2023 Vale of White Horse District Council election

2023 Vale of White Horse District Council election
All 38 seats to Vale of White Horse District Council ; 20 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	36.5%
	Winner of each seat at the 2023 Vale of White Horse District Council election
Leader before election; Bethia Thomas; Liberal Democrats	Leader after election; Bethia Thomas; Liberal Democrats

Last updated November 09, 2025

The 2023 Vale of White Horse District Council election took place on 4 May 2023 to elect members of Vale of White Horse District Council in Oxfordshire, England.^[4] This was on the same day as other local elections across England. The election saw the Liberal Democrats increase their majority on the council, as well as the defeat of all remaining Conservatives.

Summary

Election result

All six Conservative councillors lost their seats, while the Liberal Democrats and the Green Party gained an additional three seats each. ^[5] This was the first time since the creation of the council in 1974 that no Conservative councillors were elected.^[6]

2023 Vale of White District Council election
Party		Candidates	Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
	Liberal Democrats	34	34	3	0	3	89.5	54.6	34,321	–0.8
	Green	15	4	3	0	3	10.5	10.9	6,823	+5.8
	Conservative	38	0	0	6	6	0	29.4	18,499	–1.8
	Labour	13	0	0	0		0	4.8	3,005	–2.0
	Reform	1	0	0	0		0	0.2	101	N/A
	Independent	1	0	0	0		0	0.2	100	–0.1

Ward results

The Statement of Persons Nominated, which details the candidates standing in each ward, was released by Vale of White Horse District Council on 5 April 2023.^[7]

*= sitting councillor in this ward prior to election

Abingdon Abbey Northcourt

Abingdon Abbey Northcourt (2 seats)^[6]^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Elizabeth Pighills*	1,109	62.9	−10.0
	Green	Cheryl Briggs*	948	53.8	−10.5
	Conservative	Vicky Jenkins	389	22.1	−1.0
	Labour	Stephen Webb	299	17.0	N/A
	Conservative	Vijay Srao	273	15.5	−7.1
	Labour	Nathan Websdale	215	12.2	N/A
Majority
Turnout			1,762	37.30
Registered electors
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing
	Green hold		Swing

Abingdon Caldecott

Abingdon Caldecott (2 seats)^[6]^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Neil Fawcett*	805	49.8	−6.2
	Liberal Democrats	Andrew Skinner	672	41.6	−14.4
	Conservative	Alice Badcock	522	32.3	+0.5
	Conservative	Alexandra Green	503	31.1	+1.1
	Green	Aidan Reilly	301	18.6	N/A
	Labour	Sayantani Mitra-Jones	280	17.3	+2.9
Majority
Turnout			1,616	29.52
Registered electors
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Abingdon Dunmore

Abingdon Dunmore (2 seats)^[6]^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Andy Foulsham*	1,216	64.7	+2.9
	Liberal Democrats	Oliver Forder	1,131	60.2	−4.8
	Conservative	Andrew Packard	506	26.9	−1.7
	Conservative	Christopher McCarthy	451	24.0	−3.9
	Labour	Paul Burton	281	15.0	+6.7
Majority
Turnout			1,879	40.29
Registered electors
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Abingdon Fitzharris

Abingdon Fitzharris
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Eric de la Harpe*	894	48.6	−10.2
	Liberal Democrats	Robert Maddison*	838	45.5	−12.5
	Conservative	Chris Palmer	520	28.2	−0.3
	Conservative	David Pope	493	26.8	−5.3
	Green	Steven Rogers	313	17.0	N/A
	Labour	Moira Logie	276	15.0	+7.1
	Labour	Julian Pierce	168	9.1	N/A
Majority
Turnout			1,841	38.94
Registered electors
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Abingdon Peachcroft

Abingdon Peachcroft (2 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Mike Pighills*	1,140	59.1	−4.6
	Liberal Democrats	Max Thompson*	1,122	58.2	−3.9
	Conservative	Cavan Pirouet	561	29.1	−2.1
	Conservative	Warren Brooker	551	28.6	+0.1
	Labour	Edward Shelton	276	14.3	N/A
Majority
Turnout			1,929	37.59
Registered electors
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Blewbury & Harwell

Blewbury & Harwell (2 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Hayleigh Gascoigne*	1,813	69.3	+8.3
	Liberal Democrats	Debra Dewhurst	1,745	66.7	+7.7
	Conservative	Cath Convery	743	28.4	±0.0
	Conservative	Joe Murphy	612	23.4	−4.3
	Reform	Peter Shields	101	3.9	N/A
Majority
Turnout			2,615	39.21
Registered electors
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Botley & Sunningwell

Botley & Sunningwell (2 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Emily Smith*	1,184	59.9	−3.1
	Liberal Democrats	Debby Hallett*	1,155	58.4	−4.3
	Conservative	Alexander Horsfall-Turner	327	16.5	+0.5
	Labour	Nekisa Gholami-Babaahmady	323	16.3	+3.5
	Conservative	Elina Horsfall-Turner	316	16.0	+0.9
	Labour	Jamie Spooner	284	14.4	+3.9
	Green	Katherine Phillips	27	1.4	−12.2
Majority
Turnout			1,977	38.91
Registered electors
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Cumnor

Cumnor (2 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Judy Roberts*	1,333	69.0	+6.7
	Liberal Democrats	Antony Houghton	1,078	55.8	−7.7
	Conservative	Craig Robinson	486	25.2	−2.7
	Conservative	Mohinder Kainth	437	22.6	−3.0
	Labour	Erica Davis	291	15.1	+5.0
Majority
Turnout			1,931	38.17
Registered electors
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Drayton

Drayton
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Andy Cooke*	690	72.7	−1.2
	Conservative	Christopher Campbell	259	27.3	+1.2
Majority
Turnout			949	33.77
Registered electors
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Faringdon

Faringdon (2 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Bethia Thomas*	1,531	68.0	+12.0
	Liberal Democrats	Lucy Edwards	1,390	61.7	+15.5
	Conservative	James Famakin	583	25.9	+0.7
	Conservative	Robin Morrisen	481	21.3	−1.9
	Green	Adam Swallow	319	14.2	+2.9
Majority
Turnout			2,253	34.49
Registered electors
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Grove North

Grove North (2 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Ron Batstone*	986	69.6	+20.1
	Liberal Democrats	Kiera Bentley	906	63.9	+17.1
	Conservative	Ben Mabbett*	471	33.2	+0.6
	Conservative	Craig Brown	395	27.9	+2.1
Majority
Turnout			1,417	27.57
Registered electors
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Hendreds

Hendreds
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Green	Sarah James	735	67.7	*N/A*
	Conservative	Janet Shelley*	350	32.3	−24.7
Majority
Turnout			1,085	41.05
Registered electors
	Green gain from Conservative		Swing

Kennington & Radley

Kennington & Radley (2 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Diana Lugova*	1,056	56.0	−7.6
	Liberal Democrats	James Cox	899	47.7	−24.2
	Conservative	Gareth Jennings	515	27.3	−4.5
	Conservative	David Brown	462	24.5	+2.7
	Green	Charles Couper	282	15.0	N/A
	Green	Christopher Henderson	247	13.1	N/A
	Labour	Ruth Mayne	170	9.0	N/A
Majority
Turnout			1,886	36.30
Registered electors
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Kingston Bagpuize

Kingston Bagpuize
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Jill Rayner	880	59.6	*N/A*
	Conservative	Dianna Swale	596	40.4	+40.4
Majority
Turnout			1,476	38.77
Registered electors
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative		Swing

Marcham

Marcham
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Robert Clegg	497	58.2	−12.5
	Conservative	James Plumb	357	41.8	+12.5
Majority
Turnout			854	34.15
Registered electors
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Ridgeway

Ridgeway
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Paul Barrow*	671	58.0	+7.8
	Conservative	Amos Lundie	485	42.0	−7.8
Majority
Turnout			1,156	44.01
Registered electors
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Stanford

Stanford
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Sue Caul	546	44.2	+24.4
	Conservative	Nathan Boyd*	536	43.4	−4.6
	Green	James Brooks	153	12.4	−5.7
Majority
Turnout			1,235	41.00
Registered electors
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative		Swing

Steventon & the Hanneys

Steventon & the Hanneys
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Sally Povolotsky*	876	64.4	+23.4
	Conservative	Louise Brown	485	35.6	−12.6
Majority
Turnout			1,361	41.67
Registered electors
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative		Swing

Sutton Courtenay

Sutton Courtenay
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Richard Webber*	488	58.5	−17.4
	Conservative	Patrick Atkinson	233	27.9	+3.8
	Green	Michel Grandjean	113	13.5	N/A
Majority
Turnout			834	32.66
Registered electors
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Thames

Thames
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Mark Coleman	606	49.8	−3.2
	Conservative	Richard Swale	427	35.1	−11.9
	Independent	Jerry Avery*	100	8.2	−44.8
	Labour	Daniel Crouch	83	6.8	N/A
Majority
Turnout			1,216	44.13
Registered electors
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Wantage & Grove Brook

Wantage & Grove Brook (2 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Jenny Hannaby*	1,160	65.1	+2.9
	Liberal Democrats	Amos Duveen*	976	54.7	+6.6
	Conservative	Clare Boyd	446	25.0	−5.5
	Conservative	Gabriella Turnbull	418	23.4	−1.8
	Green	Thomas Gaston	360	20.2	N/A
Majority
Turnout			1,783	31.13
Registered electors
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Wantage Charlton

Wantage Charlton (2 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Andy Crawford*	1,291	67.1	+6.5
	Liberal Democrats	Patrick O'Leary*	1,205	62.6	+2.3
	Conservative	Charlotte Dickson	436	22.6	−5.5
	Green	Darshana Patel	388	20.2	N/A
	Conservative	Charles Dickson	380	19.7	−6.4
Majority
Turnout			1,925	32.46
Registered electors
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Watchfield & Shrivenham

Watchfield & Shrivenham (2 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Green	Katherine Foxhall	1,355	55.6	*N/A*
	Green	Viral Patel	1,170	48.0	*N/A*
	Conservative	Simon Howell*	1,091	44.7	−16.1
	Conservative	Elaine Ware*	1,055	43.3	−19.9
Majority
Turnout			2,438	39.76
Registered electors
	Green gain from Conservative		Swing
	Green gain from Conservative		Swing

Wootton

Wootton
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Val Shaw*	432	45.4	−16.8
	Conservative	George Robinson	348	36.6	−1.2
	Green	Anna Thomas	112	11.8	N/A
	Labour	Chris Hall	59	6.2	N/A
Majority
Turnout			951	35.05
Registered electors
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Changes 2023–2027

By-elections

Sutton Courtenay

Sutton Courtenay By-Election 20 June 2024
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Peter Stevens	226	33.6	−24.9
	Green	Aidan Reilly	214	31.8	+18.3
	Conservative	Christopher Campbell	182	27.1	−0.8
	Labour	Stephen Webb	50	7.4	new
Majority			12	1.8
Turnout			672
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing	+17.3

Botley & Sunningwell

Botley & Sunningwell by-election: 10 July 2025
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Ben Potter	732	71.5	+7.9
	Conservative	Charlotte Adlung	162	15.8	–1.8
	Green	Thomas Gaston	130	12.7	+11.2
Majority			570	55.7	N/A
Turnout			1,035	20.1	–18.8
Registered electors			5,148
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing	4.9

Ridgeway

Ridgeway by-election: 13 November 2025
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Green	Kiera Barnett
	Labour	Rob Blundell
	Reform	Henry de Kretser
	Conservative	Charlotte Dickson
	Liberal Democrats	Hannah Griffin

References

↑ "Local Elections 2023 - results". Vale of White Horse District Council. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
↑ "Your councillors by party". Vale of White Horse District Council. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
1 2 3 "Local elections: Party promises for South Ox and Vale". Oxford Mail . 3 May 2023. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
↑ "Notice of Election" (PDF). Vale of White Horse District Council. 20 March 2023. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
↑ "Elections 2023 - Vale of White Horse election result". BBC News . Retrieved 6 May 2023.
1 2 3 4 Tait, Albert (5 May 2023). "South Ox and Vale election results: Full breakdown". Oxford Mail. Retrieved 7 May 2023.
↑ "Statement of Persons Nominated" (PDF). Vale of White Horse District Council. 5 April 2023. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
1 2 3 "Election Results - Wards". Vale of White Horse District Council. Retrieved 7 May 2023.

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[1] "Local Elections 2023 - results". Vale of White Horse District Council. Retrieved 12 May 2023.

[2] "Your councillors by party". Vale of White Horse District Council. Retrieved 2 May 2023.

[om_party_promises-3] 1 2 3 "Local elections: Party promises for South Ox and Vale". Oxford Mail . 3 May 2023. Retrieved 6 May 2023.

[4] "Notice of Election" (PDF). Vale of White Horse District Council. 20 March 2023. Retrieved 23 April 2023.

[5] "Elections 2023 - Vale of White Horse election result". BBC News . Retrieved 6 May 2023.

[OM_results-6] 1 2 3 4 Tait, Albert (5 May 2023). "South Ox and Vale election results: Full breakdown". Oxford Mail. Retrieved 7 May 2023.

[7] "Statement of Persons Nominated" (PDF). Vale of White Horse District Council. 5 April 2023. Retrieved 23 April 2023.

[VOWHDC_results-8] 1 2 3 "Election Results - Wards". Vale of White Horse District Council. Retrieved 7 May 2023.

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v t e Council elections in Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire 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 1973 1977 1981 1985 1989 1993 1997 2001 2005 2009 2013 2017 2021 2025
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South Oxfordshire District Council	1973 1976 1979 1983 1987 1991 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 2015 2019 2023
Vale of White Horse District Council	1973 1976 1979 1983 1987 1991 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 2015 2019 2023
West Oxfordshire District 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
See also: Wards Boundary changes

2023 Vale of White Horse District Council election

Contents

Summary

Election result

Ward results

Abingdon Abbey Northcourt

Abingdon Caldecott

Abingdon Dunmore

Abingdon Fitzharris

Abingdon Peachcroft

Blewbury & Harwell

Botley & Sunningwell

Cumnor

Drayton

Faringdon

Grove North

Hendreds

Kennington & Radley

Kingston Bagpuize

Marcham

Ridgeway

Stanford

Steventon & the Hanneys

Sutton Courtenay

Thames

Wantage & Grove Brook

Wantage Charlton

Watchfield & Shrivenham

Wootton

Changes 2023–2027

By-elections

Sutton Courtenay

Botley & Sunningwell

Ridgeway

References