2023 Middlesbrough Council election
2023 English local election
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The 2023 Middlesbrough Borough Council election took place on 4 May 2023 to elect all 46 members of Middlesbrough Council and the directly-elected Mayor of Middlesbrough. This was on the same day as other local elections across England.
4 May 2023
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All 46 seats to Middlesbrough Council plus Mayor 24 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Turnout | 27.8% | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Winner of each seat at the 2023 Middlesbrough Council election | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Prior to the election the council was under no overall control and the mayor was Andy Preston, an independent. The election saw Labour's candidate Chris Cooke win the mayoralty from Andy Preston, and the party also won a majority of the seats on the council.[2]
Summary
Council
Following the results, the council moved from no overall control to a Labour majority.[3]
| 2023 Middlesbrough Council election[4] | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidates | Seats | Gains | Losses | Net gain/loss | Seats % | Votes % | Votes | +/− | |
| Labour | 44 | 25 | 7 | 2 | 54.3 | 46.5 | 25,504 | +11.6 | ||
| Independent | 39 | 15 | 1 | 9 | 32.6 | 30.1 | 16,481 | –13.6 | ||
| Conservative | 29 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 8.7 | 14.7 | 8,044 | +2.8 | ||
| Liberal Democrats | 14 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4.3 | 7.1 | 3,910 | +3.8 | ||
| Green | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 1.6 | 862 | –1.5 | ||
Mayor
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Chris Cooke | 10,956 | 40.2 | ||
| Independent | Andy Preston | 10,196 | 37.4 | ||
| Independent | Jon Rathmell | 3,102 | 11.4 | ||
| Conservative | John Cooper | 2,997 | 11.0 | ||
| Majority | 760 | 2.8 | |||
| Turnout | 27,479 | 27.8 | |||
| Labour gain from Independent | |||||
Ward results
Acklam
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal Democrats | Tom Livingstone | 867 | 48.4 | +10.5 | |
| Labour | Sheila Dean* | 644 | 35.9 | –2.7 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Jon Carey | 637 | 35.5 | +15.6 | |
| Labour | Luke Henman | 566 | 31.6 | –4.1 | |
| Independent | Eric Polano* | 276 | 15.4 | –22.5 | |
| Independent | Peter Welsh | 224 | 12.5 | N/A | |
| Conservative | Keith Barton | 134 | 7.5 | –16.3 | |
| Turnout | 1,792 | 40.9 | |||
| Registered electors | 4,382 | ||||
| Liberal Democrats gain from Independent | |||||
| Labour hold | |||||
Ayresome
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Antony High* | 611 | 54.9 | +24.1 | |
| Labour | Janet Thompson | 457 | 41.1 | +17.3 | |
| Independent | Andrew Hill | 344 | 30.9 | N/A | |
| Conservative | Pam Biswas | 236 | 21.2 | +12.1 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Sophie Drumm | 107 | 9.6 | +4.7 | |
| Turnout | 1,112 | 26.4 | |||
| Registered electors | 4,215 | ||||
| Labour gain from Independent | |||||
| Labour hold | |||||
Berwick Hills & Pallister
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Ian Blades* | 451 | 47.9 | +18.5 | |
| Labour | Julia Cooke | 416 | 44.2 | +20.8 | |
| Independent | Donna Jones* | 391 | 41.5 | –10.4 | |
| Independent | Steven James | 346 | 36.7 | N/A | |
| Labour | Mick Thompson | 336 | 35.7 | +13.2 | |
| Independent | Anna Walker | 303 | 32.2 | N/A | |
| Conservative | Alan Blyth | 82 | 8.7 | +3.4 | |
| Turnout | 942 | 16.6 | |||
| Registered electors | 5,674 | ||||
| Labour gain from Independent | |||||
| Labour gain from Independent | |||||
| Independent hold | |||||
Brambles & Thorntree
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Stella Tranter | 364 | 46.0 | +17.1 | |
| Labour | Jack Banks | 362 | 45.7 | +17.7 | |
| Independent | Graham Wilson* | 326 | 41.2 | –8.5 | |
| Labour | Paul McGrath | 319 | 40.3 | +16.8 | |
| Independent | Karl Gallienne | 256 | 32.3 | N/A | |
| Independent | Monty Towers | 211 | 26.6 | N/A | |
| Conservative | Peter Longstaff | 99 | 12.5 | +4.6 | |
| Green | Rebecca Tyndall | 43 | 5.4 | N/A | |
| Turnout | 792 | 13.7 | |||
| Registered electors | 5,781 | ||||
| Labour hold | |||||
| Labour hold | |||||
| Independent hold | |||||
Central
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Linda Lewis* | 1,053 | 70.8 | +24.3 | |
| Labour | Matt Storey* | 925 | 62.2 | +24.8 | |
| Labour | Zafar Uddin* | 876 | 58.9 | +15.3 | |
| Independent | Jackie Young | 331 | 22.2 | N/A | |
| Conservative | Peter Bradburn | 218 | 14.7 | +7.8 | |
| Green | Ian Sturrock | 156 | 10.5 | +1.0 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Ian Jones | 145 | 9.7 | +2.7 | |
| Turnout | 1,488 | 21.0 | |||
| Registered electors | 7,100 | ||||
| Labour hold | |||||
| Labour hold | |||||
| Labour hold | |||||
Coulby Newham
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | David Branson* | 899 | 45.0 | +4.2 | |
| Conservative | Luke Mason | 840 | 42.0 | –6.5 | |
| Labour | Jo Nicholson | 706 | 35.3 | –15.0 | |
| Labour | Geoff Nicholson | 673 | 33.7 | +3.5 | |
| Conservative | Shamal Biswas | 566 | 28.3 | N/A | |
| Independent | Stefan Walker* | 544 | 27.2 | N/A | |
| Independent | Raymond Sands* | 214 | 10.7 | N/A | |
| Green | Barry Jobson | 209 | 10.5 | N/A | |
| Independent | Anna Whitmore | 193 | 9.7 | N/A | |
| Turnout | 2,000 | 31.8 | |||
| Registered electors | 6,291 | ||||
| Labour hold | |||||
| Conservative hold | |||||
| Labour hold | |||||
Hemlington
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Jeanette Walker* | 620 | 57.2 | +19.0 | |
| Labour | Nicky Walker | 577 | 53.3 | +15.5 | |
| Independent | Allan Bell* | 207 | 19.1 | –21.5 | |
| Independent | Chris Lovell | 181 | 16.7 | N/A | |
| Conservative | Sajid Hussain | 153 | 14.1 | +1.6 | |
| Conservative | Valerie Beadnall | 145 | 13.4 | +4.1 | |
| Independent | Howard Thompson | 99 | 9.1 | N/A | |
| Turnout | 1,083 | 25.1 | |||
| Registered electors | 4,311 | ||||
| Labour hold | |||||
| Labour gain from Independent | |||||
Kader
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | Jim Platt* | 944 | 55.1 | +6.5 | |
| Independent | Sharon Platt | 732 | 42.8 | N/A | |
| Labour | Vic Walkington | 537 | 31.4 | +10.0 | |
| Conservative | Dominic Curtis | 284 | 16.6 | –0.4 | |
| Conservative | Catherine Lyon | 241 | 14.1 | N/A | |
| Liberal Democrats | Michael Livingstone | 200 | 11.7 | +5.1 | |
| Turnout | 1,712 | 39.6 | |||
| Registered electors | 4,319 | ||||
| Independent hold | |||||
| Independent hold | |||||
Ladgate
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | Tony Grainge* | 605 | 67.4 | N/A | |
| Conservative | Luke Hurst | 406 | 45.2 | +10.4 | |
| Labour | Tom Mohan | 367 | 40.9 | –12.3 | |
| Labour | Gemma Rushton | 352 | 39.2 | –3.6 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Sally Middleton | 66 | 7.3 | N/A | |
| Turnout | ? | 30.2 | |||
| Registered electors | ? | ||||
| Independent gain from Labour | |||||
| Conservative gain from Labour | |||||
Linthorpe
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Philippa Storey* | 975 | 46.7 | +11.9 | |
| Labour | Naweed Hussain* | 823 | 55.3 | +23.1 | |
| Independent | John King | 535 | 30.4 | N/A | |
| Liberal Democrats | Paul Hamilton | 118 | 6.7 | +0.3 | |
| Conservative | George Pugh | 116 | 6.6 | –2.1 | |
| Conservative | Oliver Connett | 114 | 6.5 | N/A | |
| Turnout | 1,762 | 39.6 | |||
| Registered electors | 4,444 | ||||
| Labour hold | |||||
| Labour hold | |||||
Longlands & Beechwood
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Mary Nugent* | 647 | 46.8 | +16.3 | |
| Labour | Peter Gavigan | 572 | 41.4 | +9.6 | |
| Independent | Joan McTigue* | 563 | 40.7 | –19.7 | |
| Labour | Sharon Sewell | 491 | 35.5 | +12.0 | |
| Independent | Jacqueline Fovargue | 350 | 25.3 | N/A | |
| Independent | Amjad Hossain | 200 | 14.5 | N/A | |
| Conservative | Nathaniel Tumilty | 163 | 11.8 | +1.0 | |
| Conservative | Stephen Smith | 156 | 11.3 | N/A | |
| Liberal Democrats | Nana Livingstone | 79 | 5.7 | N/A | |
| Turnout | 1,382 | 20.6 | |||
| Registered electors | 6,705 | ||||
| Labour hold | |||||
| Labour hold | |||||
| Independent hold | |||||
Marton East
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | Dorothy Davison* | 784 | 52.5 | –3.8 | |
| Independent | Jason McConnell | 685 | 45.9 | N/A | |
| Labour | Mark O'Donnell | 336 | 22.5 | +9.7 | |
| Conservative | Firas Soudani | 295 | 19.8 | +0.1 | |
| Conservative | Peter Symon | 261 | 17.5 | –1.4 | |
| Labour | Alma Hellaoui | 247 | 16.5 | N/A | |
| Liberal Democrats | Roger Paul | 75 | 5.0 | N/A | |
| Turnout | 1,493 | 31.6 | |||
| Registered electors | 4,732 | ||||
| Independent hold | |||||
| Independent hold | |||||
Marton West
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | Ian Morrish | 612 | 37.8 | N/A | |
| Independent | David Jackson | 603 | 37.2 | N/A | |
| Conservative | Andy Murphy-Brown | 531 | 32.8 | +23.5 | |
| Conservative | Paul Austin | 468 | 28.9 | +20.4 | |
| Labour | Philip Ewan | 306 | 18.9 | +9.5 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Joanna Paul | 161 | 9.9 | N/A | |
| Turnout | 1,619 | 38.5 | |||
| Registered electors | 4,206 | ||||
| Independent hold | |||||
| Independent hold | |||||
Newport
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | John Kabuye | 919 | 66.3 | +27.5 | |
| Labour | Jill Ewan | 911 | 65.7 | +21.4 | |
| Labour | Anne Romaine | 856 | 61.7 | +18.0 | |
| Independent | Barrie Cooper* | 326 | 23.5 | –18.8 | |
| Green | David Revett | 180 | 13.0 | –3.7 | |
| Conservative | Joyce Pugh | 174 | 12.5 | +1.7 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Dinesh Maddula | 115 | 8.3 | –2.4 | |
| Turnout | 1,387 | 21.8 | |||
| Registered electors | 6,360 | ||||
| Labour hold | |||||
| Labour hold | |||||
| Labour gain from Independent | |||||
North Ormesby
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Jan Ryles | 224 | 54.1 | +27.3 | |
| Independent | Steve McCulloch | 161 | 38.9 | N/A | |
| Conservative | David Morgan | 29 | 7.0 | +3.8 | |
| Majority | 63 | 15.2 | |||
| Turnout | 420 | 22.1 | |||
| Registered electors | 1,902 | ||||
| Labour gain from Independent | |||||
Nunthorpe
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal Democrats | Morgan McClintock | 712 | 39.7 | +24.0 | |
| Conservative | Mieka Smiles* | 687 | 38.3 | +6.2 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Tom Bailey | 509 | 28.4 | +20.8 | |
| Conservative | Martin Lyon | 397 | 22.1 | +3.0 | |
| Independent | Wade Tovey | 367 | 20.4 | N/A | |
| Independent | Jon Rathmell* | 333 | 18.6 | –40.7 | |
| Labour | David Drumm | 196 | 10.9 | +3.4 | |
| Labour | Julie McGee | 126 | 7.0 | N/A | |
| Turnout | 1,795 | 41.5 | |||
| Registered electors | 4,323 | ||||
| Liberal Democrats gain from Independent | |||||
| Conservative hold | |||||
Park
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Theo Furness* | 1,240 | 59.3 | +19.1 | |
| Labour | Julia Rostron* | 1,191 | 56.9 | +12.2 | |
| Labour | Edward Clynch | 1,126 | 53.8 | +16.8 | |
| Independent | Chris McIntyre* | 460 | 22.0 | –15.1 | |
| Independent | Frances McIntyre | 435 | 20.8 | N/A | |
| Independent | Eddie Ndhlovu | 335 | 16.0 | N/A | |
| Green | Matthew Harris | 274 | 13.1 | –18.5 | |
| Conservative | Valerie Symon | 264 | 12.6 | –2.7 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Jack Stoker | 119 | 5.7 | N/A | |
| Turnout | 2,092 | 30.8 | |||
| Registered electors | 6,784 | ||||
| Labour hold | |||||
| Labour hold | |||||
| Labour gain from Independent | |||||
Park End & Beckfield
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | Brian Hubbard* | 640 | 60.5 | –13.4 | |
| Independent | Mick Saunders* | 609 | 57.6 | –11.3 | |
| Independent | Stephen Hill | 568 | 53.7 | –10.3 | |
| Labour | Chris Williamson | 328 | 31.0 | +18.5 | |
| Labour | Eddie Dryden | 261 | 24.7 | +16.4 | |
| Labour | Jai Caisley | 249 | 23.6 | +15.4 | |
| Conservative | Margaret Blyth | 82 | 7.8 | +4.6 | |
| Conservative | Ryan Howes | 58 | 5.5 | N/A | |
| Turnout | 1,057 | 19.3 | |||
| Registered electors | 5,469 | ||||
| Independent hold | |||||
| Independent hold | |||||
| Independent hold | |||||
Stainton & Thornton
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | David Coupe | 625 | 54.0 | –26.4 | |
| Labour | Jack McKenna | 533 | 46.0 | +26.4 | |
| Majority | 92 | 8.0 | |||
| Turnout | 1,174 | 35.6 | |||
| Registered electors | 3,298 | ||||
| Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
Trimdon
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | Dennis McCabe* | 673 | 48.8 | –20.7 | |
| Independent | Christine Cooper | 515 | 37.4 | N/A | |
| Labour | Christina Harris | 472 | 34.3 | +22.2 | |
| Labour | James Watson | 364 | 26.4 | +15.9 | |
| Conservative | Scott Symon | 220 | 16.0 | +8.3 | |
| Turnout | 1,378 | 29.2 | |||
| Registered electors | 4,712 | ||||
| Independent hold | |||||
| Independent hold | |||||
Changes 2023–2027
- 14 January 2026: Christine Cooper (Independent, Trimdon) joined Reform UK, having left the Middlesbrough Independent Councillors Association the previous August.[6]
By-elections
Ayresome
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | Jackie Young | 318 | 36.1 | N/A | ||
| Labour | Mick Thompson | 294 | 33.4 | −21.5 | ||
| Liberal Democrats | Claire Brent | 201 | 22.8 | +13.2 | ||
| Green | Matthew Harris | 32 | 3.6 | N/A | ||
| Conservative | Sajid Hussain | 30 | 3.4 | −17.8 | ||
| Independent | Jon Rathmell | 5 | 0.6 | N/A | ||
| Majority | 24 | 2.7 | ||||
| Turnout | 880 | 20.9 | ||||
| Registered electors | 4,224 | |||||
| Independent gain from Labour | ||||||
The by-election was held after Labour councillor Antony High resigned at the end of June 2023, citing a change in his personal work situation. High had originally been elected as an independent in 2019 and served as deputy mayor before defecting to Labour in March 2022.[8]
Acklam
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Luke Henman | 1,067 | 38.9 | +3.0 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Mark Brown | 850 | 31.0 | −17.4 | |
| Independent | Jules Nicholson | 466 | 17.0 | N/A | |
| Conservative | Eric Phillips | 361 | 13.2 | +5.7 | |
| Majority | 217 | 7.9 | |||
| Turnout | 2,770 | 62.4 | +21.5 | ||
| Rejected ballots | 26 | ||||
| Registered electors | 4,442 | ||||
| Labour hold | |||||
The by-election was held after Labour councillor Sheila Dean stood down for health reasons, having represented Acklam since the 2015 boundary review.[10]
Central
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Lewis Young | 1,644 | 60.5 | −10.3 | |
| Conservative | Sajid Hussain | 491 | 18.1 | +3.4 | |
| Independent | Keith Young | 366 | 13.5 | N/A | |
| Liberal Democrats | Ian Jones | 216 | 7.9 | −1.8 | |
| Majority | 1,153 | 42.4 | |||
| Turnout | 2,760 | 35.0 | +14.0 | ||
| Rejected ballots | 43 | ||||
| Registered electors | 7,888 | ||||
| Labour hold | |||||
The by-election was held after Labour councillor Matt Storey resigned to take up the post of Police and Crime Commissioner for Cleveland, to which he was elected on 2 May 2024.[9][11]
Hemlington
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Thomas Mohan | 422 | 53.1 | −2.2 | |
| Conservative | Lewis Melvin | 251 | 31.6 | +17.9 | |
| Independent | Barrie Cooper | 55 | 6.9 | N/A | |
| Workers Party | Mehmoona Ameen | 47 | 5.9 | N/A | |
| Liberal Democrats | Christopher Henderson | 20 | 2.5 | N/A | |
| Majority | 171 | 21.5 | −21.6 | ||
| Turnout | 795 | 18.91 | −12.5 | ||
| Registered electors | 4,220 | ||||
| Labour hold | |||||
The by-election was held following the death of Labour councillor Jeanette Walker on 16 August 2024, after a long-term illness. Walker had represented Hemlington for 17 years, since 2007.[13]
Nunthorpe
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reform | Joanne Rush | 563 | 35.8 | N/A | |
| Liberal Democrats | Adrian Walker | 550 | 35.0 | −1.3 | |
| Conservative | Martin Lyon | 328 | 20.9 | −14.2 | |
| Green | Sam Boardman | 79 | 5.0 | N/A | |
| Labour | Richard Lewis | 52 | 3.3 | −6.7 | |
| Majority | 13 | 0.8 | |||
| Turnout | 1,572 | 35.75 | |||
| Reform gain from Liberal Democrats | Swing | N/A | |||
The by-election was held after Liberal Democrat councillor Morgan McClintock resigned on 26 October 2025, amid what he described as an "unstable environment" over the management of local community projects, saying he wanted residents to have the chance to "choose the way forward" through an election.[15]