# 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. It was held on the same day as other local elections across England. 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.

## 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, 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". Secondly, the Government announced plans to turn RAF Scampton into an asylum housing facility, 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."

### Pre-election composition

Pre-Election Composition :
| 2292 |||
| Party | Party | Seats |
| | Labour | 20 |
| | Conservative | 9 |
| | Liberal Democrat | 2 |

### Councillors standing down

| Councillor | Ward | First elected | Party | Party | Date announced |
| Rosanne Kirk | Birchwood | 2012 | | Labour | 2 March 2023 |

## Results summary

2023 Lincoln City Council election :
| Party | Party | This election | This election | This election | Full council | Full council | Full council | This election | This election | This election |
| Party | Party | 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
### Abbey

Abbey :
| Party | 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 | Majority | Majority | 535 | 29.4 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,824 | 29.8 | |
| | Liberal Democrats gain from Labour | Liberal Democrats gain from Labour | Swing | 2.6 | |

### Birchwood

Birchwood :
| Party | 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 | Majority | Majority | 80 | 5.3 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,515 | 25.7 | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | 6.0 | |

### Boultham

Boultham :
| Party | 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 | Majority | Majority | 457 | 33.5 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,364 | 26.9 | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | 4.9 | |

### Carholme

Carholme :
| Party | 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 | Majority | Majority | 850 | 46.9 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,804 | 34.2 | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | 3.6 | |

### Castle

Castle :
| Party | 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 | Majority | Majority | 670 | 42.9 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,561 | 29.5 | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | 3.7 | |

### Glebe

Glebe :
| Party | 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 | Majority | Majority | 556 | 31.4 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,770 | 31.0 | |
| | Liberal Democrats gain from Labour | Liberal Democrats gain from Labour | Swing | 21.0 | |

### Hartsholme

Hartsholme :
| Party | 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 | Majority | Majority | 762 | 34.3 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,223 | 35.4 | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | 22.9 | |

### Minster

Minster :
| Party | 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 | Majority | Majority | 274 | 15.4 | +4.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,777 | 33.5 | |
| | Labour Co-op hold | Labour Co-op hold | Swing | 2.8 | |

### Moorland

Moorland :
| Party | 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 | Majority | Majority | 233 | 16.2 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,441 | 25.7 | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | 6.3 | |

### Park

Park :
| Party | 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 | Majority | Majority | 551 | 45.9 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,198 | 19.9 | |
| | Labour Co-op hold | Labour Co-op hold | Swing | 6.3 | |

### Witham

Witham :
| Party | 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 | Majority | Majority | 169 | 9.2 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,849 | 30.9 | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | 3.3 | |