2023 Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council election

Main article: 2023 Northern Ireland local elections

← 2019

18 May 2023

2027 →

All 40 council seats
21 seats needed for a majority

	First party	Second party	Third party

Leader	Jeffrey Donaldson	Michelle O'Neill	Naomi Long
Party	DUP	Sinn Féin	Alliance
Last election	14	5	7
Seats won	13	9	8
Seat change	1	4	1
Popular vote	16,066	11,613	9,179
Percentage	30.1%	21.7%	17.1%
Swing	1.4%	8.6%	1.6%

	Fourth party	Fifth party	Sixth party

Leader	Doug Beattie		Colum Eastwood
Party	UUP	Independent	SDLP
Last election	9	1	4
Seats won	7	2	1
Seat change	2	1	3
Popular vote	8,358	1,517	2,829
Percentage	15.7%	2.8%	5.3%
Swing	4.6%	2.5%	2.5%

Antrim and Newtownabbey 2023 Council Election Results by DEA (Shaded by the plurality of FPVs)

Council control before election

No overall control

Council control after election

Democratic Unionist-Ulster Unionist Executive

The 2023 election to Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council was held on 18 May 2023, alongside other local elections in Northern Ireland, two weeks after the local elections in England. The Northern Ireland elections were delayed by 2 weeks to avoid overlapping with the coronation of King Charles III.

They returned 40 members to the council via Single Transferable Vote.

Election results

2023 Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council election result
Party		Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
	DUP	13	0	1	1	32.50	30.05	16,066	1.42
	Sinn Féin	9	4	0	4	22.50	21.72	11,613	8.66
	Alliance	8	1	0	1	20.00	17.17	9,179	1.52
	UUP	7	0	2	2	17.50	15.63	8,358	4.64
	Independent	2	1	0	1	5.00	2.84	1,517	2.50
	SDLP	1	0	3	3	2.50	5.29	2,829	2.51
	TUV	0	0	0	0	0.00	4.49	2,403	2.81
	Green (NI)	0	0	0	0	0.00	1.80	964	1.09
	PUP	0	0	0	0	0.00	0.46	244	New
	Aontú	0	0	0	0	0.00	0.45	243	New
	NI Conservatives	0	0	0	0	0.00	0.09	49	New
Total		40						53,465

Note: "Votes" are the first preference votes.

Districts summary

Results of the 2023 Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council election
by district
District Electoral Area (DEA)	%	Cllrs	%	Cllrs	%	Cllrs	%	Cllrs	%	Cllrs	%	Cllrs	Total cllrs
District Electoral Area (DEA)	DUP		Sinn Féin		Alliance		UUP		SDLP		Independents and others		Total cllrs
Airport	22.79	1	36.29	2 1	15.08	1	13.41	1	10.75	0 1	1.67	0	5
Antrim	27.57	2	17.82	1 1	20.87	1	16.64	1 1	9.51	1	7.59	0	6
Ballyclare	36.36	2	1.20	0	13.60	1 1	24.15	1 1	0.00	0	24.84	1	5
Dunsilly	22.57	1	34.94	2 1	12.25	1	11.31	1	9.71	0 1	9.23	0	5
Glengormley Urban	26.06	2	35.29	3 1	16.05	1	10.86	1	6.45	0 1	5.29	0	7
Macedon	32.98	2 1	18.63	1	15.24	1	15.99	1	0.00	0	17.17	1 1	6
Three Mile Water	43.07	3	4.17	0	26.93	2	18.31	1	0.00	0	7.53	0	6
Total	30.05	13 1	21.72	9 4	17.17	8 1	15.63	7 2	5.29	1 3	10.14	2 1	40

District results

Airport

2019: 1 x DUP, 1 x Sinn Féin, 1 x UUP, 1 x Alliance, 1 x SDLP

2023: 2 x Sinn Féin, 1 x DUP, 1 x UUP, 1 x Alliance

2019–2023 Change: Sinn Féin gain from SDLP

Airport - 5 seats
Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
Party		Candidate	FPv%	1	2	3	4
	DUP	Matthew Magill*	22.79%	1,827
	Sinn Féin	Anne-Marie Logue*	19.64%	1,574
	Sinn Féin	Maighréad Ní Chonghaile	16.65%	1,335	1,355
	UUP	Paul Michael* ‡	13.41%	1,075	1,086	1,536.63
	Alliance	Andrew McAuley*	15.08%	1,209	1,281	1,295.58	1,342.02
	SDLP	Thomas Burns*	10.75%	862	889	898.72	1,081.96
	Green (NI)	Terri Johnston	1.67%	134
Electorate: 15,479 Valid: 8,016 (51.79%) Spoilt: 55 Quota: 1,337 Turnout: 8,071 (52.14%)

Antrim

2019: 2 x DUP, 2 x UUP, 1 x Alliance, 1 x SDLP

2023: 2 x DUP, 1 x Sinn Féin, 1 x Alliance, 1 x UUP, 1 x SDLP

2019–2023 Change: Sinn Féin gain from UUP

Antrim - 6 seats
Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
Party		Candidate	FPv%	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
	Sinn Féin	Lucille O'Hagan	17.82%	1,270
	Alliance	Neil Kelly*	15.31%	1,091
	DUP	Paul Dunlop*	13.84%	986	987.05	1,078.05
	DUP	John Smyth*	10.12%	721	722.26	857.26	858.46	905.36	1,168.36
	SDLP	Roisin Lynch*	9.51%	678	851.67	888.34	902.68	903.35	913.35	914.71	1,104.71
	UUP	Leah Smyth*	10.44%	744	746.1	764.31	768.15	770.16	867.16	963.04	1,032.04
	UUP	Jim Montgomery*	6.20%	442	443.47	461.47	463.81	470.51	527.72	576	610
	Alliance	Tommy Monahan	5.56%	396	443.04	482.77	524.59	524.59	536.07	538.79
	TUV	Richard Shields	6.36%	453	454.05	465.05	465.47	467.48
	DUP	Karl McMeekin	3.61%	257	257.21
	Green (NI)	Eleanor Bailey	1.23%	88	101.23
Electorate: 16,652 Valid: 7,126 (42.79%) Spoilt: 89 Quota: 1,019 Turnout: 7,215 (43.33%)

Ballyclare

2019: 2 x UUP, 2 x DUP, 1 x Independent

2023: 2 x DUP, 1 x UUP, 1 x Alliance, 1 x Independent

2019–2023 Change: Alliance gain from UUP

Ballyclare - 5 seats
Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
Party		Candidate	FPv%	1	2	3	4	5
	DUP	Jeannie Archibald*	23.18%	1,655
	DUP	Helen Magill	13.18%	947	1,297.46
	UUP	Vera McWilliam*	15.74%	1,131	1,151.52	1,159.79	1,620.79
	Alliance	Lewis Boyle	13.60%	977	984.02	1,103.02	1,129.29	1,234.29
	Independent	Michael Stewart*	12.92%	928	937.99	990.99	1,041.5	1,153.5
	TUV	Mel Lucas	10.40%	747	791.55	793.82	845.14	1,004.14
	UUP	Norrie Ramsay*	8.41%	604	615.07	619.34
	Green (NI)	Robert Robinson	1.52%	109	109.81
	Sinn Féin	Gerard Magee	1.20%	86	86.27
Electorate: 14,151 Valid: 7,184 (50.77%) Spoilt: 64 Quota: 1,198 Turnout: 7,248 (51.22%)

Dunsilly

2019: 1 x DUP, 1 x Sinn Féin, 1 x UUP, 1 x Alliance, 1 x SDLP

2023: 2 x Sinn Féin, 1 x DUP, 1 x Alliance, 1 x UUP

2019–2023 Change: Sinn Féin gain from SDLP

Dunsilly - 5 seats
Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
Party		Candidate	FPv%	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
	Sinn Féin	Henry Cushinan*	18.65%	1,390
	Sinn Féin	Annie O'Lone	16.29%	1,214	1,312
	DUP	Linda Clarke*	13.11%	977	986	1,153	1,153.13	1,153.13	1,773.13
	UUP	Stewart Wilson	11.31%	843	843	951	951.78	951.78	1,134.78	1,644.78
	Alliance	Jay Burbank*	12.25%	913	930	935	965.29	969.74	982.74	997.74	1,128.74
	SDLP	Ryan Wilson*	9.71%	724	794	801	907.08	971.16	972.16	977.16	1,000.16
	DUP	Tom Cunningham	9.46%	705	705	846	846.13	846.13
	TUV	Jonathan Campbell	5.97%	445	446
	Aontú	Siobhán McErlean	3.26%	243
Electorate: 13,300 Valid: 7,454 (56.05%) Spoilt: 69 Quota: 1,243 Turnout: 7,523 (56.56%)

Glengormley Urban

2019: 2 x DUP, 2 x Sinn Féin, 1 x Alliance, 1 x UUP, 1 x SDLP

2023: 3 x Sinn Féin, 2 x DUP, 1 x Alliance, 1 x UUP

2019–2023 Change: Sinn Féin gain from SDLP

Glengormley Urban - 7 seats
Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
Party		Candidate	FPv%	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
	DUP	Alison Bennington*	16.34%	1,432
	Sinn Féin	Eamonn McLaughlin	14.60%	1,280
	DUP	Paula Bradley*	9.72%	852	1,151.92
	Alliance	Julian McGrath*	11.34%	994	996.76	999.42	1,012.42	1,072.84	1,434.84
	UUP	Mark Cosgrove*	10.86%	952	969.25	969.39	1,041.69	1,069.92	1,104.92
	Sinn Féin	Rosie Kinnear*	11.09%	972	972.23	1,011.43	1,014.8	1,052.22	1,066.64	1,094.64
	Sinn Féin	Michael Goodman*	9.59%	841	841.69	966.57	969.57	994.13	1,008.83	1,030.83
	SDLP	Noreen McClelland*	6.45%	565	567.07	574.35	582.35	632.63	707.03	907.03
	Alliance	Anita Piatek	4.71%	413	413.69	416.63	422.77	532
	Green (NI)	Lesley Veronica	3.57%	313	313.92	315.46	341.06
	Independent	Michael Maguire	1.16%	102	104.07	104.49
	NI Conservatives	Jason Reid	0.56%	49	50.15	50.15
Electorate: 16,445 Valid: 8,765 (53.30%) Spoilt: 129 Quota: 1,096 Turnout: 8,894 (54.08%)

Macedon

2019: 3 x DUP, 1 x Alliance, 1 x UUP, 1 x Sinn Féin

2023: 2 x DUP, 1 x Sinn Féin, 1 x UUP, 1 x Alliance, 1 x Independent

2019–2023 Change: Independent gain from DUP

Macedon - 6 seats
Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
Party		Candidate	FPv%	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
	Sinn Féin	Taylor McGrann*	18.63%	1,326
	DUP	Matthew Brady*	17.14%	1,220
	UUP	Robert Foster*	15.99%	1,138
	Alliance	Billy Webb*	15.24%	1,085
	DUP	Ben Mallon*	8.06%	574	576.05	728.21	757.8	848.12	850.01	1,039.01
	Independent	Stafford Ward	6.84%	487	518.16	523.92	552.85	611.8	623.7	683.8	836.19
	DUP	Victor Robinson*	7.78%	553	555.05	571.37	584.9	608.42	610.45	722.49	751.79
	Green (NI)	Ellie Byrne	2.22%	158	420.4	422.16	427.22	443.25	491.76	512.08
	TUV	Norman Boyd	4.68%	333	334.64	345.2	363.79	433.8	435.76
	PUP	Rosemary Bell-McCracken	3.43%	244	250.56	258.24	281.89
Electorate: 14,554 Valid: 7,118 (48.91%) Spoilt: 85 Quota: 1,017 Turnout: 7,203 (49.49%)

Three Mile Water

2019: 3 x DUP, 2 x Alliance, 1 x UUP

2023: 3 x DUP, 2 x Alliance, 1 x UUP

2019–2023 Change: No Change

Three Mile Water - 6 seats
Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
Party		Candidate	FPv%	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
	DUP	Mark Cooper*	20.19%	1,575
	Alliance	Tom Campbell*	17.82%	1,390
	DUP	Stephen Ross*	15.52%	1,211
	Alliance	Julie Gilmour*	9.11%	711	716.22	955.05	1,057.62	1,328.62
	DUP	Sam Flanagan*	7.36%	574	952.74	954.83	957.83	960.83	963.83	1,206.83
	UUP	Stephen Cosgrove	11.52%	899	931.48	942.12	955.5	966.45	1,007.45	1,081.45
	UUP	Brian Kerr	6.79%	530	542.76	545.61	557.18	562.37	583.37	661.37
	TUV	Trevor Mawhinney	5.45%	425	446.17	446.55	451.93	455.93	460.93
	Sinn Féin	Emmanuel Mullen	4.17%	325	325	328.42	340.56
	Green (NI)	Dylan Loughlin	2.08%	162	162.87	167.81
Electorate: 15,531 Valid: 7,802 (50.24%) Spoilt: 74 Quota: 1,115 Turnout: 7,876 (50.71%)

‡ Changes in affiliation

Date	Electoral Area	Name	Previous affiliation		New affiliation		Circumstance
21 May 2024	Airport	Paul Michael		UUP		Independent	Left the UUP after criticising the party's decision to line up Mike Nesbitt as Health Minister to replace Robin Swann, and criticising the party's response to the two-day suspension of Steve Aiken from the Assembly.

Notes

The leader of Sinn Féin is Mary Lou McDonald, who sits as a TD in the Irish Dáil Éireann for Dublin Central. O'Neill is the leader of the party in Northern Ireland.

References

"Local government elections in Northern Ireland". www.electoralcommission.org.uk. Retrieved 2022-05-19.
"NI council election moved to avoid coronation clash". BBC News. 21 December 2022. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
^ Hughes, Brendan (25 April 2023). "All the NI council election candidates standing in each area". BelfastLive. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
"Councillor quits UUP over Mike Nesbitt health role". BBC News. 21 May 2024. Retrieved 21 May 2024.

v t e Council elections in County Antrim
Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council	2014 2019 2023
Belfast City Council	1887 1897 1899 1902 1905 1908 1911 1914 1920 1924 1946 1949 1952 1955 1958 1961 1964 1967 1973 1977 1981 1985 1989 1993 1997 2001 2005 2011 2014 2019 2023
Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council	2014 2019 2023
Lisburn and Castlereagh District Council	2014 2019 2023
Mid and East Antrim District Council	2014 2019 2023
Antrim Borough Council	1973 1977 1981 1985 1989 1993 1997 2001 2005 2011 Abolished
Ballymena Borough Council	1973 1977 1981 1985 1989 1993 1997 2001 2005 2011 Abolished
Ballymoney Borough Council	1973 1977 1981 1985 1989 1993 1997 2001 2005 2011 Abolished
Carrickfergus Borough Council	1973 1977 1981 1985 1989 1993 1997 2001 2005 2011 Abolished
Larne Borough Council	1973 1977 1981 1985 1989 1993 1997 2001 2005 2011 Abolished
Lisburn City Council	1973 1977 1981 1985 1989 1993 1997 2001 2005 2011 Abolished
Moyle District Council	1973 1977 1981 1985 1989 1993 1997 2001 2005 2011 Abolished
Newtownabbey Borough Council	1973 1977 1981 1985 1989 1993 1997 2001 2005 2011 Abolished
Antrim County Council	1899 1902 1905 1908 1911 1914 1920 1924 1927 1930 1933 1937 1946 1949 1952 1955 1958 1961 1964 1967 Abolished

(2022 ←)

2023 United Kingdom local elections (→ 2024)

England

Metropolitan boroughs	Barnsley Bolton Bradford Bury Calderdale Coventry Dudley Gateshead Kirklees Knowsley Leeds Liverpool Manchester Newcastle upon Tyne North Tyneside Oldham Rochdale Salford Sandwell Sefton Sheffield Solihull South Tyneside Stockport Sunderland Tameside Trafford Wakefield Walsall Wigan Wirral Wolverhampton
Unitary authorities	Bath and North East Somerset Bedford Blackburn with Darwen Blackpool Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Bracknell Forest Brighton and Hove Central Bedfordshire Cheshire East Cheshire West and Chester Darlington Derby East Riding of Yorkshire Halton Hartlepool Herefordshire Hull Leicester Luton Medway Middlesbrough Milton Keynes North East Lincolnshire North Lincolnshire North Somerset Nottingham Peterborough Plymouth Portsmouth Reading Redcar and Cleveland Rutland Slough South Gloucestershire Southampton Southend-on-Sea Stockton-on-Tees Stoke-on-Trent Swindon Telford and Wrekin Thurrock Torbay West Berkshire Windsor and Maidenhead Wokingham York
Non-metropolitan districts	Amber Valley Arun Ashfield Ashford Babergh Basildon Basingstoke and Deane Bassetlaw Blaby Bolsover Boston Braintree Breckland Brentwood Broadland Bromsgrove Broxbourne Broxtowe Burnley Cambridge Cannock Chase Canterbury Castle Point Charnwood Chelmsford Cherwell Chesterfield Chichester Chorley Colchester Cotswold Crawley Dacorum Dartford Derbyshire Dales Dover East Cambridgeshire East Devon East Hampshire East Hertfordshire East Lindsey East Staffordshire East Suffolk Eastbourne Eastleigh Elmbridge Epping Forest Epsom and Ewell Erewash Exeter Fenland Folkestone & Hythe Forest of Dean Fylde Gedling Gravesham Great Yarmouth Guildford Harborough Harlow Hart Havant Hertsmere High Peak Hinckley and Bosworth Horsham Hyndburn Ipswich King's Lynn and West Norfolk Lancaster Lewes Lichfield Lincoln Maidstone Maldon Malvern Hills Mansfield Melton Mid Devon Mid Suffolk Mid Sussex Mole Valley New Forest Newark and Sherwood North Devon North East Derbyshire North Hertfordshire North Kesteven North Norfolk North Warwickshire North West Leicestershire Norwich Oadby and Wigston Pendle Preston Redditch Reigate and Banstead Ribble Valley Rochford Rossendale Rother Rugby Runnymede Rushcliffe Rushmoor Sevenoaks South Derbyshire South Hams South Holland South Kesteven South Norfolk South Oxfordshire South Ribble South Staffordshire Spelthorne St Albans Stafford Staffordshire Moorlands Stevenage Stratford-on-Avon Surrey Heath Swale Tamworth Tandridge Teignbridge Tendring Test Valley Tewkesbury Thanet Three Rivers Tonbridge and Malling Torridge Tunbridge Wells Uttlesford Vale of White Horse Warwick Watford Waverley Wealden Welwyn Hatfield West Devon West Lancashire West Lindsey West Oxfordshire West Suffolk Winchester Woking Worcester Worthing Wychavon Wyre Wyre Forest
Mayoral	Bedford Leicester Mansfield Middlesbrough

Northern Ireland

Categories: