2023 Babergh District Council election
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All 32 seats to Babergh District Council 17 seats needed for a majority | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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![]() Winner of each seat at the 2023 Babergh District Council election | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 2023 Babergh District Council election was held on 4 May 2023 to elect members of Babergh District Council in Suffolk, England.[1] This was on the same day as other local elections.
Summary
Prior to the election the council was under no overall control, being run by a coalition of independents, Greens, Liberal Democrats and Labour, led by independent councillor John Ward who had been initially appointed as a Conservative before leaving the party in 2022.[2][3]
All parties, excluding the Conservatives, stood increased numbers of candidates since the 2019 election. The number of Labour and Liberal Democrat candidates doubled and the Green Party stood a full-slate for the first time at a Babergh District Council election. In contrast to the other parties, the number of Conservative candidates substantially declined, with several former councillors opting to stand as Independents.
The council remained under no overall control, with the Greens emerging as the largest party.[4] Conservative group leader Simon Barrett lost his seat.[5] Conversely, Deputy Council Leader and Independent Group Leader Clive Arthey was heavily defeated in Lavenham, which the Conservatives targeted hard, thus culminating in their only gain of the election.
A coalition of the Greens, independents and Liberal Democrats formed after the election with an agreement that leadership would rotate between the groups across the four years to the next election, with Liberal Democrat councillor David Busby being leader for the first year, Green councillor Deborah Saw leading for the second and fourth years and independent councillor John Ward leading for the third year.[6][7]
Overall results
2023 Babergh District Council election | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidates | Seats | Gains | Losses | Net gain/loss | Seats % | Votes % | Votes | +/− | |
Green | 32 | 10 | 7 | 1 | ![]() |
31.3 | 31.1 | 11,116 | +7.8 | |
Independent | 13 | 9 | 3 | 1 | ![]() |
28.1 | 15.9 | 5,671 | –3.6 | |
Conservative | 21 | 7 | 1 | 9 | ![]() |
21.9 | 24.1 | 8,610 | –10.7 | |
Liberal Democrats | 23 | 5 | 2 | 0 | ![]() |
15.6 | 15.8 | 5,645 | +5.5 | |
Labour | 22 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ![]() |
3.1 | 13.1 | 4,680 | +3.5 |
Ward results
The Statement of Persons Nominated, which details the candidates standing in each ward, was released by Babergh District Council following the close of nominations on 5 April 2023.[8] The results for each ward were as follows, with an asterisk (*) indicating an incumbent councillor standing for re-election.[5][9][10]
Assington
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal Democrats | Lee Parker | 452 | 49.8 | N/A | |
Conservative | Richard Sunderland | 341 | 37.6 | +4.5 | |
Green | Amy Aylett | 115 | 12.7 | –4.7 | |
Majority | 111 | 12.2 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 917 | 41.0 | +1.6 | ||
Registered electors | 2,237 | ||||
Liberal Democrats gain from Independent | Swing | N/A |
Box Vale
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal Democrats | Bryn Hurren* | 684 | 64.0 | –16.1 | |
Conservative | Fred Topham | 180 | 16.8 | –3.1 | |
Green | Theresa Munson | 154 | 14.4 | N/A | |
Labour | Rupert Perry | 51 | 4.8 | N/A | |
Majority | 504 | 47.2 | –13.9 | ||
Turnout | 1,071 | 46.3 | –1.5 | ||
Registered electors | 2,313 | ||||
Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | ![]() |
Brantham
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Independent | Alastair McCraw* | 560 | 77.7 | –8.2 | |
Green | Miriam Burns | 101 | 14.0 | +7.0 | |
Labour | Steven Hunter | 60 | 8.3 | N/A | |
Majority | 459 | 63.7 | –15.1 | ||
Turnout | 721 | 33.9 | –7.0 | ||
Registered electors | 2,127 | ||||
Independent hold | Swing | ![]() |
Brett Vale
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Independent | John Ward* | 457 | 39.7 | N/A | |
Conservative | Shaun Davis | 352 | 30.6 | –16.2 | |
Green | Peter Lynn | 158 | 13.7 | –6.2 | |
Labour | Lindsay Francis | 102 | 8.9 | N/A | |
Liberal Democrats | Benjamin Herbig | 81 | 7.0 | N/A | |
Majority | 105 | 9.1 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 1,151 | 43.7 | +2.9 | ||
Registered electors | 2,636 | ||||
Independent gain from Conservative | Swing | N/A |
Bures St Mary & Nayland
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Isabelle Reece | 369 | 39.8 | –13.4 | |
Green | Patrick McKenna | 319 | 34.4 | –12.4 | |
Liberal Democrats | Rain Welham-Cobb | 165 | 17.8 | N/A | |
Labour | Julian Freeman | 73 | 7.9 | N/A | |
Majority | 50 | 5.4 | –1.0 | ||
Turnout | 932 | 41.6 | +7.4 | ||
Registered electors | 2,242 | ||||
Conservative hold | Swing | ![]() |
Capel St Mary
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal Democrats | John Whyman | 635 | 79.0 | –0.1 | |
Green | Andrew Iredale Jaswal | 169 | 21.0 | N/A | |
Majority | 466 | 58.0 | –0.2 | ||
Turnout | 821 | 31.4 | –6.2 | ||
Registered electors | 2,616 | ||||
Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | N/A |
Chadacre
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Michael Holt* | 748 | 46.5 | –5.6 | |
Independent | Stephen Plumb* | 712 | 44.3 | –21.3 | |
Green | Ralph Carpenter | 541 | 33.6 | +8.8 | |
Green | Polly Rodger-Brown | 314 | 19.5 | –2.1 | |
Labour | Matthew Marshall | 278 | 17.3 | N/A | |
Liberal Democrats | Cheryl Schmidt | 203 | 12.6 | N/A | |
Turnout | 1,609 | 33.4 | +2.1 | ||
Registered electors | 4,824 | ||||
Conservative hold | |||||
Independent hold |
Copdock & Washbrook
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal Democrats | David Busby* | 591 | 56.4 | –5.0 | |
Conservative | Christopher Hudson | 309 | 29.5 | –9.1 | |
Green | Karen Marshall | 147 | 14.0 | N/A | |
Majority | 282 | 26.9 | +4.1 | ||
Turnout | 1,061 | 39.8 | ±0.0 | ||
Registered electors | 2,663 | ||||
Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | ![]() |
East Bergholt
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Green | Sallie Davies | 546 | 52.7 | +27.0 | |
Independent | John Hinton* | 253 | 24.4 | –20.0 | |
Conservative | Stephen Williams | 141 | 13.6 | –16.4 | |
Labour | Adrian James | 74 | 7.1 | N/A | |
Liberal Democrats | Lauren De Banks | 22 | 2.1 | N/A | |
Majority | 293 | 28.3 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 1,044 | 46.5 | +5.6 | ||
Registered electors | 2,243 | ||||
Green gain from Independent | Swing | ![]() |
Ganges
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Independent | Derek Davis* | 310 | 45.9 | –25.0 | |
Conservative | Shane Rolin | 190 | 28.1 | +14.1 | |
Green | Shazz Kennedy | 67 | 9.9 | +1.7 | |
Labour | Simon Whitney | 63 | 9.3 | N/A | |
Liberal Democrats | Paul Woodcraft | 45 | 6.7 | –0.1 | |
Majority | 120 | 17.8 | –39.1 | ||
Turnout | 676 | 34.1 | –7.9 | ||
Registered electors | 1,982 | ||||
Independent hold | Swing | ![]() |
Great Cornard
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Green | Ruth Hendry | 694 | 35.4 | +14.6 | |
Conservative | Mark Newman* | 660 | 33.7 | –4.5 | |
Conservative | Peter Beer* | 658 | 33.6 | –5.7 | |
Conservative | Judith Wilson | 627 | 32.0 | –3.8 | |
Labour | Emma Bishton | 545 | 27.8 | –3.1 | |
Labour | Kevin Graham | 542 | 27.6 | –0.6 | |
Labour | Tom Keane | 450 | 22.9 | –3.0 | |
Green | Melanie Boyce | 438 | 22.3 | +5.0 | |
Green | Heather James | 396 | 20.2 | +4.0 | |
Liberal Democrats | Marjorie Bark | 387 | 19.7 | +5.5 | |
Turnout | 1,961 | 27.4 | +2.0 | ||
Registered electors | 7,152 | ||||
Green gain from Conservative | |||||
Conservative hold | |||||
Conservative hold |
Hadleigh North
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Green | Simon Dowling | 230 | 33.8 | +13.8 | |
Conservative | Sian Dawson* | 199 | 29.3 | –6.7 | |
Independent | Gordon McLeod | 101 | 14.9 | N/A | |
Liberal Democrats | David Butcher | 80 | 11.8 | –10.5 | |
Labour | Andy Kennedy | 70 | 10.3 | –11.5 | |
Majority | 31 | 4.5 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 686 | 30.3 | –2.2 | ||
Registered electors | 2,266 | ||||
Green gain from Conservative | Swing | ![]() |
Hadleigh South
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Green | Jane Carruthers | 539 | 40.4 | +16.2 | |
Independent | Kathryn Grandon* | 498 | 37.3 | –17.5 | |
Green | Alex Parvu | 483 | 36.2 | +20.1 | |
Conservative | Alan Ferguson | 418 | 31.3 | +2.6 | |
Liberal Democrats | Duncan Read | 250 | 18.7 | N/A | |
Labour | Mark Heath | 171 | 12.8 | –8.8 | |
Turnout | 1,334 | 30.1 | –3.9 | ||
Registered electors | 4,435 | ||||
Green gain from Conservative | |||||
Independent hold |
Lavenham
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Margaret Maybury* | 966 | 52.7 | +6.8 | |
Conservative | Paul Clover | 844 | 46.1 | +7.6 | |
Independent | Clive Arthey* | 376 | 20.5 | –22.9 | |
Liberal Democrats | Nigel Adam | 363 | 19.8 | N/A | |
Green | Shaun Moffat | 355 | 19.4 | –14.0 | |
Green | Steve Nuttall | 256 | 14.0 | N/A | |
Labour | Andrew Worpole | 242 | 13.2 | N/A | |
Turnout | 1,832 | 40.7 | +1.6 | ||
Registered electors | 4,499 | ||||
Conservative hold | |||||
Conservative gain from Independent |
Long Melford
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Independent | John Nunn* | 1,069 | 65.2 | –11.2 | |
Independent | Liz Malvisi* | 571 | 34.8 | N/A | |
Conservative | Melanie Barrett | 399 | 23.4 | –13.1 | |
Green | Fae Gilfillan | 279 | 17.0 | –5.9 | |
Labour | Michael Fitzmaurice | 228 | 13.9 | N/A | |
Green | Michael Chapman | 201 | 12.3 | ±0.0 | |
Liberal Democrats | Alan Scott | 124 | 7.6 | N/A | |
Turnout | 1,639 | 32.8 | –3.6 | ||
Registered electors | 4,993 | ||||
Independent hold | |||||
Independent gain from Conservative |
North West Cosford
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Green | Deborah Saw | 630 | 82.9 | +12.3 | |
Liberal Democrats | Mark Whyman | 130 | 17.1 | N/A | |
Majority | 500 | 65.8 | +24.6 | ||
Turnout | 804 | 36.8 | –8.8 | ||
Registered electors | 2,187 | ||||
Green hold | Swing | N/A |
Orwell
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Green | Daniel Potter | 509 | 63.4 | –9.0 | |
Liberal Democrats | Chris Janes | 191 | 23.8 | N/A | |
Labour | Keith Wade | 103 | 12.8 | N/A | |
Majority | 318 | 39.6 | –6.1 | ||
Turnout | 824 | 38.7 | –6.1 | ||
Registered electors | 2,129 | ||||
Green hold | Swing | N/A |
South East Cosford
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Green | Leigh Jamieson* | 811 | 88.9 | ||
Liberal Democrats | Rebecca Simpson | 101 | 11.1 | +11.1 | |
Majority | |||||
Turnout | |||||
Registered electors | |||||
Green hold | Swing |
Sproughton & Pinewood
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal Democrats | Helen Davies | 496 | 41.3 | N/A | |
Conservative | Brian Riley | 474 | 39.4 | +2.6 | |
Green | Mary Cook | 327 | 27.2 | –4.4 | |
Labour | Mary Manuel | 237 | 19.7 | –11.9 | |
Labour | Graham Manuel | 223 | 18.6 | N/A | |
Green | John Lyall | 176 | 14.6 | N/A | |
Turnout | 1,202 | 26.6 | +2.5 | ||
Registered electors | 4,511 | ||||
Liberal Democrats gain from Green | |||||
Conservative hold |
Stour
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Independent | Mary McLaren* | 448 | 46.0 | N/A | |
Green | Carrie Wheeler | 216 | 22.2 | +5.0 | |
Liberal Democrats | James Gilchrist | 194 | 19.9 | –4.1 | |
Labour | Tracy De Bernhardt Wood | 116 | 11.9 | N/A | |
Majority | 232 | 23.8 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 980 | 40.4 | –0.1 | ||
Registered electors | 2,428 | ||||
Independent gain from Conservative | Swing | N/A |
Sudbury North East
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour Co-op | Alison Owen* | 176 | 37.7 | +1.3 | |
Independent | Jan Osborne | 129 | 27.6 | N/A | |
Conservative | Simon Barrett | 79 | 16.9 | –9.2 | |
Green | Julie Fowles-Smith | 48 | 10.3 | –1.8 | |
Liberal Democrats | Gareth Evans | 35 | 7.5 | N/A | |
Majority | 47 | 10.1 | –0.2 | ||
Turnout | 472 | 23.4 | –2.1 | ||
Registered electors | 2,013 | ||||
Labour Co-op hold | Swing | N/A |
Sudbury North West
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Green | Jessie Carter | 800 | 55.7 | +38.1 | |
Green | Tim Regester | 537 | 37.4 | +23.9 | |
Conservative | Nicholas Younger | 348 | 24.3 | –9.1 | |
Liberal Democrats | Nigel Bennett | 312 | 21.7 | –3.0 | |
Labour | Adrian Stohr | 272 | 19.0 | –11.3 | |
Labour | Matthew Olyver | 265 | 18.5 | –4.7 | |
Turnout | 1,435 | 34.6 | +3.8 | ||
Registered electors | 4,142 | ||||
Green gain from Conservative | |||||
Green gain from Labour |
Sudbury South East
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Independent | Adrian Osborne* | 187 | 28.3 | N/A | |
Labour Co-op | David Finnigan | 172 | 26.0 | –8.1 | |
Green | Debo Adams | 136 | 20.6 | +7.8 | |
Conservative | Portia Berry-Kilby | 117 | 17.7 | –24.5 | |
Liberal Democrats | Martin Bark | 49 | 7.4 | –3.5 | |
Majority | 15 | 2.3 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 662 | 34.6 | +3.8 | ||
Registered electors | 1,911 | ||||
Independent gain from Conservative | Swing | N/A |
Sudbury South West
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Green | Laura Smith | 414 | 50.1 | +38.4 | |
Conservative | Jacqueline Rawlinson | 191 | 23.1 | –12.5 | |
Labour | Luke Cresswell | 167 | 20.2 | –7.7 | |
Liberal Democrats | Andrew Welsh | 55 | 6.7 | –6.8 | |
Majority | 223 | 27.0 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 841 | 38.0 | +3.2 | ||
Registered electors | 2,215 | ||||
Green gain from Conservative | Swing | ![]() |
References
- ^ Of the fourteen independent councillors prior to the election, ten formed the "Independent" group led by Clive Arthey and four formed the "Independent Conservative" group led by John Ward.
- ^ "NOTICE OF ELECTION" (PDF). Babergh District Council. Retrieved 6 April 2023.
- ^ "Public document pack, 25 May 2022" (PDF). Babergh District Council. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
- ^ Davis, Derek (27 April 2022). "New Babergh rainbow cabinet revealed after Tories split". Shotley Peninsula Nub News. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
- ^ "Babergh election result". BBC News. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
- ^ a b Geater, Paul (5 May 2023). "Greens advance in Babergh but district remains hung". Ipswich Star. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
- ^ "Council minutes, 23 May 2023". Babergh District Council. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
- ^ Malina, Thomas (2 June 2023). "New coalition cabinet appointed at Babergh District Council". Suffolk News. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
- ^ "Statement of Persons Nominated" (PDF). Babergh District Council. Retrieved 6 April 2023.
- ^ "Councillors for Babergh District". Babergh District Council. Archived from the original on 4 April 2023. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
- ^ "Declaration of result of poll". Babergh District Council. Retrieved 3 January 2024.