Английская Википедия:2023 Bracknell Forest Borough Council election

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The 2023 Bracknell Forest Borough Council election took place on 4 May 2023, to elect all 41 members in 15 wards for Bracknell Forest Borough Council in England. The election took place on the same day as other local elections in England as part of the 2023 United Kingdom local elections. Due to a boundary review there had been a change in ward boundaries, along with a reduction in size from 42 members elected in 2019. This is the first election since 1971 (under the council's predecessor Easthampstead Rural District) where a majority of seats are outside Bracknell. The election was held alongside concurrent town & parish council elections in Binfield, Bracknell, Crowthorne, Sandhurst, Warfield, and Winkfield.

The Labour Party won an overall majority of 3, ending the 26-year Conservative Party administration, with both the Leader of the Council Paul Bettison and Deputy Leader Dale Birch losing re-election in the new ward of Sandhurst. By seat share, it is the worst result for the Conservatives in the history of Bracknell District and Bracknell Forest, eclipsing their defeat in 1973. Conversely, it is the best performance for the Liberal Democrats and its antecedents, winning 7 seats. The Green Party gained victory for the first time in the council's history, winning 2 seats.

Background

The council had been controlled by the Conservative Party since the unitary authority was created in 1998. The predecessor district council was controlled by the Conservatives, save for an initial period from 1973 to 1976 and later 1995 to 1997 when it was controlled by the Labour Party.

Paul Bettison was the Leader of the Council since 1997, having been elected leader of the Conservative group in 1996. Mary Temperton has been leader of the Labour group since 2011. Thomas Parker, the lone Liberal Democrat, announced he would not stand for re-election, having been first elected in 2019.

Pre-Election Composition

Шаблон:Parliament diagram
Party		Seats
bgcolor="Шаблон:Party color"|	Conservatives	37
bgcolor="Шаблон:Party color"|	Labour	4
bgcolor="Шаблон:Party color"|	Liberal Democrats	1

Campaign

The Conservatives nominated a full slate of 41 candidates, whilst Labour only put forward 24, the Liberal Democrats 12, and the Greens 7. However, in none of these contests are Labour and the Liberal Democrats standing against each other, and likewise between the Liberal Democrats and the Greens - in only 2 of the 15 wards are Labour and the Greens opposing each other. This is a significant reversal from 2019, when Labour put up a full slate, and led to accusations that an arrangement had been reached between the three parties as a form of progressive alliance - a fact denied by the local Labour and Liberal Democrats. Reform UK and the Heritage Party are also standing 1 candidate each in Harmans Water & Crown Wood - their first entry at a Bracknell Forest election. Finally, two independents are standing - one in Town Centre & The Parks and another in Whitegrove.

Soon after nominations closed, controversy emerged over the selection of one of the Conservative candidates for Bracknell Town Council on Priestwood ward, Andrew McBride. McBride was a former regional organiser of the far-right British National Party, having also stood as a BNP candidate for Priestwood & Garth at the 2007 election, as well as a former deputy leader of the far-right Britain First. The Bracknell Conservative Association subsequently suspended his membership and disavowed his candidacy - however, it was legally too late to withdraw McBride from the election, so he will appear on the ballot as a Conservative candidate. The association has indicated it will deny him the Conservative whip should he be elected. Outgoing Conservative cabinet member, Marc Brunel-Walker, announced on 12 April that he had submitted a motion of no-confidence in the association's officers over its selection of McBride in the first place.

11 incumbent councillors (10 of them Conservative) announced they would be standing down.

Aftermath

The Labour takeover was considered one of the shocks of the 2023 United Kingdom local elections, with many pundits ascribing the defeat in part to the theorised deal between Labour and the Liberal Democrats - outgoing leader Paul Bettison himself identified this and the woes of the Conservative government nationally as the reasons for his party's defeat. Mary Temperton, the Labour Party group leader, continued to deny such a pact existed, but nevertheless the result fuelled calls for a progressive alliance.

Councillors standing down

Councillor	Ward	First elected	Party		Date announced
Thomas Parker	Wildridings & Central	2019	rowspan="1;" style="background-color: Шаблон:Party color" |	Liberal Democrats	3 October 2022
Marc Brunel-Walker	Crown Wood	2003	rowspan="1;" style="background-color: Шаблон:Party color" |	Conservative Party	21 December 2022
Robert Angell	Bullbrook	1983	rowspan="1;" style="background-color: Шаблон:Party color" |	Conservative Party	4 May 2023
Nigel Atkinson	Ascot	2019	rowspan="1;" style="background-color: Шаблон:Party color" |	Conservative Party	4 May 2023
Michael Brossard	Central Sandhurst	2007	rowspan="1;" style="background-color: Шаблон:Party color" |	Conservative Party	4 May 2023
Sandra Ingham	Warfield Harvest Ride	2015	rowspan="1;" style="background-color: Шаблон:Party color" |	Conservative Party	4 May 2023
Gaby Kennedy	Central Sandhurst	2016	rowspan="1;" style="background-color: Шаблон:Party color" |	Conservative Party	4 May 2023
Ian Kirke	Bullbrook	2019	rowspan="1;" style="background-color: Шаблон:Party color" |	Conservative Party	4 May 2023
Isabel Mattick	Harmans Water	1987	rowspan="1;" style="background-color: Шаблон:Party color" |	Conservative Party	4 May 2023
Pauline McKenzie	College Town	2015	rowspan="1;" style="background-color: Шаблон:Party color" |	Conservative Party	4 May 2023
John Porter	Owlsmoor	2011	rowspan="1;" style="background-color: Шаблон:Party color" |	Conservative Party	4 May 2023