| Election Name: | 2024 Maidstone Borough Council election |
| Country: | Kent |
| Type: | parliamentary |
| Previous Election: | 2023 Maidstone Borough Council election |
| Previous Year: | 2023 |
| Next Election: | 2028 Maidstone Borough Council election |
| Next Year: | 2028 |
| Seats For Election: | All 49 seats to Maidstone Borough Council |
| Majority Seats: | 25 |
| Leader1: | David Burton |
| Party1: | Conservative Party (UK) |
| Last Election1: | 24 seats, 32.7% |
| Seats Before1: | 25 |
| Seats1: | 13 |
| Seat Change1: | 12 |
| Popular Vote1: | 26,353 |
| Percentage1: | 31.9% |
| Swing1: | 0.8% |
| Leader2: | Clive English |
| Party2: | Liberal Democrats (UK) |
| Last Election2: | 12 seats, 22.9% |
| Seats Before2: | 12 |
| Seats2: | 12 |
| Popular Vote2: | 16,639 |
| Percentage2: | 20.1% |
| Swing2: | 2.8% |
| Leader3: | Stuart Jeffery |
| Party3: | Green Party of England and Wales |
| Last Election3: | 3 seats, 16.8% |
| Seats Before3: | 3 |
| Seats3: | 10 |
| Seat Change3: | 7 |
| Popular Vote3: | 18,470 |
| Percentage3: | 22.3% |
| Swing3: | 5.5% |
| Leader4: | Maureen Cleator |
| Party4: | Labour Party (UK) |
| Last Election4: | 6 seats, 15.6% |
| Seats Before4: | 4 |
| Seats4: | 6 |
| Seat Change4: | 2 |
| Popular Vote4: | 10,415 |
| Percentage4: | 12.6% |
| Swing4: | 3.0% |
| Party5: | Independent politician |
| Last Election5: | 10 seats, 11.3% |
| Seats Before5: | 9 |
| Seats5: | 6 |
| Seat Change5: | 3 |
| Popular Vote5: | 5,582 |
| Percentage5: | 6.8% |
| Swing5: | 4.5% |
| Leader6: | Paul Harper |
| Party6: | Fant and Oakwood Independents |
| Last Election6: | n/a |
| Seats Before6: | 2 |
| Seats6: | 2 |
| Seat Change6: | 2 |
| Popular Vote6: | 2,434 |
| Percentage6: | 2.9% |
| Swing6: | n/a |
| Council control | |
| Posttitle: | Council control after election |
| Before Election: | David Burton Conservative |
| Before Party: | No overall control |
| After Election: | Stuart Jeffrey Green |
| After Party: | No overall control |
The 2024 Maidstone Borough Council election took place on Thursday 2 May 2024, alongside the other local elections in the United Kingdom being held on the same day. All 49 members of Maidstone Borough Council in Kent were elected following boundary changes.[1]
The council remained under no overall control. The Conservative minority administration which had been running the council prior to the election was replaced by a coalition of the Liberal Democrats, Greens and some of the independent councillors, led by Green councillor Stuart Jeffery.
Prior to the election, the council was under no overall control, being run by a Conservative minority administration with informal support from some of the independent councillors.[2] The leader of the council before the election was Conservative councillor David Burton, who had held the post since 2021. He did not stand for re-election.[3]
Following the election the council remained under no overall control. The Conservatives were still the largest party, but with a significantly reduced share of the seats.[4] A coalition of the Liberal Democrats, Greens and four of the independent councillors subsequently formed to run the council, led by Green councillor Stuart Jeffery. He was formally appointed as leader of the council at the subsequent annual council meeting on 18 May 2024.[5]
Maidstone usually elects its councillors in thirds, on a 4-year cycle. However, following boundary changes, all councillors will be elected to the new wards.[6] The change reduces the number of councillors by 6.
| Old wards[7] | No. of seats | New wards | No. of seats | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Allington | 3 | Allington and Bridge | 2 | |
| Barming | 1 | Barming Heath and Teston | 2 | |
| Bearsted | 3 | Bearsted and Downswood | 3 | |
| Boughton Monchelsea and Chart Sutton | 1 | Boughton Monchelsea and Chart Sutton | 1 | |
| Boxley | 3 | Boxley Downs | 2 | |
| Bridge | 2 | Coxheath and Farleigh | 2 | |
| Coxheath and Hunton | 3 | Fant and Oakwood | 3 | |
| Detling and Thurnham | 1 | Grove Green and Vinters Park | 3 | |
| Downswood and Otham | 1 | Harrietsham, Lenham and North Downs | 3 | |
| East | 3 | Headcorn and Sutton Valence | 2 | |
| Fant | 3 | High Street | 3 | |
| Harrietsham and Lenham | 2 | Leeds and Langley | 2 | |
| Headcorn | 2 | Loose and Linton | 2 | |
| Heath | 2 | Marden and Yalding | 3 | |
| High Street | 3 | Palace Wood | 2 | |
| Leeds | 1 | Park Wood and Mangravet | 2 | |
| Loose | 1 | Penenden Heath | 3 | |
| Marden and Yalding | 3 | Ringlestone | 1 | |
| North | 3 | Senacre | 1 | |
| North Downs | 1 | Shepway | 3 | |
| Park Wood | 2 | Staplehurst | 2 | |
| Shepway North | 3 | Tovil | 2 | |
| Shepway North | 3 | |||
| Shepway South | 2 | |||
| South | 3 | |||
| Staplehurst | 2 | |||
| Sutton Valence and Langley | 1 |
| After 2023 election | Before 2024 election[8] | After 2024 election | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Seats | Party | Seats | Party | Seats | |||
| 24 | 25 | 13 | ||||||
| 12 | 12 | 12 | ||||||
| 6 | 4 | 6 | ||||||
| 3 | 3 | 10 | ||||||
| Fant & Oakwood Independents | Didn't exist | Fant & Oakwood Independents | 2 | Fant & Oakwood Independents | 2 | |||
| 10 | 9 | 6 | ||||||
|-
An asterisk denotes an incumbent councillor seeking re-election.
Patrick Coates and Paul Harper were originally elected as Labour Party candidates, but stood under the descriptions of "Fant and Oakwood Independents" at this election.
Michelle Hastie was originally elected as an Liberal Democrat.