# 2023 East Cambridgeshire District Council election

The 2023 East Cambridgeshire District Council election took place on 4 May, 2023, to elect all 28 members of East Cambridgeshire District Council in Cambridgeshire, England. The Conservative Party retained control of the Council.

## Overview

Prior to the election the council was under Conservative control. At the previous election in 2019 the Conservatives had won 15 seats and the Liberal Democrats had won 13 seats. A by-election and changes of allegiance between 2019 and 2022 meant that going into the election the Conservative held 16 seats and the Liberal Democrats 9 seats, with an independent group comprising two former Liberal Democrats. There was also one vacant seat.
Following the results, the council remained under Conservative control; the overall result in seat numbers was the same as that of 2019, with the Conservatives taking 15 seats and the Liberal Democrats 13 seats.
Results :
| Party | Seats | Change |
| Conservative Party | 15 | |
| Liberal Democrats | 13 | |

## Results by ward

The results for each ward were:

### Bottisham

Bottisham :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Charlotte Cane* | 888 | 49.0 | +2.5 |
| | Liberal Democrats | John Trapp* | 831 | 45.8 | +2.5 |
| | Conservative | Ruth Betson | 625 | 34.5 | +1.0 |
| | Conservative | Toby Huffer | 562 | 31.0 | +1.5 |
| | Labour | Steven O'Dell | 260 | 14.3 | +1.3 |
| | Labour | Mike Swift | 196 | 10.8 | −6.5 |
| | Green | Mark Slade | 159 | 8.8 | −1.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,813 | 40.3 | |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | | |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | | |

### Burwell

Burwell :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | David Brown* | 827 | 48.4 | +4.8 |
| | Conservative | Lavinia Edwards* | 817 | 47.8 | +9.3 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Catherine Wrench | 468 | 27.4 | ±0.0 |
| | Labour | Liz Swift | 424 | 24.8 | +10.2 |
| | Liberal Democrats | James Forsyth | 411 | 24.0 | +3.0 |
| | Labour | Geraldine Tait | 379 | 22.2 | +9.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,710 | 34.8 | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |

### Downham

Downham :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Anna Bailey* | 598 | 57.4 | +5.9 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Martha Zantides | 333 | 32.0 | −4.7 |
| | Labour | Lois Appleyard | 110 | 10.6 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,041 | 42.6 | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |

### Ely East

Ely East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Mary Wade | 942 | 52.2 | +8.5 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Kathrin Holtzmann | 855 | 47.5 | +8.7 |
| | Conservative | Rachel Butler | 665 | 36.9 | −3.8 |
| | Conservative | Sana Sheikh | 510 | 28.3 | −7.7 |
| | Labour | Caoimhe Ni Dhonaill | 270 | 15.0 | +6.4 |
| | Labour | Daniel Rudderham | 261 | 14.5 | +6.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,801 | 40.1 | |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | | |
| | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Swing | | |

### Ely North

Ely North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Alison Whelan* | 883 | 57.9 | +8.2 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Chika Akinwale | 841 | 55.1 | +9.6 |
| | Conservative | Richard Hobbs | 434 | 28.5 | −6.0 |
| | Conservative | Tom Boucher | 430 | 28.2 | −6.2 |
| | Labour | Clem Butler | 205 | 13.4 | |
| | Labour | Frank Danes | 176 | 11.5 | −3.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,525 | 39.9 | |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | | |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | | |

### Ely West

Ely West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Christine Whelan* | 1,405 | 44.0 | −0.9 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Christine Colbert | 1,324 | 41.5 | −5.1 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Robert Pitt | 1,272 | 39.9 | −4.2 |
| | Labour | Rebecca Denness | 848 | 26.6 | +13.6 |
| | Conservative | David Ambrose Smith | 831 | 26.1 | −3.9 |
| | Conservative | Roderick Mair | 809 | 25.4 | −3.9 |
| | Conservative | Lawrence Whitworth | 747 | 23.4 | +0.1 |
| | Labour | Mark Hucker | 718 | 22.5 | +12.4 |
| | Labour | Adam Wilson | 599 | 18.8 | +8.8 |
| | Green | Pip Gardner | 401 | 12.6 | −4.6 |
| | No Description | Sue Austen* | 282 | 8.8 | −37.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,190 | 44.0 | |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | | |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | | |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | | |
Seats recorded as Liberal Democrat holds for comparison with 2019, but two of the three councillors in this ward had subsequently left the party and formed an independent group in 2020. One of them, Sue Austen, stood for re-election as an independent but was unsuccessful.

### Fordham & Isleham

Fordham & Isleham :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Julia Huffer* | 858 | 58.3 | +4.5 |
| | Conservative | Kelli Pettitt | 764 | 51.9 | +5.0 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Connor Docwra | 396 | 26.9 | +4.7 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Rupert Moss-Eccardt | 302 | 20.5 | +7.1 |
| | Labour | Simon Cull | 262 | 17.8 | +8.3 |
| | Labour | Mark Pithers | 222 | 15.1 | +5.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,472 | 28.7 | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |

### Haddenham

Haddenham :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Gareth Wilson* | 496 | 47.6 | −3.3 |
| | Conservative | Steve Cheetham | 431 | 41.4 | +6.6 |
| | Labour | Lydia Hill | 114 | 11.0 | +4.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,041 | 39.1 | |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | | |

### Littleport

Littleport :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | Christine Ambrose-Smith* | 781 | 48.2 |
| | Conservative | Martin Goodearl | 729 | 45.0 |
| | Conservative | David Miller | 652 | 40.2 |
| | Labour | Adam Cooley | 523 | 32.3 |
| | Labour | Chris Dorrington | 507 | 31.3 |
| | Labour | Hilary Noculak | 489 | 30.2 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Janet Porter | 289 | 17.8 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Rachel Winters | 283 | 17.5 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Stephen Newton | 274 | 16.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,621 | 22.4 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | |

### Soham North

Soham North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Mark Goldsack* | 601 | 45.8 | +3.2 |
| | Conservative | Keith Horgan | 412 | 31.4 | −6.1 |
| | Independent | Josh Schumann | 396 | 30.2 | N/A |
| | Liberal Democrats | Alec Jones* | 387 | 29.5 | −15.5 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Sarah Marsh | 363 | 27.7 | −20.6 |
| | Labour | Kim Brady | 150 | 11.4 | +1.4 |
| | Labour | Chris Horne | 130 | 9.9 | +1.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,312 | 26.9 | |
| | Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats | Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats | Swing | | |
| | Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats | Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats | Swing | | |
Both seats are recorded as Conservative gains from Liberal Democrats to allow comparison with the 2019 result, but Mark Goldsack had earlier won his seat for the Conservatives in a by-election in 2021.

### Soham South

Lucius Vellacott was 18 on the date of his election, making him the youngest District Councillor in the United Kingdom at the time.
Soham South :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Ian Bovingdon* | 591 | 50.3 | +2.2 |
| | Conservative | Lucius Vellacott | 517 | 44.0 | −2.2 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Elizabeth Blaney | 351 | 29.9 | −3.6 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Kieran Park | 296 | 25.2 | −6.6 |
| | Labour | Jane Harris | 252 | 21.4 | +3.0 |
| | Labour | Louis Needs | 205 | 17.4 | +3.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 166 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,175 | 25.6 | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |

### Stretham

Stretham :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Caroline Shepherd | 1,063 | 42.2 | +6.5 |
| | Conservative | Bill Hunt* | 1,019 | 40.5 | −7.0 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Pauline Wilson | 909 | 36.1 | +2.9 |
| | Conservative | William Thurston | 821 | 32.6 | −13.2 |
| | No Description | Doug Stuart | 542 | 21.5 | N/A |
| | Labour | Molly Butler | 253 | 10.0 | −7.6 |
| | Labour | Sarah Perkins | 208 | 8.3 | −2.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,518 | 46.2 | |
| | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Swing | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |

### Sutton

Sutton :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Lorna Dupre* | 1,233 | 74.8 | +4.9 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Mark Inskip* | 1,003 | 60.9 | +7.0 |
| | Conservative | Sarah Bradley | 435 | 26.4 | −4.9 |
| | Labour | Jack Allum | 123 | 7.5 | N/A |
| | Labour | Dominic Myers | 97 | 5.9 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,648 | 37.3 | |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | | |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | | |

### Woodditton

Woodditton :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Alan Sharp* | 918 | 56.5 | +3.8 |
| | Conservative | James Lay | 842 | 51.8 | +0.8 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Helen Barker | 404 | 24.9 | +5.8 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Lindsey Moss-Eccardt | 329 | 20.2 | +2.2 |
| | Labour | Sarah Fraser | 283 | 17.4 | +5.5 |
| | Labour | Jacqueline Lacey-Eresh | 225 | 13.8 | +3.1 |
| | UKIP | Richard Fullerton | 85 | 5.2 | −9.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,625 | 32.6 | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |

## By-Elections
### Ely West

Triggered by resignation of Liberal Democrat councillor Robert Pitt.
Ely West by-election, 18 April 2024 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Ross Trent | 1,125 | 47.9 | +10.6 |
| | Conservative | David Ambrose Smith | 760 | 32.3 | +10.3 |
| | Labour | Adam Wilson | 466 | 19.8 | −2.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 365 | +15.6 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,374 | 33.3 | −10.7 |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | +0.1 | |