2023 Canterbury City Council election

2023 Canterbury City Council election

←  2019 4 May 2023 (2023-5-4) 2027 →
All 39 seats to Canterbury City Council 20 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	38.0%
First party Second party   Leader Alan Baldock Michael Dixey Party Labour Liberal Democrats Last election 10 seats, 29.4% 6 seats, 19.7% Seats won 18 9 Seat change 8 3 Popular vote 29,825 17,935 Percentage 36.6% 22.0% Swing 7.2% 2.3%   Third party Fourth party   Leader Ben Fitter-Harding Clare Turnbull Party Conservative Green Last election 23 seats, 35.4% 0 seats, 12.5% Seats won 8 4 Seat change 15 4 Popular vote 19,867 11,350 Percentage 24.4% 13.9% Swing 11.0% 1.4%
Winner of each seat at the 2023 Canterbury City Council election
Leader before election Ben Fitter-Harding Conservative No overall control Leader after election Alan Baldock Labour No overall control

The 2023 Canterbury City Council election took place on 4 May 2023 to elect members of Canterbury City Council in Kent, England. ^[1] This was on the same day as other local elections in England.

The Conservatives held a majority on the council from 2005 until April 2023, less than a month before the election, when four Conservatives left the party to form the "Independent Serve to Lead Group". ^{[2] [3]}

The election saw the council remain under no overall control, but the Conservatives went from being the largest party to being the third largest party behind Labour and the Liberal Democrats. ^[4] The leader of the council, Conservative councillor Ben Fitter-Harding, lost his seat. ^[5] After the election a Labour and Liberal Democrat coalition formed to take control of the council, with Labour group leader Alan Baldock being appointed leader of the council at the subsequent annual council meeting on 17 May 2023. ^[6]

Summary

Election result

18	9	8	4
Labour	Lib Dems	Conservative	Green

2023 Canterbury City Council election
Party		Candidates	Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
	Labour	39	18	10	2	8	46.1	36.6	29,825	+7.2
	Liberal Democrats	34	9	4	1	3	23.1	22.0	17,935	+2.3
	Conservative	39	8	0	15	15	20.5	24.4	19,867	-11.0
	Green	25	4	4	0	4	10.3	13.9	11,350	+1.4
	Independent	6	0	0	0		0.0	2.8	2,259	+0.5
	Reform UK	3	0	0	0		0.0	0.3	296	N/A

Ward results

The Statement of Persons Nominated, which details the candidates standing in each ward, was released by Canterbury City Council following the close of nominations on 5 April 2023. ^[7] The results for each ward were as follows: ^[8]

Asterisks (*) denote incumbent councillors seeking re-election.

Barton

Barton (3 seats) ^[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Connie Nolan*	1,476	53.5	+18.2
	Labour	Pat Edwards*	1,405	50.9	+15.5
	Labour	Paul Prentice	1,257	45.6	+15.8
	Conservative	Martin Antony Arch	718	26.0	+3.0
	Conservative	Scott Collins	605	21.9	–0.2
	Conservative	Mary Cawston Streater	555	20.1	–1.5
	Liberal Democrats	Graham Duplock	397	14.4	–15.0
	Liberal Democrats	George Fenwick Metcalfe	374	13.6	–14.4
	Liberal Democrats	Julia Dorothea Zoettl	345	12.5	–12.3
	Green	Delia Hazrati	320	11.6	–10.1
	Green	Mary Claire Smith	297	10.8	N/A
	Green	Nathan James Tough	227	8.2	N/A
Turnout			2,759	36.5	+1.3
Registered electors			7,555
	Labour hold
	Labour hold
	Labour hold

Beltinge

Beltinge (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Ian Stockley*	944	47.3	–2.9
	Conservative	Jeanette Stockley*	940	47.1	–2.2
	Labour	Teresa Pearce	454	22.8	+6.0
	Labour	Christine Wheeldon	425	21.3	+5.3
	Green	Nicholas Gadsby	417	20.9	–1.9
	Green	Roger Everatt	253	12.7	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	Ann Anderson	200	10.0	–10.8
	Liberal Democrats	Paul Smith	156	7.8	–2.5
Turnout			1,994	34.0	+2.0
Registered electors			5,913
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Blean Forest

Blean Forest (3 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Alex Ricketts*	1,214	60.5	+28.9
	Liberal Democrats	Steph Jupe	1,035	51.6	+22.4
	Liberal Democrats	Daniel Smith*	944	47.1	+17.8
	Labour	Nicola May	444	22.1	–1.4
	Green	Alexander Hilton	398	19.8	–2.2
	Labour	Howard Needham	383	19.1	–3.1
	Labour	Sam Newman	367	18.3	–2.4
	Conservative	James Somerville-Meikle	329	16.4	–13.7
	Conservative	Gary Ovenden	299	14.9	–12.7
	Conservative	Timothy Streater	281	14.0	–8.4
Turnout			2,006	35.0	±0.0
Registered electors			4,155
	Liberal Democrats hold
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative
	Liberal Democrats hold

Chartham and Stone Street

Chartham and Stone Street (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour Co-op	Alister Brady	1,169	47.9	+20.3
	Labour Co-op	Mike Bland	1,153	47.3	+20.4
	Conservative	Laura Hobbs	593	24.3	–13.0
	Conservative	Elliot Curryer	567	23.2	–12.3
	Liberal Democrats	Yvonne Hawkins	485	19.9	+2.9
	Liberal Democrats	James Galloway	407	16.7	+5.2
	Green	Greg Lawrence	338	13.9	–7.9
Turnout			2,440	43.0	±0.0
Registered electors			5,667
	Labour Co-op gain from Conservative
	Labour Co-op gain from Conservative

Chestfield

Chestfield (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Peter Old	1,381	54.7	+37.4
	Liberal Democrats	James Flanagan	1,358	53.8	+36.6
	Conservative	Steve Bailey	649	25.7	–29.2
	Conservative	Benjamin Fitter-Harding	489	19.4	–34.9
	Labour	Philippa Langton	349	13.8	–2.6
	Labour	Sammy Roberts	256	10.1	–2.9
	Reform UK	Adrian Kibble	122	4.8	N/A
	Independent	Joseph Egerton	106	4.2	N/A
	Reform UK	Leslie Lilley	101	4.0	N/A
Turnout			2,523	45.0	+10.0
Registered electors			5,664
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative

Gorrell

Gorrell (3 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Green	Clare Turnbull*	2,045	57.5	+18.8
	Labour	Chris Cornell*	1,643	46.2	+3.9
	Green	Steven Wheeler	1,492	41.9	+15.2
	Labour	Valerie Kenny*	1,392	39.1	+0.1
	Labour	Dan Allen	1,293	36.4	–5.9
	Green	Tom Sharp	1,215	34.2	+15.2
	Conservative	Georgia Bills	434	12.2	–14.3
	Conservative	Janet Newcombe	426	12.0	–9.1
	Conservative	Penelope Wilson	405	11.4	–9.2
Turnout			3,557	43.0	+2.0
Registered electors			8,357
	Green gain from Labour
	Labour hold
	Green gain from Labour

Greenhill

Greenhill

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Dan Watkins*	421	46.7	+0.5
	Labour	Andy Davidson	350	38.8	+13.9
	Liberal Democrats	Valerie Ainscough	130	14.4	N/A
Majority			71	7.9
Turnout			909	27.0	±0.0
Registered electors			3,346
	Conservative hold		Swing	6.7

Herne & Broomfield

Herne & Broomfield (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Robert Jones	812	43.6	–6.2
	Conservative	Joe Howes*	722	38.8	–16.0
	Liberal Democrats	Derek Maslin	446	24.0	+0.6
	Labour	Chris Gibson	421	22.6	+5.2
	Labour	Karen Douglas	419	22.5	+8.5
	Liberal Democrats	Brain McHenry	291	15.6	+3.1
	Independent	Anne Dekker*	197	10.6	N/A
	Green	Alex Stevens	169	9.1	–6.4
	Green	Tom Williams	117	6.3	N/A
Turnout			1,862	28.0	+1.0
Registered electors			6,751
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Heron

Heron (3 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Tom Mellish	1,079	37.3	+12.0
	Conservative	Liz Harvey	1,037	35.8	–8.3
	Conservative	David Thomas*	1,030	35.6	–4.2
	Labour	Emma Wright	1,023	35.3	+13.1
	Labour	Fred Pearce	1,019	35.2	+13.9
	Conservative	Jane Thomas	978	33.8	–2.9
	Green	Michael Vince	656	22.7	–1.0
	Liberal Democrats	Margaret Flaherty	600	20.7	+8.0
	Liberal Democrats	Martin Ashton	329	11.4	–0.5
	Liberal Democrats	Latchmi Old	229	7.9	–3.1
Turnout			2,896	30.0	+1.0
Registered electors			9,655
	Labour gain from Conservative
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Little Stour & Adisham

Little Stour & Adisham

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Lee Castle	1,161	72.0	+45.5
	Conservative	Hilary Scott	310	19.2	–22.3
	Labour	Paul O'Neil	142	8.8	–8.4
Majority			851	52.8	N/A
Turnout			1,625	50.0	+6.0
Registered electors			3,274
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative		Swing	33.9

Nailbourne

Nailbourne

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Michael Sole*	1,341	84.0	+34.1
	Conservative	Cerise Harriss	170	10.6	–25.1
	Labour	Mike Holman	86	5.4	–1.5
Majority			1,171	73.4
Turnout			1,607	51.0	–2.0
Registered electors			3,130
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing	29.6

Northgate

Northgate (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour Co-op	Alan Baldock*	682	64.1	+9.8
	Labour Co-op	Jean Butcher*	682	64.1	+14.4
	Green	Martin Baker	177	16.6	+0.6
	Conservative	Eamon O'Reilly	161	15.1	–7.6
	Conservative	Louie Ralph	156	14.7	–6.3
	Liberal Democrats	Mark Leggatt	97	9.1	–3.6
	Liberal Democrats	Liz Pope	93	8.7	–0.8
Turnout			1,064	28.0	±0.0
Registered electors			3,787
	Labour Co-op hold
	Labour Co-op hold

Reculver

Reculver

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Rachel Carnac*	534	49.1	–8.2
	Labour	Barbara Ayling	321	29.5	+6.6
	Green	Stephen Peckham	135	12.4	+3.5
	Liberal Democrats	John Bowley	97	8.9	–2.1
Majority			213	19.6
Turnout			1,092	34.0	+1.0
Registered electors			3,237
	Conservative hold		Swing	7.4

Seasalter

Seasalter (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Naomi Smith	927	36.6	+12.6
	Labour	Charlotte Cornell	826	32.6	+8.9
	Independent	Ashley Clark*	825	32.5	N/A
	Independent	Colin Spooner*	789	31.1	N/A
	Conservative	Stephen Spencer	675	26.6	–27.6
	Conservative	Graham Wells	657	25.9	–26.0
	Liberal Democrats	Margaret Mackechnie	114	4.5	–5.1
	Liberal Democrats	Michael Dowling	113	4.5	–4.3
Turnout			2,535	41.0	+3.0
Registered electors			6,156
	Labour gain from Conservative
	Labour gain from Conservative

St Stephens

St Stephens (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour Co-op	Mel Dawkins	1,167	59.8	+28.3
	Labour Co-op	Elizabeth Carr-Ellis	1,057	54.2	+20.3
	Liberal Democrats	Christopher Palmer	366	18.8	–2.4
	Green	Gillian Everatt	314	16.1	–2.9
	Liberal Democrats	Janet Capper	288	14.8	–6.3
	Conservative	Louie McNamara	273	14.0	–21.0
	Conservative	Owen Sweetman	266	13.6	–17.1
Turnout			1,951	39.0	–1.0
Registered electors			4,975
	Labour Co-op gain from Conservative
	Labour Co-op hold

Sturry

Sturry (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Harry McKenzie	783	37.5	+12.2
	Labour	Keji Moses	658	31.5	+10.8
	Conservative	Louise Harvey-Quirke*	656	31.4	–6.2
	Conservative	Georgina Glover*	623	29.8	–5.4
	Green	Peter Campbell	418	20.0	–2.1
	Green	Nicole David	270	12.9	–7.7
	Independent	Ken Dekker	173	8.3	N/A
	Independent	Heather Taylor	169	8.1	–14.0
	Liberal Democrats	Eleodor Berceanu	136	6.5	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	Helen Sole	132	6.3	N/A
Turnout			2,090	33.0	±0.0
Registered electors			6,271
	Labour gain from Conservative
	Labour gain from Conservative

Swalecliffe

Swalecliffe

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Green	Keith Bothwell	769	55.3	+39.4
	Conservative	Mark Dance*	370	26.6	–19.7
	Labour	Alex Wescomb	178	12.8	–18.0
	Reform UK	Edna Wallace	73	5.3	N/A
Turnout			1,397	44.0	+7.0
Registered electors			3,206
	Green gain from Conservative		Swing	29.6

Tankerton

Tankerton

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Simon Warley	713	48.8	+17.2
	Conservative	Neil Baker*	560	38.4	+4.0
	Liberal Democrats	Nick Parry	187	12.8	–21.2
Majority			153	10.4	N/A
Turnout			1,469	51.0	+5.0
Registered electors			2,857
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	6.6

West Bay

West Bay

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Green	Andrew Harvey	599	56.0	+39.9
	Conservative	Grace Paget	339	31.7	–16.8
	Labour	Brendan Little	131	12.3	–11.3
Majority			260	24.3	N/A
Turnout			1,076	34.0	+5.0
Registered electors			3,170
	Green gain from Conservative		Swing	28.4

Westgate

Westgate (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Pip Hazelton*	975	44.7	+10.0
	Liberal Democrats	Michael Dixey*	936	44.7	+4.4
	Labour	Rosanna Jackson	802	38.3	+3.6
	Liberal Democrats	Richard Parkinson	636	30.3	–1.5
	Green	Benjamin Grillet	321	15.3	+5.3
	Conservative	Rosemary Doyle	196	9.4	–0.9
	Conservative	John Hippisley	163	7.8	–1.9
Turnout			2,096	38.0	–3.0
Registered electors			5,565
	Labour hold
	Liberal Democrats hold

Wincheap

Wincheap (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour Co-op	Dane Buckman	1,027	41.7	+11.5
	Liberal Democrats	Roben Franklin	971	39.4	–8.5
	Liberal Democrats	Amina Inua	946	38.4	±0.0
	Labour Co-op	Paul Todd	891	36.1	+9.1
	Green	Julie Ellis	403	16.3	–1.3
	Conservative	Phil Collins	276	11.2	–2.9
	Conservative	Ronald McWilliams	248	10.1	–3.6
Turnout			2,465	39.0	–3.0
Registered electors			6,266
	Labour Co-op gain from Liberal Democrats
	Liberal Democrats hold

Changes 2023-2027

By-elections

Gorrell

Gorrell by-election: 6 March 2025

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Green	Stuart Heaver	1,210	49.5	–0.1
	Labour	Valerie Kenny	570	23.3	–16.6
	Reform UK	Babychan Thomas	423	17.3	N/A
	Conservative	Janet Newcombe	179	7.3	–3.2
	Liberal Democrats	Nick Parry	64	2.6	N/A
Majority			640	26.2	N/A
Turnout			2,453	28.7	–14.3
Registered electors			8,551
	Green hold		Swing	8.3

Herne & Broomfield

Herne & Broomfield by-election: 6 March 2025

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Grace Paget	557	40.7	+1.0
	Reform UK	Mark Mulvihill	473	34.6	N/A
	Labour	Lawrence Coomber	196	14.3	–6.3
	Liberal Democrats	Derek Maslin	102	7.5	–14.3
	Green	Peter Campbell	41	3.0	–5.3
Majority			84	6.1	N/A
Turnout			1,373	20.1	–7.9
Registered electors			6,837
	Conservative hold

St Stephen's

St Stephen's by-election: 6 March 2025

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Beth Forrester	628	47.0	–8.0
	Reform UK	Colin Spooner	245	18.3	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	Christopher Palmer	220	16.5	–0.8
	Conservative	Arjan Taylor	128	9.6	–3.3
	Green	Jessie Millner	116	8.7	–6.1
Majority			383	28.7	N/A
Turnout			1,342	26.4	–12.6
Registered electors			5,077
	Labour hold

References

1. "Notice of election for city councillors". Canterbury City Council. 16 March 2023. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
2. Pallant, James (5 April 2023). "Conservative Party loses majority on Canterbury City Council after councillor defections". Kent Online. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
3. "Your councillors". Canterbury City Council. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
4. "Local Elections 2023: Results in Sussex, Kent and Essex". ITV News. 6 May 2023. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
5. Esson, Daniel (5 May 2023). "Canterbury's Tories now only third largest party after election losses". Kent Live. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
6. Esson, Daniel (18 May 2023). "Labour and Liberal Democrats form coalition on Canterbury City Council". Kent Online. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
7. "STATEMENT OF PERSONS NOMINATED" (PDF). Canterbury City Council. 5 April 2023. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
8. "Local election results 2023". Canterbury City Council. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
9. "Local election updates 2023". Canterbury City Council . Retrieved 5 May 2023.