Medway Council is the local authority for the unitary authority of Medway in Kent, England. It was created on 1 April 1998 replacing Gillingham and Rochester-upon-Medway.
The first election to the council was held in 1997, initially operating as a shadow authority until formally taking over from the two outgoing councils on 1 April 1998. Since 1997 political control of the council has been held by the following parties:[1][2]
Party in control | Years | |
---|---|---|
Labour | 1997–1998 | |
No overall control | 1998–2003 | |
Conservative | 2003–2023 | |
Labour | 2023–present |
The leaders of the council since 2000 have been:[3]
Councillor | Party | From | To | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Rodney Chambers | Conservative | May 2000 | 27 May 2015 | |
Alan Jarrett | Conservative | 27 May 2015 | ||
Vince Maple | Labour | 4 May 2023 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal Democrats | Dayantha Liyanage | 656 | 54.3 | +6.7 | |
Labour | Pamela Holman | 372 | 30.8 | +0.8 | |
Conservative | Roy Hunter | 180 | 14.9 | −7.5 | |
Majority | 284 | 23.5 | |||
Turnout | 1,208 | 27.0 | |||
Liberal Democrats hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Trevor Clarke | 1,847 | 48.7 | +7.2 | |
Labour | Adam Price | 819 | 21.6 | −5.0 | |
Liberal Democrats | Viv Parker | 767 | 20.2 | +3.6 | |
BNP | Brian Ravenscroft | 257 | 6.8 | +6.8 | |
Green | Simon Marchant | 104 | 2.7 | +2.7 | |
Majority | 1,028 | 27.1 | |||
Turnout | 3,794 | 41.0 | |||
Conservative hold | Swing |
This by-election was triggered by the resignation of Conservative Councillor John Ward
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Tashi Bhutia | 1,042 | 36.9 | +10.8 | |
Labour | Sam Whittington | 1,038 | 36.7 | −12.3 | |
Liberal Democrats | Gary Allanach | 223 | 7.9 | +7.9 | |
UKIP | Robin Johnson | 200 | 7.1 | +7.1 | |
BNP | Brian Ravenscroft | 186 | 6.6 | +6.6 | |
Independent | Brian Cartwright | 87 | 3.1 | −21.9 | |
Green | Sarah D'Angelo | 51 | 1.8 | +1.8 | |
Majority | 4 | 0.2 | |||
Turnout | 2,827 | 29.8 | |||
Conservative gain from Labour | Swing |
This by-election was triggered by the resignation of Labour Councillor Dennis McFarlane
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | David Craggs | 617 | 45.8 | ||
Labour | John Jones | 544 | 40.4 | ||
Liberal Democrats | Garry Harrison | 104 | 7.7 | ||
Green | Steven Keevil | 45 | 3.3 | ||
BNP | Brian Ravenscroft | 39 | 2.8 | ||
English Democrat | Ron Sands | 33 | 2.4 | ||
Majority | 73 | 5.3 | |||
Turnout | 1,382 | ||||
Conservative gain from Labour | Swing |
This by-election was triggered by the resignation of Labour Councillor Bill Esterson
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | John Jones | 695 | 45.5 | ||
Conservative | Andrew Mackness | 631 | 41.3 | ||
Liberal Democrats | Garry Harrison | 92 | 6.0 | ||
UKIP | Anthony Cook | 42 | 2.8 | ||
Green | Steven Keevil | 36 | 2.4 | ||
English Democrat | Ron Sands | 31 | 2.0 | ||
Majority | 64 | 4.2 | |||
Turnout | 1527 | 25.7 | |||
Labour gain from Conservative | Swing |
This by-election was triggered by the resignation of Conservative Councillor David Craggs
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
UKIP | Christopher Irvine | 2,850 | 48.3 | +48.3 | |
Conservative | Ron Sands | 1,965 | 33.3 | −20.9 | |
Labour | Pete Tungate | 716 | 12.1 | −8.6 | |
Green | Clive Gregory | 314 | 5.3 | −2.1 | |
Liberal Democrats | Christopher Sams | 60 | 1.0 | −5.3 | |
Majority | 885 | 15.0 | |||
Turnout | 5,905 | ||||
UKIP gain from Conservative | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Josie Iles | 724 | 38.4 | +3.4 | |
Labour | Isaac Igwe | 521 | 27.7 | +3.4 | |
UKIP | Karl Weller | 480 | 25.5 | −13.2 | |
Green | Steve Dyke | 74 | 3.9 | N/A | |
Liberal Democrats | Isabelle Cherry | 62 | 3.3 | N/A | |
English Democrat | Mike Russell | 23 | 1.2 | N/A | |
Majority | 203 | 10.7 | |||
Turnout | 1,884 | 16.74 | |||
Conservative gain from UKIP | Swing |
The by-election was triggered by the resignation of UKIP Councillor Catriona Brown-Reckless
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Jan Aldous | 1,448 | 61.1 | ||
UKIP | Mark Mencattelli | 389 | 16.4 | ||
Labour | Simon Allen | 320 | 13.5 | ||
Liberal Democrats | Paul Chaplin | 137 | 5.8 | ||
Green | George Meegan | 61 | 2.6 | ||
English Democrat | Mike Russell | 14 | 0.6 | ||
Majority | 1,059 | 44.7 | |||
Turnout | 2,369 | 24.0 | |||
Conservative hold | Swing |
The by-election was triggered by the death of Conservative Councillor Mike O'Brien
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Alex Paterson | 1,212 | 47.5 | +26.5 | |
Conservative | Alan Kew | 1007 | 39.5 | −4.0 | |
Liberal Democrats | Martin Rose | 119 | 4.7 | +1.0 | |
Green | Sonia Hyner | 107 | 4.2 | −6.1 | |
UKIP | Rob McCulloch Martin | 104 | 4.1 | −16.2 | |
Majority | 205 | 8.0 | −5.0 | ||
Turnout | 2,549 | 33 | |||
Labour gain from Conservative | Swing |
The by-election was triggered by the resignation of Conservative Councillor Kelly Tolhurst
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Robert George Benedict Lammas | 961 | 67.1 | +19.1 | |
Labour | John Gower Strevens | 313 | 21.9 | −5.6 | |
Green | Sonia Lesley Hyner | 52 | 3.6 | N/A | |
Independent | Matthew Bernard Durcan | 51 | 3.6 | N/A | |
Liberal Democrats | John Edward Castle | 49 | 3.4 | N/A | |
Majority | 648 | 45.2 | |||
Turnout | 1,432 | 18.8 | |||
Conservative hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Zöe Angela Van Dyke | 913 | 37.0 | +6.4 | |
Conservative | Mark Paul Joy | 728 | 29.5 | −2.5 | |
Green | Catriona Margaret Jamieson | 565 | 10.5 | +1.0 | |
Independent | Christopher Stuart Spalding | 216 | 8.8 | N/A | |
Liberal Democrats | Alan Edward Wells | 39 | 1.6 | N/A | |
Majority | 185 | 7.5 | |||
Turnout | 2,466 | 23.5 | |||
Labour gain from Conservative | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Lauren Edwards | 870 | 63.3 | +15.2 | |
Conservative | Brian Griffin | 388 | 28.2 | +8.6 | |
Green | Bernard Hyde | 69 | 5.0 | −9.2 | |
Liberal Democrats | Sarah Manuel | 48 | 3.5 | −2.8 | |
Majority | 482 | 35.1 | |||
Turnout | 1,375 | ||||
Labour hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Independent | George Crozer | 1,038 | 46.6 | +46.6 | |
Conservative | Harold Ogunfemi | 371 | 16.7 | −9.2 | |
Green | Julian Sutton | 255 | 11.5 | +1.5 | |
Independent | Chris Spalding | 230 | 10.3 | +10.3 | |
Labour | David Hodges | 215 | 9.7 | −0.4 | |
Independent | Sharon Jackson | 89 | 4.0 | +4.0 | |
Liberal Democrats | Ben Rist | 29 | 1.3 | +1.3 | |
Majority | 667 | 30.0 | |||
Turnout | 2,227 | ||||
Independent hold | Swing |