2023 Elmbridge Borough Council election

2023 Elmbridge Borough Council election
16 out of 48 seats to Elmbridge Borough Council; 25 seats needed for a majority
	Winner of each seat at the 2023 Elmbridge Borough Council election
Leader before election; Chris Sadler; Residents Association; No overall control	Leader after election ; Bruce McDonald; Liberal Democrats; No overall control

The 2023 Elmbridge Borough Council election was held on 4 May 2023 to elect members of Elmbridge Borough Council in Surrey, England.^[1] This was on the same day as other local elections across England. There were 16 out of 48 seats contested, being the usual third of the council.

Summary

Prior to the election the council the council was under no overall control; the Conservatives were the largest party but the council was being run by a coalition of the Residents Associations and the Liberal Democrats, led by Chris Sadler of the Residents Associations. The Conservatives lost the majority of the seats they were defending, mainly to the Liberal Democrats who became the largest party.^[2]^[3] The Liberal Democrats and Residents Associations continued their coalition after the election, but with Liberal Democrat group leader Bruce McDonald taking over as leader of the council.^[4]

Overall results

2023 Elmbridge Borough Council election^[2]
Party		This election			Full council			This election
Party		Seats	Net	Seats %	Other	Total	Total %	Votes	Votes %	+/−
	Liberal Democrats	9	+6	56.3	10	19	39.6	15,560	38.9
	Conservative	2	-4	12.5	10	12	25	13,139	32.8
	Residents	5	-2	31.3	11	17	35.4	8,384	21.0
	Labour	0		0	0	0	0.0	2,586	6.5
	Heritage	0		0	0	0	0.0	174	0.4
	Reform UK	0		0	0	0	0.0	101	0.3
	UKIP	0		0	0	0	0.0	55	0.1

Ward results

Candidates seeking re-election are marked with an asterisk (*).^[5]^[6]

Claygate

Claygate
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Alex Coomes*	1,732	70.1	+5.8
	Conservative	John Burns	631	25.6	-3.3
	Labour	Sue Cope	106	4.3	N/A
Majority			1,101	44.5
Turnout			2,469	44.5
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Cobham and Downside

Cobham and Downside
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Robin Stephens*	1,252	49.2	+1.2
	Conservative	Katerina Lusk Posledni	1,098	43.1	-4.4
	Labour	Carolyn Gray	116	4.6	+0.1
	Reform UK	Elaine Kingston	57	2.2	N/A
	Heritage	Paul Van Der Hagen	23	0.9	N/A
Majority			154	6.1
Turnout			2,546	39.2
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative		Swing

Robin Stephens had won the seat from the Conservatives in a by-election in 2021. Seat shown as a Liberal Democrat gain from Conservatives to allow comparison with 2019 results.

Esher

Esher
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Residents	Richard Williams*	1,301	51.3	+5.5
	Conservative	Amanda Manship	989	39.0	+0.5
	Labour	Richard Bennett	247	9.7	+2.2
Majority			312	12.3
Turnout			2,537	38.6
	Residents hold		Swing

Hersham Village

Hersham Village
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Paul Hughes	1,300	46.6	+1.5
	Conservative	Mary Sheldon*	1,236	44.3	±0.0
	Labour	Susan Dennis	251	9.0	-1.5
Majority			64	2.3
Turnout			2,787	41.8
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative		Swing

Hinchley Wood and Weston Green

Hinchley Wood and Weston Green
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Residents	Janet Turner*	1,603	61.9	-2.2
	Liberal Democrats	Liz Ambekar	518	20.0	-2.6
	Conservative	Caroline Kim	384	14.8	+1.5
	Labour	Rachelle Headland	84	3.2	N/A
Majority			1,085	41.9
Turnout			2,589	40.3
	Residents hold		Swing

Long Ditton

Long Ditton
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Neil Houston*	1,471	70.6	-2.9
	Conservative	Blake Coe	471	22.6	-3.9
	Labour	Ahmad Ali	141	6.8	N/A
Majority			1,000	48.0
Turnout			2,083	39.6
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Neil Houston had been elected in 2019 as a Liberal Democrat, left the party to sit as an independent during 2021 but returned to the party shortly before the election in 2023.^[7]

Molesey East

Molesey East
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Richard Flatau	1,236	42.6	+6.4
	Residents	Pat Gormley	920	31.7	+11.1
	Conservative	Chen Zhao	615	21.2	-15.2
	Labour	Rosie Rendall	129	4.4	+1.4
Majority			316	10.9
Turnout			2,900	43.0
	Liberal Democrats gain from Residents		Swing

Molesey West

Molesey West
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Residents	Tony Popham*	927	43.0	+0.3
	Liberal Democrats	Paul Nagle	701	32.5	+9.5
	Conservative	Agnes Fuchs	384	17.8	-6.9
	Labour	Jamal Ajjane	143	6.6	-3.0
Majority			226	10.5
Turnout			2,155	32.8
	Residents hold		Swing

Oatlands and Burwood Park

Oatlands and Burwood Park
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Hilary Butler*	1,290	51.3	+1.2
	Liberal Democrats	Nicholas Davis	1,014	40.3	-2.4
	Labour	Angus Rendall	157	6.2	-1.0
	UKIP	Nicholas Wood	55	2.2	N/A
Majority			276	11.0
Turnout			2,516	42.1
	Conservative hold		Swing

Oxshott and Stoke d'Abernon

Oxshott and Stoke d'Abernon
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Corinne Sterry	1,573	60.5	+4.1
	Liberal Democrats	Sue Grose	898	34.6	-9.0
	Labour	Steven Gray	69	2.7	N/A
	Heritage	Gaynor Van Der Hagen	59	2.3	N/A
Majority			675	25.9
Turnout			2,599	38.9
	Conservative hold		Swing

Thames Ditton

Thames Ditton
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Residents	Elaine Sesemann	1,563	58.2	-1.1
	Liberal Democrats	David Gattey	643	24.0	-3.3
	Conservative	Yanik Gammampila	307	11.4	-2.0
	Labour	Richard Lewis	127	4.7	N/A
	Reform UK	Nick Denton	44	1.6	N/A
Majority			920	34.2
Turnout			2,684	40.5
	Residents hold		Swing

Walton Central

Walton Central
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Gregor MacGregor	1,028	39.5	+15.1
	Residents	Andrew Kelly	926	35.6	+4.1
	Conservative	Lloyd Soldatt	510	19.6	-6.8
	Labour	Asieh Ahmadzade	138	5.3	-1.8
Majority			102	3.9
Turnout			2,602	42.2
	Liberal Democrats gain from Residents		Swing

Walton North

Walton North
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Clare Bailey	1,197	55.1	-0.6
	Conservative	Aliscia Butler	779	35.9	+1.0
	Labour	Fatima Kamara	195	9.0	-0.4
Majority			418	19.2
Turnout			2,171	35.9
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative		Swing

Walton South

Walton South
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Catherine Glass	1,476	50.1	-5.1
	Conservative	Ellie Ioannou	1,210	41.1	+3.1
	Labour	Kelly Haines	169	5.7	+1.2
	Heritage	Charlie Garrod	92	3.1	+0.8
Majority			266	9.0
Turnout			2,947	43.0
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative		Swing

Weybridge Riverside

Weybridge Riverside
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Ashley Tilling*	1,094	52.9	+0.5
	Conservative	Freddie Tshiaba Mbuyi Kawaya	754	36.5	-2.6
	Labour Co-op	Helen Pilmer	220	10.6	+2.1
Majority			340	16.4
Turnout			2,068	35.1
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Weybridge St George's Hill

Weybridge St George's Hill
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Residents	Pippa Graeme	1,144	48.8	+12.9
	Conservative	Colin McFarlane	908	38.7	-12.8
	Labour Co-op	Gary Dean	294	12.5	-0.1
Majority			236	10.1
Turnout			2,346	36.5
	Residents hold		Swing

By-elections

Molesey East

Molesey East: 2 November 2023
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Kevin Whincup	694	36.1	-6.5
	Conservative	Freddie Ingle	627	32.6	+11.4
	Residents	Pat Gormley	523	27.2	-4.5
	Green	Andrew Dillon	77	4.0	New
Majority			67	3.5	-7.4
Turnout			1,921	28.1	-14.9
Registered electors			6,844
	Liberal Democrats gain from Residents

References

^ "2023 Elmbridge Borough Council Election - Thursday, 4th May, 2023". Elmbridge Borough Council. Retrieved 19 April 2023.
^ ^a ^b "Elmbridge election result". BBC News. May 2023. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
^ "New Leader and Deputy Leader for Elmbridge | Elmbridge Borough Council". www.elmbridge.gov.uk. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
^ Coady-Stemp, Emily (18 May 2023). "New Elmbridge council leader announced as former Kingston chief executive". Surrey Live. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
^ "Live Surrey 2023 local election results and reaction as it happens". Surrey Live. 5 May 2023. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
^ "Your Councillors". Elmbridge Borough Council. Archived from the original on 4 April 2023. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
^ "Elmbridge Lib Dems announce new leadership team". Elmbridge Liberal Democrats. Retrieved 9 January 2024.

[elmbridgewebsiteresults-1] "2023 Elmbridge Borough Council Election - Thursday, 4th May, 2023". Elmbridge Borough Council. Retrieved 19 April 2023.

[BBC-2] "Elmbridge election result". BBC News. May 2023. Retrieved 8 June 2023.

[3] "New Leader and Deputy Leader for Elmbridge | Elmbridge Borough Council". www.elmbridge.gov.uk. Retrieved 8 June 2023.

[4] Coady-Stemp, Emily (18 May 2023). "New Elmbridge council leader announced as former Kingston chief executive". Surrey Live. Retrieved 9 January 2024.

[5] "Live Surrey 2023 local election results and reaction as it happens". Surrey Live. 5 May 2023. Retrieved 9 January 2024.

[6] "Your Councillors". Elmbridge Borough Council. Archived from the original on 4 April 2023. Retrieved 9 January 2024.

[7] "Elmbridge Lib Dems announce new leadership team". Elmbridge Liberal Democrats. Retrieved 9 January 2024.

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