2023 South Kesteven District Council election

2023 South Kesteven District Council election

←  2019 4 May 2023 (2023-05-04) 2027 →
All 56 seats on South Kesteven District Council 29 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party Third party   Leader Kelham Cooke Party Conservative Independent Green Last election 40 seats, 53.3% 11 seats, 19.2% 0 seats, 3.8% Seats before 38 [a] 13 [b] 0 Seats after 24 22 4 Seat change 16 11 4 Popular vote 10,450 12,527 3,906 Percentage 30.0% 36.0% 11.2% Swing 23.3% 16.8% 7.4%   Fourth party Fifth party   Party Liberal Democrats Labour Last election 2 seats, 3.3% 3 seats, 5.6% Seats before 3 2 Seats after 4 2 Seat change 2 1 Popular vote 2,844 4,528 Percentage 8.2% 13.0% Swing 4.9% 7.4%
Map of the results of the 2023 South Kesteven District Council election. Conservatives in blue, Liberal Democrats in orange, Labour in red, Green Party in green, and independents in grey.
Leader before election Kelham Cooke Conservative Leader after election Richard Cleaver Independent No overall control

The 2023 South Kesteven District Council election took place on 4 May 2023 to elect all 56 members of South Kesteven District Council in Lincolnshire, England. This was on the same day as other local elections across England.

The council was under Conservative majority control prior to the election. The Conservatives remained the largest party after the election but lost their majority. Both the Conservative leader, Kelham Cooke, and deputy leader, Adam Stokes, lost their seats. ^[3]

A coalition of some of the independent councillors and the Greens, Liberal Democrats and Labour formed to take control of the council, narrowly beating a rival coalition of the Conservatives and some of the other independents to form an administration by one vote at the council's subsequent annual meeting on 18 May 2023. Independent councillor Richard Cleaver therefore became leader of the council, defeating the new Conservative leader, Graham Jeal. ^[4]

Results summary

The overall results were as follows: ^[5]

South Kesteven District Council election result 2023

Party		Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
	Independent	22	12	1	+11	39.3	36.0	12,527	+10.4
	Conservative	24	0	16	-16	42.9	30.0	10,450	-23.3
	Labour	2	1	2	-1	3.6	13.0	4,528	+7.4
	Green	4	4	0	+4	7.1	11.2	3,906	+7.4
	Liberal Democrats	4	2	0	+2	7.1	8.2	2,844	+4.9
	Reform UK	0	0	0	0	0.0	1.1	371	N/A
	Lincolnshire Independent	0	0	0	0	0.0	0.6	192	N/A
	SDP	0	0	0	0	0.0	0.0	17	N/A

Four seats were elected unopposed, all of which were taken by Conservatives.

On 7 October, Mark Whittington left the Conservative Party to join Reform UK. ^[6]

Ward results

The results for each ward were as follows, with an asterisk (*) indicating an incumbent councillor standing for re-election. ^{[7] [8]}

Aveland

Aveland

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Richard Adrian Dixon-Warren*	457	58.6	+58.6
	Liberal Democrats	James Robert Brown	210	26.9	N/A
	Reform UK	Michael George Rudkin (Mike Rudkin)	113	14.5	N/A
Turnout			780	39.02
Registered electors			2,009
	Conservative hold

Belmont

Belmont (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Philip Alan Gadd (Phil Gadd)	514	54.3	+22.2
	Independent	Elvis Stooke	446	47.1	N/A
	Conservative	Linda Wootten*	332	35.1	−14.2
	Conservative	Dean Anthony William Ward*	275	29.1	−22.1
	Labour	Myles Joseph Thomas Sadler	203	21.5	−4.3
Turnout			946	26.99
Registered electors			3,505
	Independent gain from Conservative
	Independent gain from Conservative

Dean Ward represented Grantham St Wulfram's ward prior to the election.

Belvoir

Belvoir (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Pamela Bosworth*	901	61.9	−3.3
	Conservative	Robert Ian Leadenham	791	54.4	−7.7
	Labour	David Julian Simpson (Julian Simpson)	505	34.7	+8.5
Turnout			1,455	35.75
Registered electors			4,123
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Bourne Austerby

Bourne Austerby (3 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Paul David Fellows*	664	47.6	−5.8
	Green	Emma Louise Baker	587	42.1	+11.4
	Green	Rhys Rhobat Baker	530	38.0	N/A
	Conservative	Robert Philip Harry Reid*	504	36.2	−3.7
	Conservative	Christopher Neal (Chris Neal)	454	32.6	−6.8
	Green	Ian Paul Simmons	394	28.3	N/A
Turnout			1,394	22.78
Registered electors			6,154
	Independent hold
	Green gain from Conservative
	Green gain from Conservative

Bourne East

Bourne East (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Philip James Knowles*	417	42.9	−12.9
	Conservative	Zoe Emma Lane	355	36.5	−9.4
	Conservative	Julia Ray Reid*	353	36.3	−0.6
	Independent	Brenda Maureen Johnson	352	36.2	N/A
	Labour	Barnabas Baricz Hughes	214	22.0	+2.7
Turnout			973	28.07
Registered electors			3,470
	Independent hold
	Conservative hold

Bourne West

Bourne West (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Helen Joyce Crawford*	629	50.4	−0.6
	Independent	Anna Sylvia Kelly*	600	48.0	−11.2
	Liberal Democrats	John Bernard Ireland	579	46.4	N/A
	Labour	John Stephen Francis Riley	194	15.5	−4.6
Turnout			1,249	32.21
Registered electors			3,903
	Conservative hold
	Independent hold

Casewick

Casewick (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Green	Vanessa Mary Smith	1,057	62.8	N/A
	Conservative	Rosemary Helen Trollope-Bellew*	709	42.2	−27.9
	Conservative	Kelham Harry Cooke*	688	40.9	−34.2
Turnout			1,682	37.49
Registered electors			4,502
	Green gain from Conservative
	Conservative hold

Castle

Castle

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Nick Robins*	unopposed		−47.8
	Conservative hold

Deeping St James

Deeping St James (3 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Philip Maurice Dilks*	1,470	76.1	+6.8
	Independent	Bridget Ann Ley	1,224	63.4	N/A
	Independent	James Alexander Denniston	973	50.4	N/A
	Independent	Judy Deanne Stevens*	736	38.1	−12.6
	Labour	Michael Kenton Horder (Mike Horder)	371	19.2	−5.6
Turnout			1,931	33.95
Registered electors			5,703
	Independent hold
	Independent gain from Conservative
	Independent gain from Conservative

Judy Stevens was elected as a Conservative in 2019 but stood as an independent in 2023.

Dole Wood

Dole Wood

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Barry Martin Dobson*	409	53.7	+53.7
	Independent	Nigel Gareth Eveleigh	352	46.3	N/A
Turnout			761	38.78
Registered electors			1,970
	Conservative hold

Glen

Glen

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Penny Robins*	unopposed		−75.0
	Conservative hold

Grantham Arnoldfield

Grantham Arnoldfield (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Paul David Alec Stokes	529	42.9	N/A
	Conservative	Paul Michael Martin	449	36.4	−32.0
	Conservative	Kathleen-Mary Rice-Oxley* (Kaffy Rice-Oxley)	420	34.1	−29.9
	Labour	Thomas Vincent Greenwood (Tom Greenwood)	412	33.4	+9.2
	Independent	Michael Detlef Beckett (Mike Beckett)	357	29.0	N/A
Turnout			1,233	29.25
Registered electors			4,232
	Conservative hold
	Independent gain from Conservative

Grantham Barrowby Gate

Grantham Barrowby Gate (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Gareth Lewis Keith Knight	467	40.1	−22.2
	Conservative	Mark Anthony Whittington*	445	38.2	−28.1
	Labour	Jonathan Michael Cook	430	36.9	+5.8
	Independent	Adrian Mark Smith	343	29.5	N/A
	Green	Raymond David Shrouder (Ray Shrouder)	257	22.1	N/A
	Independent	John Raymond Parkhill	206	17.7	N/A
Turnout			1,164	30.11
Registered electors			3,872
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Grantham Earlesfield

Grantham Earlesfield (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Lee Andrew Steptoe*	305	51.9	+12.3
	Independent	Steven Cunnington	301	51.2	N/A
	Labour	Carole Anne Thomson (Caz Thomson)	218	37.1	−11.6
	Independent	Bruce Wells	214	36.4	+2.3
Turnout			588	14.93
Registered electors			3,959
	Labour hold
	Independent gain from Labour

Grantham Harrowby

Grantham Harrowby (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Ian Edward Selby*	526	60.5	−7.9
	Independent	Christopher Thomas Noon (Chris Noon)	468	53.8	N/A
	Labour	David Aaron Burling	259	29.8	+10.6
	Conservative	Clio Lyndon Perraton-Williams	187	21.5	+0.1
Turnout			870	24.09
Registered electors			3,620
	Independent hold
	Independent gain from Conservative

Grantham Springfield

Grantham Springfield (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Robert Murray Shorrock (Rob Shorrock)	364	41.8	+0.2
	Conservative	Nicola Anne Manterfield* (Nikki Manterfield)	301	34.6	−16.3
	Conservative	Adam Neil Stokes*	295	33.9	−16.8
	Independent	Matthew William Ash	277	31.8	N/A
	Green	John Chadwick	210	24.1	N/A
Turnout			871	23.01
Registered electors			3,799
	Labour gain from Conservative
	Conservative hold

Grantham St Vincent's

Grantham St Vincent's (3 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Green	Patricia Ellis (Patsy Ellis)	520	35.8	+6.1
	Independent	Charmaine Dawn Morgan*	517	35.6	−9.1
	Conservative	Graham Frank Jeal*	400	27.5	−10.7
	Labour	Tracey Ann Forman	393	27.0	−8.0
	Green	Anne Elizabeth Gayfer	375	25.8	+2.6
	Green	Alex James Ferguson	372	25.6	N/A
	Labour	Janeile Eardley	365	25.1	−5.8
	Conservative	Brian Rodney Monro	344	23.7	−11.7
	Independent	John George Morgan	328	22.6	−8.3
	Independent	Gary Wayne Rudd	324	22.3	N/A
Turnout			1,454	28.07
Registered electors			5,194
	Green gain from Conservative
	Independent gain from Labour
	Conservative hold

Charmaine Morgan had been elected as a Labour councillor in 2019 but left the party to sit as an independent in 2022. ^[9] Seat shown as independent gain from Labour to allow comparison with 2019 result.

Grantham St Wulfram's

Grantham St Wulfram's (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Timothy James Harrison (Tim Harrison)	588	44.9	N/A
	Conservative	Raymond Wootten* (Ray Wootten)	523	39.9	−17.8
	Independent	Susan Elizabeth Swinburn	471	35.9	N/A
	Conservative	Mary June Whittington*	390	29.7	−20.7
	Labour	Beverley Sarah Jones	321	24.5	+8.1
Turnout			1,311	32.37
Registered electors			4,053
	Independent gain from Conservative
	Conservative hold

Isaac Newton

Isaac Newton (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	David Michael Bellamy*	576	59.5	−4.6
	Conservative	Benjamin Samuel Oliver Green* (Ben Green)	512	52.9	−16.9
	Labour	Archie George Hine	281	29.0	+6.1
	Green	Michael James Turner (Mike Turner)	277	28.6	N/A
Turnout			968	26.34
Registered electors			3,721
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Lincrest

Lincrest

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Sarah Joan Trotter*	unopposed		−73.8
	Conservative hold

Loveden Heath

Loveden Heath

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Penelope Milnes* (Penny Milnes)	539	63.6	+12.0
	Conservative	Judith Rebecca Sharman	309	36.4	+16.7
Turnout			848	40.69
Registered electors			2,099
	Independent hold

Market and West Deeping

Market and West Deeping (3 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Ashley John Baxter*	1,255	71.9	+9.1
	Independent	Virginia Elizabeth Moran*	934	53.5	+10.7
	Independent	Pamela Pauline Byrd (Pam Byrd)	803	46.0	N/A
	Independent	Robert John Broughton* (Bob Broughton)	751	43.0	−0.2
	Independent	Martin Reilly	563	32.2	N/A
	Independent	Xanthe Judith Collins (Xan Collins)	244	14.0	N/A
Turnout			1,746	32.10
Registered electors			5,468
	Independent hold
	Independent hold
	Independent gain from Conservative

Bob Broughton had been elected in 2019 as a Conservative but stood in 2023 as an independent.

Morton

Morton

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Sue Woolley*	unopposed		−73.9
	Conservative hold

Peascliffe and Ridgeway

Peascliffe and Ridgeway (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Ian Stokes*	561	46.4	−7.4
	Conservative	Peter Francis Howard Stephens	497	41.1	−15.3
	Independent	Nicholas Stewart Johnson (Nick Johnson)	306	25.3	N/A
	Labour	Keith Richard White	276	22.8	+8.1
	Green	John Hadden Millar	254	21.0	−9.7
	Independent	Verena Ridgley (Vee Ridgley)	175	14.5	N/A
Turnout			1,209	30.25
Registered electors			4,010
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Stamford All Saints

Stamford All Saints (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Habibur Rahman (Habib Rahman)	550	51.7	N/A
	Independent	Maxwell Graham Sawyer (Max Sawyer)	467	43.9	N/A
	Conservative	Breda-Rae Griffin*	375	35.2	−24.9
	Conservative	Nicola Sandall	335	31.5	−25.5
Turnout			1,064	28.08
Registered electors			3,814
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative
	Independent gain from Conservative

Seat change compared to 2019 election; one of the seats had been won by an independent at a by-election in 2021.

Stamford St George's

Stamford St George's (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Rhea Natasha Rayside	548	56.6	+17.5
	Conservative	Gloria Johnson*	424	43.8	+4.7
	Reform UK	Angela Michelle Carter-Begbie	202	20.9	N/A
Turnout			968	26.60
Registered electors			3,729
	Liberal Democrats hold
	Conservative hold

Stamford St John's

Stamford St John's (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Richard James Cleaver*	1,041	79.7	N/A
	Conservative	Susan Jennifer Sandall*	375	28.7	−21.5
	Conservative	Percival William Robert Sandall (Robert Sandall)	353	27.0	−23.2
Turnout			1,306	30.72
Registered electors			4,287
	Independent gain from Conservative
	Conservative hold

Richard Cleaver represented Stamford All Saints prior to the election.

Stamford St Mary's

Stamford St Mary's

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Doarkanathsing Harrish Bisnauthsing* (Harrish Bisnauthsing)	701	59.0	+8.3
	Conservative	Jane Kingman*	441	37.1	−12.9
	Independent	Julie Clarke	414	34.8	N/A
	Green	Judith Carol Clarke (Judi Clarke)	350	29.5	N/A
Turnout			1,188	32.64
Registered electors			3,679
	Liberal Democrats hold
	Conservative hold

Seat change compared to 2019 election; the Conservative elected in 2019, Matthew Lee, had left the party in 2022 and sat the remainder of his term as an independent. ^[10] He did not stand for re-election. Jane Kingman had represented Bourne Austerby prior to the election.

Toller

Toller

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Murray Frank Turner*	256	36.5	N/A
	Lincolnshire Independent	Christopher Clark (Chris Clark)	192	27.4	N/A
	Conservative	Anthony Philip Vaughan (Tony Vaughan)	181	25.8	−22.7
	Reform UK	Amanda Gackowska (Amanda Gee)	56	8.0	N/A
	SDP	Alexander Leslie Mitchell	17	2.4	N/A
Turnout			702	33.91
Registered electors			2,082
	Liberal Democrats gain from Independent

Seat change compared to 2019 election; Murray Turner had won the seat at a by-election in December 2022.

Viking

Viking (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Paul Wood*	1,055	70.5	+6.7
	Independent	Jane Wood*	937	62.6	+9.1
	Conservative	Claire Margaret Storer	585	39.1	+11.8
Turnout			1,497	37.00
Registered electors			4,073
	Independent hold
	Independent hold

Changes 2023–2027

Grantham St Wulfram's

Grantham St Wulfram's by-election, 9 November 2023

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Matthew Robert Bailey	361	33.7
	Independent	Susan Elizabeth Swinburn	233	21.8
	Labour	Jonathan Michael Cook	173	16.2
	Green	Anne Elizabeth Gayfer	145	13.5
	Liberal Democrats	James Antony Osborn	135	12.6
	Independent	Dean Anthony William Ward	24	2.2
Turnout			1,071	26.7
Registered electors			4,057
	Conservative hold

This by-election was triggered by the death of Conservative councillor Ray Wootten. ^{[11] [12]}

References

1. Including one vacant seat in Peascliffe and Ridgeway ward previously held by Conservative councillor Rosemary Kaberry-Brown until her resignation in November 2022.
2. Of the thirteen independent councillors before the election, four sat with the Liberal Democrats as the "Democratic Independents" group led by independent Philip Knowles, three formed the "Alliance South Kesteven" group led by Ashley Baxter, three formed the "Independent Group" led by Paul Wood and the other three did not form part of a group. ^{[1] [2]}

1. Waller, Jamie (6 January 2023). "New political group is largest opposition party on South Kesteven District Council". Grantham Journal. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
2. Bond, Marie (18 January 2023). "Rift between Independents on South Kesteven District Council led to split". Grantham Journal. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
3. "South Kesteven eyes regime change as council leader and deputy out". The Lincolnite. 2023-05-05. Retrieved 2023-05-07.
4. Jaines, Daniel; Baynes, Chris (18 May 2023). "South Kesteven: Independent-led coalition takes control of council". BBC News. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
5. "South Kesteven result - Local Elections 2023". BBC News. Retrieved 2023-05-07.
6. Durrant, Will (2005). "20 Tory councillors join Reform UK on eve of Conservative conference finale". The Independent. No. 7 October 2025. Retrieved 7 October 2025.
7. "South Kesteven District Council Election Results May 2023". South Kesteven District Council. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
8. "Your councillors". South Kesteven District Council. Archived from the original on 30 March 2023. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
9. Taylor, Matthew (29 April 2022). "Grantham councillor Charmaine Morgan resigns from Labour Party". Grantham Journal. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
10. Waller, Jamie (22 December 2022). "Former Conservative council leader quits party after row". The Lincolnite. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
11. Jaines, Daniel (5 October 2023). "Honouring a "local titan": Grantham prepares for poignant by-election". The Lincolnite. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
12. Green, Katie (10 November 2023). "Results announced for Grantham by-elections". Grantham Journal. Retrieved 29 November 2023.