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2023 Mid Suffolk District Council election

← 2019 4 May 2023 (2023-05-04) 2027 →
All 34 seats to Mid Suffolk District Council 18 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	36.9%
First party Second party   Leader Andy Mellen Suzie Morley (defeated) Party Green Conservative Last election 12 seats, 34.0% 16 seats, 40.6% Seats before 12 16 Seats won 24 6 Seat change 12 10 Popular vote 23,274 11,457 Percentage 56.8% 28.0% Swing 22.8% 12.6%   Third party Fourth party   Leader John Field Party Liberal Democrats Independent Last election 5 seats, 17.7% 1 seat, 3.4% Seats before 5 1 Seats won 4 0 Seat change 1 1 Popular vote 4,451 n/a Percentage 10.9% n/a Swing 6.8% n/a
Winner of each seat at the 2023 Mid Suffolk District Council election
Leader before election Suzie Morley Conservative No overall control Leader after election Andy Mellen Green

The 2023 Mid Suffolk District Council election took place on 4 May 2023 to elect members of Mid Suffolk District Council in Suffolk, England. This was on the same day as other local elections across England.

Summary

Ahead of the election the council was identified as a target for the Green Party. The council had been under no overall control since the previous election in 2019, and the Conservatives had retained minority control only with the support of the independent councillor and the chair's casting vote. At the 2019 election in the Stowmarket St Peters ward the Conservative candidate had only won by a single vote.

The Green Party launched their local election campaign in Stowmarket on 5 April 2023.

The council has become highly increasingly closely fought in recent years, partly due to local opposition to large-scale housing development and concerns of damage to the rural environment.

The Greens won majority control following the election, and the Conservative leader of the council, Suzie Morley, lost her seat. It was the first time in the Green Party's history that they had taken majority control of a council. The Green group leader, Andy Mellen, was formally appointed leader of the council at the subsequent annual council meeting on 22 May 2023.

Overall result

The overall results were:

2023 Mid Suffolk District Council election
Party		Candidates	Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
	Green	29	24	12	0	12	70.6	56.8	23,274	+22.8
	Conservative	27	6	0	10	10	17.6	28.0	11,457	–12.6
	Liberal Democrats	13	4	0	1	1	11.8	10.9	4,451	–6.8
	Labour	8	0	0	0		0.0	3.6	1,490	–0.3
	Reform UK	2	0	0	0		0.0	0.7	303	New

Ward results

The Statement of Persons Nominated, which details the candidates standing in each ward, was released by Mid Suffolk District Council following the close of nominations on 5 April 2023. The results were as follows, with an asterisk (*) indicating an incumbent councillor standing for re-election.

Bacton

Bacton

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Green	Andy Mellen*	745	75.5	+10.6
	Conservative	John Davie-Thornhill	207	21.0	–14.1
	Liberal Democrats	David Appleton	35	3.5	N/A
Majority			538	54.5	+24.5
Turnout			992	42.8	+5.6
Registered electors			2,317
	Green hold		Swing	12.5

Battisford and Ringshall

Battisford & Ringshall

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Green	Dan Pratt*	608	68.6	+11.5
	Conservative	David Whybrow	226	25.5	–17.4
	Liberal Democrats	David Payne	52	5.9	N/A
Majority			382	43.1	+39.1
Turnout			888	35.8	+4.3
Registered electors			2,482
	Green hold		Swing	14.5

Blakenham

Blakenham

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Adrienne Marriott	434	55.5	+3.8
	Conservative	Steven Wells	348	44.5	+15.9
Majority			86	9.0	–14.1
Turnout			792	26.8	–1.4
Registered electors			2,956
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing	6.0

Bramford

Bramford

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	James Caston*	395	54.3	–3.3
	Green	Emma Buckmaster	201	27.6	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	Attila Borzak	132	18.1	–24.3
Majority			194	27.0	+11.8
Turnout			732	34.3	+3.1
Registered electors			2,134
	Conservative hold		Swing	3.3

Chilton (Stowmarket)

Claydon and Barham

Combs Ford (Stowmarket)

Debenham

Elmswell and Woolpit

Eye

Fressingfield

Fressingfield

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Lavinia Hadingham*	546	51.5	–3.3
	Green	Colin MacKinnon	515	48.5	+26.7
Majority			31	3.0	–30.0
Turnout			1,071	44.7	+4.5
Registered electors			2,397
	Conservative hold		Swing	15.0

Gislingham

Gislingham

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Green	Rowland Warboys*	792	71.5	+22.7
	Conservative	Anne-Marie Hogan	315	28.5	–12.1
Majority			477	43.0	+34.6
Turnout			1,122	42.8	+1.8
Registered electors			2,622
	Green hold		Swing	17.4

Haughley, Stowupland and Wetherden

Hoxne and Worlingworth

Hoxne & Worlingworth

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Matthew Hicks*	509	51.2	–7.7
	Green	Charlie Meyer	287	28.9	+8.8
	Liberal Democrats	Steve Card	97	9.8	–2.1
	Labour	Stephen Nixon	92	9.3	+0.2
Majority			222	22.3	–15.2
Turnout			994	42.6	+1.9
Registered electors			2,334
	Conservative hold		Swing	8.3

Mendlesham

Needham Market

Onehouse

Onehouse

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Green	John Matthissen*	534	58.6	+3.0
	Conservative	James Spencer	283	31.0	+1.6
	Labour	Rob Davies	87	9.5	N/A
Majority			251	27.5	+1.7
Turnout			912	39.3	+0.9
Registered electors			2,318
	Green hold		Swing	0.7

Palgrave

Palgrave

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Green	Tim Weller	536	51.9	+10.0
	Conservative	Tim Passmore	444	43.0	–15.1
	Reform UK	Evan Heasley	53	5.1	N/A
Majority			92	9.0	N/A
Turnout			1,034	43.8	+5.4
Registered electors			2,360
	Green gain from Conservative		Swing	12.6

Rattlesden

Rattlesden

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Nicky Willshere	694	65.4	+2.0
	Conservative	Stephen Gerrish	351	33.1	+7.4
Majority			343	32.3	+5.0
Turnout			1,061	42.5	+1.6
Registered electors			2,497
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing	2.7

Rickinghall

St Peters (Stowmarket)

Stonham

Stonham

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Green	Nicholas Hardingham	615	59.5	+26.5
	Conservative	Suzie Morley*	419	40.5	–3.5
Majority			196	19.0	N/A
Turnout			1,045	45.2	+5.4
Registered electors			2,313
	Green gain from Conservative		Swing	15.0

Stow Thorney (Stowmarket)

Stadbroke and Laxfield

Stadbroke & Laxfield

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Anders Linder	441	46.7	−21.5
	Green	Gemma Whitehouse	263	27.9	N/A
	Labour	Paul Theaker	155	16.4	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	James Fawcett	82	8.7	−30.1
Majority			178	18.9	−16.0
Turnout			944	37.1	−1.7
Registered electors			2,546
	Conservative hold		Swing	21.5

Thurston

Walsham-le-Willows

References

1. Middleton, Siobhan (24 April 2023). "Suffolk local elections 2023: The Liberal Democrats set out their stall". Suffolk News. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
2. "Notice of Election" (PDF). Mid Suffolk District Council. Retrieved 6 April 2023.
3. Geater, Paul (12 April 2023). "Is Mid Suffolk about to turn Green in council election?". Ipswich Star. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
4. Walker, Peter (2023-04-05). "Greens launch local elections campaign with pledge to push for rent controls". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-05-02.
5. "Local elections 2023: Greens eye first council win in former Tory heartland". BBC News. 2023-04-18. Retrieved 2023-05-02.
6. Irwin, Vikki; Cooper, Pete (5 May 2023). "Local elections 2023: Greens secure victory in Mid Suffolk". BBC News. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
7. Nicholl, Kaia (23 May 2023). "New Mid Suffolk District Council leader Andy Mellen outlines priorities and promises 'a greener and more sustainable direction'". Suffolk News. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
8. "Mid Suffolk result – Local Elections 2023". BBC News. Retrieved 2023-05-05.
9. "STATEMENT OF PERSONS NOMINATED, NOTICE OF POLL & SITUATION OF POLLING STATIONS" (PDF). Mid Suffolk District Council. Retrieved 6 April 2023.
10. "Councillors for Mid Suffolk District". Mid Suffolk District Council. Archived from the original on 4 April 2023. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
11. "Declaration of result of poll". Mid Suffolk District Council. Retrieved 6 January 2024.

v t e Council elections in Suffolk
Suffolk County Council	1973 1977 1981 1985 1989 1993 1997 2001 2005 2009 2013 2017 2021 2025
Babergh District Council	1973 1976 1979 1983 1987 1991 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 2015 2019 2023
East Suffolk District Council	2019 2023
Ipswich Borough Council	1973 1976 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015 2016 2018 2019 2021 2022 2023 2024
Mid Suffolk District Council	1973 1976 1979 1983 1987 1991 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 2015 2019 2023
West Suffolk District Council	2019 2023
East Suffolk County Council	1889 1892 1895 1898 1901 1904 1907 1910 1913 1919 1922 1925 1928 1931 1934 1937 1946 1949 1952 1955 1958 1961 1964 1967 1970 Abolished
Forest Heath District Council	1973 1976 1979 1983 1987 1991 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 2015 Abolished
St Edmundsbury Borough Council	1973 1976 1979 1983 1987 1991 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 2015 Abolished
Suffolk Coastal District Council	1973 1976 1979 1983 1987 1991 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 2015 Abolished
Waveney District Council	1973 1976 1979 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2015 Abolished
West Suffolk County Council	1889 1892 1895 1898 1901 1904 1907 1910 1913 1919 1922 1925 1928 1931 1934 1937 1946 1949 1952 1955 1958 1961 1964 1967 1970 Abolished
See also: Wards Boundary changes

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