside.

## Ward results

Aggborough and Spennells (3 seats) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Independent | Helen Dyke | 1,706 | |
| | Independent | Peter Dyke | 1,441 | |
| | Independent | John Aston | 1,274 | |
| | Conservative | Tracey Onslow-Fage | 1,239 | |
| | Conservative | Ian Siddall | 1,046 | |
| | Conservative | Andrew Tromans | 993 | |
| | Labour | Brian Rushbrook | 704 | |
| | UKIP | Graham Gardner | 653 | |
| | Health Concern | Keith Robertson | 617 | |
| | UKIP | Mark Humphries | 591 | |
| | UKIP | Philip Jeanes | 505 | |
| | Green | Douglas Hine | 410 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 11,179 | 65.1 |
Bewdley and Rock (3 seats) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | John-Paul Campion | 2,194 | |
| | Conservative | Stephen Clee | 1,953 | |
| | Conservative | Jennifer Greener | 1,874 | |
| | Health Concern | Calne Edginton-White | 1,080 | |
| | Health Concern | John Beeson | 959 | |
| | Labour | Mark Flello | 904 | |
| | UKIP | Maurice Alton | 875 | |
| | Health Concern | Philip Edmundson | 837 | |
| | UKIP | Christopher Wood | 757 | |
| | Labour | Rodney Stanczyszyn | 730 | |
| | UKIP | Gary Talbot | 627 | |
| | Green | Phillip Oliver | 566 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 13,356 | 73.7 |
Blakebrook and Habberley South (3 seats) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | John Hart | 1,232 | |
| | Conservative | Ruth Gregory | 1,194 | |
| | Conservative | Juliet Smith | 1,070 | |
| | UKIP | David Hollyoak | 871 | |
| | UKIP | Philip Daniels | 833 | |
| | Labour | Bernadette Connor | 792 | |
| | Labour | Paul Connor | 790 | |
| | UKIP | Caroline Moran | 699 | |
| | Health Concern | Julie Bennett | 669 | |
| | Labour | Leroy Wright | 612 | |
| | Green | Natalie McVey | 481 | |
| | Green | Victoria Lea | 289 | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Michael Troth | 211 | |
| | Green | Martin Layton | 206 | |
| | TUSC | Kevin Young | 68 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 10,017 | 55.8 |
Broadwaters (3 seats) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Health Concern | Mary Rayner | 931 | |
| | Conservative | John Desmond | 923 | |
| | UKIP | Steven Harrington | 748 | |
| | Labour | Mumshad Ahmed | 745 | |
| | Labour | Steven Walker | 722 | |
| | Labour | Adrian Sewell | 717 | |
| | Conservative | Gillian Onslow | 689 | |
| | Health Concern | Peter Young | 655 | |
| | UKIP | William Hopkins | 637 | |
| | UKIP | Paul Wooldridge | 602 | |
| | Conservative | Greta Smith | 561 | |
| | Green | David Finch | 358 | |
| | Liberal | Esther Smart | 192 | |
| | Patriotic Socialist Party | Brian Ryder | 34 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 8,514 | 53.0 |
Foley Park and Hoobrook (3 seats) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | Nathan Desmond | 1,348 | |
| | Conservative | Sally Chambers | 1,297 | |
| | Labour | Samuel Arnold | 1,046 | |
| | Conservative | Nichola Gale | 1,036 | |
| | UKIP | Michael Wrench | 901 | |
| | UKIP | Sophie Edginton | 891 | |
| | UKIP | Charlotte Stokes | 792 | |
| | Health Concern | Louise Hinett | 770 | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Clare Cassidy | 431 | |
| | Green | Ronald Lee | 392 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 8,904 | 55.0 |
Frances and Habberley North (3 seats) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | Jeffrey Baker | 2,006 | |
| | Conservative | Anne Hingley | 1,930 | |
| | Labour | Nigel Knowles | 1,443 | |
| | Conservative | Daniel McCann | 1,347 | |
| | Health Concern | Caroline Shellie | 1,137 | |
| | Labour | Barry McFarland | 1,113 | |
| | UKIP | Anthony Clent | 1,039 | |
| | UKIP | David White | 809 | |
| | UKIP | Peter Willoughby | 742 | |
| | Green | Jonathan Mills | 437 | |
| | TUSC | Nigel Gilbert | 155 | |
| | TUSC | Ingra Kirkland | 112 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 12,270 | 64.3 |
Lickhill :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | David Little | 581 | 38.2 |
| | Health Concern | Brian Glass | 336 | 22.1 |
| | UKIP | Adrian Dawes | 285 | 18.7 |
| | Labour | Carol Warren | 259 | 17.0 |
| | Green | Nicholas Atkinson | 61 | 4.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 245 | 16.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,522 | 68.9 |
Mitton (3 seats) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | Sara Fearn | 1,517 | |
| | Conservative | Christopher Rogers | 1,273 | |
| | Conservative | Tony Muir | 1,170 | |
| | Health Concern | Clifford Brewer | 1,122 | |
| | Health Concern | James Parish | 1,118 | |
| | UKIP | John Holden | 1,022 | |
| | Health Concern | Michael Salter | 987 | |
| | UKIP | Berenice Dawes | 952 | |
| | UKIP | Wayne Sheldon | 840 | |
| | Labour | Jillian Hawes | 823 | |
| | Labour | George Jones | 675 | |
| | Green | Gilda Davis | 350 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 11,849 | 61.6 |
Offmore and Comberton (3 seats) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Liberal | Frances Oborski | 1,353 | |
| | Conservative | Rosemary Bishop | 1,274 | |
| | Health Concern | Graham Ballinger | 985 | |
| | Conservative | Paul Harrison | 953 | |
| | UKIP | Martin Stooke | 949 | |
| | Conservative | Michael Price | 903 | |
| | Labour | Margaret Bradley | 881 | |
| | UKIP | Kathleen Breese | 842 | |
| | UKIP | Anthony Whitmore | 685 | |
| | Labour | John Rocks | 661 | |
| | Liberal | Rachel Akathiotis | 558 | |
| | Liberal | Shazu Miah | 548 | |
| | Green | Brett Caulfield | 405 | |
| | TUSC | Lawrence Boyle | 134 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 11,131 | 61.5 |
Wribbenhall and Arley (2 seats) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | Gordon Yarranton | 1,195 | |
| | Conservative | Julian Phillips | 1,078 | |
| | Labour | George Court | 581 | |
| | Health Concern | Linda Candlin | 545 | |
| | Health Concern | Elizabeth Davies | 525 | |
| | UKIP | David Field | 525 | |
| | Labour | Conan Norton | 422 | |
| | UKIP | Melanie Mannion | 394 | |
| | Green | Louise Ryan | 215 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 5,480 | 69.7 |
Wyre Forest Rural (3 seats) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | Marcus Hart | 2,517 | |
| | Conservative | Ian Hardiman | 2,417 | |
| | Conservative | Stephen Williams | 2,141 | |
| | Labour | Christopher Nicholls | 1,347 | |
| | UKIP | Dan Collins | 898 | |
| | Health Concern | Derek Killingworth | 880 | |
| | UKIP | Sarah Hopkins | 874 | |
| | Green | Katherine Spohrer | 756 | |
| | UKIP | Craig Leonard | 724 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 12,554 | 74.4 |

### Areley Kings and Riverside delayed election

The election in Areley Kings and Riverside ward took place on 9 June 2015, delayed from 7 May when the rest of the council voted. This came after the death of a Health Concern candidate for the ward and former councillor for Areley Kings, Nigel Thomas, on 12 April.
Conservatives Ken and Lin Henderson won two of the three seats, while the Labour group leader Jamie Shaw was also elected. There was a recount after Lin Henderson took the third seat, three votes ahead of Labour's Vi Higgs. Meanwhile, the failure of Health Concern to win seats in the ward meant that they had no councillors for Stourport for the first time in over a decade.
Areley Kings and Riverside (3 seats) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | Ken Henderson | 662 | |
| | Labour | Jamie Shaw | 633 | |
| | Conservative | Lin Henderson | 564 | |
| | Labour | Vi Higgs | 561 | |
| | Labour | Rob Lloyd | 532 | |
| | Conservative | Malcolm Gough | 492 | |
| | Health Concern | John Thomas | 404 | |
| | Health Concern | Cliff Brewer | 378 | |
| | Health Concern | Dixon Sheppard | 326 | |
| | UKIP | Martin Clapton | 213 | |
| | UKIP | Ian Jones | 209 | |
| | UKIP | Trevor Newman | 196 | |
| | Green | John Davis | 66 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 5,236 | 27.0 |

## By-elections between 2015 and 2016

A by-election took place in Blakebrook and Habberley South on 24 September 2015 after the resignation of Conservative councillor Ruth Gregory due to ill health.
Blakebrook and Habberley South by-election 24 September 2015 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Tracey Onslow | 595 | 40.0 | +11.5 |
| | UKIP | Michael Wrench | 252 | 16.9 | −3.2 |
| | Labour | Bernadette Connor | 247 | 16.6 | −1.7 |
| | Green | Natalie McVey | 173 | 11.6 | +0.5 |
| | Health Concern | Jim Lawson | 167 | 11.2 | −4.3 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Adrian Beavis | 54 | 3.6 | −1.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 343 | 25.1 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,488 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |