Biography

2023 Slough Borough Council election

← 2022 4 May 2023 (2023-05-04) 2027 →
All 42 seats to Slough Borough Council 22 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party   Leader Dexter Smith James Swindlehurst Party Conservative Labour Leader's seat Colnbrook and Poyle Cippenham Green (lost seat) Last election 6 seats, 30.3% 33 seats, 57.7% Seats before 5 35 Seats won 21 18 Seat change 15 15   Third party Fourth party   Party Liberal Democrats Independent Last election 0 seats, 6.2% 3 seats, 2.7% Seats before 0 2 Seats won 3 0 Seat change 3 3
Winner of each seat at the 2023 Slough Borough Council election
Leader before election James Swindlehurst Labour Leader after election Dexter Smith Conservative No overall control

The 2023 Slough Borough Council election took place on 4 May 2023 to elect members of Slough Borough Council in Berkshire, England.^[1] This was on the same day as other local elections in England.

Following a boundary review all 42 seats on the council were up for election and there was also a change to the electoral cycle for Slough. Previously a third of the council had been elected three years out of every four; from 2023 onwards the whole council would be elected together every four years.^[2]

The elections saw substantial gains by the Conservative Party against the national trend, more than quadrupling their number and ending up with exactly half the seats on the council.

Overview

Prior to the election the council had a Labour majority. In 2021 the council had effectively declared bankruptcy and the government had appointed commissioners to oversee the authority's financial recovery. As a result, the council was one of only three in England to be given permission to increase council tax by more than 5% in 2023.^[3]

The election saw the Conservatives make significant gains at the expense of Labour, in contrast to the general trend across the country in 2023 where Labour generally made gains at the expense of the Conservatives. The Labour leader, James Swindlehurst, was one of those who lost his seat. The council was left under no overall control after the election, with the Conservatives winning 21 of the 42 seats. This was the only Labour-held council in the 2023 Local Elections that the party lost control of. The Conservatives subsequently formed an administration with support from the three Liberal Democrats. The Conservative group leader, Dexter Smith, was appointed leader of the council at the subsequent annual council meeting on 18 May 2023. Labour chose Pavitar Kaur Mann to be its new group leader in opposition.^[4]

Summary

Election result

2023 Slough Borough Council election
Party		Candidates	Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
	Conservative	42	21	N/A	N/A	15	50.0	46.3	27,646	+16.0
	Labour	42	18	N/A	N/A	15	42.9	42.8	25,507	–14.9
	Liberal Democrats	8	3	N/A	N/A	3	7.1	4.5	2,712	–1.7
	Independent	7	0	N/A	N/A	3	0.0	3.3	1,967	+0.6
	Green	3	0	N/A	N/A		0.0	1.3	763	–0.7
	Ind. Network	2	0	N/A	N/A	0	0.0	1.6	955	+1.0
	Heritage	1	0	N/A	N/A	0	0.0	0.2	100	–0.3

Candidates

The Statement of Persons Nominated, which details the candidates standing in each ward, was released by Slough Borough Council following the close of nominations on 5 April 2023.^[5]

Baylis & Salt Hill

Britwell

Chalvey

Cippenham Green

Cippenham Manor

Cippenham Village

Colnbrook & Poyle

Elliman

Farnham

Haymill

Herschel Park

Langley Foxborough

Langley Marsh

Langley Meads

Langley St Mary's

Manor Park & Stoke

Northborough & Lynch Hill Valley

Slough Central

Upton

Upton Lea

Wexham Court

References