# Darwen Town Council

Darwen Town Council is the parish council covering the town of Darwen, England. It serves 27,200 residents. The council has its headquarters at Darwen Town Hall.

## History

On 16 October 2008 a referendum was held in Darwen on the creation of a town council. Of the 20,495 electors eligible to vote, a total of 4,198 took part in the referendum. The result of the referendum was as follows: 2,378 voted yes, 1,725 (8.42%) voted no, 95 ballot papers were rejected and turnout was 20.49%.
In December, following the referendum Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council approved the creation of the council. the council was created on 2 April 2009 with the first election in June.

## Responsibilities

The town council receives funding by levying a "precept" on the council tax paid by the residents of the civil parish. The council runs events and projects to promote Darwen and also provide funding in the community for projects and parks.

## Political control

| Party in control | Years |
| For Darwen | 2009–2012 |
| Labour | 2012–2021 |
| No overall control | 2021–2024 |
| Labour | 2024–present |
At the first elections to the council in June 2009, the For Darwen Party took control, winning 7 seats, the Liberal Democrats won 4 and the Conservative Party and Labour Party won one each. At the second election in May 2012 For Darwen lost all their seats with Labour taking control with 8 seats to the Lib Dems 5. In the 2016 elections Labour won 7, Lib Dems 4 and Conservatives 2.
In the 6 May 2021 election seats were as follows; 5 Labour, 4, Conservative and 4 Lib Dem.
On the 2 May 2024 elections, Labour took back firm control by winning 12 of the 13 seats with the Conservatives winning the other remaining seat.

## Wards and Councillors

Since 2009, Darwen is served by a Town Council, which since 2018 is divided into 4 Wards, 3 of which are represented by four town councillors and the other by one town councillor.
Current town council :
| Ward | Councillor | Party |
| Darwen East Ward | Julie Dugan | Labour |
| Darwen East Ward | Matt Gibson | Labour |
| Darwen East Ward | Martin McCaughran | Labour |
| Darwen East Ward | Mark Westall | Labour |
| Darwen South Ward | Liam Dobson | Labour |
| Darwen South Ward | Paul O'Garr | Labour |
| Darwen South Ward | Anthony Shaw | Labour |
| Darwen South Ward | Sue Skipper | Labour |
| Darwen South Rural Ward | Steve Duncan | Conservative |
| Darwen West Ward | Stephanie Brookfield | Labour |
| Darwen West Ward | Jonathan Hamer | Labour |
| Darwen West Ward | Dave Smith | Labour |
| Darwen West Ward | Brian Taylor | Labour |

## Elections
### 2024
#### Darwen East

Darwen East (4 councillors) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Martin McCaughran | 771 | | |
| | Labour | Julie Dugan | 719 | | |
| | Labour | Matt Gibson | 688 | | |
| | Labour | Mark Westall | 645 | | |
| | Independent | Paul Browne | 477 | | |
| | Independent | Mark Davies | 422 | | |
| | Conservative | Ryan Slater | 302 | | |
| | Spoilt Ballots | — | 6 | — | — |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 4,030 | 20.96 | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
| | Labour gain from Liberal Democrats | Labour gain from Liberal Democrats | Swing | | |
| | Labour gain from Liberal Democrats | Labour gain from Liberal Democrats | Swing | | |
| | Labour gain from Liberal Democrats | Labour gain from Liberal Democrats | Swing | | |

#### Darwen South

Darwen South (4 councillors) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Anthony Shaw | 947 | | |
| | Labour | Sue Skipper | 883 | | |
| | Labour | Liam Dobson | 870 | | |
| | Labour | Paul O'Garr | 862 | | |
| | Conservative | Kevin Connor | 786 | | |
| | Conservative | Neil Slater | 753 | | |
| | Conservative | Lilian Salton | 729 | | |
| | Conservative | Joan Hepple | 689 | | |
| | Spoilt Ballots | — | 28 | — | — |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 6,547 | 28.58 | |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | | |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | | |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | | |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | | |

#### Darwen South Rural

Darwen South Rural (1 councillor) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Steve Duncan | 263 | | |
| | Labour | Simon Charlesworth | 188 | | |
| | Spoilt Ballots | — | 13 | — | — |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 464 | 31.52 | |
| | Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats | Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats | Swing | | |

#### Darwen West

Darwen West (4 councillors) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | David Smith | 1,212 | | |
| | Labour | Brian Taylor | 1,212 | | |
| | Labour | Stephanie Brookfield | 1,029 | | |
| | Labour | Jonathan Hamer | 984 | | |
| | Conservative | Jacqueline Slater | 419 | | |
| | Spoilt Ballots | — | 12 | — | — |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 4,868 | 28.50 | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |

### 2021
#### Darwen East

Darwen East (4 councillors) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Eileen Entwistle | 853 | | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Roy Davies | 838 | | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Paul Browne | 688 | | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Mark Davies | 666 | | |
| | Labour | Martin McCaughran | 663 | | |
| | Labour | Liz Johnson | 569 | | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Simon Huggill | 558 | | |
| | Labour | Steven Johnson | 550 | | |
| | Spoilt Ballots | — | 44 | — | — |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 5,524 | 26.78 | |
| | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) |
| | Liberal Democrats win (new seat) | Liberal Democrats win (new seat) | Liberal Democrats win (new seat) | Liberal Democrats win (new seat) | Liberal Democrats win (new seat) |
| | Liberal Democrats win (new seat) | Liberal Democrats win (new seat) | Liberal Democrats win (new seat) | Liberal Democrats win (new seat) | Liberal Democrats win (new seat) |
| | Liberal Democrats win (new seat) | Liberal Democrats win (new seat) | Liberal Democrats win (new seat) | Liberal Democrats win (new seat) | Liberal Democrats win (new seat) |

#### Darwen South

Darwen South (4 councillors) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Kevin Connor | 1,026 | | |
| | Conservative | Neil Slater | 1,003 | | |
| | Conservative | Lilian Salton | 988 | | |
| | Conservative | Andrew Walker | 975 | | |
| | Labour | Sarah Rose | 586 | | |
| | Labour | Matt Gibson | 572 | | |
| | Labour | Laura Higab | 518 | | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Joan Hepple | 426 | | |
| | Labour | Jude Rowley | 404 | | |
| | Spoilt Ballots | — | 15 | — | — |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 6,513 | 31.30 | |
| | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) |
| | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) |
| | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) |
| | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) |

#### Darwen South Rural

Darwen South Rural (1 councillor) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | John East | 425 | | |
| | Labour | Matt Jackson | 94 | | |
| | Spoilt Ballots | — | 21 | — | — |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 540 | 36.50 | |
| | Liberal Democrats win (new seat) | Liberal Democrats win (new seat) | Liberal Democrats win (new seat) | Liberal Democrats win (new seat) | Liberal Democrats win (new seat) |

#### Darwen West

Darwen West (4 councillors) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | David Smith | 1,171 | | |
| | Labour | Brian Taylor | 1,113 | | |
| | Labour | Stephanie Brookfield | 990 | | |
| | Labour | Jonathon Hamer | 923 | | |
| | Conservative | Lynn Perkins | 735 | | |
| | Conservative | Janine Crook | 883 | | |
| | Conservative | Rob Toner | 669 | | |
| | Conservative | Ryan Slater | 664 | | |
| | Spoilt Ballots | — | 18 | — | — |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 7,166 | 33.90 | |
| | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) |
| | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) |
| | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) |
| | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) |

## Mayors

List of mayors of Darwen :
| Tenure | Name | Party |
| 2009–2012 | Paul Browne | Liberal Democrats |
| 2012–2016 | Eileen Entwistle | Labour |
| 2016–2017 | Brian Taylor | Labour |
| 2017-2019 | Roy Davies | Liberal Democrats |
| 2019–2022 | Lillian Salton | Conservative |
| 2022–present | Stephanie Brookfield | Labour |

## Leaders

List of leaders of Darwen :
| Tenure | Name | Party |
| 2009–2010 | Phil Jones | For Darwen |
| 2010 | Trevor Maxfield | For Darwen |
| 2010–2012 | Steve Duncan | Liberal Democrats |
| 2012-2017 | Trevor Maxfield | Labour |
| 2017–2024 | Kevin Conner | Conservative |
| 2024–present | Jonathan Hamer | Labour |