The election followed a turbulent period for the incumbent Conservative administration, who entered the campaign weakened by a series of high-profile resignations and internal controversies. With all major parties fielding candidates in every ward, the election was one of the most hotly contested in the area's recent history, with 355 candidates contesting 35 wards. The poll took place against a backdrop of wider political changes, including Labour's victory in the 2024 Northamptonshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner election and gains in parliamentary constituencies in the 2024 UK general election.
The election result saw Reform UK win 42 seats from 0 in 2021, winning a majority and taking control of the council from the Conservative Party, which won 17 – a significant reduction from the 63 won in 2021. The Labour Party won 9 seats, a decrease from the 20 won in 2021 and falling to the third-largest group, while the Liberal Democrats retained 6 seats and independent candidates won 2 seats.
Background
West Northamptonshire Council (WNC) was created in 2021 following a brief existence as a "shadow authority", with its first elections held on 6 May 2021. Following the 2021 West Northamptonshire Council election, the Conservative Party won an overall majority on the new council. The 2021 election was held as part of the 2021 local elections, in which the Conservatives won multiple elections after a "vaccine bump".[1] The Conservatives had controlled the preceding Northamptonshire County Council and both new Unitary authorities for 20 years prior to the election.[2]
Prior to the election, the Conservative group, led by Adam Brown,[3] had 58 seats,[3] following former leader Jonathan Nunn becoming an independent following claims of abuse,[4][5] three members resigning from the council, and four councillors becoming independents. The West Northamptonshire Liberal Democrats gained an additional seat after winning a by-election in East Hunsbury and Shelfleys ward in February 2024.[6] The Labour group, led by Wendy Randall,[3] gained an additional councillor in November 2024,[7][8] and lost a councillor in December 2024.[9]
The seven independent councillors were formed of three "Aligned" Independents and four "Non-Aligned" Independents, with the aligned independent group (Paul Clark, Ian McCord, Richard Solesbury-Timms) being led by Ian McCord, and the Non-Aligned independents (Julie Davenport, Louisa Fowler, Paul Joyce, Jonathan Nunn) not having a leader.[3] These were the most highly contested local elections in West Northamptonshire (both for WNC but also for the County and District/Borough elections previously), with the five national parties all fielding candidates in every single ward in addition to several independents and minor parties, for a total of 355 candidates equalling approximately 4.67 candidates per seat and 10.14 candidates per ward.[10]
Registered voters that reside within a ward were eligible to vote, with each voter being entitled to 1–3 votes depending on the number of councillors that were allocated to that ward. Voting registration closed on 11th April 2024.[16] 39 seats were needed for a majority on the council.[17] If a single party failed to gain an overall majority, the council would result in no overall control. In this case, the largest party in the council could form a minority administration, or a coalition could be formed of different parties and/or independents to govern the council.[18] The votes were counted at Benham Sports Centre, Northampton, with the results published on 3 May 2025.[17]
13 wards elected three councillors, 15 wards elected five councillors, and 7 wards elected one councillor each,[20] on a total of 35 wards, an increase from the previous number of 31 three-member wards.[21]
A by-election was held on 8 February 2024 following the resignation of Cllr Suresh Patel due to ill health.[35] In 2023 it was found that he had not updated his register of interests in line with the authorities' 28 day timescales.[36] He had not previously been seen at a council meeting since November 2023 as he had been a main witness in the trial of former MP David Mackintosh regarding improper political donations.[37]
The pre-election period officially began on 14 March 2025, when the notice of election was published.[39] The deadline for candidate nominations and withdrawal of nominations was 2 April 2025.[40]
Ronald Firman, a Reform UK candidate for Hunsbury ward, was criticised during the campaign for racist remarks made on a Twitter account dating back to 2017. Reform UK declined to comment on the remarks.[41][42] Another Reform UK candidate for Kingsthorpe North, Nigel Berrill, appeared in court for several driving related offences and was fined £241 with 6 points on his driving license.[43] Another Reform UK candidate, Thomas Manning, appeared in court for assaulting a police officer and criminal damage.[44]
Both Reform UK and the Conservatives ruled out a formal post-election coalition in West Northamptonshire, with West Northamptonshire Conservative leader Adam Brown saying "we have no interest in a coalition of any sort", and a Reform UK spokesperson stating "There’ll be no formal coalitions with anybody".[45]
Manifestos
The Conservatives on 29 March 2025 launched their manifesto, entitled "The next moves forward".[46] The 28 page manifesto promised not to introduce a "ULEZ" style scheme in West Northamptonshire,[47] and to limit council tax increases to below the referendum threshold of 5% and reduce the increases over time.[48] However, the incumbent Conservative administration's council budget assumed the maximum 4.99% increases within their medium term financial plan.[49][50]
The Liberal Democrats on 3 April launched their campaign with their manifesto, entitled "A People First Council for West Northamptonshire". The Lib Dems stated that they wanted to do things differently with a manifesto focused on prevention and planning, unlike the Conservatives who they claimed to be continuing with the same failed reactionary policies.[51]
Labour launched their manifesto on 8 April. The election also saw the highest number of candidates standing as Labour Co-op in the 2025 local elections.[52]
Reform UK did not have any specific local manifesto, and instead campaigned on national issues,[53] the creation of a "Doge-style" department for both West and North Northamptonshire and a full audit of council finances.[54] Additionally they supported the revival of the previous two-tier structure of local government of Northamptonshire County Council and individual district councils, and a mayoral devolution deal to cover the county without including Luton, Bedford, and Milton Keynes.[55]
TUSC stated that they were standing for people who feel let down by the main parties' stances on the Gaza war, the infected blood and Post Office scandals, lack of appropriate social housing, and cutbacks in the NHS and in other social care provision.[56]
Highways
The Conservatives said that their priority would be ‘ongoing highway investment’, citing a £200 million price for full repair of all roads, and that they would instead focusing on increasing efficiency and quality of repairs through technology. Green Party candidates have called for WNC's highways contract with Kier Highways to be re-examined, and to encourage them to innovate and trial new technologies, emphasising resurfacing over temporary pothole fixes. Labour stated that they would deliver better-maintained roads and pavements by evaluating highways contractors to emphasise value for money. The Liberal Democrats said they would develop ‘pothole priority plan’ to target problem areas and replace worn-out roads with permanent solutions, proactively identifiying vulnerable roads, as well as keeping the highways contract under constant review with data on highway repairs by ward. Reform UK said that they would focus on fixing entire roads rather than temporary patches.[57]
Regeneration
The Conservatives committed to establish local boards to provide input on town centre improvements, as well as committed to strengthening town centre managers, also committing to increase affordable homes and temporary accommodation. The Green Party committed to preventing overdevelopment, saying that proposals for new development which do not include infrastructure upgrades would not be approved, and saying that they would give greater transparency on Section 106 contributions. Labour said they would bring forward schemes for brownfield site development, as well as focusing on the delivery of social housing and affordable housing, additionally committing to investment in local communities including plans to work with town councils to deliver ‘thriving places’. The Liberal Democrats pushed for bring empty homes to be brought back to use, stating that they would allocate £20 million to acquire properties to expand the social housing stock, also giving commitments to greater support for first-time buyers. Reform UK stated that overdevelopment needed to be stopped, planning to hold to account developers to deliver promised infrastructure and Section 106 agreements for larger developments.[57]
Environment
The Conservatives committed in their manifesto to increasing fly-tipping enforcement, keeping waste and recycling centres open seven days a week, and to ensure solar panels are installed in ‘appropriate’ locations and not farmland. The Green Party said that high fines for fly-tipping were ineffective, instead advocating for council waste centres keep charges minimal. Labour said they would appoint additional Neighbourhood Wardens in a drive against fly-tipping and litter, as well as committed to improving air quality by rolling out electric buses, and investigating the installation of a park and ride. The Liberal Democrats said they would focus on reducing the council’s own carbon footprint, as well as identifying suitable locations for renewable energy.[57]
Local issues
Issues in Brackley included high-speed broadband internet, transport provision, a banking hub, school places, and the condition of roads.[58] In Daventry, the Conservatives begain their campaign by announcing the cancellation of controversial plans to build on the Eastern Way Playing Fields in Daventry following a local campaign involving several petitions, meetings and gatherings.[59] The plan was originally launched by the Conservative administration in their 2024 'Masterplan'.[60] The Conservative administration announced the reversal of the plan on 28 February[61] and the Conservatives were delivering leaflets the next day declaring the cancellation to be a success.[62]
In Towcester, an issue of contention involved a plan by DHL for a two warehouses as part of a planned new logistics hub outside of Towcester became the subject of controversy in 2024 and 2025, with a grassroots campaign, "Save Towcester Now", being set up to oppose the scheme. Council planning officers recommended the plan for approval, but councillors voted to reject the scheme. DHL appealed the rejection to the Planning Inspectorate, which opened a public inquiry in February 2025 and closed it on 21 March 2025.[63][64][65][66][67] The scheme was announced to be proceeding on 11 April 2025.[68]
MRP polls are included in addition to local polls. MRP polls can indicate local support for parties, but cannot account for ward-level factors such as locally popular candidates and local party canvassing strengths.[69]
Declaration of the results of Towcester ward, the final result of the 2025 local electionsSeats won (outer ring) versus total number of votes (inner ring)
Reform UK
Conservative Party
Labour Party
Liberal Democrats
Independent
The counting of the first tranche of ballots began at 13:30 BST. The counting of the second tranche was due to begin at 15:30.[70] However, the timing was chaotic with tranches overlapping,[70] and the final results not being declared until 21:35, the last in the country.[71]
Gains and losses are calculated from nominal results of the 2021 West Northamptonshire Council election.
2025 West Northamptonshire Council election result
Following the election, Reform UK took control of West Northamptonshire Council from the Conservatives. The Conservative, Labour, and Liberal Democrat leaders were all unseated.[73][74] Both Reform UK and the Liberal Democrats made gains, with Reform UK going from 0 seats (0%) to 42 (55%) and the Liberal Democrats going from 5 seats (5%) to 6 seats (8%). Both Labour and the Conservatives lost seats, with the Conservatives going from 66 (71%) seats to 17 (22%), and Labour going from 20 (22%) seats to 9 (12%). Two independents were also elected, the same number as in 2021.[75]
Mark Arnull, previously Chair of West Northamptonshire Reform UK, was elected as the party's council group leader on 14 May 2025 and subsequently was elected as leader of the council at the Annual General Meeting of the full council on 15 May 2025.[76][77][78] Former WNC cabinet member Dan Lister was elected Conservative leader, former MP Sally Keeble was elected Labour leader, and former deputy Liberal Democrat group leader Jonathan Harris was elected as Liberal Democrat leader.[79]
A newly elected Reform UK councillor, Ivan Dabbs, was criticised for sharing far-right content from fascist party and hate group Britain First.[80][81] Dabbs' actions were defended by the leader of the council.[82] On 20 May, the Conservative, Labour, and Liberal Democrat leaders released a joint statement strongly criticising Reform UK for not taking disciplinary action on Dabbs and Ron Firman for their offensive Twitter posts.[83] The Reform UK group also stated their councillors would refuse climate training and diversity training.[84]
On 3 June 2025, Adam Smith, newly elected Reform UK councillor for Hackleton and Roade had the Reform UK whip suspended by the group due to 'a number of concerns regarding [his] conduct'.[85][86][87] Smith was subsequently expelled from the party for bringing it into disrepute.
Notes
↑ As Chair of Reform UK West Northamptonshire, as no Reform presence on WNC previously
↑ Not the incumbent, but stood in this ward and won.
1 2 3 4 Boundary changes reduced the number of seats, so these are notional changes.
↑ Willliamson was the Chair of the West Northamptonshire Green Party going into the election as there was no Green Party presence on WNC previously.
1 2 No by-election held, as resignation took place within 6 months of the next elections under Section 89(3) of the Local Government Act 1972
↑ 2021 seat results modified to reflect the reduced number of seats available in 2025.
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