Stroud Parishes

[carolus]

Stroud has a phenomenal number of parishes, but most of them went uncontested in 2021. Four councils had contested elections:

Stonehouse - 6 Lab, 1 Green, 7 Non-party

Stonehouse (13) - Green 956*, Lab 956*/850*/765*/757*/698*/683*, [] 897*/790*/751*/730*/691*/662/659/590/527/470, Ind 745*

Ryeford (1) - Ind*

Stroud - 12 Green, 2 Lab, 1 Con, 2 Non-party, 1 Vacancy

Central (3) - Green 435*/427*/398*, Lab 309

Farmhill & Paganhill (3) - Con*, Green*, []*

Slade (3) - 2x Green*, Lab*

Trinity (3) - 3x Green*

Uplands (3) - 2x Green*

Valley (3) - Green*, Lab*, Ind*

There were also contested elections in Painswick, Painswick (7) where there were eight non-party candidates, and Whiteshill & Ruscombe (9) where there were ten non-party candidates.

Other councils with party candidates:

Cam - 1 Lab, 11 Non-party, 4 Vacancy
East (7) - 5x []*, Ind*, Independent - Gloucestershire Business Owner*
West (9) - Lab*, 4x []*

Dursley - 2 Lab, 14 Non-party, 1 Vacancy
Central (6) - 5x []*, "Creative, community spirit, helpful, organised, imaginative"*
Highfields (6) - 2x Lab*, 2x []*, Ind*

Kingshill (5) - 5x []*

[European Lefty]

I believe the one Lab in Cam is Miranda Clifton, former District Councillor for Cam East. One of the non-party ones is Brain Tipper, Conservative district councillor for Cam East and county councillor for Cam Valley.

In Dursley, Alex Stennet contested the Dursley ward of Stroud District Council in 2021 for the Conservatives, and Danae Savvidou contested the same ward for Labour. Lorraine Patrick is Conservative incumbent district and former county councillor; Wendy Thomas is incumbent Labour county councillor.

We do indeed have a phenomenal number of parishes.....

[listener]

According to my records, in 2021, Stroud had 83 separate electoral contests in 51 councils. There are 53 parishes in total, but Alderley and Owlpen have parish meetings. There were a total of 449 seats on the 51 councils.

Of the 83 electoral contests, 4 were contested, 44 attracted the exact number of candidates for the vacancies and the remaining 35 contests had a shortfall of candidates, but all 83 contests attracted at least one candidate.

The 4 contested parishes and wards were in Painswick (Painswick ward), Stonehouse (Stonehouse ward), Stroud (Stroud Central ward) and Whiteshill and Ruscombe parish.

391 parish councillors were elected [32 in contested parishes and wards and 359 unopposed], with the remaining 58 seats to be filled by co-option. All 51 councils achieved a quorum on 6 May and there was no need to re-run any of the elections subsequently.

The degree of contestation across the whole district was only 8. [If 10 candidates stand for 7 seats, 7 are elected in contested elections, but the degree of contestation is only 3].

Of the 391 parishes councillors elected, there were 11 Lab, 1 Con, 13 Green, 29 Independent, 17 giving non-political descriptions and 320 no description.

32 seats out of 449 were contested (7.1%), notwithstanding a degree of contestation of only 8.

Working from the District Notices of Poll, the total parish electorate was 95,945, of which 10,486 (10.9%) were in the 4 contested parishes and wards, 85,371 in the 79 uncontested parishes and wards and 88 in the two parishes without councils.

So 7.1% of seats were contested, but 10.9% of the electorate were able to vote in contested parishes and wards.

[European Lefty]

The uncontested election in Cam left me with a parish councillor who gave an address in Rhondda Cynon Taf

[carolus]

Contested elections, and party candidates:

Cainscross, Cainscross (2) - 3x []

Stonehouse
North (6) - 3 Lab, 1 Green, 4 Ind, 1 Independent (not party affiliated), 1 Independent for the Community
Central (4) - Green*, Lab*
South (4) - 2 Lab*, []*

Stroud
Central (3) - 2 Green, 2 Lab, 1 []
Farmhill & Paganhill (3) - 2 Green, 2 Lab, 1 UKIP
Slade (3) - 1 Green, 1 Lab, 2 Ind, 1 []
Trinity (3) - 2 Green, 1 Lab, 1 []
Uplands (3) - Green*, Lab*, Ind*
Valley (3) - 2 Lab*

Uley (7) - 7 [], 2 Ind

[European Lefty]

Bitterly disappointed that I've been robbed of a ballot paper by an uncontested election in Cam

[listener]

STROUD PARISH COUNCIL ELECTIONS IN STATISTICS


Stroud recently underwent a Community Governance Review, which resulted in the formation of the new parish of Great Oldbury on 1 April 2024 from parts of Stonehouse, Eastington and Standish parishes.

Stroud is completely parished. It now has 54 parishes. The total population of the district at the 2021 census was 121,108, of which the most populous parishes were Stroud itself (13,381), Cam (8,495), Stonehouse (7,711), Dursley (7,489) and Cainscross (7,136).

2 have parish meetings and the remaining 52 have standalone parish councils. 15 parishes are divided into wards, giving a total of 85 separate elections, comprising 459 parish council seats.

These elections attracted 392 candidates (15 Lab, 10 Green, 6 Supporting all of Great Oldbury Together, 1 UKIP (Stroud Farmhill and Paganhill), 1 National Distributist Party (Nailsworth), 25 Independents, 11 Non-Political Descriptions and 323 with No Description).

The 85 separate elections break down as 7 contested, 34 with an exact number of candidates to fill the vacancies, 43 with a shortfall of candidates and 1 with no candidates at all.

Of the 392 candidates nominated, 41 are in contention for 27 seats and 351 are returned unopposed. This leaves a shortfall of 81 seats, all of which will be filled by co-option.

Stroud has 6 town councils – Berkeley, Dursley, Nailsworth, Stonehouse, Stroud and Wotton-under-Edge.

The 7 contests fall in Cainscross (Cainscross ward), Stonehouse (North ward), Stroud (4 of 6 wards) and Uley.

3 parish councils look like ending up with a majority of councillors from a political or organised group –
Stroud (with 9 Labour, 8 Green, 1 UKIP, 3 Independents and 3 No Description chasing 18 seats)
Stonehouse and
the new parish of Great Oldbury, with 6 Great Oldbury Together candidates in the 7 seats.

All parishes are quorate.

[listener]

Back in 2021, 2 parish councils ended up with a majority of councillors from political or organised groups,

Stonehouse (14) – Lab 6, Green Party 1, Independent 2, No Description 5

Stroud (18) – Green Party 12, Lab 2, Con 1, Independent 1, No Description 1, Co-option 1

[carolus]

Results:

Stonehouse - 6 Lab, 2 Green, 2 Ind, 1 [], 3 Vacancy - Control TBD, currently NOC hold
North (6) - Lab 374*/366*/325*, Green 342*, Ind 263*/253*/197/171, Independent (no party affiliated) 246, Independent for the Community 170
Central (4) - Green*, Lab*
South (4) - 2 Lab*, []*

Stroud - 8 Green, 7 Lab, 2 Ind, 1 Vacancy - NOC gain from Green
Central (3) - Lab 462*/219, Green 436*/347*, [] 78
Farmhill & Paganhill (3) - Lab 532*/192, Green 355*/243*, UKIP 82
Slade (3) - Green 418*, Lab 315*, Ind 140*/107, [] 120
Trinity (3) - Green 579*/515*, Lab 401*, [] 122
Uplands (3) - Green*, Lab*, Ind*
Valley (3) - 2 Lab*