2023 City of Lincoln Council election

The 2023 City of Lincoln Council election took place on 4 May 2023 to elect members of City of Lincoln Council in Lincolnshire, England.^[1] It was held on the same day as other local elections across England.^[2] This election did not result in a change of control of the council as Labour retained a majority, but did result in a doubling of the size of the Liberal Democrat council group at the expense of two Labour councillors.^[3]

2023 City of Lincoln Council election

← 2022 4 May 2023 2024 →
11 of the 33 seats to City of Lincoln Council 17 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	29.38%
First party Second party Third party   Leader Ric Metcalfe Thomas Dyer Clare Smalley Party Labour Conservative Liberal Democrats Last election 22 9 2 Seats won 8 1 2 Seats after 20 9 4 Seat change 2 2 Popular vote 9,020 4,732 3,053 Percentage 49.2% 25.8% 16.7% Swing 4.0 7.6 1.9
Map showing the results of the 2023 Lincoln City Council elections by ward. Red shows Labour, blue shows the Conservatives and orange shows the Liberal Democrats.
Leader before election Ric Metcalfe Labour Leader after election Ric Metcalfe Labour

Background

In the lead up to the election, two primary issues took centre-stage in Lincoln, first; in February 2023 it was announced by the Council that the Christmas Market was to be cancelled,^[4] prompting criticism from the local Conservatives and Liberal Democrats, as well as the MP for Lincoln, Karl McCartney, who described it as "a shallow, stupid and shoddy decision".^[5] Secondly, the Government announced plans to turn RAF Scampton into an asylum housing facility,^[6] prompting local campaigns aimed at preventing it. Both of these issues were taken up by parties involved in the elections, and were campaigning points for candidates across the city.

The Labour campaign focused on cost-of-living relief, tackling the housing crisis, investment in public spaces and the net zero target of the Council. The Conservatives meanwhile pledged to reinstate the Christmas Market, freeze the council’s parking charges, improve local infrastructure with more seating, trees and biodiversity and promised a commitment to tackle Fly-Tipping, Littering and Anti-social behaviour with increased fines and enforcement. Finally, the Liberal Democrats campaigned against the "shambolic" national Conservative record and pointed to "Labour’s record... Christmas market cancelled without consultation, bus shelters axed, hundreds of damp homes needing mould treatment."^[7]

Pre-election composition

Pre-Election Composition

22 9 2
Party		Seats
	Labour	20
	Conservative	9
	Liberal Democrat	2

Councillors standing down

Councillor	Ward	First elected	Party		Date announced
Rosanne Kirk	Birchwood	2012		Labour	2 March 2023[8]

Results summary

2023 Lincoln City Council election [9]
Party		This election			Full council			This election
		Seats	Net	Seats %	Other	Total	Total %	Votes	Votes %	+/−
	Labour	8	2	72.7	12	20	60.6	9,020	49.2	+4.0
	Conservative	1		9.1	8	9	27.3	4,732	25.8	-7.6
	Liberal Democrats	2	2	18.2	2	4	12.1	3,053	16.7	+1.9
	Green	0		0.0	0	0	0.0	815	4.4	-1.8
	Reform UK	0		0.0	0	0	0.0	420	2.3	New
	Independent	0		0.0	0	0	0.0	204	1.1	New
	TUSC	0		0.0	0	0	0.0	64	0.4	+0.1
	Liberal	0		0.0	0	0	0.0	18	0.1	New

Ward results

^[10][11]

Abbey

Abbey

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Natasha Chapman	1,028	56.4	−6.3
	Labour	Jane Loffhagen	493	27.0	−1.1
	Conservative	Roger Hansard	154	8.4	−0.8
	Green	Seamus Murray	92	5.0	+5.0
	Reform UK	Benjamin Jackson	57	3.1	+3.1
Majority			535	29.4
Turnout			1,824	29.8
	Liberal Democrats gain from Labour		Swing	2.6

Birchwood

Birchwood

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Dylan Stothard	683	45.1	+4.1
	Conservative	Jamie Cave	603	39.8	−7.8
	Liberal Democrats	Stephen Chapman	118	7.8	+3.0
	Reform UK	Tony Todd	111	7.3	+7.3
Majority			80	5.3
Turnout			1,515	25.7
	Labour hold		Swing	6.0

Boultham

Boultham

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Liz Bushell	805	59.0	+3.7
	Conservative	Daniel Carvalho	348	25.5	−6.1
	Green	David Kenyon	111	8.1	+1.8
	Liberal Democrats	Sarah Uldall	100	7.3	+0.5
Majority			457	33.5
Turnout			1,364	26.9
	Labour hold		Swing	4.9

Carholme

Carholme

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Neil Murray	1,066	58.9	+1.1
	Conservative	Thomas Hulme	216	12.0	−6.0
	Independent	John Bustin	204	11.4	+11.4
	Green	Nicola Watson	152	8.5	−4.0
	Liberal Democrats	Charlotte Morris	84	4.7	−3.5
	TUSC	Nick Parker	64	3.6	+0.1
	Liberal	Charles Shaw	18	1.0	+1.0
Majority			850	46.9
Turnout			1,804	34.2
	Labour hold		Swing	3.6

Castle

Castle

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Rebecca Longbottom	974	62.4	+3.5
	Conservative	Henry Osborne	304	19.5	−3.8
	Green	Lauren Ross	157	10.1	0.0
	Liberal Democrats	Aidan Turner	126	8.1	+0.4
Majority			670	42.9
Turnout			1,561	29.5
	Labour hold		Swing	3.7

Glebe

Glebe

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Aiden Wells	1,020	57.6	+31.4
	Labour	Jackie Kirk	464	26.2	−10.6
	Conservative	Jeanette Pavey	223	12.6	−17.7
	Green	Tjeerd Carter	63	3.6	−3.1
Majority			556	31.4
Turnout			1,770	31.0
	Liberal Democrats gain from Labour		Swing	21.0

Hartsholme

Hartsholme

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Biff Bean	1,374	61.8	+23.3
	Conservative	Barnabas Bell	612	27.5	−22.4
	Liberal Democrats	Jim Charters	134	6.0	−5.6
	Reform UK	Jane Smith	103	4.6	+4.6
Majority			762	34.3
Turnout			2,223	35.4
	Labour hold		Swing	22.9

Minster

Minster

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour Co-op	Naomi Tweddle	906	51.0	+2.5
	Conservative	Victoria Brooks	632	35.6	−3.1
	Green	Valerie Wilkinson	97	5.5	−0.5
	Liberal Democrats	Emily Morris	80	4.5	−1.3
	Reform UK	Alex Cambo	62	3.5	+3.5
Majority			274	15.4	+4.6
Turnout			1,777	33.5
	Labour Co-op hold		Swing	2.8

Moorland

Moorland

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Bob Bushell	768	53.3	+7.4
	Conservative	Pete Edwards	535	37.1	−5.1
	Liberal Democrats	Ross Pepper	138	9.6	+4.3
Majority			233	16.2
Turnout			1,441	25.7
	Labour hold		Swing	6.3

Park

Park

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour Co-op	Sue Burke	760	63.4	+6.1
	Conservative	George Clark	209	17.4	−6.5
	Green	Sally Horscroft	143	11.9	−0.3
	Liberal Democrats	Olly Craven	86	7.2	+0.6
Majority			551	45.9
Turnout			1,198	19.9
	Labour Co-op hold		Swing	6.3

Witham

Witham

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Thomas Dyer	896	48.5	−3.2
	Labour Co-op	Calvin Bissitt	727	39.3	+3.3
	Liberal Democrats	Felicity Christopher	139	7.5	+0.8
	Reform UK	Nick Smith	87	4.7	+4.7
Majority			169	9.2
Turnout			1,849	30.9
	Conservative hold		Swing	3.3

References

1. "Notice of Election". City of Lincoln Council. Retrieved 27 April 2023.
2. Griffin, Joe (5 May 2023). "City of Lincoln Council election results for 2023 as it happened". LincolnshireLive. Retrieved 20 May 2023.
3. "Local election results 2023: Labour retain control of Lincoln". BBC News. 5 May 2023. Retrieved 20 May 2023.
4. "Council scraps Lincoln Christmas Market after 40 years". ITV. 20 February 2023. Retrieved 23 March 2024.
5. "Karl calls out Labour City Council's plan to close Lincoln's Christmas Market and feels it shows they do not care about nor understand Lincoln". KarlMcCartney.co.uk. 10 February 2023. Retrieved 23 March 2024.
6. "RAF Scampton". WLDC. 29 March 2023. Retrieved 23 March 2024.
7. "Local Elections 2023: Lincoln party leaders' promises". Lincolnite. 17 April 2023. Retrieved 23 March 2024.
8. "Lincoln Mayor announces resignation after decade of public service". BBC News. 2 March 2023. Retrieved 22 March 2024.
9. "Election results by party, 4 May 2023". City of Lincoln Council. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
10. "Britain Elects – The 2023 English local election results". the New Statesman. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
11. "Election results by wards, 4 May 2023". democratic.lincoln.gov.uk. 4 May 2023. Retrieved 6 May 2023.