# 2011 Cannock Chase District Council election

Elections to Cannock Chase District Council took place on 5 May 2011 on the same day as other local elections in England and the Alternative Vote referendum. A total of 15 councillors were elected from all of the council's wards as a third of the council was up for election.
The Labour Party was aiming to supplant the Liberal Democrats as the largest party on the council. The Conservatives were aiming to build on modest gains made in 2010, particularly from the Liberal Democrats around Rugeley. The result had the potential to have a significant impact on the dominance of the Conservative / Liberal Democrat coalition on the council.
Following the election, Labour emerged as the largest party on the council, albeit short of the 21 seats required for an overall majority. They gained two seats, one from the Conservatives and another from the Liberal Democrats. They also successfully held on to their seats won at the 2007 election and went on to form a minority administration following the election.
The Conservatives came a fairly close second in terms of vote share but won less than half the number of seats that Labour did. Despite losing a seat to Labour in Hednesford, they still managed a net gain of one seat thanks to them winning two seats from the Liberal Democrats in Rawnsley and Rugeley.
The Liberal Democrats had won five wards when these seats were last contested and were the largest party on the council with 17 seats. However, their three-seat loss, combined with councillors who had defected to them not standing for re-election, meant that the Liberal Democrats slipped to being the third largest party with 11 seats.
Also standing was one candidate from the British National Party and two candidates from The Chase Independent Party; none of these candidates were successful and so there remained only three parties represented on the council.

## Election result

Cannock Chase District Council election, 2011 :
| Party | Seats | Gains | Losses | Net gain/loss | Seats % | Votes % | Votes | +/− |
| Labour | 9 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 60.0 | 41.6 | 10,269 | 4.9 |
| Conservative | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 26.7 | 38.4 | 9,475 | 3.5 |
| Liberal Democrats | 2 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 13.3 | 18.2 | 4,486 | 5.3 |
| Independent | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 1.1 | 269 | N/A |
| BNP | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.7 | 167 | 1.3 |

### Council Composition

Prior to the election, the composition of the council was:
| 17 | 14 | 10 |
| Lib Dem | Labour | Conservative |
After the election, the composition of the council was:
| 17 | 13 | 11 |
| Labour | Conservative | Lib Dem |

## Ward results

Vote share changes are based on the results achieved by parties in 2007 when these seats were last contested.

### Brereton and Ravenhill

Brereton and Ravenhill :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Paul Fisher | 705 | 41.4 | 11.2 |
| | Labour | Brian Bottomer | 601 | 35.3 | 8.7 |
| | Conservative | Andie Wilkinson | 396 | 23.3 | 1.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 104 | 6.1 | 19.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,702 | 33.5 | |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | 10.0 | |

### Cannock East

Cannock East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Janos Toth | 1,059 | 60.5 | 2.7 |
| | Conservative | Claire Wixon | 691 | 39.5 | 8.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 368 | 21.0 | 6.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,750 | 31.6 | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | 3.0 | |

### Cannock North

Cannock North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Dennis Dixon | 1,057 | 66.8 | 2.3 |
| | Conservative | Jim Bowater | 359 | 22.7 | 2.9 |
| | BNP | William Vaughan | 167 | 10.5 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 698 | 44.1 | 0.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,583 | 29.2 | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | 0.3 | |

### Cannock South

Cannock South :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | John Kraujalis | 947 | 53.3 | 2.9 |
| | Conservative | Amanda-Jane Holmes | 608 | 34.2 | 0.2 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Phil Freeman | 223 | 12.5 | 5.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 339 | 19.1 | 2.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,778 | 31.0 | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | 1.4 | |

### Cannock West

Cannock West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Paul Snape | 1,411 | 58.9 | 3.0 |
| | Labour | William Lintern | 748 | 31.2 | 3.6 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Wayne Goodwin | 235 | 9.8 | 0.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 663 | 27.7 | 6.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,394 | 42.1 | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | 3.3 | |

### Etching Hill and The Heath

Etching Hill and The Heath :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Ray Jones | 817 | 50.6 | 0.3 |
| | Conservative | Justin Johnson | 799 | 49.4 | 17.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 18 | 1.2 | 16.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,616 | 32.5 | |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | 8.5 | |

### Hagley

Hagley :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Gordon Brown | 493 | 44.9 | 15.0 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Neil Stanley | 358 | 32.6 | 23.5 |
| | Conservative | Philip Emery | 248 | 22.6 | 7.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 135 | 12.3 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,099 | 32.3 | |
| | Labour gain from Liberal Democrats | Labour gain from Liberal Democrats | Swing | 19.3 | |

### Hawks Green

Hawks Green :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | John Bernard | 818 | 49.9 | 4.3 |
| | Labour | John Preece | 534 | 32.6 | 8.0 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Keith Bennett | 288 | 17.6 | 5.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 284 | 17.3 | 3.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,640 | 29.0 | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | 1.9 | |

### Heath Hayes East and Wimblebury

Heath Hayes East and Wimblebury :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Alison Spicer | 676 | 42.1 | 1.7 |
| | Conservative | Alan Dean | 601 | 37.4 | 1.2 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Chris Collis | 330 | 20.5 | 0.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 75 | 4.7 | 2.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,607 | 32.3 | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | 1.5 | |

### Hednesford Green Heath

Hednesford Green Heath :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Bob Todd | 580 | 44.3 | 8.0 |
| | Conservative | Lisa Pearce | 443 | 33.8 | 8.7 |
| | Independent | Ron Turville | 161 | 12.3 | N/A |
| | Liberal Democrats | Darrell Mawle | 126 | 9.6 | 11.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 137 | 10.5 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,310 | 33.4 | |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | 8.4 | |

### Hednesford North

Hednesford North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Doris Grice | 994 | 58.5 | 12.4 |
| | Conservative | Chris Anslow | 526 | 31.0 | 5.4 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Paul Buckle | 178 | 10.5 | 7.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 468 | 27.5 | 17.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,698 | 30.8 | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | 8.9 | |

### Hednesford South

Hednesford South :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Gordon Ball | 621 | 43.7 | 1.9 |
| | Conservative | Wayne Pearce | 446 | 31.4 | 3.5 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Wendy Yates | 247 | 17.4 | 4.0 |
| | Independent | Ann Turville | 108 | 7.6 | 5.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 175 | 12.3 | 5.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,422 | 33.7 | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | 2.7 | |

### Norton Canes

Norton Canes :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Michael Holder | 961 | 49.7 | 14.3 |
| | Conservative | June Davies | 905 | 46.8 | 12.9 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Ken Ansell | 67 | 3.5 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 56 | 2.9 | 1.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,933 | 33.6 | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | 0.7 | |

### Rawnsley

Rawnsley :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Jodie Jones | 593 | 39.2 | 3.3 |
| | Labour | Brian Gamble | 560 | 37.0 | 10.2 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Pat Ansell | 361 | 23.8 | 13.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 33 | 2.2 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,514 | 39.5 | |
| | Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats | Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats | Swing | 8.4 | |

### Western Springs

Western Springs :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Anne Allt | 631 | 39.0 | 7.2 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Bob Meaden | 551 | 34.0 | 10.9 |
| | Labour | David Marsden | 438 | 27.0 | 3.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 80 | 5.0 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,620 | 31.9 | |
| | Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats | Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats | Swing | 9.1 | |