An election to

Cambridgeshire County Council Cambridgeshire County Council is the county council for non-metropolitan county of Cambridgeshire, England. The non-metropolitan county is smaller than the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county, which additionally includes the City o ...

took place on 2 May 2013 as part of the

2013 United Kingdom local elections The 2013 United Kingdom local elections took place on Thursday 2 May 2013. Elections were held in 35 English councils: all 27 non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan county councils and eight Unitary authorities of England, unitary authorities ...

. 69 councillors were elected from 60 electoral divisions, which returned either one or two county councillors each by

first-past-the-post voting First-past-the-post (FPTP)—also called choose-one, first-preference plurality (FPP), or simply plurality—is a single-winner voting rule. Voters mark one candidate as their favorite, or first-preference, and the candidate with more first- ...

for a four-year term of office. The electoral divisions were the same as those used at the previous election in 2009. No elections were held in

Peterborough Peterborough ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in the City of Peterborough district in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, England. The city is north of London, on the River Nene. A ...

, which is a

unitary authority A unitary authority is a type of local government, local authority in New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Unitary authorities are responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are ...

outside the area covered by the County Council. The election saw the Conservative Party lose overall control of the council. All locally

registered electors In electoral systems, voter registration (or enrollment) is the requirement that a person otherwise eligible to vote must register (or enroll) on an electoral roll, which is usually a prerequisite for being entitled or permitted to vote. The ru ...

(

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

, Irish,

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...

and

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

citizens) who were aged 18 or over on Thursday 2 May 2013 were entitled to vote in the local elections. Those who were temporarily away from their ordinary address (for example, away working, on holiday, in student accommodation or in hospital) were also entitled to vote in the local elections, although those who had moved abroad and registered as overseas electors cannot vote in the local elections. It is possible to register to vote at more than one address (such as a university student who had a term-time address and lives at home during holidays) at the discretion of the local Electoral Register Office, but it remains an offence to vote more than once in the same local government election.

Previous composition

2009 election

Composition of council seats before election

Changes between elections

In between the 2009 election and the 2013 election, the following council seats changed hands:

Summary

In total 292 candidates stood in the election. Only the Labour Party and the Conservative Party contested all 69 seats on the council. The Liberal Democrats stood 61 candidates, not standing in four divisions in Fenland and only contesting one seat in some two-member divisions. The

United Kingdom Independence Party The UK Independence Party (UKIP, ) is a Eurosceptic, right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. The party reached its greatest level of success in the mid-2010s, when it gained two Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), member ...

stood 52 candidates, including a full slate in

Huntingdonshire Huntingdonshire (; abbreviated Hunts) is a local government district in Cambridgeshire, England, which was historically a county in its own right. It borders Peterborough to the north, Fenland to the north-east, East Cambridgeshire to the e ...

, although two nominated candidates in Fenland withdrew before the deadline and did not appear on the ballot. The

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as environmentalism and social justice. Green party platforms typically embrace Social democracy, social democratic economic policies and fo ...

stood 25 candidates, mostly in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

and

South Cambridgeshire South Cambridgeshire is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district of Cambridgeshire, England, with a population of 162,119 at the 2021 census. It was formed on 1 April 1974 by the merger of Chesterton Rural District and South Cambri ...

. The

English Democrats The English Democrats are a right-wing-to-far-right, English nationalist political party active in England. A minor party, it currently has no elected representatives at any level of government. The English Democrats were established in 200 ...

stood two candidates in

Whittlesey Whittlesey (also Whittlesea) is a market town and civil parish in the Fenland District, Fenland district of Cambridgeshire, England. Whittlesey is east of Peterborough. The population of the parish was 17,667 at the 2021 Census. Toponymy W ...

, while the

Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market. Traders generally negotiate through a medium of cred ...

stood two candidates in the

Godmanchester Godmanchester ( ) is a town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Huntingdonshire district of Cambridgeshire, England. It is separated from Huntingdon, to the north, by the valley of the River Great Ouse. Being on the Roman roads ...

Huntingdon Huntingdon is a market town in the Huntingdonshire district of Cambridgeshire, England. The town was given its town charter by John, King of England, King John in 1205. It was the county town of the historic county of Huntingdonshire. Oliver C ...

East division. The

Official Monster Raving Loony Party The Official Monster Raving Loony Party (OMRLP) is a political party established in the United Kingdom in 1982 by the musician David Sutch, also known as Screaming Lord Sutch, 3rd Earl of Harrow, or simply Lord Sutch. It is notable for its de ...

stood two candidates in St Ives and in

Bar Hill Bar Hill is a purpose-built village with a population of 4,000 about 4 miles (7 km) northwest of Cambridge, England on the A14 road, just east of the Prime Meridian. History Prior to the building of the Bar Hill settlement the area was ...

divisions, and one candidate stood for the Cambridge Socialists in

Romsey Romsey ( ) is a town in the Test Valley district of Hampshire, England. The town is situated northwest of Southampton, southwest of Winchester and southeast of Salisbury. It sits on the outskirts of the New Forest, just over northeast of ...

. There were also nine independent candidates. The United Kingdom Independence Party made substantial gains, taking 11 seats from the Conservatives mostly in Fenland and northern Huntingdonshire. Southern Huntingdonshire saw the Conservatives lose a seat to the Liberal Democrats in the Godmanchester & Huntingdon East division, as well as two seats to independents in the

St Neots St NeotsPronunciation of the town name: Most commonly, but variations that ''saint'' is said as in most English non-georeferencing speech, the ''t'' is by a small minority of the British pronounced and higher traces of in the final syllable ...

Eaton Socon Eaton Socon is a district of St Neots, in the civil parish of St Neots, in the Huntingdonshire district, in the county of Cambridgeshire, England, 1.4 miles south-west of St Neots town centre. Eaton Socon is a component of the town of St Neot ...

& Eynesbury division. The Labour Party gained seats in

from the Liberal Democrats and the Green Party, including

Arbury Arbury is a suburb and electoral ward in Cambridge, England. As of the 2021 UK census, the ward had a population of 9,883 people. History The area has been occupied since at least Roman times. In the 1950s, stone coffins from the 2nd century ...

which Labour had won in a 2011 by-election, winning half of the city's 14 county council divisions. In

East Cambridgeshire East Cambridgeshire (locally known as East Cambs) is a local government district in Cambridgeshire, England. Its council is based in the cathedral city of Ely. The district also contains the towns of Littleport and Soham and surrounding rural a ...

, the Conservatives gained both divisions in Ely from the Liberal Democrats but lost

Littleport Littleport is a town in East Cambridgeshire, in the Isle of Ely, Cambridgeshire, England. It lies about north-east of Ely and south-east of Welney, on the Bedford Level South section of the River Great Ouse, close to Burnt Fen and Mare Fe ...

to UKIP. In

, Conservative council leader Nick Clarke lost his seat in

Fulbourn Fulbourn is a village in Cambridgeshire, England, with evidence of settlement dating back to Neolithic times. The village was probably established under its current name by 1200. The waterfowl-frequented stream after which it was named lies i ...

to the Liberal Democrats. The Liberal Democrats however lost four other seats in the district including in Linton, where the Conservative candidate won by a single vote.

Aftermath

The Conservatives will continue to run the council however they will do so in a minority, with

councillor Martin Curtis as council leader. In addition the council structure will switch from a cabinet system to a committee system, starting from May 2014.

Results summary

Election of Group Leaders

Martin Curtis (Whittlesey North) was elected leader of the Conservative Group, Maurice Leeke (Waterbeach) challenged the incumbent Kilian Bourke (Romsey) for the leadership of the Liberal Democratic Group and won, and Paul Sales (

) was elected leader of the Labour Group. In mid 2015 deputy Lib Dem leader

Lucy Nethsingha Lucy Kathleen Nethsingha (née Sellwood; born 6 February 1973) is a British Liberal Democrat politician who has served as Leader of Cambridgeshire County Council since 2021, and leader of the Liberal Democrat group on the council since 2015. S ...

( Newnham) was elected leader and deputy leader Ashley Walsh (Petersfield) replaced Sales as Labour leader. In December 2013 Peter Reeve (Ramsey) stood down as UKIP group leader to be replaced by Paul Bullen (St Ives) with Simon Bywater(Sawtry and Ellington) as his deputy.

Election of Leader of the Council

Martin Curtis the leader of the

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

group was duly elected leader of the council and formed a conservative administration. After less than a year as leader Curtis resigned and was succeeded by Steve Count (March North)

Results by District