2023 Peterborough City Council election

2023 Peterborough City Council election
21 out of 60 seats to Peterborough City Council; 31 seats needed for a majority
	Winner of each seat at the 2023 Peterborough City Council election
Leader before election; Wayne Fitzgerald; Conservative; No overall control	Leader after election ; Wayne Fitzgerald; Conservative; No overall control

The 2023 Peterborough City Council election took place on 4 May 2023 to elect member of Peterborough City Council in Cambridgeshire, England. There were 21 of the 60 seats on the council contested. The election took place alongside other local elections across England.

The council remained under no overall control, being led by a Conservative minority administration.

Overview

Going into the election, the position of the parties and the number of seats they were defending was:

Conservative: 6 defences (22 other seats)
Labour (and Co-operative): 6 defences (6 other seats)
Liberal Democrat: 4 defences (4 other seats)
Green: 3 defences (1 other seat)
Werrington / Peterborough First: 1 defence (3 other seats)
Independent: 1 defence (1 other seat)

Immediately after the election the position was that the Conservatives had 30 seats, Labour 14, the Liberal Democrats 5, Green 3 and there were 5 independents / Peterborough First.^[1]^[2]

Two weeks after the elections took place, four councillors, Brian Rush (Stanground South), Peter Hiller (Glinton & Castor), Ray Bisby (Stanground South) and Gavin Elsey (Wittering), left the Conservative Party to join Peterborough First.^[3]

In June 2023, after an initial suspension, Councillor Mohammed Farooq (Hargate & Hempsted) quit the Conservative Party, citing a "bullying, toxic culture.^[4] He was followed soon after by his son, Councillor Saqib Farooq (Glinton & Castor)^[5] and ward-colleague Councillor John Howard.^[6]

Overall results

2023 Peterborough City Council election
Party		This election			Full council			This election
Party		Seats	Net	Seats %	Other	Total	Total %	Votes	Votes %	+/−
	Conservative	8	2	38.1	22	30	50.0	15,792	35.51	5.4
	Labour	6		28.6	8	14	23.3	14,278	32.11	6.1
	Liberal Democrats	4		19.0	4	8	13.3	5,139	11.56	3.1
	Green	2	1	9.5	1	3	5.0	6,282	14.13	4.4
	Peterborough First	1		4.8	3	4	6.7	1,672	3.76	0.7
	Independent	0	1	0.0	1	1	1.7	1,101	2.48	1.8
	TUSC	0		0	0	0	0	73	0.16	NEW
	CPA	0		0	0	0	0	54	0.12	NEW
	Reform UK	0		0	0	0	0	80	0.18	NEW

Ward results

Asterisks denote incumbent councillors seeking re-election. Unless otherwise noted, the councillors seeking re-election were elected in 2019; changes in vote share are therefore compared to the 2019 election.

Bretton

UKIP (16.7%) did not contest this election.

Bretton ward
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Richard James Strangward	863	44.5	9.9
	Conservative	Chris Burbage*	785	40.4	4.8
	Liberal Democrats	Rohan Cameron Stuart Wilson	133	6.9	0.5
	Green	Barry Warne	81	4.2	1.5
	Independent	John O'Connor	79	4.1	NEW
Majority			78	4.0
Turnout			1,941	29.1	0.8
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing

Central

UKIP (5.1%) did not contest this election.

Central ward
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour Co-op	Mohammed Jamil*	1,579	62.1	6.7
	Conservative	Umar Khan	509	20.0	6.9
	Green	Raymond Knight	203	8.0	1.3
	Liberal Democrats	Paul Michael Whittaker	179	7.0	1.1
	TUSC	Steve Cawley	73	2.9	NEW
Majority			1,070	42.1	13.6
Turnout			2,543	29.8	10.9
	Labour Co-op hold		Swing

Dogsthorpe

Independent Colin Hargreaves (10.7%) and the Veterans and People's Party (5.1%) did not contest this election.

The incumbent, Katia Yurgutene (Labour Co-op) did not seek re-election.

Dogsthorpe ward
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour Co-op	Katy Jane Cole	902	47.4	9.9
	Conservative	Muhammad Ikram	654	34.3	26.2
	Liberal Democrats	Sandra Ringler	152	8.0	26.4
	Green	Kelsey Jack Brace	99	5.2
	Independent	Robert Bede Petch	97	5.1	NEW
Majority			248	13.0	9.9
Turnout			1,904	28.2	0.8
	Labour Co-op hold		Swing

East

The Liberal Democrats (9.7%) did not contest this election.

East ward
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour Co-op	Shabina Asad Qayyum*	1,618	65.6	17.3
	Conservative	Ekta Patel	665	27.0	6.9
	Green	Luke Chapman	120	4.9	3.2
	Independent	Jo Johnson	62	2.5	NEW
Majority			953	38.7	24.3
Turnout			2,465	33.9	1.5
	Labour Co-op hold		Swing

Eye, Thorney and Newborough

UKIP (14.8%) and SDP (7.9%) did not contest this election.

Eye, Thorney & Newborough ward
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Steve Allen*	1,122	54.3	1.5
	Labour	John Shearman	587	28.4	14.7
	Green	Michael Alexander	244	11.8	4.6
	Liberal Democrats	Annie Rose Francis Mary Geraghty	115	5.6	2.1
Majority			535	25.9	12.1
Turnout			2,068	28.1	5.1
	Conservative hold		Swing

Fletton and Stanground

UKIP (16%) did not contest this election.

The incumbent, Jade Seager, was elected in 2022.

Fletton & Stanground ward
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Jade Seager*	874	48.5	3.2
	Conservative	Davide Broccoli	434	24.1	11.8
	Labour	Angus Ellis	348	19.3	6.3
	Green	Danette Lisa O'Hara	145	8.1	1.1
Majority			440	24.4	11.3
Turnout			1,801	24.9	3.5
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Fletton and Woodston

UKIP (16%) and Our Nation (1.7%) did not contest this election.

The incumbent was Imtiaz Ali who had defected to the Green Party from Labour.^[7]

Fletton & Woodston ward
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour Co-op	Nick Thulbourn	732	37.4	7.1
	Conservative	Andrew Stephen Willey	720	36.8	2.9
	Green	Imtiaz Ali*	406	20.8	10.0
	Liberal Democrats	Neil Christopher Walton	98	5.0	2.9
Majority			12	0.6
Turnout			1,956	26.2	0.6
	Labour Co-op hold		Swing

Glinton and Castor

Hiller defected from the Conservatives to Peterborough First less than two weeks after being re-elected.^[3]

Glinton & Castor ward
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Peter John Hiller*	1,088	59.8	6.9
	Labour	Sue Farr	278	15.3	6.0
	Liberal Democrats	Claire Biggam Bysshe	270	14.8	2.1
	Green	Greg Guthrie	183	10.1	1.1
Majority			810	44.5	9.5
Turnout			1,819	35.9	2.6
	Conservative hold		Swing

Gunthorpe

UKIP (9.3%) and the Green Party (3.6%) did not contest this election.

Gunthorpe ward
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Sandra Christine Bond*	1,166	49.8	5.9
	Conservative	John Philip Peach	853	36.4	2.5
	Labour	Madison Challis	269	11.5	2.3
	CPA	Tom Rogers	54	2.3	NEW
Majority			313	13.4	3.4
Turnout			2,342	35.5	1.8
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Hampton Vale

The Green Party (5.4%) did not contest this time.

Hampton Vale ward
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Chris Wiggin*	549	47.2	3.2
	Conservative	Rhys Evans	402	34.5	13.1
	Labour	Abdul Mannan	213	18.3	4.6
Majority			147	12.6	14.9
Turnout			1,164	23.0	2.9
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Hargate and Hempsted

Councillor Howard left the Conservative group less than five weeks after being re-elected.^[6]

Hargate & Hempsted ward
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Ian Howard*	637	47.7	8.4
	Labour	Timothy Kujiyat	511	38.2	20.5
	Liberal Democrats	Rachel Ann Speed	113	8.5	26.7
	Green	Michael Robert Whitaker	75	5.6	2.2
Majority			126	9.4	5.3
Turnout			1,336	21.0	3.1
	Conservative hold		Swing

North

UKIP (9.9%) and the Liberal Democrats (5.3%) did not contest this election.

The incumbent was Ansar Ali who had resigned from the Labour Party.^[8]

North ward
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour Co-op	Asim Mahmood	1,078	42.9	10.2
	Independent	Ansar Ali*	863	34.4	NEW
	Conservative	Akim Akim	393	15.6	12.7
	Green	Tracey Foreman	178	7.1	3.8
Majority			215	8,6	16.2
Turnout			2,512	35.5	4.2
	Labour Co-op gain from Independent		Swing

Orton Longueville

UKIP (16.7%) and the Liberal Democrats (5.7%) did not contest this election.

The incumbent, Heather Skibsted, defected to the Green Party from Labour.^[9]

Orton Longueville ward
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Green	Heather Skibsted*	868	44.0	27.5
	Conservative	Aqib Mohammed Farooq	561	28.4	1.5
	Labour Co-op	Wendy Mary Smith	545	27.6	3.7
Majority			307	15.6
Turnout			1,974	26.5	3.6
	Green gain from Labour		Swing

Orton Waterville

The incumbent, Nicola Day, is Green Party group leader.

Orton Waterville ward
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Green	Nicola Day*	1,786	69.8	5.8
	Conservative	Matthew Jon Bliszczak	496	19.4	8.3
	Labour	Oluwaseun Akinyele	205	8.0	1.9
	Liberal Democrats	Vince Carroll	73	2.9	0.8
Majority			1,290	50.4	14.1
Turnout			2,560	36.0	3.9
	Green hold		Swing

Park

There were two vacant seats in this ward following the resignation of Shaz Nawaz^[10] (elected 2021, Labour).

The incumbent, Ikra Yasin (Labour), did not seek re-election.^[11]

Park ward (2 seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Khan Arfan	1,660	47.6	5.0
	Conservative	Muhammad Asif	1,148	32.9	11.7
	Labour Co-op	Junayd Hussain	1,024	29.3	17.4
	Labour	Sabra Yasin	1,003	28.7	20.9
	Green	Fiona Radic	529	15.2	9.4
	Green	Steve Wilson	341	9.8	NEW
	Liberal Democrats	Ian Hardman	197	5.6	0.8
	Reform UK	Sue Morris	80	2.3	NEW
Majority			636	18.2
Turnout			3,490	44.6	1.7
	Conservative gain from Labour Co-op		Swing
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing

Paston and Walton

UKIP (15.5%) did not contest this time.

Paston & Walton ward
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Simon Frederick Barkham*	836	44.9	3.1
	Conservative	Alex Rafiq	597	32.0	21.5
	Labour	David Powell	352	18.9	2.6
	Green	Simon Mayhew	78	4.2	0.3
Majority			239	12.8	13.7
Turnout			1,863	25.9	3.9
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Ravensthorpe

UKIP (12.7%) did not contest this election.

The incumbent, Lucinda Robinson (Labour Co-op), is not seeking re-election.

Ravensthorpe ward
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Raja Sabeel Ahmed	1,239	48.3	11.7
	Labour Co-op	Jason McNally	872	34.0	6.7
	Green	Edward Murphy	363	14.2	9.8
	Liberal Democrats	Richard Cham	91	3.5	2.1
Majority			367	14.3
Turnout			2,565	34.4	0.4
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing

Stanground South

UKIP (17.8%) did not contest this election.

Rush defected from the Conservatives to Peterborough First less than two weeks after being re-elected.^[3]

Stanground South ward
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Brian Rush*	798	49.4	2.4
	Labour	Harry Lewis	553	34.2	11.6
	Green	Stuart Middleton	165	10.2	2.8
	Liberal Democrats	Simon John Garner	101	6.2	1.0
Majority			245	15.2	9.2
Turnout			1,617	21.6	2.4
	Conservative hold		Swing

Werrington

This is the first time Werrington First have contested an election under the "Peterborough First – Werrington Independent" description.^[12]

Werrington ward
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Peterborough First	Judy Fox*	1,672	66.3	8.4
	Labour	Rosalind Jones	332	13.2	7.3
	Conservative	Hayley Jayne Shelton	280	11.1	0.4
	Green	Georgia Wade	158	6.3	1.0
	Liberal Democrats	Simon James Kail	78	3.1	0.5
Majority			1,340	53.2	11.0
Turnout			2,520	32.8	2.1
	Peterborough First hold		Swing

West

UKIP (10.5%) did not contest this election.

The incumbent, Wayne Fitzgerald, is Leader of the Council.

West ward
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Wayne Fitzgerald*	842	51.7	2.2
	Labour	Lorraine Andison	414	25.4	7.7
	Green	Collette Francis	260	16.0	7.8
	Liberal Democrats	Polly Geraghty	114	7.0	2.7
Majority			428	26.3	9.9
Turnout			1,630	39.6	0.2
	Conservative hold		Swing

Changes 2023–2024

Councillors Bisby, Hiller and Rush defected from the Conservatives to Peterborough First just two weeks after the local election in May 2023.^[13] Councillor Elsey defected the following day.^[3]

Councillor Mohammed Farooq was suspended by the Conservative Party in May 2023.^[14] Despite being re-admitted in June, Cllr (M) Farooq quit the party due to a "bullying, toxic culture^[15] - followed by his son, Cllr Saqib Farooq^[16] and ward-colleague Cllr John Howard.^[17]

References

^ "Local elections 2023: Peterborough is a little microclimate of its own". BBC News. 5 May 2023. Retrieved 24 May 2023.
^ Taylor, Joanna (5 May 2023). "Conservatives still 'very much in charge' council leader says as elections results announced". Peterborough Telegraph. Retrieved 24 May 2023.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Peterborough City Council: Fourth Conservative resigns from party". BBC News. 22 May 2023. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
^ Elworthy, John (7 June 2023). "'Bullying, toxic culture' nearly killed me says Peterborough city councillor". cambsnews.co.uk. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
^ Elworthy, John (7 June 2023). "Tories rocked by second resignation of the day – and its only 9 o'clock". cambsnews.co.uk. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
^ ^a ^b Elworthy, John (7 June 2023). "Third – and biggest – name quits Tory group on Peterborough Council". cambsnews.co.uk. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
^ Briggs, Stephen (10 January 2023). "Councillor for Fletton and Woodston ward 'resigns' from Labour to join Peterborough Green Party". peterboroughtoday.co.uk. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
^ Taylor, Joanna (23 January 2023). "Ansar Ali: Second Peterborough councillor 'resigns' from Labour Party". peterboroughtoday.co.uk. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
^ Jones, Ben (19 July 2022). "Peterborough councillor leaves Labour Party to join Green Party". peterboroughtoday.co.uk. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
^ "Peterborough Labour Group Leader announces his resignation from the council". Peterborough Telegraph. 15 February 2023. Retrieved 7 May 2023.
^ "Ex-Labour councillor Ikra Yasin explains why she's standing down from Peterborough City Council". Peterborough Telegraph. 7 March 2023. Retrieved 7 May 2023.
^ Jones, Ben (10 May 2022). "Chris Harper takes over as leader of Peterborough First group on city council". peterboroughtoday.co.uk. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
^ "Three Conservative councillors resign from party with Horsey Bridge development among issues". Peterborough Telegraph. 19 May 2023. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
^ "North West Cambs Conservative Association 'disappointed' by its president's suspension from Peterborough council group". Peterborough Telegraph. 22 May 2023. Retrieved 22 May 2023.
^ Elworthy, John (7 June 2023). "'Bullying, toxic culture' nearly killed me says Peterborough city councillor". Retrieved 7 June 2023.
^ Elworthy, John (7 June 2023). "Tories rocked by second resignation of the day – and its only 9 o'clock". Retrieved 7 June 2023.
^ Elworthy, John (7 June 2023). "Third – and biggest – name quits Tory group on Peterborough Council". cambsnews.co.uk. Retrieved 7 June 2023.

[1] "Local elections 2023: Peterborough is a little microclimate of its own". BBC News. 5 May 2023. Retrieved 24 May 2023.

[2] Taylor, Joanna (5 May 2023). "Conservatives still 'very much in charge' council leader says as elections results announced". Peterborough Telegraph. Retrieved 24 May 2023.

[Resign-3] "Peterborough City Council: Fourth Conservative resigns from party". BBC News. 22 May 2023. Retrieved 23 May 2023.

[4] Elworthy, John (7 June 2023). "'Bullying, toxic culture' nearly killed me says Peterborough city councillor". cambsnews.co.uk. Retrieved 7 June 2023.

[5] Elworthy, John (7 June 2023). "Tories rocked by second resignation of the day – and its only 9 o'clock". cambsnews.co.uk. Retrieved 7 June 2023.

[:0-6] Elworthy, John (7 June 2023). "Third – and biggest – name quits Tory group on Peterborough Council". cambsnews.co.uk. Retrieved 7 June 2023.

[7] Briggs, Stephen (10 January 2023). "Councillor for Fletton and Woodston ward 'resigns' from Labour to join Peterborough Green Party". peterboroughtoday.co.uk. Retrieved 5 April 2023.

[8] Taylor, Joanna (23 January 2023). "Ansar Ali: Second Peterborough councillor 'resigns' from Labour Party". peterboroughtoday.co.uk. Retrieved 5 April 2023.

[9] Jones, Ben (19 July 2022). "Peterborough councillor leaves Labour Party to join Green Party". peterboroughtoday.co.uk. Retrieved 5 April 2023.

[10] "Peterborough Labour Group Leader announces his resignation from the council". Peterborough Telegraph. 15 February 2023. Retrieved 7 May 2023.

[11] "Ex-Labour councillor Ikra Yasin explains why she's standing down from Peterborough City Council". Peterborough Telegraph. 7 March 2023. Retrieved 7 May 2023.

[12] Jones, Ben (10 May 2022). "Chris Harper takes over as leader of Peterborough First group on city council". peterboroughtoday.co.uk. Retrieved 5 April 2023.

[13] "Three Conservative councillors resign from party with Horsey Bridge development among issues". Peterborough Telegraph. 19 May 2023. Retrieved 19 May 2023.

[14] "North West Cambs Conservative Association 'disappointed' by its president's suspension from Peterborough council group". Peterborough Telegraph. 22 May 2023. Retrieved 22 May 2023.

[15] Elworthy, John (7 June 2023). "'Bullying, toxic culture' nearly killed me says Peterborough city councillor". Retrieved 7 June 2023.

[16] Elworthy, John (7 June 2023). "Tories rocked by second resignation of the day – and its only 9 o'clock". Retrieved 7 June 2023.

[17] Elworthy, John (7 June 2023). "Third – and biggest – name quits Tory group on Peterborough Council". cambsnews.co.uk. Retrieved 7 June 2023.

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