2023 West Berkshire Council election

2023 English local election

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4 May 2023 (2023-05-04)

2027 →

All 43 seats to West Berkshire Council
22 seats needed for a majority

Turnout

38%

	First party	Second party

Leader	Lee Dillon	Lynne Doherty
Party	Liberal Democrats	Conservative
Leader's seat	Thatcham North East	Newbury Speen (defeated)
Last election	16 seats, 31.9%	24 seats, 37.4%
Seats won	29	11
Seat change	13	13
Popular vote	22,063	16,074
Percentage	42.8%	31.2%
Swing	10.9%	6.2%

	Third party	Fourth party

Leader	Carolyne Culver
Party	Green	Labour
Leader's seat	Ridgeway
Last election	3 seats, 19.3%	0 seats, 9.7%
Seats won	2	1
Seat change	1	1
Popular vote	8,692	3,639
Percentage	16.9%	7.1%
Swing	2.5%	2.7%

Leader before election

Lynne Doherty
Conservative

Leader after election

Lee Dillon
Liberal Democrats

The 2023 West Berkshire Council election took take place on 4 May 2023 to elect members of West Berkshire Council in England. This was on the same day as other local elections across England.

Prior to the election the council was under Conservative control, with the party having held a majority of the seats since 2005. The Liberal Democrats took control at the election, winning 29 of the 43 seats. The Conservative leader of the council, Lynne Doherty, lost her seat. At the subsequent annual council meeting on 25 May 2023, Liberal Democrat leader Lee Dillon was appointed leader of the council. The Conservatives appointed Ross Mackinnon to be their new leader in opposition.

Councillors standing down

Councillor	Ward	First elected
Jeff Beck	Newbury Clay Hill	2000	Conservative
Jeff Cant	Newbury Clay Hill	2019	Conservative
Hilary Cole	Chieveley and Cold Ash	2007	Conservative
James Cole	Hungerford and Kintbury	2015	Conservative
Nassar Hunt	Thatcham Central	2019	Liberal Democrats
Gareth Hurley	Pangbourne	2019	Conservative
Rick Jones	Tilehurst and Purley	2015	Conservative
Alan Law	Basildon	2007	Conservative
Royce Longton	Burghfield and Mortimer	1993	Liberal Democrats
Graham Pask	Bucklebury	1987	Conservative
Claire Rowles	Hungerford and Kintbury	2019	Conservative
Garth Simpson	Chieveley and Cold Ash	2011	Conservative
Andrew Williamson	Tilehurst and Purley	2019	Conservative
Keith Woodhams	Thatcham West	1997	Liberal Democrats

Results summary

The Liberal Democrats gained a majority on West Berkshire council for the first time since 2003, beating the Conservative Party.

This election saw the Labour Party win a seat on the council for the first time since its formation.

Election result

2023 West Berkshire Council election
Party		Candidates	Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
	Liberal Democrats	43	29	13	0	13	67.4	42.8	22,063	+10.9
	Conservative	43	11	0	13	13	25.6	31.2	16,074	−6.2
	Green	18	2	0	1	1	4.7	16.9	8,692	−2.5
	Labour	15	1	1	0	1	2.3	7.1	3,639	−2.7
	Reform UK	2	0	0	0		0	0.4	222	New
	UKIP	1	0	0	0		0	0.2	89	−1.5
	Heritage	1	0	0	0		0	0.2	86	New
	Independent	2	0	0	0		0	1.3	696	New

Ward Results

The Statement of Persons Nominated, which details the candidates standing in each ward, was released by West Berkshire Council following the close of nominations on 5 April 2023.

Winning candidates are highlighted in bold.

Aldermaston

Aldermaston
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Dominic Boeck	562	51.0	−4.1
	Liberal Democrats	Zdena Burne	333	30.2	−2.9
	Labour	Philippa Heath	128	11.6	−0.2
	Green	Matthew Lowe	80	7.3	New
Majority			229	20.8	−1.2
Turnout			1,108	36.8
	Conservative hold		Swing	−3.5

Basildon

Basildon
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Laura Coyle	727	58.6	+34.7
	Conservative	Hazel Preston-Barnes	513	41.4	−14.2
Majority			214	17.3	N/A
Turnout			1,249	45.3
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative		Swing	+24.5

Bradfield

Bradfield
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Ross Mackinnon	601	57.2	−5.1
	Liberal Democrats	Richard Bucknall	357	34.0	+6.8
	Labour	Michael Woodward	93	8.8	−1.8
Majority			244	23.2	−11.9
Turnout			1,054	36.3
	Conservative hold		Swing	−5.9

Bucklebury

Bucklebury
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Chris Read	828	54.7	+35.0
	Conservative	Georgina Woods	521	34.4	−28.1
	Green	Graham Loader	164	10.8	−3.0
Majority			307	20.3	N/A
Turnout			1,519	52.8
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative		Swing	+31.5

Burghfield and Mortimer

Burghfield and Mortimer (3 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Nick Carter	1,499	49.2	+4.1
	Liberal Democrats	Vicky Poole	1,438	47.2	*N/A*
	Liberal Democrats	Geoff Mayes	1,330	43.6	+2.7
	Conservative	Graham Bridgman	1,146	37.6	−2.4
	Conservative	Dave Kilshaw	1,055	34.6	−4.6
	Conservative	Amanda Mackinnon	1,032	33.9	−1.9
	Labour	Sarah Timms	450	14.8	−4.6
	Green	Peter Gower	434	14.2	−16.5
	Labour	Christian Savill	306	10.0	−1.0
Turnout			3,058	38.0
	Liberal Democrats hold
	Liberal Democrats hold
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative

Chieveley and Cold Ash

Chieveley and Cold Ash (2 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Heather Codling	1,156	47.6	+21.5
	Conservative	Paul Dick	1,049	43.2	−9.6
	Conservative	Pip Witheridge	878	36.1	−13.1
	Liberal Democrats	Tom McCann	829	34.1	N/A
	Green	Jill Hoblin	585	24.1	−4.0
Turnout			2,440	44.9
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative
	Conservative hold

Downlands

Downlands
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Clive Hooker	644	55.6	−6.6
	Liberal Democrats	John Boyd	288	24.8	−3.0
	Green	Jane Gartshore	146	12.6	New
	Labour	Ian McKay	81	7.0	−3.0
Majority			356	30.7	−3.7
Turnout			1,167	38.9
	Conservative hold		Swing	−4.8

Hungerford and Kintbury

Hungerford and Kintbury (3 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Denise Gaines	2,036	54.7	+15.1
	Liberal Democrats	Tony Vickers	1,704	45.8	+8.6
	Conservative	Dennis Benneyworth	1,572	42.2	−6.3
	Liberal Democrats	Julian Swift-Hook	1,509	40.5	+10.8
	Conservative	Peter Tompkins	1,380	37.1	−8.6
	Conservative	Ben Podger	1,356	36.4	−7.6
	Green	Trish Whitham	829	22.3	+1.4
Turnout			3,738	42.1
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative
	Conservative hold

Lambourn

Lambourn
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Howard Woollaston	618	59.8	−3.3
	Liberal Democrats	Diana Pattenden	262	25.4	+1.4
	Green	Susan Millington	153	14.8	New
Majority			356	34.5	−4.6
Turnout			1,037	33.4
	Conservative hold		Swing	−2.3

Newbury Central

Newbury Central (2 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Martin Colston	1,358	60.0	+11.4
	Liberal Democrats	Louise Sturgess	1,316	58.2	+10.7
	Conservative	Sean Doherty	650	28.7	+0.8
	Conservative	JC Jardim	619	27.4	+0.8
	Green	Bobby Pop	399	17.6	−4.7
Turnout			2,272	41.1
	Liberal Democrats hold
	Liberal Democrats hold

Newbury Clay Hill

Newbury Clay Hill (2 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Stuart Gourley	1,311	69.4	+33.5
	Liberal Democrats	Nigel Foot	1,077	57.0	+32.5
	Conservative	Richard Almond	432	22.9	−20.8
	Conservative	Jeanette Clifford	422	22.3	−14.5
	Independent	John Gotelee	263	13.9	N/A
	Green	Karen Swaffield	242	12.8	−9.1
	Heritage	David McMahon	86	4.6	N/A
Turnout			1,896	33.9
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative

Newbury Greenham

Newbury Greenham (3 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Phil Barnett	1,716	55.5	+7.0
	Liberal Democrats	Billy Drummond	1,532	49.6	−0.2
	Liberal Democrats	Erik Pattenden	1,484	48.0	+6.3
	Green	Michael Wakelyn-Green	918	29.7	+9.1
	Conservative	Sarah James	754	24.4	−2.9
	Conservative	Linda Verner	725	23.5	−3.7
	Conservative	Joseph Clarke	713	23.1	−2.1
	Labour	Gary Puffett	426	13.8	+4.3
	Reform UK	James Anfield	143	4.6	N/A
Turnout			3,100	33.8
	Liberal Democrats hold
	Liberal Democrats hold
	Liberal Democrats hold

Newbury Speen

Newbury Speen (2 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Martha Vickers	1,109	44.8	+11.5
	Liberal Democrats	Antony Amirtharaj	1,062	42.9	*N/A*
	Green	Steve Masters	831	33.5	−23.2
	Conservative	Lynne Doherty	791	31.9	−3.5
	Conservative	David Dudman	748	30.2	−4.6
	Reform UK	Jose Ferreira	79	3.2	N/A
Turnout			2,487	43.1
	Liberal Democrats gain from Green
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative

Newbury Wash Common

Newbury Wash Common (3 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Patrick Clark	1,774	54.0	−0.5
	Liberal Democrats	Adrian Abbs	1,712	52.1	−2.4
	Green	David Marsh	1,495	45.5	−8.0
	Liberal Democrats	Vaughan Miller	1,480	45.0	N/A
	Conservative	James Davies	686	20.9	−12.4
	Conservative	Clive Hunt	676	20.6	−6.7
	Conservative	Andrea Stephenson	627	19.1	−6.0
	Independent	Simon Kirby	433	13.2	N/A
Turnout			3,305	46.5
	Liberal Democrats hold
	Liberal Democrats hold
	Green hold

Pangbourne

Pangbourne
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Matthew Shakespeare	678	53.1	+22.6
	Conservative	Michael Male	444	34.8	−16.9
	Labour	Mark Farrington	94	7.4	−10.5
	Green	Tim Hall	61	4.8	New
Majority			234	18.3	N/A
Turnout			1,282	45.9
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative		Swing	+19.8

Ridgeway

Ridgeway
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Green	Carolyne Culver	952	68.8	+6.9
	Conservative	Edward Iliffe	345	24.9	−6.0
	Liberal Democrats	Pam Lusby Taylor	87	6.3	New
Majority			607	43.9	+12.9
Turnout			1,387	45.1
	Green hold		Swing	+6.4

Thatcham Central

Thatcham Central (2 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Stephanie Steevenson	1,040	56.5	+9.3
	Liberal Democrats	Iain Cottingham	1,024	55.6	+15.7
	Conservative	Richard Crumly	511	27.8	−3.6
	Conservative	Iain Murphy	482	26.2	−0.6
	Green	Estella Collins	267	14.5	−0.5
	Labour	Mike Brook	196	10.6	+3.9
Turnout			1,858	34.4
	Liberal Democrats hold
	Liberal Democrats hold

Thatcham Colthrop and Crookham

Thatcham Colthrop and Crookham
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Owen Jeffrey	794	70.1	+27.7
	Conservative	Steve Ardagh-Walter	339	29.9	−19.9
Majority			455	40.2	N/A
Turnout			1,145	44.4
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative		Swing	+23.8

Thatcham North East

Thatcham North East (2 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Lee Dillon	1,131	61.4	+6.1
	Liberal Democrats	Jeremy Cottam	1,048	56.9	+3.4
	Conservative	Simon Carr	514	27.9	−8.0
	Conservative	Dominic Parry	432	23.5	−8.1
	Green	Kath Hodgson	376	20.4	N/A
Turnout			1,849	32.0
	Liberal Democrats hold
	Liberal Democrats hold

Thatcham West

Thatcham West (2 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Jeff Brooks	1,110	63.5	+13.6
	Liberal Democrats	Justin Pemberton	871	50.3	+4.7
	Conservative	Jason Collis	439	25.4	−1.2
	Conservative	Jonathan Pearson	344	19.9	−3.7
	Green	Elizabeth Parsloe	215	12.4	−2.0
	Labour	Sarah Berrington	121	7.0	+0.9
	Labour	Nick East	99	5.7	+1.1
	UKIP	Gary Johnson	89	5.1	−9.3
Turnout			1,741	32.4
	Liberal Democrats hold
	Liberal Democrats hold

Theale

Theale
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Alan Macro	585	70.7	+3.1
	Conservative	Thomas Parkhill	148	17.9	−4.9
	Labour	Suzie Ferguson	94	11.4	+1.8
Majority			437	52.8	+8.0
Turnout			2,307	36.0
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing	+4.0

Tilehurst and Purley

Tilehurst and Purley (3 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Janine Lewis	1,195	42.4	+22.1
	Conservative	Jane Langford	1,191	42.2	−10.4
	Conservative	Paul Kander	1,183	41.9	−9.1
	Liberal Democrats	Simon Billows	1,133	40.2	N/A
	Conservative	Thomas Marino	1,097	38.9	−10.0
	Liberal Democrats	Gary Norman	633	22.4	N/A
	Labour	James Warren	599	21.2	−3.5
	Green	Jacqueline Paynter	545	19.3	−6.7
Turnout			2,831	34.4
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Tilehurst Birch Copse

Tilehurst Birch Copse (2 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Jo Stewart	777	45.3	−3.5
	Labour	Clive Taylor	737	42.9	+18.8
	Conservative	Tony Linden	736	42.9	−5.6
	Liberal Democrats	Ceinwen Lally	438	25.5	+11.8
	Liberal Democrats	Andy Moore	345	20.1	+8.5
Turnout			1,719	28.9
	Conservative hold
	Labour gain from Conservative

Tilehurst South and Holybrook

Tilehurst South and Holybrook (2 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Richard Somner	827	49.8	−8.4
	Conservative	Biyi Oloko	716	43.1	−12.2
	Labour	Charles Croal	620	37.3	+12.0
	Labour	Liz Bell	554	33.4	+9.9
	Liberal Democrats	Andre Browne	261	15.7	−1.3
	Liberal Democrats	John Grout	203	12.2	−1.0
Turnout			1,673	29.2
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

References

"Upcoming elections in West Berkshire". West Berkshire Council. Retrieved 3 April 2023.
"Candidates announced for May 4th council elections". Kennet Radio. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
"Election timetable in England". UK Government. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
Zaccaro, Maria (6 May 2023). "Tories lose control of three Berkshire councils". BBC News. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
"Leader and Executive confirmed for 2023/24". West Berkshire Council. 25 May 2023. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
Aamani, Hinna (13 May 2023). "West Berkshire Conservatives appoint new leader". Newbury Today. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
"Notices of Election for District Elections 2023". West Berkshire Council. 5 April 2023. Retrieved 17 April 2023.

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