# 2025 West Northamptonshire Council election

The 2025 West Northamptonshire Council election is due to take place on 1 May 2025, alongside nationwide local elections. 76 councillors are due to be elected in a total of 35 wards which will determine the composition of the unitary authority of West Northamptonshire Council, which runs local government services for West Northamptonshire within the United Kingdom.

## Background

West Northamptonshire Council was created in 2021 following a brief existence as a "shadow authority", with its first elections held in May 2021. Following the 2021 West Northamptonshire Council election, the Conservative Party won an overall majority on the new council. The 2021 election was held as part of the 2021 local elections, in which the Conservatives won multiple elections after a "vaccine bump".
The Conservative group, led by Adam Brown, currently have 59 seats, following the resignation of the former leader Jonathan Nunn following claims of abuse, and other members leaving. The West Northamptonshire Liberal Democrats gained an additional seat after winning a by-election in East Hunsbury and Shelfleys ward in February 2024. The Labour group, led by Wendy Randall, gained an additional councillor in November 2024, and lost a councillor in December 2024.
The 7 independent councillors are formed of 3 "Aligned" Independents and 4 "Non-Aligned" Independents, with the aligned independent group being led by Ian McCord and the Non-Aligned independents not having a leader.

### Leadership

Council leader from the 2021 election :
| Party | Party | Leader | Term |
| | Conservative | Jonathan Nunn | 12 May 2021—18 April 2024 |
| | Conservative | Adam Brown | 16 May 2024—present |

### Electoral system

Registered voters are eligible to vote for candidates within the ward in which they reside, with each voter being entitled to 1–3 votes depending on the number of councillors that are allocated to that ward. Voting registration will close on 11 April 2024.

### Ward changes

A total of 76 councillors are to be elected, a reduction from the previous number of 93 in 2021 following a review of the Local Government Boundary Commission for England, as the wards used in 2021 were a duplication of Northamptonshire County Council, meaning many were outside of the range as they were originally created in 2012 for the 2013 Northamptonshire County Council elections. 13 wards will elect 3 councillors each, 15 wards will elect 2 councillors each, and 7 wards will elect 1 councillor each, on a total of 35 wards, an increase from the previous number of 31 3-member wards.

### 2021-25 changes

Councillor party changes :
| Party before | Councillor | Date | Reason | Party after |
| Conservative | Ian McCord | 11 May 2021 | Did not rejoin after being suspended | Independent |
| Conservative | Paul Clark | 7 June 2023 | Claims of silencing | Independent |
| Conservative | Suresh Patel | 15 December 2023 | Resigned from council, Ill health | (vacant) |
| (vacant) | Carl Squires | 9 February 2024 | Won by-election from seat vacated by Suresh Patel | Liberal Democrat |
| Conservative | Jonathan Nunn | 18 April 2024 | Claims of domestic abuse | Independent |
| Conservative | Richard Solesbury-Timms | 22 April 2024 | Left following Nunn abuse claims | Independent |
| Conservative | Louisa Fowler | 27 August 2024 | Unspecified incident | Independent |
| Conservative | Lizzy Bowen | 7 November 2024 | Resigned from council, work commitments abroad | (vacant) |
| Independent | Sue Sharps | 15 November 2024 | Joined Labour | Labour |
| Labour | Paul Joyce | 4 December 2024 | Left after being deselected as Labour candidate | Independent |

#### By-election
##### 2024 East Hunsbury and Shelfleys by-election

A by-election was held on 8 February 2024 following the resignation of Cllr Suresh Patel due to ill health. In 2023 it was found that he had not updated his register of interests in line with the authorities 28 day timescales, and links to the David Mackintosh scandal as a prosecution witness.
East Hunsbury and Shelfleys :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Carl Squires | 820 | 38.8 | 15.8 |
| | Conservative | Daniel Soan | 746 | 35.3 | 16.2 |
| | Labour Co-op | Clare Robertson-Marriott | 547 | 25.9 | 0.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 74 | 3.5 | |
| Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | 8 | 0.37 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,123 | 23.6 | −9.4 |
| | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Swing | +16.0 | |

### Council composition

| After 2021 election | After 2021 election | After 2021 election | Before 2025 election | Before 2025 election | Before 2025 election | Before 2025 election | 2025 election result | 2025 election result | 2025 election result |
| Party | Party | Seats | Party | Party | Seats | Ch. | Party | Party | Seats |
| | Conservative | 66 | | Conservative | 59 | 7 | | Conservative | |
| | Labour | 20 | | Labour | 20 | | | Labour | |
| | Liberal Democrats | 5 | | Liberal Democrats | 6 | 1 | | Liberal Democrats | |
| | Independent | 2 | | Independent | 7 | 5 | | Independent | |

## Campaign

The pre-election period officially began on 14 March 2025, when the notice of election was published.

### Daventry

The Conservatives launched their campaign in Daventry announcing the cancellation of controversial plans to build on the Eastern Way Playing Fields in Daventry following a local campaign involving several petitions, meetings and gatherings. The plan was originally launched by the Conservative administration in their 2024 'Masterplan'. The Conservative administration announced the reversal of the plan on 28 February and the Conservatives were delivering leaflets the next day declaring the cancellation to be a success.

## List of results by ward

Abington & Phippsville (2 member) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Zoe Smith | | | |
| | Labour | Bob Purser | | | |
Billing (2 member) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Janice Duffy | | | |
Blackthorn & Rectory Farm (2 member) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Taylor Cowley-Coulton | | | |
Brackley (3 member) :
| Party | Candidate |
| Labour | Sue Sharps |
| Labour | Scott Langford |
| Labour | Simon Weaver |
Braunston & Crick (2 member) :
| Party | Candidate |
| Liberal Democrats | Rosie Humphreys |
| Liberal Democrats | Andrew Simpson |
| Conservative | Alan Chantler |
| Conservative | Stephen Kerr |
Brixworth (1 member) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Jonathan Harris | | | |
Campion (2 member) :
| Party | Candidate |
| Conservative | Adam Brown |
| Conservative | Philip Bignell |
| Labour | Clive Millman |
| Labour | Shirley Waterhouse |
Castle (3 member) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
Cogenhoe & The Houghtons (1 member) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
Dallington Spencer (3 member) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Sally Keeble | | | |
Daventry North East (1 member) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Laura Davies | | | |
| | Conservative | Peter Matten | | | |
Daventry North West (1 member) :
| Party | Candidate |
| Liberal Democrats | Alan Knape |
| Labour | Nigel Mercer |
| Conservative | Jake Roberts |
Daventry South (3 member) :
| Party | Candidate |
| Conservative | Athena Fenn |
| Conservative | Rebecca James |
| Conservative | Philip Silk-Neilsen |
| Labour | Stephen Dabbs |
| Labour | Laura Davies |
| Labour | Wendy Randall |
Deanshanger & Paulerspury (2 member) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | James Soper | | | |
Duston (3 member) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Reform UK | Vincent Clive | | | |
| | Labour | Sandie Maitland | | | |
Far Cotton, Delapre & Briar Hill (3 member) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Nick Smith | | | |
| | Reform UK | Anthony Owens | | | |
Hackleton & Roade (2 member) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Fiona Cole | | | |
| | Conservative | Andrew Grant | | | |
Headlands (3 member) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
Hunsbury (3 member) :
| Party | Candidate |
| Liberal Democrats | Carl Squires |
| Conservative | Pinder Chauhan |
| Conservative | Andre Gonzalez De Savage |
| Conservative | Daniel Soan |
Kingsley & Semilong (2 member) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Titus Ajayi | | | |
| | Labour | Farzana Aldridge | | | |
Kingsthorpe North (3 member) :
| Party | Candidate |
| Conservative | Mobola Bakare |
| Conservative | Mike O'Connor |
| Conservative | Laura Stevenson |
Kingsthorpe South (2 member) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Eluned Lewis Nicol | | | |
| | Labour | Harry Barrett | | | |
Long Buckby (2 member) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
Middleton Cheney (2 member) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
Moulton (3 member) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
Naseby (1 member) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Christine Ware | | | |
| | Conservative | Richard Auger | | | |
Nene Valley (3 member) :
| Party | Candidate |
| Conservative | Nick Sturges-Alex |
| Conservative | Phil Larratt |
| Conservative | Dan Smith |
| Liberal Democrats | Jill Hope |
| Labour | Peter French |
| Labour | Andrew Halliwell |
| Reform UK | Craig Morris |
Parklands (1 member) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
Rural North East (1 member) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Cecile Irving-Swift | | | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Tony Nixon | | | |
Rural South Northamptonshire (3 member) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
Talavera (2 member) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
Towcester (3 member) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
Upton (2 member) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Patrick Julius | | | |
Weston Favell & Abington Vale (2 member) :
| Party | Candidate |
| Labour | Clare Robertson-Marriott |
| Labour | Jamal Alwahabi |
| Reform UK | David Lea |
Woodford and Weedon (2 member) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Green | Gordon | | | |
| | Green | Ed | | | |