2024 Plymouth City Council election

2024 Plymouth City Council election
19 of the 57 seats to Plymouth City Council; 29 seats needed for a majority
Incumbent council control; Labour;	; ;

The 2024 Plymouth City Council election is due to be held on 2 May 2024 to elect members of Plymouth City Council in England. It will coincide with local elections across the United Kingdom.

In the previous election in 2023, Labour gained overall control, winning seats at the expense of the Conservative Party and the Independent Alliance, a group of councillors who had left their parties.

Background[edit]

History[edit]

Plymouth City Council is due to hold local elections, along with councils across England as part of the 2024 local elections. The council elects its councillors in thirds, with a third of seats being up for election every year for three years, with no election each fourth year to correspond with councillors' four-year terms.^[1]^[2] Councillors defending their seats in this election were previously elected in 2021, which had been delayed by a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In that election, fourteen Conservative candidates and five Labour candidates were elected.

Elections in Plymouth are usually competitive between the Labour Party and the Conservative Party.^[3] The council was controlled by the Labour Party from the 2018 council election until the 2021 council election, when the council entered no overall control, with no party holding a majority of seats. Several Conservative councillors were suspended or resigned from their party, and the Conservative council leader Nick Kelly was replaced by Richard Bingley after Kelly lost a confidence vote in February 2022. Some former Conservative councillors rejoined their former group after the 2022 council election, giving the party an overall majority on 17 May 2022.^[4] Kelly resigned from the Conservative group on 15 October 2022 after being suspended, returning the council to no overall control. Several other councillors resigned from the Conservative group with some forming a group called the Independent Alliance, led by Kelly and also including the former Labour councillor Chaz Singh.

The council leader Richard Bingley signed an executive order to approve the felling of 110 mature trees in Plymouth City Centre in March 2023, as part of longstanding plans to regenerate the city centre. The decision was legally challenged and criticised. He resigned as council leader the following week.^[5]

Labour won fifteen seats in the subsequent 2023 council election, winning overall control of the council. The Conservatives won only one seat, while independent candidates who had been members of the Independent Alliance group won in Plympton and the former Conservative councillor Steve Ricketts was elected as an independent candidate in Drake ward.^[6]

Developments since 2023[edit]

Defections and suspensions[edit]

The Conservative councillor Philip Partridge left the Conservative group to form a new "Free Independents" group led by Ricketts. The independent Plympton councillors formed an "Independent Group". Andrea Loveridge left the Conservative group in December 2023 to sit as an independent councillor.^[7]

Efford and Lipson by-election[edit]

The Labour councillor Brian Vincent died in April 2023, having first being elected in 1997 and having served continuously as a councillor since 2006.

The Labour candidate Paul McNamara won the ensuing by-election on 15 June.^[8]

Efford and Lipson by-election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Paul McNamara	1,204	58.8	6.7
	Conservative	Will Jones	423	20.6	15.6
	Green	Pat Bushell	196	9.6	2.3
	Liberal Democrats	Alexander Primmer	80	3.9	0.8
	Independent	Chaz Singh	69	3.4	N/A
	Heritage	Darryl Ingram	54	2.6	N/A
	TUSC	Neil Prentice	23	1.1	0.3
Turnout			2,049	20.2	12.5
	Labour hold		Swing	11.2

July 2023 by-elections[edit]

In June 2023, the Conservative councillor and former council leader Vivien Pengelly died and the Labour councillor Sue McDonald resigned due to family health reasons. Both ensuing by-elections took place on 27 July 2023. The Labour candidate Stefan Kirzanac won Pengelly's Plymstock Dunstone seat and the former MP Alison Raynsford retained McDonald's St Peter and the Waterfront seat for the Labour Party.^[9]

Plymstock Dunstone by-election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Stefan Krizanac	1,072	33.2	6.5
	Conservative	Julie Hunt	919	28.4	20.7
	Liberal Democrats	Peter Edwards	596	18.4	12.4
	Independent	Grace Stickland	480	14.9	N/A
	Green	Bruce Robinson	97	3.0	1.9
	Heritage	Darryl Ingram	55	1.7	N/A
	TUSC	Jackie Hilton	12	0.4	N/A
Turnout			3,231	32.0	6.6
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	7.1

St Peter and the Waterfront by-election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Alison Raynsford	1,126	48.0	8.1
	Conservative	Ian Fleming	488	20.8	9.0
	Green	Shayna Newham-Joynes	206	8.8	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	Hugh Janes	175	7.5	1.5
	Reform UK	Andy Gibbons	174	7.4	N/A
	Independent candidate	Chaz Singh	126	5.4	N/A
	TUSC	Ryan Aldred	52	2.2	0.8
Turnout			2,347	18.6	9.9
	Labour hold		Swing	0.5

Council composition[edit]

Council composition after the 2023 council election
Council composition ahead of the 2024 council election

After 2023 election			Before 2024 election
Party		Seats	Party		Seats
	Labour	31		Labour	33
	Conservative	18		Conservative	15
	Independent	5		Independent	7
	Green	2		Green	2
	Vacant	1

Candidates[edit]

Budshead[edit]

Budshead
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Green	Caroline Bennett
	TUSC	Nik Brookson
	Conservative	Jonathan Drean
	Labour Co-op	Alison Simpson
	Reform UK	Sue Smale
	Liberal Democrats	Jim Spencer

Compton[edit]

Compton
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Richard Bray
	Conservative	Charlote Carlyle*
	Green	Ewan Melling Flavell
	Reform UK	Charlie Robinson-Hodge
	Labour Co-op	Matt Smith
	TUSC	Matthew Whitear

Devonport[edit]

Devonport
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Reform UK	Lee Bunker
	Green	James Dyson
	Labour	Anne Freeman
	Conservative	Jon Gatward
	Liberal Democrats	Jeffrey Hall
	TUSC	Alex Moore

Efford and Lipson[edit]

Efford and Lipson
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Reform UK	Bill Bertram
	Green	Pat Bushell
	Conservative	Ian Fleming
	Labour Co-op	Paul McNamara*
	TUSC	Neil Prentice
	Liberal Democrats	Alexander Primmer

Eggbuckland[edit]

Eggbuckland
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Dennis Draper
	Green	Clint Jones
	TUSC	Bethany Lowe
	Labour Co-op	Virginia Pike
	Conservative	Chris Wood

Ham[edit]

Ham
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Green	Leesa Alderton
	Liberal Democrats	Stuart Bonar
	Conservative	Charlie Carson
	TUSC	Edward Evans
	Reform UK	Chris Hudson
	Independent	Stephen Hulme*
	Labour Co-op	Kate Taylor

Honicknowle[edit]

Honicknowle
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	TUSC	Louise Alldridge
	Conservative	Margaret Boadella
	Reform UK	Shaun Hooper
	Labour Co-op	Ray Morton
	Green	Verity Thong

Moor View[edit]

Moor View
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Reform UK	Nicky Cooke
	Green	Frank Hartkopf
	Conservative	Andrea Johnson
	Labour Co-op	Will Noble*
	Liberal Democrats	Richard Simpson
	Independent	Arthur Watson
	TUSC	Andrew White

Peverell[edit]

Peverell
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour Co-op	Jamie Bannerman
	Green	Nicholas Casley
	Liberal Democrats	Steven Guy
	Reform UK	Peter Hughes
	Conservative	John Mahony*
	TUSC	Duncan Moore

Plympton Chaddlewood[edit]

Plympton Chaddlewood
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	TUSC	Benjamin Davy
	Labour	Chris Mavin
	Green	Lauren McLay*
	Liberal Democrats	Jacquelie Spencer
	Reform UK	Vanessa Tyler
	Conservative	Ashley Ward

Plympton Erle[edit]

Plympton Erle
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Reform UK	Peter Endean
	Conservative	Suzanne Glenie
	Green	Mickey James
	Independent	Andrea Loveridge*
	Liberal Democrats	Christopher Oram
	Labour Co-op	Seb Soper
	TUSC	Helen Yeo

Plympton St Mary[edit]

Plympton St Mary
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Reform UK	Marc Archer
	Liberal Democrats	Cristina Draper
	Green	Bryan Driver
	TUSC	Alan Frost
	Conservative	Natalie Harrison*
	Independent	Sally Nicholson
	Labour	Pete Smith

Plymstock Dunstone[edit]

Plymstock Dunstone
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Green	Piers Driver
	Liberal Democrats	Peter Edwards
	TUSC	Jackie Hilton
	Heritage	Darryl Ingram
	Labour Co-op	Maria Lawson
	Conservative	David Salmon*
	Independent	Grace Stickland
	Reform UK	Richie Teft

Plymstock Radford[edit]

Plymstock Radford
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	TUSC	Mathew Bligh
	Liberal Democrats	Sara Jennett
	Reform UK	Glenn Linsay
	Green	Bruce Robinson
	Independent	Chaz Singh
	Labour Co-op	Daniel Steel
	Conservative	Bill Wakeham*

Southway[edit]

Southway
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	TUSC	Tony Bligh
	Conservative	Will Jones
	Green	Helen McCall
	Liberal Democrats	Katie McManus
	Labour Co-op	Carol Ney
	Reform UK	Jacqueline Sansom

St Budeaux[edit]

St Budeaux
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Reform UK	Rich Bennett
	Independent	Terry Deans
	Liberal Democrats	Stephen Goldthorp
	Conservative	Kyle Lewis
	Labour Co-op	Josh McCarty
	TUSC	Laurie Moore
	Green	George Wheeler

St Peter and the Waterfront[edit]

St Peter and the Waterfront
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	TUSC	Ryan Aldred
	Labour Co-op	Lewis Allison
	Reform UK	Andy Gibbons
	Liberal Democrats	Hugh Janes
	Conservative	Kevin Kelway
	Green	Richard Worrall

Stoke[edit]

Stoke
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Sally Cresswell*
	Conservative	Ehren Duke
	TUSC	Lesley Duncan
	Liberal Democrats	Michael Gillbard
	Green	Lucy MacKay

Sutton and Mount Gould[edit]

Sutton and Mount Gould
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Fleur Ball
	Reform UK	Jamie Beale
	Labour	Chris Cuddihee
	TUSC	Sita Dhanipersad
	Green	Michael Kewish
	Conservative	Edmund Shillabeer

References[edit]

^ "Local government structure and elections". GOV.UK. Retrieved 2018-04-27.
^ "Election Timetable in England" (PDF).
^ "Third of Devon's city councils seats up for election". BBC News. 2022-04-12. Retrieved 2022-04-12.
^ Eve, Carl (2022-05-17). "Conservatives back in charge of Plymouth Council". Plymouth Live. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
^ Media, P. A. (2023-03-23). "Plymouth council leader quits after approving cutting down of 110 trees". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-04-05.
^ "Local elections 2023: Labour wins Plymouth City Council in 'seismic shift'". BBC News. 2023-05-05. Retrieved 2024-04-05.
^ Eve, Carl (2023-12-13). "Plymouth councillor quits Tories in shock move". Plymouth Live. Retrieved 2024-04-05.
^ Clark, Daniel (2023-06-16). "Labour romp to victory in Plymouth by-election". Plymouth Live. Retrieved 2024-04-05.
^ "Labour celebrate two by-election victories in Plymouth". BBC News. 2023-07-28. Retrieved 2024-04-05.

[1] "Local government structure and elections". GOV.UK. Retrieved 2018-04-27.

[2] "Election Timetable in England" (PDF).

[3] "Third of Devon's city councils seats up for election". BBC News. 2022-04-12. Retrieved 2022-04-12.

[4] Eve, Carl (2022-05-17). "Conservatives back in charge of Plymouth Council". Plymouth Live. Retrieved 2024-01-10.

[5] Media, P. A. (2023-03-23). "Plymouth council leader quits after approving cutting down of 110 trees". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-04-05.

[6] "Local elections 2023: Labour wins Plymouth City Council in 'seismic shift'". BBC News. 2023-05-05. Retrieved 2024-04-05.

[7] Eve, Carl (2023-12-13). "Plymouth councillor quits Tories in shock move". Plymouth Live. Retrieved 2024-04-05.

[8] Clark, Daniel (2023-06-16). "Labour romp to victory in Plymouth by-election". Plymouth Live. Retrieved 2024-04-05.

[9] "Labour celebrate two by-election victories in Plymouth". BBC News. 2023-07-28. Retrieved 2024-04-05.

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v t e Council elections in Devon
Devon County Council	1889 1892 1895 1898 1901 1904 1907 1910 1913 1919 1922 1925 1928 1931 1934 1937 1946 1949 1952 1955 1958 1961 1964 1967 1970 1973 1977 1981 1985 1989 1993 1997 2001 2005 2009 2013 2017 2021
East Devon District Council	1973 1976 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1986 1987 1991 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 2015 2019 2023
Exeter City Council	1973 1976 1979 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015 2016 2018 2019 2021 2022 2023 2024
Mid Devon District Council	1973 1976 1979 1983 1987 1991 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 2015 2019 2023
North Devon District Council	1973 1976 1979 1983 1987 1991 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 2015 2019 2023
Plymouth City Council	1973 1976 1979 1983 1987 1991 1995 1997 2000 2003 2004 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015 2016 2018 2019 2021 2022 2023
South Hams District Council	1973 1976 1979 1983 1987 1991 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 2015 2019 2023
Teignbridge District Council	1973 1976 1979 1983 1987 1991 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 2015 2019 2023
Torbay Council	1973 1976 1979 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1995 1997 2000 2003 2007 2011 2015 2019 2023
Torridge District Council	1973 1976 1979 1983 1987 1991 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 2015 2019 2023
West Devon Borough Council	1973 1976 1979 1983 1987 1991 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 2015 2019 2023
See also: Wards Boundary changes

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