2026 Cambridge City Council election

2026 Cambridge City Council election
7 May 2026 (2026-05-07)
15 out of 42 seats to Cambridge City Council
(including 1 by-election)
22 seats needed for a majority
  First party Second party Third party
 
Leader Cameron Holloway
(defeated)		 Naomi Bennett Tim Bick
Party Labour Green Liberal Democrats
Last election 25 seats, 41.1% 5 seats, 20.8% 10 seats, 22.0%
Seats before 23 6 11
Seats won 4 7 4
Seats after 17 12 11
Seat change Decrease 6 Increase 6 Steady
Popular vote 10,793 13,896 10,264
Percentage 25.3% 32.6% 24.1%
Swing Decrease 15.8% Increase 11.8% Increase 2.1%
  Fourth party Fifth party
 
Leader Delowar Hossain
Party Conservative Your Party
Last election 1 seat, 13.8% Did not exist
Seats before 1 1
Seats won 0 0
Seats after 1 1
Seat change Steady Steady
Popular vote 3,335 Did not stand
Percentage 7.8% Did not stand
Swing Decrease 6.0% N/A
Winner of each seat at the 2026 Cambridge City Council election.
Leader before election

Cameron Holloway
Labour

 Leader after election

Katie Thornburrow
Labour
No overall control[a]

The 2026 Cambridge City Council election was held on 7 May 2026 to elect members of Cambridge City Council in Cambridgeshire, England.[1][2] This was on the same day as other local elections.

Prior to the election, the council was under Labour majority control. The election saw the council go under no overall control, and the Labour leader of the council, Cameron Holloway, lost his seat. Although they lost their majority, Labour remained the largest party on the council. They subsequently formed a minority administration, with Labour councillor Katie Thornburrow being appointed the new leader of the council at a meeting on 1 June 2026.[3]

Due to ongoing local government reorganisation, this is the final election to Cambridge City Council before it is abolished and replaced by a successor unitary authority. Elections to the successor authority are due to take place in 2027.

Background

In 2024, the Labour Party retained control of the council.[4][5]

Council composition

After 2024 election Before 2026 election
Party Seats Party Seats
Labour 25 Labour 23
Liberal Democrats 10 Liberal Democrats 11
Green 5 Green 6
Conservative 1 Conservative 1
Your Party Did not exist Your Party 1
Independent 1 Independent 0

Changes 2024–2026:

  • August 2024: Mairéad Healy (Independent, elected as Labour) resigns – by-election held September 2024[6]
  • September 2024: Beth Gardiner-Smith (Labour) wins by-election[7]
  • March 2025: Sam Carling (Labour) and Alice Gilderdale (Labour) resign – by-elections held May 2025[8][9]
  • May 2025: Jamie Dalzell (Liberal Democrats) and Bob Illingworth (Liberal Democrats) gain by-elections from Labour[10][11]
  • August 2025: Dave Baigent (Labour) joins Your Party[12]
  • March 2026: Ingrid Flaubert (Liberal Democrats) joins Green Party[13]

Election result

2026 Cambridge City Council election
Party This election Full council This election
Candidates Seats Net Seats % Other Total Total % Votes Votes % +/−
  Labour {{{candidates}}} 4 Decrease 6 26.7 13 17 40.5 10,793 25.3 –15.8
  Green {{{candidates}}} 7 Increase 6 46.7 5 12 28.6 13,896 32.6 +11.8
  Liberal Democrats {{{candidates}}} 4 Steady 26.7 7 11 26.2 10,264 24.1 +2.1
  Conservative {{{candidates}}} 0 Steady 0.0 1 1 2.4 3,335 7.8 –6.0
  Your Party {{{candidates}}} 0 Steady 0.0 1 1 2.4 N/A[b] N/A N/A
  Reform {{{candidates}}} 0 Steady 0.0 0 0 0.0 3,926 9.2 N/A
  Independent {{{candidates}}} 0 Steady 0.0 0 0 0.0 366 0.9 –1.2
  Communist {{{candidates}}} 0 Steady 0.0 0 0 0.0 35 0.1 ±0.0

Incumbents

Ward Incumbent councillor Party Re-standing
Abbey Matthew Howard Green No
Arbury Iva Divkovic Labour No
Castle Simon Smith Labour Yes
Cherry Hinton Russ McPherson Labour No
Coleridge Anna Smith Labour Yes
East Chesterton Baiju Thittala Labour No
King's Hedges Martin Smart Labour Yes
Market Katie Porrer Liberal Democrats Yes
Newnham Cameron Holloway Labour Yes[c]
Petersfield Richard Robertson Labour Co-op No
Queen Edith's Daniel Lee Liberal Democrats No
Romsey Dinah Pounds Labour No
Trumpington Olaf Hauk Liberal Democrats Yes
West Chesterton Richard Swift Labour Yes

Candidates

Abbey

Abbey
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Green Maria Cleminson 1,374 51.4 –0.7
Labour Ruaidhri O'Donnell 455 17.0 –11.0
Reform Tommy Brace 365 13.6 N/A
Liberal Democrats Rosemary Ansell 302 11.3 +3.7
Conservative David Smith 161 6.0 –3.9
Communist Simon Brignell 17 0.6 –1.2
Majority 919 34.4 +15.3
Turnout 2,674 37.3
Registered electors 7,165
Green hold Swing Increase5.2

Arbury

Arbury
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Green Sefira Davison 928 32.2 +15.8
Labour Co-op Jocelynne Scutt 816 28.3 –23.2
Liberal Democrats Fionna Tod 667 23.1 +8.2
Reform Will Burrows 290 10.0 N/A
Conservative Robert Boorman 185 6.4 –10.8
Majority 112 3.9 N/A
Turnout 2,886 45.4
Registered electors 6,350
Green gain from Labour Swing Increase19.5

Castle

Castle
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Green Alex Sage 757 32.2 +17.0
Liberal Democrats Luke Patterson 733 31.2 +12.1
Labour Simon Smith* 599 25.5 –14.5
Reform Carol Bedson 115 4.9 N/A
Conservative Dace Ruklisa 85 3.6 –1.0
Independent Khalid Abu-Tayyem 64 2.7 N/A
Majority 24 1% N/A
Turnout 2,353 50.9
Registered electors 4,623
Green gain from Labour Swing Increase2.5

Cherry Hinton

Cherry Hinton
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Russ McPherson* 864 30.9 –17.6
Green Anusha Iyer 731 26.2 +16.6
Reform Mike Nicolson 484 17.3 N/A
Liberal Democrats Ahmad Rushdhi 399 14.3 –0.7
Conservative Eric Barrett-Payton 315 11.3 –15.5
Majority 133 4.7 –4.9
Turnout 2,793 44.1
Registered electors 6,333
Labour hold Swing Decrease17.1

Coleridge

Coleridge
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Green Sarah Nicmanis 1,150 39.1 +5.0
Labour Co-op Anna Smith* 1,070 36.4 –7.1
Reform Steve Burdett 302 10.3 N/A
Conservative Sam Worthington 222 7.6 –8.6
Liberal Democrats Tim Brunton 196 6.7 +0.6
Majority 80 2.7 N/A
Turnout 2,940 47.1
Registered electors 6,243
Green gain from Labour Co-op Swing Increase6.1

East Chesterton

East Chesterton
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Sarah Haithcock 935 31.8 –10.3
Liberal Democrats Ania Bobrowska 803 27.3 –4.7
Green Isaac Groves 718 24.4 +9.0
Reform Godfrey Orr 297 10.1 N/A
Conservative Jean-Ann Bartlett 166 5.7 –4.8
Communist William Dry 18 0.6 N/A
Majority 132 4.5 –4.7
Turnout 2,937 45.6
Registered electors 6,447
Labour hold Swing Decrease2.8

King's Hedges

King's Hedges
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Martin Smart* 713 27.2 –17.9
Green Daniel Quinn 604 23.1 +12.4
Conservative Mahfuj Ahmed 493 18.8 –15.3
Reform John McKay 376 14.4 N/A
Liberal Democrats David Creek 295 11.3 +1.2
Independent Zarina Anwar 106 4.0 N/A
Independent Eleanor Cooke 33 1.3 N/A
Majority 109 4.1 –5.8
Turnout 2,620 39.5
Registered electors 6,625
Labour hold Swing Decrease15.2

Market

Market
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats Katie Porrer* 854 43.2 +2.3
Green Alex Sefton-Tromans 592 30.0 +13.7
Labour Edwin Addo 303 15.3 –19.8
Reform Mark Wells 127 6.4 N/A
Conservative Panda Xiong 99 5.0 –2.7
Majority 262 13.2 +5.5
Turnout 1,975 35.6
Registered electors 5,549
Liberal Democrats hold Swing Decrease5.7

Newnham

Newnham
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Green Eleanor Toye Scott 1,046 53.0 +7.2
Liberal Democrats Katie Barron 327 16.6 +1.4
Labour Sabina Harris-Hercules 308 15.6 –11.6
Conservative Poppy Simister-Thomas 162 8.2 +4.0
Reform Lui Murton 89 4.5 N/A
Independent David Carmona 42 2.1 –5.6
Majority 719 36.4 +20.7
Turnout 1,974 37.2
Registered electors 5,296
Green gain from Labour Swing Increase2.9

Petersfield

Petersfield
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Green Kathryn Fisher 1,363 40.9 +19.0
Labour Cameron Holloway* 1,208 36.3 –15.6
Liberal Democrats Sam Oliver 412 12.4 –3.2
Reform Luke Burrows 182 5.5 N/A
Conservative Paul Roper 164 4.9 –4.0
Majority 155 4.6 N/A
Turnout 3,329 49.2
Registered electors 6,773
Green gain from Labour Swing Increase17.3

Queen Edith's

Queen Edith's
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats Amanda Taylor 1,503 49.0 +6.5
Green Shayne Mitchell 556 18.1 +6.7
Labour Maruf Ahmed 397 12.9 –15.8
Conservative Magnus Burt 315 10.3 –7.1
Reform Colin Bedson 299 9.7 N/A
Majority 947 30.9 +18.8
Turnout 3,070 46.7
Registered electors 6,572
Liberal Democrats hold Swing Decrease0.1

Romsey

Romsey
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Green Jacqui Whitmore 1,521 45.2 +26.1
Labour Rosy Greenlees 1,124 33.4 –18.8
Liberal Democrats John Walmsley 347 10.3 –0.9
Reform Andrew Watson 230 6.8 N/A
Conservative Rob Nelson 141 4.2 –3.4
Majority 397 11.8 N/A
Turnout 3,363 49.9
Registered electors 6,734
Green gain from Labour Swing Increase22.5

Trumpington

Trumpington (2 seats due to by-election)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats Olaf Hauk* 1,272 40.9 +4.5
Liberal Democrats John Grimwood 1,148 36.9 +0.5
Green Edward Gokmen 854 27.5 +14.7
Green Chloe Mosonyi 772 24.8 +12.0
Labour Co-op Carlos Toranzos 477 15.3 –17.0
Labour Henry Shailer 444 14.3 –18.0
Conservative Steven George 397 12.8 –5.8
Reform Guy Greenway 293 9.4 N/A
Conservative John Ionides 283 9.1 –9.5
Reform Samuel Lloyd 275 8.8 N/A
Turnout ~3,108 41.1
Registered electors 7,570
Liberal Democrats hold
Liberal Democrats hold

West Chesterton

West Chesterton
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Richard Swift* 1,080 31.0 –11.9
Liberal Democrats Guy Mills 1,006 28.9 –7.1
Green Hannah Copley 930 26.7 +13.5
Reform Geoff Leach 202 5.8 N/A
Conservative Mike Harford 147 4.2 –3.7
Independent Nick Picton 121 3.5 N/A
Majority 74 2.1 –4.4
Turnout 3,486 55.6
Registered electors 6,248
Labour hold Swing Decrease2.4

References

  1. ↑ Labour minority.
  2. ↑ Did not stand candidates.
  3. ↑ Standing in Petersfield ward.
  1. ↑ "A look at 2026 elections in Peterborough and Cambridgeshire". BBC News. 5 January 2026. Retrieved 29 January 2026.
  2. ↑ Brown, Hannah (22 January 2026). "The 3 Cambridgeshire areas where elections will go ahead this year". Cambridgeshire Live. Retrieved 29 January 2026.
  3. ↑ Shepka, Phil (2 June 2026). "City council with no majority elects Labour leader". BBC News. Retrieved 16 July 2026.
  4. ↑ Brown, Hannah (3 May 2024). "Cambridge City Council local election 2024 results breakdown in full". Cambridgeshire Live. Retrieved 29 January 2026.
  5. ↑ "Cambridge result - Local Elections 2024". BBC News. Retrieved 29 January 2026.
  6. ↑ Gardner, Gemma (7 August 2024). "By-election called following resignation of Romsey councillor Mairéad Healy". Cambridge Independent. Retrieved 12 February 2026.
  7. ↑ "Local Elections Archive Project — Romsey Ward". www.andrewteale.me.uk. Retrieved 12 February 2026.
  8. ↑ Grinnell, Paul (17 March 2025). "North West Cambridgeshire MP Sam Carling to drop city councillor role". Peterborough Telegraph. Retrieved 12 February 2026.
  9. ↑ Howgego, Emma (8 March 2025). "Cambridge Council leader and deputy to stand down". BBC News. Retrieved 12 February 2026.
  10. ↑ "Local Elections Archive Project — West Chesterton Ward". www.andrewteale.me.uk. Retrieved 12 February 2026.
  11. ↑ "Local Elections Archive Project — East Chesterton Ward". www.andrewteale.me.uk. Retrieved 12 February 2026.
  12. ↑ Brown, Hannah (6 August 2025). "City councillor Dave Baigent leaves Labour saying 'the horror unfolding in Gaza left me with no choice but to resign'". Cambridge Independent. Retrieved 12 February 2026.
  13. ↑ "Shock in city as Lib Dem Councillor defects to the Greens". Cambridge Green Party. 21 March 2026. Retrieved 21 March 2026.
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