Lichfield and Burntwood turned blue as the Conservatives took every Staffordshire County Council seat across the district.
Labour’s hopes of retaining and winning seats collapsed as the national voting picture was repeated locally.
Burntwood saw Tom Loughbrough-Rudd oust Sue Woodward, while Darren Ennis’ hopes of winning a seat at the county council were dashed as the Conservatives saw Mike Wilcox take the seat.
The nearest Labour came to taking a seat in Lichfield was the Lichfield City North division where Kathy Coe MBE was beaten by district councillor Janice Silvester-Hall.
Among those celebrating the local successes was Lichfield MP Michael Fabricant who described the results as “spectacular”.
Full results – Staffordshire County Council local seats
Burntwood North
- Tom Loughbrough Rudd (Cons) – 1,450
- Sue Woodward (Lab) – 1,415
- Jamie Christie (Lib Dem) – 97
Burntwood South
- Michael Wilcox (Cons) – 1,419
- Darren Ennis (Lab) – 1,339
- John Paul Taylor (Lib Dem) – 199
Lichfield City North
- Janice Silvester-Hall (Cons) – 1,391
- Kathy Coe (Lab) – 1,047
- Miles Trent (Lib Dem) – 370
- Stephen Sanders (Green) – 269
- Christopher Wilkinson (Ind) – 143
- John Madden (Ind) – 80
Lichfield City South
- Colin Greatorex (Cons) – 1,936
- Ann Hughes (Lab) – 857
- Hugh Ashton (Lib Dem) – 691
- Paul Ecclestone-Brown (Green) – 508
Lichfield Rural East
- Alan White (Cons) – 2,196
- Lorna McGinty (Lab) – 583
- Roger Bennion (Lib Dem) – 485
Lichfield Rural North
- Janet Eagland (Cons) – 2,153
- David Whatton (Lab) – 712
- Simon Partridge (Green) – 360
- Paul McDermott (Lib Dem) – 229
- Peter Longman (Ind) – 202
Lichfield Rural South
- David Smith (Cons) – 2l,754
- Brad Westwood (Lab) – 566
- John Smith (Lib Dem) – 258
Lichfield Rural West
- Richard Cox (Cons) – 2,629
- Mark Pritchard (Lab) – 614
- Fiona Robertson (Lib Dem) – 232
- Janet Higgins (UKIP) – 87
In 4 seats, an Alliance between Labour, Lib Dem’s & Greens would have won. This clean sweep would have never happened under PR – or against a tactical opposition.
Burntwood South electing Wilcox has to be a joke, surely?? This is a man who has shown himself to be incompetent to the point of being kicked out of LDC leader, wasted millions on Friarsgate fiasco, and is to blame for the current Netherstowe public space debacle. Regardless of you political persuasions – why would anyone vote for him??
So it would appear that the saying is correct- you could put a blue rosette on a pig and it would get elected. After all of the scandals of the Conservatives, nationally and locally, they sweep the board. Has COVID affected everyone’s brains around here? How bad do the Tories have to be before people stop voting for them? I despair.
I can well understand the detachment many feel for national politics but local politics are a different matter. The outcome of the election is more an endorsement of a Pavlovian experiment than the expression of freewill and democracy.
Sadly far too many voters didn’t vote, apathy rules and this is what you get, suck it up!
NG makes a valid point. With the low turnout (33%?), the majority of people didn’t vote for the party that won, and I would question whether elections with such turnouts, which have become common these days, can even be considered valid. Proportional representation, and making voting a legal requirement, would help to address this basic flaw in our system, but I’m not holding my breath on this happening.
Sue Woodward and Darren Ennis have worked hard in the community, including during COVID, and in both cases for over a decade. Mike Wilcox lives in Alrewas, is responsible for Friarsgate and the current legal bills. T L Rudd was invisible during the big Burntwood Be A Friend campaign. Thats a big thank you from many people who benefited from Sue and Darren…NOT. Appalling.
Like 1,537 of my neighbours, I voted against Mike Wilcox in the Burntwood South seat. Unfortunately, as we don’t have PR, the only way to have stopped him getting in would have involved some soul-searching collaboration by the opposition parties. But let’s be quite clear: most of those who voted in Burntwood South did not want him representing this area.
Tory manopoly so they can now do as they like they always have
Shows that social media and website comments are no useful barometer for public opinion. The messages are simply not getting through to the right people, or in some cases they are just not getting delivered at all.
The low turn out is also a huge factor. That is not sour grapes, it is not papering over the cracks. It is a basic fact – a circa 30% turn out is shamefully low and does and should not represent a clear mandate, no matter who the winner is and which party they represent.
There is a fundamental problem with our political system that 30% turn outs are deemed acceptable. Part of that problem is that whoever wins with that sort of turn out – whichever colour rosette they wear and whichever party they represent – immediately believes they have secured some overwhelming victory. That cannot be justified.
Anyone on here answer this. Janet England said she will stop HGVS using Trent Valley road, how are the lorries going to deliver to Tesco and Aldi? What route are they going to use. Also we have the biggest waste of money (HS2) going on in lichfield, how are they going to deliver the materials to site, on Father Christmas sleigh?
I’m astonished by the result for Mr Wilcox! Given the history and evidence why would any sensible person put their x on the paper irrespective of your political loyalty.
I wonder what future joys await us 🤔😦😦
Tory dominance in lichfield continues to be a reflection of a large retired population, and voter ignorance of how disastrous bungling Boris dealt too late with Covid, party cronyism, and a leader who lies.
Sorry losers,this is democracy.turnout maybe low but the point is voters who did take time to vote did so and elected council lots should be gratefull and make good their promises. It’s just like the Scottish issue,snp harps on about the democratic right to have a second referendum,if the vote had gone the other way and Scotland had become independent there would quash any calls for 2nd referendum within seconds.the people had voted to stay part of the union but the snp won’t have it.shame on them.they need to get on with the job they have given to do.
I am absolutely disgusted to think that we have a conservative councillor for Burntwood. When clearly it should be where I live Darren Ennis. He has clearly done lots of things for Burntwood. Susan Woodward is also an excellent councillor in Burntwood and liked by so many people. Will the councillor from Alrewas come to Burntwood and get his hands dirty band pick up litter? Will he support local businesses? Will he sort out issues for people, so much so that it’s done. All I can say is the 31% vote which is pitiful has gone by Parliament views and not by what Labour councillors have done for the people of Burntwood. Keep fighting Darren and Susan we all love you and thank you for everything you’ve done. We believe in you. 😊
..and the public gets what the public wants, but I don’t get…
It should be made legal that u must vote,i know at least 15 peop,e who havent voted,too much trouble,the results would certainly be different
I spoke to a friend on polling day.
Me: Have you voted?
Him: Yes.
Me: Who did you vote for?
Him: Conservatives.
Me: No, what was the persons name?
Him: No idea. They were the Conservative person.
That is how people like Mike Wilcox, with a track record of failure, continue to win.
Sue Woodward, losing. From what I have seen. Burntwood, have lost a real fighter for their area.
At 37 years of age I suspect I’m one of the younger voters in Lichfield from this vote. I used to vote conservative when I was younger, but as I’ve gotten older realised the brand of conservatism now is centred on some sort of small minded world war 2 churchillian vision. Who on earth is voting for a group of self serving fat cats?
All l can see is Red went to yellow then to Green. So don’t blame Blue……
33% that’s a poor result by any other standard, nobody can get excited by that, but when that is the total electorate that actually voted, roll out the sacred cow of democracy, it doesn’t matter that 77% did not vote, forget all about the majority, this is a democracy! we don’t care if nobody knows or cares about politics we aren’t going to fix that, because it’s a democracy! and it works for the few.
I voted for Kathy Coe, a lady who set up and helped hundreds of people living in homes and suffering with domestic violence. I was certain she would be voted for, having made “pathway project” the success she should have won. Try again Kathy next time. You have done miracles for Lichfield.
My husband and I made a special point of voting this year. Why, because it was obvious with the entry of the Green party candidates the vote would be diluted. We were unsure which voters would vote Green but we knew they would. As it happens the Greens turning up in Lichfield has been a massive help for the Conservatives. As the first comment on this page says, politics and voting are tactical not personal. Without an alliance, the conservatives will continue to win.
Darren Roberts. Deliveries are allowed even when a weight restriction is introduced. The weight restriction being introduced is to stop HGVs using the town centre road as a rat run. Keeping them on the trunk roads/ bypasses/Diversion routes that were built for them.
http://www.l-a-g.co.uk
For the first time ever I didn’t vote for a SCC councillor this year. The only party to bother publishing candidate promotion material was the conservatives in Lichfield Rural East. I had to go online to find out who else was standing for election and all I could come up with was their names.
Shame on you Phil Bennion (Lib Dem) and Lorna McGinty (Lab). I’m not voting for someone I know absolutely nothing about.
I think agitator of people And everybody else who moans about the lack of turn out is completely wrong.We all have a vote, it is our right how we use that vote,if You Don’t USE It, You Have No Right to Complain Of The Result. STOP COMPLAINING. Don’t get me wrong our elected councillors must delivery what they promise if they don’t,the next time we should have independent candidates to challenge the main parties.
I did not vote because the last time I voted was Brexit it took yrs to get .all parties are liars .I am a pensioner now,been lied to all my life by different parties I will never vote again
The only good news is that 77% of the local population didn’t vote Conservative.
I despair of people not voting, especially women. Other women died in order to get the chance to vote.
Thanks for making your point Mr.Roy Appleby. But I bet you my last dollar she will NOT keep to her promise
Mr Wilcox has a poor track record in local politics. About time him and Fabricant stood down.
I look with disbelief at the election of Mike Wilcox. Once upon a time someone who made errors which cost the local taxpayers upwards of two million pounds would have resigned as a matter of principle; seems like having a sense of duty is no longer a requirement for public office.