2023 Babergh District Council election

2023 local government election in Babergh

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4 May 2023 (2023-05-04)

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All 32 seats to Babergh District Council
17 seats needed for a majority

	First party	Second party	Third party

Leader	Leigh Jamieson		Simon Barrett
Party	Green	Independent	Conservative
Last election	4 seats, 23.3%	8 seats, 19.5%	15 seats, 34.8%
Seats before	4	14	10
Seats won	10	9	7
Seat change	6	1	8
Popular vote	11,116	5,671	8,610
Percentage	31.1%	15.9%	24.1%
Swing	7.8%	3.6%	10.7%

	Fourth party	Fifth party

Leader	Sue Carpendale
Party	Liberal Democrats	Labour
Last election	3 seats, 10.3%	2 seats, 9.6%
Seats before	3	1
Seats won	5	1
Seat change	2	1
Popular vote	5,645	4,680
Percentage	15.8%	13.1%
Swing	5.5%	3.5%

Winner of each seat at the 2023 Babergh District Council election

Leader before election

John Ward
Independent
No overall control

Leader after election

David Busby
Liberal Democrat
No overall control

The 2023 Babergh District Council election was held on 4 May 2023 to elect members of Babergh District Council in Suffolk, England. 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.

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. Conservative group leader Simon Barrett lost his seat. 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.

Overall results

2023 Babergh District Council election
Party		Candidates	Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
	Green	32	10	7	1	6	31.3	31.1	11,116	+7.8
	Independent	13	9	3	1	1	28.1	15.9	5,671	–3.6
	Conservative	21	7	1	9	8	21.9	24.1	8,610	–10.7
	Liberal Democrats	23	5	2	0	2	15.6	15.8	5,645	+5.5
	Labour	22	1	0	1	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. The results for each ward were as follows, with an asterisk (*) indicating an incumbent councillor standing for re-election.

Assington

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

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	6.5

Brantham

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	7.9

Brett Vale

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

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	0.5

Capel St Mary

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

Chadacre (2 seats)
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

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	2.1

East Bergholt

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	23.5

Ganges

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	19.6

Great Cornard

Great Cornard (3 seats)
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

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	10.3

Hadleigh South

Hadleigh South (2 seats)
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

Lavenham (2 seats)
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

Long Melford (2 seats)
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

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

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

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

Sproughton & Pinewood (2 seats)
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

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

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

Sudbury North West (2 seats)
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

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

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	25.5

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.
^ 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.

External links

Babergh results page

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See also: Wards Boundary changes

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