2023 St Albans City and District Council election

2023 St Albans City and District Council election
18 out of 56 seats to St Albans City and District Council; 29 seats needed for a majority
	Winner of each seat at the 2023 St Albans City and District Council election
Leader before election; Chris White; Liberal Democrats	Leader after election ; Chris White; Liberal Democrats

The 2023 St Albans City and District Council election took place on 4 May 2023 to elect members of St Albans City and District Council in Hertfordshire, England.^[1] This was on the same day as other local elections across England.^[2]

Eighteen members of the council were up for election.

The Liberal Democrats obtained 15 seats, the Green party obtained 2 seats (including winning one from the Liberal Democrats in Clarence ward), and the Conservatives obtained 1 seat (in Harpenden South).^[3]^[4]

The Liberal Democrats remained in control of the council after the election, with 49 out of 56 seats being held by them.^[5]

On 5 May 2023, one day after the election, it was announced that there would be a by-election for a district councillor in St. Peters ward on 13 June 2023 due to a vacancy.^[6]

The next elections are due to take place in May 2024.^[3]

Summary

Election result

2023 St Albans City and District Council election
Party		This election			Full council			This election
Party		Seats	Net	Seats %	Other	Total	Total %	Votes	Votes %	+/−
	Liberal Democrats	15	1	83.3	34	49	87.5	20,859	50.4	+2.5
	Conservative	1		5.6	3	4	7.1	11,127	26.8	+2.8
	Green	2	1	11.1	0	2	3.6	5,287	12.8	–2.4
	Independent	0		0.0	1	1	1.8	0	0.0	–2.5
	Labour	0		0.0	0	0	0.0	4,075	9.8	–0.6
	Reform UK	0		0.0	0	0	0.0	49	0.1	N/A
	Communist	0		0.0	0	0	0.0	30	0.1	±0.0

Ward results

The Statement of Persons Nominated, which details the candidates standing in each ward, was released by St Albans City and District Council following the close of nominations on 5 April 2023.^[7]^[8]

The Liberal Democrats, Conservatives, Labour, and the Green Party had candidates in all 18 wards. The results for each ward were as follows:^[9]

Batchwood

Batchwood
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Jenni Murray*	1,184	56.4	+3.4
	Labour	Emma Turnbull	344	16.4	–1.2
	Conservative	Alexandra Clark	309	14.7	–1.6
	Green	Danielle Durant-Taylor	214	10.2	–2.8
	Reform UK	David Thurston	49	2.3	N/A
Majority			840	40.0	N/A
Turnout			2,100	37.6	–6.7
Registered electors			5,584
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing	2.3

Bernards Heath

Bernards Heath
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Chris Brattle	1,419	60.7	+8.2
	Conservative	Ambrose Killen	406	17.3	+1.2
	Green	Rosalind Paul	276	11.8	–10.1
	Labour	Jane Cloke	238	10.2	+0.8
Majority			1,013	43.4	N/A
Turnout			2,339	40.4	–6.3
Registered electors			5,796
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing	3.5

Clarence

Clarence
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Green	Matt Fisher	1,503	50.9	+18.3
	Liberal Democrats	Oluwasheun Onamusi	1,055	35.8	–11.1
	Conservative	Don Deepthi	198	6.7	–3.2
	Labour	George Sanderson	194	6.6	–4.0
Majority			448	15.1	N/A
Turnout			2,950	48.5	–2.3
Registered electors			6,089
	Green gain from Liberal Democrats		Swing	14.7

Cunningham

Cunningham
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Keith Cotton	1,281	59.6	+0.2
	Conservative	Lyn Bolton	408	19.0	+3.1
	Labour	John Paton	293	13.6	+1.0
	Green	Caroline Hall	168	7.8	–4.3
Majority			873	40.6	N/A
Turnout			2,150	38.0	–3.0
Registered electors			5,660
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing	1.5

Harpenden East

Harpenden East
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Dason Canning*	1,221	58.0	+7.4
	Conservative	Nigel Turnbull	570	27.1	–3.2
	Labour	Neil Mulcock	172	8.2	+0.4
	Green	Ian Troughton	142	6.7	–4.7
Majority			651	30.9	N/A
Turnout			2,105	37.3	–6.0
Registered electors			5,637
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing	5.3

Harpenden North & Rural

Harpenden North & Rural
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Ayesha Rohale*	1,217	53.1	–2.5
	Conservative	Alexia D'Rosario	736	32.1	+2.4
	Green	Candida Whittome	171	7.5	–0.9
	Labour	Ben Dearman	167	7.3	+1.0
Majority			481	21.0	N/A
Turnout			2,291	39.3	–5.5
Registered electors			5,832
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing	2.5

Harpenden South

Harpenden South
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Teresa Heritage	1,220	52.0	+10.0
	Liberal Democrats	Denise de Mattos Bowser	885	37.7	+0.1
	Labour	David Crew	134	5.7	–4.2
	Green	Anne McQuade	106	4.6	–6.0
Majority			335	14.3	N/A
Turnout			2,345	42.2	+1.0
Registered electors			5,558
	Conservative hold		Swing	5.0

Harpenden West

Harpenden West
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Fiona Gaskell*	1,256	45.4	+2.0
	Conservative	Matt Cowley	1,189	42.9	+9.6
	Green	Kyle Riley	205	7.4	–10.0
	Labour	Victoria Thompson	119	4.3	–1.6
Majority			67	2.5	N/A
Turnout			2,769	45.9	–3.2
Registered electors			6,036
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing	3.8

Hill End

Hill End
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Graeme Shaw	1,468	66.5	+10.0
	Conservative	Sudha Bharadia	295	13.3	+0.6
	Green	Marianne Jordan	250	11.3	+0.8
	Labour	Steve Clark	197	8.9	±0.0
Majority			1,173	53.2	N/A
Turnout			2,210	39.7	–6.4
Registered electors			5,569
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing	4.7

London Colney

London Colney
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Guy Gampell*	646	35.6	+2.2
	Labour	Sam Vosper	619	34.1	+6.2
	Conservative	Dave Winstone	470	25.9	–4.3
	Green	Allie Park-Crowne	76	4.1	–3.9
Majority			27	1.5	N/A
Turnout			1,811	30.7	–1.2
Registered electors			5,897
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing	2.0

Marshalswick East & Jersey Farm

Marshalswick East & Jersey Farm
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Raj Visram*	1,156	49.9	–0.7
	Conservative	Frances Leonard	788	34.0	+2.3
	Green	James Lomas	195	8.4	–1.3
	Labour	Nick Pullinger	178	7.7	–0.3
Majority			368	15.9	N/A
Turnout			2,317	39.9	–7.9
Registered electors			5,809
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing	1.5

Park Street

Park Street
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Nuala Webb*	1,234	54.8	+7.6
	Conservative	James Cook	705	31.3	–3.2
	Labour	Laurence Chester	172	7.6	–1.4
	Green	Mark Park-Crowne	140	6.3	–3.1
Majority			529	23.5	N/A
Turnout			2,251	35.2	–5.9
Registered electors			6,396
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing	5.5

Redbourn

Redbourn
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Andy Thurston	859	49.8	+18.0
	Conservative	Victoria Mead	615	35.6	+12.7
	Labour	Symon Vegro	156	9.0	+2.8
	Green	Stephen Clough	95	5.6	–2.1
Majority			244	14.2	N/A
Turnout			1,725	40.2	–1.7
Registered electors			4,292
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing	2.7

Sandridge & Wheathampstead

Sandridge & Wheathampstead
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Sharon Hollingsworth*	1,213	48.8	+7.7
	Conservative	Gill Clark	960	38.6	+1.1
	Green	Oliver Hitch	166	6.7	–6.4
	Labour	James Morrell	148	6.0	–2.3
Majority			253	10.2	N/A
Turnout			2,487	41.2	–4.8
Registered electors			6,039
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing	3.3

Sopwell

Sopwell
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Harriet Sherlock	1,144	55.5	+0.7
	Labour	Iain Grant	414	20.1	–0.8
	Conservative	Richard Curthoys	278	13.5	+1.4
	Green	Tricia Gibbons	194	9.4	–2.8
	Communist	Mark Ewington	30	1.5	–1.7
Majority			730	35.4	N/A
Turnout			2,060	37.7	–5.1
Registered electors			5,458
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing	0.8

St Peters

St Peters
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Green	Simon Grover*	1,045	46.1	+9.4
	Liberal Democrats	David Partridge	760	33.4	–5.9
	Conservative	Graham Leonard	251	11.0	+1.0
	Labour	David Byatt	217	9.5	–4.6
Majority			285	12.7	N/A
Turnout			2,273	36.9	–2.7
Registered electors			6,164
	Green hold		Swing	7.7

St Stephen

St Stephen
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Stephen Cavinder	1,243	47.7	+3.5
	Conservative	Aaron Jacob	1,079	41.4	+6.3
	Labour	Janet Blackwell	156	6.0	–2.7
	Green	Matthew Thomas	129	4.9	–3.2
Majority			164	6.3	N/A
Turnout			2,607	39.4	–4.8
Registered electors			6,610
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing	1.4

Verulam

Verulam
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Julian Degg	1,618	61.4	+4.4
	Conservative	Susan Devi	650	24.6	+0.5
	Green	Gabriel Roberts	212	8.0	–3.4
	Labour	Geoff Meade	157	6.0	–1.6
Majority			968	36.8	N/A
Turnout			2,637	46.1	–5.0
Registered electors			5,722
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing	2.0

By-elections

St Peters

A by-election was held in the St Peters ward on 13 June 2023, after the resignation of Liberal Democrat councillor Danny Clare.^[10]^[11]

St Peters: 13 June 2023
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Green	Juliet Voisey	628	44.7	–1.4
	Liberal Democrats	David John Patridge	537	38.2	+4.8
	Conservative	Ambrose Killen	156	11.1	+0.1
	Labour	David James Byatt	84	6.0	–3.5
Majority			91	6.5	–6.2
Turnout			1,412	22.8	–14.1
Registered electors			6,196
	Green gain from Liberal Democrats		Swing	3.1

Marshalswick East & Jersey Farm

A second by-election was held in Marshalswick East & Jersey Farm ward on 17 August 2023 following the resignation of Liberal Democrat councillor Elissa Da Costa-Waldman.^[12]^[13]

Marshalswick East & Jersey Farm: 17 August 2023
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Raihaanah Ahmed	774	46.0	–3.9
	Conservative	Frances Leonard	661	39.3	+5.3
	Green	James Lomas	102	6.1	–2.3
	Labour	Nick Pullinger	82	4.9	–2.8
	Independent	Samuel Posner	62	3.7	N/A
Majority			113	6.7	−9.2
Turnout			1,685	28.8	−11.1
Registered electors			5,853
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Sandridge and Wheathampstead

A third by-election was held on 7 December 2023 due to a vacancy in the Sandridge and Wheathampstead ward.^[14]^[15]^[16]

Sandridge and Wheathampstead: 7 December 2023
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Simon Johns	793	55.6	+6.8
	Conservative	Claudio Duran	480	33.7	−4.9
	Green	Oliver Hitch	78	5.5	−1.2
	Labour	James Morrell	68	4.8	−1.2
Majority			313	21.9	+11.7
Turnout			1,426	23.4	−18.1
Registered electors			6,093
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing	13.2%