Preston: Election reaction and full results

Labour has lost its sole grip on power at Preston City Council after the authority slipped into no overall control following the local elections.

The party remains the largest at the town hall, but it no longer enjoys the outright majority it has held for 15 years.

Reform now has five seats – up from just one prior to Thursday’s vote – while the Green Party has gained their first two ever In the city.

The Liberal Democrats remain the official opposition, but failed in their aim to snatch control from Labour.

Ruling Labour group leader Matthew Brown said he was hoping to be able to rely on “some support” from the three independents on the authority – two of whom quit Labour last year, while another was last week suspended by the party pending an investigation into a matter which has not been made public.

Meanwhile, the Greens have ruled out even a loose coalition arrangement with Labour, telling the Post that their decisions would be weighed purely in the interest of their residents.

The Lib Dems described the result as “bittersweet”, while Reform UK’s expected group leader said he was concerned with scrutinising Labour should it continue to govern – especially if any kind of arrangement did end up being made with the Green Party.

Asked by the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) whether he wanted to stay as council leader following the outcome of the election, Cllr Brown said, “That’s the idea,” adding:

“I do want to see this through.  I’ve started something I believe in passionately, especially tackling inequalities and trying to change things here for the better.”

He said he believed that it was “the national situation people have voted against”.

“I think people are not voting against us here, because of [policies like] free swimming or exempting terminally ill residents from paying council tax.”

Liberal Democrat opposition group leader John Potter said he was proud that his party had gone “toe-to-toe” with Reform and that “barring a couple of dozen votes we would have won two extra seats”.

However, he acknowledged that the actual outcome meant his party was not in any more powerful position than prior to the election, because he believed Labour would “turn to the Greens” for help enacting its policy priorities.

However, Preston Green Party chair Avery Greatorex said that while her two new councillors may be seen as playing a “kingmaker” role, that was not what they were interested in doing.

Ruling out a coalition-style ‘confidence and supply’ arrangement, she told the LDRS:  “We’re here to represent residents, we’re not going to go into any kind of agreement like that.

“It also means that the administration…will have to collaborate with us if they want different things.  I think it means a wider perspective of views will be seen across the city.rather than a Labour majority just voting through the Labour line.”

Meanwhile, Reform UK councillor Stephen Thompson – who has gone from being a lone voice on the authority to be part of a group of five, with two more members than the Conservative group he was once a part of now has – said any kind of Labour agreement with the Greens would be “interesting”.

“I’m sure I’ll find holes to pick in that particular version of the administration,” he said.

“[My] priority is to hold Labour to account – or whoever’s in charge.  We’ll certainly be looking at what we’ve said on our leaflets  – we’ll be looking at sensible financial spending and at  what we can do to make the cost of living better for people.”

The electoral maths of the result were complicated by the fact that gains or losses are based on a comparison with the last time the tranche of 16 seats that were contested were all up for election together, which was in 2022, as part of an ‘all-out’ vote for the entire council that year after boundary changes.

However, by-elections and defections since then have seen seats change hands resulting in several of the gains, especially for the Lib Dems, being purely technical ones on paper.

FINAL RESULTS TOTAL:

The final results tally across the 16 seats that were being contested at Thursday’s polls:

Conservatives: 0

Green Party: 2

Labour: 4

Liberal Democrats: 5

Independents: 0

Reform UK: 5

Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition: 0

OVERALL COUNCIL COMPOSITION

Labour – 21

Liberal Democrats – 14

Reform UK – 5

Conservatives – 3

Independents – 3

Green Party 2

WARD-BY-WARD RESULTS

Key

Victor in bold

* denotes incumbent councillor in that ward

Note: hold/gain comparisons are based on the last time the tranche of 16 seats contested this week were last up for election together in 2022 – ignoring any by-elections or defections since.

Ashton

LIB DEM GAIN FROM LAB

RACHEL GILL – Green Party – 373

RONAN HODGSON* – Liberal Democrats – 836

ANDREW MACLAREN – Labour Party – 428

KEITH SEDGEWICK – Conservative Party – 136

LEE SLATER – Reform UK – 723

Brookfield

REFORM GAIN FROM LAB

MEL CLOSE* – Labour Party – 437

DANIEL DUCKWORTH – Conservative Party – 118

REBECCA POTTER – Liberal Democrats – 106

ROB WALSH – Reform UK – 665

ROBIN WESTON – Green Party – 237

Cadley

LIB DEM HOLD

FLO EMMANUEL – Reform UK – 762

DANIEL GREGG* – Liberal Democrats – 1,037

JONO GRISDALE – Green Party – 282

ISAAC OLUWASUJI OMOPARIOLA – Labour Party – 304

LAKWINDER SINGH – Conservative Party – 192

City Centre

GREEN GAIN FROM LAB

TINA BALMER – Green Party – 821

LORENZO MORE – Reform UK – 357

ANDY PRATT – Conservative Party – 199

ARK FRANCIS ROUTLEDGE – Labour Party – 572

SAM ZHANG-PEAK – Liberal Democrats – 119

Deepdale

LAB HOLD

NATHALIE CAIN – Liberal Democrats – 87

ZAFAR COUPLAND* – Labour Party – 1,219

JOHN KNIGHT – Reform UK – 231

NIGEL ANTONY LISTER – Conservative Party – 82

KEVIN DAVID RIGOTTI – Green Party – 636

Fishwick and Frenchwood

LAB HOLD

STEPHEN GREGSON – Reform UK – 298

ASH JARIWALA – Conservative Party – 115

JOANNE JOYNER – Liberal Democrats – 73

CHRISTOPHER SOAMES – Green Party – 594

VALERIE WISE* – Labour and Co-operative Party – 846

Garrison

LAB HOLD

AMBER AFZAL* – Labour Party – 983

ARAN BAILEY – Independent – 64

CLAIRE CRAVEN – Liberal Democrats – 239

HELEN DISLEY – Green Party – 356

SIMON HOLMES – Reform UK – 774

AL-YASA KHAN – Conservative Party – 254

Greyfriars

LIB DEM HOLD

JOANNE BLACK – Labour Party – 309

ANDREW BIELAS-BARNES – Conservative Party – 309

JACOB BILSBORROW – Green Party – 294

SIMON CROWE – Reform UK – 622

FIONA DUKE* – Liberal Democrats – 1,258

Ingol and Cottam

LIB DEM HOLD

DEREK BARTON – Labour Party – 163

NEIL DARBY* – Liberal Democrats – 1,248

SARAH JANE HART – Conservative Party – 281

DAVID PRESTON – Reform UK – 821

TOBY WORTH – Green Party – 249

Lea and Larches

REFORM GAIN FROM LAB

BILL ADAMS – Labour Party – 222

KEITH BERRY – Green Party -162

SEAN LITTLE* – Liberal Democrats 823

JAVARIS MAHARAJ – Conservative Party – 79

JEMMA LOUISE RUSHE – Reform UK – 829

Plungington

GREEN GAIN FROM LAB

PAV AKHTAR* – Labour Party – 538

SUSAN BROWN – Reform UK – 438

PENELOPE DAWBER – Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition – 22

FRANKIE KENNEDY – Conservative Party – 81

GABIE LOWE – Green Party – 641

RUTH VAN MIERLO – Liberal Democrats – 108

Preston Rural East

REFORM GAIN FROM CON

KAREN KENDALL – Green Party – 523

BETH MOORE – Labour Party – 345

DANIEL NUTTALL – Reform UK – 1,172

STEVE WHITTAM* – Conservative Party – 980

LIAM YIP – Liberal Democrats – 610

Preston Rural North

REFORM GAIN FROM CON

DANIEL BENNETT – Green Party – 244

LYNNE BROOKS – Labour Party – 212

STEPHEN THOMPSON* – Reform UK – 983

RENE VAN MIERLO – Liberal Democrats – 932

FAY WHITTAM – Conservative Party 515

Ribbleton

REFORM GAIN FROM LAB

VASILE ALECU – Reform UK -625

EDWARD CRAVEN – Liberal Democrats – 72

MICHAEL MCGOWAN – Labour Party – 340

TES SLATER – Conservative Party – 89

DANIEL THOMPSON – Green Party – 200

Sharoe Green

LIB DEM GAIN FROM CON

MAXWELL GREEN* – Conservative Party – 552

BRIAN OLLERTON – Reform UK – 638

RICK SEYMOUR – Labour Party – 323

JACK SINGH – Liberal Democrats – 975

AMY STRETTLE – Green Party – 351

St. Matthew’s

LAB HOLD

WAQAS AHMED – Independent – 396

TAKHSIN AKHTAR – Labour Party – 618

GARETH BASTERFIELD – Green Party – 217

CHARLIE FITZPATRICK – Reform UK – 297

TAYO KOREDE – Conservative Party – 71

ANITA MURRAY – Liberal Democrats – 59