The 2023 Uttlesford District Council election took place on 4 May 2023 to elect members of Uttlesford District Council in Essex, England.Uttlesford District Council - Notice of Election - District elections 4 May 2023 https://www.uttlesford.gov.uk/media/11910/Notice-of-election-election-of-district-councillors-on-Thursday-4-May-2023/pdf/District_NoE-_FINAL1.pdf?m=638158606616200000Uttlesford District Council - Statement of Persons Nominated - District elections 4 May 2023 https://www.uttlesford.gov.uk/media/11916/Statement-of-persons-nominated-Election-of-district-councillors/pdf/SoPN_District.pdf?m=638162886375670000 This was on the same day as other local elections across England.

Prior to the election the residents' association 'Residents for Uttlesford' held a majority.

The election saw Residents for Uttlesford retain their majority. The Conservative and Liberal Democrat group leaders both lost their seats. The Greens lost all their seats on the council (the three seats it held prior to the election having all been councillors elected for Residents for Uttlesford but who later defected).

Election results

Ward results The results for each ward were as follows, with sitting councillors marked with an asterisk(*).

Ashdon

Broad Oak & The Hallingsburys

Clavering

Debden & Wimbish

Elsenham & Henham

Garry LeCount was a Residents for Uttlesford councillor until the election but was deselected as a candidate for re-election and stood as an independent instead.

Felsted & Stebbing

Flitch Green & Little Dunmow

Great Dunmow North

Great Dunmow South & Barnston

Seat recorded as three Conservative gains from Residents for Uttlesford to allow for comparison with the 2019 results. One of the seats had been won by Conservative Tom Loveday in a by-election in January 2023.

Hatfield Heath

High Easter & The Rodings

Littlebury, Chesterfords & Wendens Loft

Newport

Saffron Walden Audley

Arthur Coote represented Saffron Walden Shire ward before the election. Seats recorded as two Residents for Uttlesford holds to allow for comparison with 2019 results. One of the incumbent councillors, Barbara Light, had been elected as Residents for Uttlesford in 2019 but later that year joined the Greens instead.

Saffron Walden Castle

Saffron Walden Shire

Seats recorded as three Residents for Uttlesford holds to allow for comparison with 2019 results. One of the incumbent councillors, Paul Fairhurst, had been elected as Residents for Uttlesford in 2019 but later that year joined the Greens instead.

Stansted North

Stansted South & Birchanger

Stort Valley

Takeley

Thaxted & The Eastons

Seats both recorded as Residents for Uttlesford gains from the Liberal Democrats to allow comparison with 2019 election. The two Liberal Democrats elected in 2019, Mike Tayler and Martin Foley, had both left the party in May 2020 and joined Residents for Uttlesford in March 2021.

The Sampfords

Mike Tayler had been the incumbent for Thaxted & The Eastons ward before the election. Seat recorded as a Residents for Uttlesford hold to allow for comparison with the 2019 election, but George Smith had won the seat for the Conservatives in a by-election in 2021.

Changes 2023–2027 In March 2025, councillor Heather Asker (Saffron Walden Castle), who had represented the ward since 2007, left Residents for Uttlesford to join Reform UK.

By-elections Stort Valley

The by-election was triggered by the resignation of Liberal Democrat councillor Janice Loughlin, who described it as a "heartbreaking" decision to step down after 26 years as a councillor following a cancer diagnosis.

Great Dunmow North

The by-election was triggered by the death of Residents for Uttlesford councillor Alexander Armstrong on 12 May 2026; he had represented the ward since 2019 and served as vice-chair of the council from 2025.

References