2023 Breckland District Council election

The 2023 Breckland District Council election took place on 4 May 2023 to elect members of Breckland District Council in England. This was on the same day as other local elections. The boundaries for this election were the same as those used in 2015 and 2019.

Overview
Previous to this election, the Conservative Party held the council in the 2019 election with a very large majority: it lost a small number of seats in that election, with the Green and Labour parties and some Independent candidates gaining seats.

In 2023, the Conservative party again lost seats, though maintained a majority on the council with thirty of the 49 available seats. The Labour Party made the largest gains, with six additional seats from the district's largest towns of Thetford and Dereham. One additional independent was elected, the Green Party lost one of the two seats they had gained in 2019 back to the Conservatives, and the Liberal Democrats gained a seat for the first time in over twenty years.

Nominations
As in previous elections, the number of candidates selected by each party in 2023 varied considerably. In the 2023 election cycle, considerably more non-Conservative candidates registered to stand than in other recent elections. The Conservative Party nominated 43 candidates, down from 47 at the previous election: the reduction was mostly in already opposition-held wards, for example not nominating candidates in the Labour-held wards of Thetford Burrell and Thetford Priory.

Labour nominated 39 candidates, its largest total in some years, and far more independent candidates were nominated, up to 21 from just 8 in 2019. The Liberal Democrats stood six candidates, up from just one in 2019. The Green Party nominated one fewer, down to six, and UKIP stood just one candidate, down from two in 2019. Reform UK was the only new party to stand, nominating two candidates.

Election result


''Note that gains/losses in the above table are taken compared to 2019: that is, excluding changes due to by-elections to allow for a more direct comparison from one election to the next. Changes in the individual ward results below, however, do take by-elections and individual ward histories into account.''

All Saints & Wayland
The Conservatives defended both seats: both of their candidates were incumbent councillors.

Ashill
The Conservatives defended this seat with the incumbent candidate.

Attleborough Burgh & Havercroft
''The Conservatives were defending both seats. Taila Taylor, incumbent, won the seat as an independent in 2019 before switching to the Conservative Party. The other incumbent Conservative, Keith Martin, did not re-stand. Taylor was involved in 2021 in a notable row with the Town Council over bullying allegations which the council accepted were false, leading to a large financial settlement. ''

Attleborough Queens & Besthorpe
The Conservatives defended all three seats: Rhodri and Ashby were incumbent councillors.

Bedingfield
''The Conservatives defended this seat. Ian Sherwood was an incumbent 2019 councillor, but for the seat of Swaffham.''

The Buckenhams and Banham
The Conservatives defended this seat with their incumbent councillor.

Dereham Neatherd
Green party councillor Philip Morton got the most votes here in 2019 but failed to defend the seat: Linda Monument and Alison Webb defended the other two seats for the Conservatives, with the third Conservative 2018 candidate, William Richmond, also re-standing and this time being successfully elected.

Dereham Toftwood
The Conservatives were the defending party in both seats: Duigan was an incumbent councillor.

Dereham Withburga
''In 2019 Labour and the Conservatives each won a seat here. The Labour incumbent, Harry Clarke, re-stood: the Conservative incumbent Kay Grey did not.''

Forest
The Conservative Party defended both seats with incumbent councillors: this is the seat of their council leader, Sam Chapman-Allen.

Guiltcross
The Conservatives defended this ward with their incumbent councillor.

Harling and Heathlands
The Conservatives defended this ward with their incumbent councillor.

Hermitage
''Robert Hambidge was the incumbent Conservative councillor in the seat. The Conservative elected in 2019, Trevor Carter, resigned in 2021. Hambidge won the resulting by-election with a small majority over the Liberal Democrat candidate, Ian Minto (who ran in All Saints & Wayland ward in this election). ''

Launditch
The Conservatives defended this seat with their incumbent councillor.

Lincoln
''This ward is being defended by incumbent independent councillor Roger Atterwill, and incumbent Conservative Richard Duffield. Atterwill is the leader of the Independent Group on the council. ''

Mattishall
Both Conservative councillors are incumbent: Plummer won the seat formerly held by Conservative Ian Martin, who resigned due to ill health, in a 2022 by-election.

Nar Valley
The Conservatives defended this seat with their incumbent councillor.

Necton
The Conservatives defended this seat with their incumbent councillor.

Saham Toney
''The Green Party gained a seat here in 2019, coming first in the poll. Their candidate in 2023 is new. Helen Crane defends the other seat for the Conservatives.''

Shipdham-with-Scarning
The Conservatives held both seats with incumbent councillors.

Swaffham
''Independent candidate David Wickerson came first here in 2019 and is defending his seat. The other two seats went to Conservative candidates who are not re-standing, though the sole unsuccessful member of the 2019 Conservative slate, Paul Darby, is standing again.''

Thetford Boudica
Labour are defending both seats here. They gained one from UKIP in 2019, and the other from the Conservatives in a 2022 by-election after the resignation of Mark Robinson, who came first here in 2019.

Thetford Burrell
''Both seats here were defended by the Labour Party. Chris Harvey was an incumbent councillor: this was also the seat of Breckland's Labour group leader Terry Jermy, though this election he stood instead in Thetford Priory.''

Thetford Castle
The Conservatives were defending both seats with incumbent councillors.

Thetford Priory
''The Labour Party defended both seats here, having gained one from UKIP in 2019. Independent candidate Mark Taylor formerly stood here for UKIP.''

Upper Wensum
''The Conservative party defended both seats with incumbent councillors. This was the only seat to have a Liberal Democrat candidate in the previous election.''

Watton
The Conservatives defended two of the three seats here with incumbent candidates: the third incumbent councillor is independent Keith Gilbert, who came first in 2019 as well as doing so this year.