# 2018 Exeter City Council election

The 2018 Exeter City Council election took place on 3 May 2018 to elect a third (13/39) of the members of Exeter City Council in England. This was on the same day as other local elections. The election result left the council with the same political make up as it had before the election, with Labour in control with 29 seats and the Conservatives as the main opposition party, returning with 8.

## Background

At the previous election in 2016 election, Labour remained in control of the council with 30 councillors out of 39. In February 2017, Labour Councillor Chris Musgrave defected to the Green Party, leaving them with 29 seats going into the election.

## Results summary

2018 Exeter 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 | 10 | | 76.9 | 19 | 29 | 74.4 | 15,325 | 47.3 | -0.2 |
| | Conservative | 2 | | 15.4 | 6 | 8 | 20.5 | 10,557 | 32.6 | +3.6 |
| | Liberal Democrats | 1 | | 7.7 | 0 | 1 | 2.6 | 3,005 | 9.3 | ±0.0 |
| | Green | 0 | | 0.0 | 1 | 1 | 2.6 | 3,423 | 10.6 | +1.0 |
| | Women's Equality | 0 | | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 75 | 0.2 | New |
| | BNP | 0 | | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 34 | 0.1 | New |
| | Democrats and Veterans | 0 | | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 10 | >0.1 | New |

## Council composition

After the previous election, the composition of the council was:
| 30 | 8 | 1 |
| Labour | Conservative | LD |
Before this election, the composition of the council was:
| 29 | 8 | 1 | 1 |
| Labour | Conservative | LD | G |
After this election, the composition of the council was:
| 29 | 8 | 1 | 1 |
| Labour | Conservative | LD | G |

## Results by ward

(*) Asterisk denotes the sitting councillor.

### Alphington

Alphington :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Bob Foale* | 1,029 | 42.77 | +3.7 |
| | Conservative | Katherine New | 933 | 38.78 | +2.0 |
| | Green | Andrew Bell | 256 | 10.64 | +0.9 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Rod Ruffle | 188 | 7.81 | −3.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 96 | 3.99% | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,406 | 36.77% | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |

### Duryard & St.James

Duryard & St.James :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Kevin Mitchell* | 783 | 34.60 | +3.1 |
| | Labour | Charlie Davies | 722 | 31.90 | +2.4 |
| | Conservative | John Harvey | 541 | 23.91 | −0.7 |
| | Green | Bethany Payne | 132 | 5.83 | −6.6 |
| | Women's Equality | Bea Gare | 75 | 3.31 | N/A |
| | Democrats and Veterans | Sallie Waters | 10 | 0.44 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 61 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,263 | 33.49 | |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | | |

### Exwick

Exwick :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Rachel Sutton* | 1,278 | 57.80 | +5.1 |
| | Conservative | Elliott Malik | 593 | 26.82 | +7.2 |
| | Green | Mark Shorto | 200 | 9.05 | −4.0 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Andrew Soper | 140 | 6.33 | −5.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 685 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,211 | 30.18 | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |

### Heavitree

Heavitree :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Greg Sheldon* | 1,554 | 53.75 | +7.8 |
| | Conservative | Guy Richards | 786 | 27.19 | +6.7 |
| | Green | Gill Baker | 345 | 11.93 | −8.1 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Stephen Gates | 206 | 7.13 | −3.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 768 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,891 | 42.21 | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |

### Mincinglake & Whipton

Mincinglake & Whipton :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Judy Pattison | 1,203 | 58.45 | +9.1 |
| | Conservative | George Livesey | 603 | 29.30 | +13.8 |
| | Green | Kayleigh Powell | 129 | 6.27 | −2.8 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Matt Smith | 123 | 5.98 | −1.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 600 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,058 | 30.98 | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |

### Newtown & St.Leonards

Newtown & St.Leonards :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Matthew Vizard* | 1,447 | 56.13 | +8.3 |
| | Conservative | Ian Watt | 628 | 24.36 | −2.5 |
| | Green | Tom Milburn | 267 | 10.36 | −3.3 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Alexandra Newcombe | 236 | 9.15 | +1.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 819 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,578 | 36.08 | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |

### Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Jane Begley | 1,435 | 47.95 | +11.8 |
| | Conservative | David Smith | 1,062 | 35.48 | −2.3 |
| | Green | Lizzie Woodman | 324 | 10.83 | −6.2 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Michael Mitchell | 172 | 5.75 | −4.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 373 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,993 | 39.42 | |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | | |

### Pinhoe

Pinhoe :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Duncan Wood* | 1,128 | 47.08 | +5.7 |
| | Conservative | Keith Sparkes | 1,057 | 44.12 | +3.8 |
| | Green | Diana Jones | 114 | 4.76 | −4.9 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Charles Cole | 97 | 4.05 | −3.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 71 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,396 | 41.04 | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |

### Priory

Priory :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Tony Wardle* | 1,177 | 52.90 | +5.9 |
| | Conservative | Jago Brockway | 651 | 29.26 | +4.5 |
| | Green | Lynn Wetenhall | 220 | 9.89 | −2.5 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Christine Campion | 177 | 7.96 | −0.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 526 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,225 | 34.25 | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |

### St Davids

St Davids :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Luke Sills* | 1,119 | 43.41 | +10.2 |
| | Green | Diana Moore | 826 | 32.04 | +7.2 |
| | Conservative | Aric Gilinsky | 471 | 18.27 | +0.4 |
| | Liberal Democrats | James Dart | 162 | 6.28 | −22.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 293 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,578 | 35.09 | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |

### St Loyes

St Loyes :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Peter Holland | 1,299 | 52.23 | +22.4 |
| | Labour | Christine Buswell | 901 | 36.23 | +2.7 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Thomas Deakin | 167 | 6.71 | −8.0 |
| | Green | Andrew Cheesewright | 120 | 4.83 | −10.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 398 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,487 | 36.03 | |
| | Conservative gain from Labour | Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | | |

### St Thomas

St Thomas :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Laura Wright | 1,343 | 49.30 | +8.9 |
| | Conservative | Mason Bell | 679 | 24.93 | +12.2 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Sandy Chenore | 376 | 13.80 | −8.4 |
| | Green | Joe Levy | 292 | 10.72 | +2.7 |
| | BNP | Chris Stone | 34 | 1.25 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 664 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,724 | 36.75 | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |

### Topsham

Topsham :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Catherine Pierce | 1,254 | 47.88 | +1.6 |
| | Labour | Eliot Wright | 989 | 37.76 | +1.8 |
| | Green | Jonathan Dawson | 198 | 7.56 | −9.5 |
| | Liberal Democrats | David Pugh | 178 | 6.80 | −3.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 265 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,619 | 37.77 | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |