Chester City Council

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**Chester City Council**
No Picture Available
Administration	Alliance
Leader	Paul Roberts
Political Party	Alliance (Lib Dem and Labour)
Predecessor	David Evans
Leader of Opposition	Margaret Parker

Chester City Council is the second level of local government for residents of Chester and the surrounding suburban and rural areas which comprise the City of Chester.

1 Administration
- 1.1 Cabinet
  - 1.1.1 Coalition Government[1]
  - 1.1.2 Conservative Opposition
2 Council Seats
- 2.1 Councillors
  - 2.1.1 Election 2006
3 Election 2007
4 External links

[edit] Administration

The Chester City Council is run by a Labour-Lib-Dem coalition, with the Conservative Party being a major opposition, and the biggest party by far.

Political Party	Seats	Leader
Conservative	27	Margaret Parker
Liberal Democrat	18	Paul Roberts
Labour	14	John Price MBE
Independent Councillors	1	1. Douglas Haynes

Positions of Honour

Post	Councillor	Party
Lord Mayor	Sandra Rudd	Labour
Sheriff	David Hughes	Labour
Deputy Lord Mayor	John Moore	Liberal Democrat

[edit] Cabinet

[edit] Coalition Government[1]

Cabinet Posts
Name		Portfolio
	Paul Roberts	Community Leadership Council Leader
	John Price	Technology Council Deputy Leader
	Bob Rudd	Community Safety
	Ann Farrell	Culture
	James Latham	Development
	Reggie Jones	Economy
	Rob Jordan	Environment
	Mia Jones	Health
	Marie Nelson	People and Performance
	Colin Bain	Resources

[edit] Conservative Opposition

Shadow Cabinet Posts
Name		Portfolio
	Margaret Parker	Community Leadership Opposition Leader
	Stephen Mosley	Technology Opposition Deputy Leader
	Caroline Mosley	Community Safety
	Eric Plenderleath	Culture
	Mike Jones	Development
	Richard Short	Economy
	Neil Ritchie	Environment
	Eleanor Johnson	Health
	Brian Bailey	People and Performance
	Ed Jonas	Resources

[edit] Council Seats

The council has 60 seats, which are contested in groups of 20 in three out of every four years. The last election took place in 2006 the next is sheduled for 3rd May, 2007, and there will be at least one by-election before this date.

[edit] Councillors

See also a list by ward at: List of Chester City Councillors

They will be seeking re-election in 2007, 2008 or 2009. The council is made up of 27 Conservatives, 18 Liberal Democrats, 14 Labour and 1 Independent.

There is a rotation between the three main parties over the position of Lord Mayor of Chester and Sheriff of Chester. The current Lord Mayor is Sandra Rudd. The one independent councillor, Doug Haynes, has also been Lord Mayor.

List of Current Councillors
Name		Ward
	Eleanor Johnson	Barrow (2007)
	John Price MBE	Blacon Hall (2007)
	Judith Stainthorp	Blacon Hall (2008)
	Norman Stainthorp	Blacon Hall (2010)
	Reggie Jones	Blacon Lodge (2007)
	Ethel Price	Blacon Lodge (2008)
	Marie Nelson	Blacon Lodge (2010)
	Bob Rudd	Boughton (2007)
	Susan Atkinson	Boughton (2010)
	Ann Farrell	Boughton Heath (2007)
	Jim Latham	Boughton Heath (2008)
	John Boughton	Christleton (2007)
	Brian Bailey	Christleton (2010)
	Ed Jonas	City St. Annes (2008)
	Gwyneth Cooper	City St. Annes (2010)
	Janet Black	College (2007)
	David Mead	College (2008)
	Sandra Rudd Lord Mayor Normally Labour	College (2010)
	David Mead	College (2008)
	Richard Short	Curzon and Westminster (2007)
	Max Drury	Curzon and Westminster (2010)
	Mia Jones	Dodleston (2008)
	Barry Cowper	Elton (2007)
	Jeremy Langdon	Elton (2010)
	Paul Roberts	Farndon (2008)
	Stephen Mosley	Handbridge (2008)
	Razia Daniels	Handbridge (2010)
	Barry Sullivan	Hoole All Saints(2007)
	Robert Thompson	Hoole All Saints(2010)
	Beverly Eaton	Hoole Groves(2007)
	David Hull	Hoole Groves(2008)
	John Moore	Huntington (2007)
	Joan Fairhurst	Kelsall (2007)
	Andrew Garman	Kelsall (2010)
	David Challen	Lache (2007)
	David Hughes	Lache (2008)
	Arthur Harada	Lache (2010)
	Keith Ebben	Malpas (2007)
	Eveleigh Moore-Dutton	Malpas (2008)
	Margaret Parker	Mickle Trafford (2007)
	Brian Crowe	Mollington (2010)
	Robert Jordan	Newton Brook (2007)
	John Ebo	Newton Brook (2008)
	Adrian Walmsley	Newton St. Michael's(2008)
	Marigold Roy	Newton St. Michael's (2010)
	Jeanne Storrar	Saughall (2008)
	Andrew Storrar	Saughall (2010)
	Barbera Roberts	Tarvin (2008)
	Eric Plenderleath	Tarvin (2010)
	Doug Haynes	Tattenhall (2007)
	Mike Jones	Tattenhall(2008)
	Neil Ritchie	College (2010)
	Colin Bain	Upton Grange (2007)
	Jean Evans	Upton Grange(2008)
	Jill Houlbrook	Upton Grange (2010)
	Pat Lott	Upton Westlea (2008)
	Caroline Mosley	Upton Westlea (2010)
	Graham Proctor	Vicars Cross (2007)
	Paul Cheetham	Vicars Cross (2008)
	Ken Holding	Vicars Cross (2010)
	Jeffrey Clarke	Waverton (2008)

[edit] Election 2006

Massive gains were recorded for the Conservative Party. They gained 5 seats in Lache, Newton St. Michael's, Handbridge, Elton and Upton Grange. Labour lost three seats to the Conservatives, and narrowly avoided losing Boughton and City to the Conservatives, and College to the Liberal Democrats. The Liberal Democrats lost two seats to the Conservatives, and only just avoided losing two safe seats, Kelsall and Vicars Cross to the Conservatives. In addition, a Liberal Democrat Councillor (Jeff Clarke, Waverton) defected to the Conservatives. The Conservatives also won a by-election in Autumn 2006, taking yet another seat from the Liberal Demcorats.

Party	Gains	Losses	Net Gain/Loss
Conservative	5	0	+5 (+6 including defections, +7 including by-election)
Labour	0	3	-3
Liberal Democrat	0	2	-2 (-3 including defections, -4 including by-election)
Green	0	0	0
UKIP	0	0	0
Independent	0	0	0

[edit] Election 2007

The next election for the City Council is due to be held on 3rd May 2007, where 20 seats will become available for contention. After the Conservative victory in 2006, and the subsequent Newton by-election, the Tories are expected to gain overall control.

Many councillors have not announced whether they intend to stand in the upcoming election. This is set to make the election interesting, as it is unknown whether councillors such as John Price (father of the house) will stand. Four councillors, as listed below, will be stepping down at the next election.

Terms Expiring in 2007
Name		Party	Ward	Main Opponent^*	Name
	Eleanor Johnson	Conservative	Barrow	No clear challenger	n/a
	John Price MBE	Labour	Blacon Hall	Conservative
	Reggie Jones	Labour	Blacon Lodge	Conservative
	Bob Rudd	Labour	Boughton	Conservative	Sharon Tyrrell
	Ann Farrell	Liberal Democrat	Boughton Heath	Conservative	Pamela Hall
	John Boughton	Conservative	Christleton	No clear challenger	n/a
	Janet Black	Labour	College	Conservative / Lib Dem	Simon Harris
	Richard Short	Conservative	Curzon & Westminster	No clear challenger	n/a
	Barry Cowper	Labour	Elton	Conservative
	Barry Sullivan	Liberal Democrat	Hoole All Saints	Conservative / Labour
	Beverly Eaton	Liberal Democrat	Hoole Groves	Labour	Alex Black
	John Moore	Liberal Democrat	Huntington	Conservative	Mark Williams
	Joan Fairhurst ³	Liberal Democrat	Kelsall	Conservative	Hugo Deynam
	David Challen ²	Labour	Lache Park	Conservative	Neil Sullivan
	Keith Ebben	Conservative	Malpas	No clear challenger	n/a
	Margaret Parker	Conservative	Mickle Trafford	No clear challenger	n/a
	Robert Jordan	Liberal Democrat	Newton Brook	Conservative	Terri Grey
	Douglas Haynes ⁴	Independent	Tattenhall	Conservative	Carol Weaver
	Colin Bain ¹	Liberal Democrat	Upton Grange	Conservative	Hilarie McNae
	Graham Proctor	Liberal Democrat	Vicars Cross	Conservative	George Turner

^*In wards where the 2nd placed candidate gets less than 20% of the vote then 'No Clear Challenger' has been inserted (Eg Barrow last result = Con 465, Lab 68, LD 63). In wards where multiple parties are challenging then the names of both parties have been included (Eg College last result = Lab 394, LD 316, Con 287, Green 138). To avoid bias, political parties have been listed in alphabetical order.

¹Colin Bain is not seeking re-election. The Liberal Democrats have chosen the losing candidate from 2006, Michael Main, to contest the 2007 election for them.

²David Challen is not seeking re-election. Labour have chosen the losing candidate from 2006, Jane Mercer, to contest the 2007 election for them.

³Joan Fairhurst is not seeking re-election.

⁴Doug Haynes, the only independent member of the council, is not expected to seek re-election.

For Past Election Results See Elections in Chester.