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The 2023 Reading Borough Council election was held on 4 May 2023 to elect members of Reading Borough Council in Berkshire, England.^[1] It coincided with local elections across England. There were 17 of the 48 seats on the council up for election, being the usual third of the council plus a by-election in Park ward following the resignation of Green councillor Brenda McGonigle.^[2]

Labour retained its majority on the council. Only one seat changed party at this election, being a Labour gain from the Conservatives in Caversham Heights ward. All other seats were unchanged, with the Greens regaining their vacant seat in Park ward.^[3]^[4]

A by-election was held on 3 August 2023 following the death of a Norcot councillor.^[5] Labour retained the seat with a marginally increased share of the vote.^[6]

Summary

Election result

2023 Reading Borough Council election
Party		This election			Full council			This election
Party		Seats	Net	Seats %	Other	Total	Total %	Votes	Votes %	+/−
	Labour	11	1	64.7	21	32	66.7	19,352	47.3	±0.0
	Green	3		17.6	4	7	14.6	8,595	21.0	+4.2
	Conservative	2	1	11.8	3	5	10.4	8,722	21.3	-5.0
	Liberal Democrats	1		5.9	2	3	6.3	3,983	9.7	+0.5
	Independent	0		0.0	1	1	2.1	71	0.2	±0.0
	TUSC	0		0.0	0	0	0.0	164	0.4	+0.2
	Liberal	0		0.0	0	0	0.0	57	0.1	N/A

Ward results

The Statement of Persons Nominated was published on 5 April 2023.^[7] Votes were counted overnight and the results posted on the Council's website on 5 May.^[8]^[9]

Abbey

Abbey
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Mohammed Ayub*	819	52.7	-3.4
	Conservative	Simon James Bazley	308	19.8	+2.3
	Green	Howard John Darby	264	17.0	-12.3
	Liberal Democrats	Steven Adam Gore	163	10.5	-8.5
Majority			511	32.9
Turnout			1,566	23.5
	Labour hold		Swing

Battle

Battle
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour Co-op	Amjad Iqbal Tahir Tarar	1,374	65.4	+6.4
	Conservative	John Tattersall Murray	302	14.4	+0.1
	Green	Callum Louis Harling	256	12.2	-8.9
	Liberal Democrats	John Berkeley Grout	170	8.1	-5.2
Majority			1,072	51.0
Turnout			2,115	28.0
	Labour Co-op hold		Swing

Caversham

Caversham
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Jan Gavin*	1,563	53.6	+4.1
	Conservative	Saadia Zafar Saadat	569	19.5	-2.0
	Green	Mark Peter Timothy Palmer	473	16.2	-10.5
	Liberal Democrats	Christopher Simon Burden	311	10.7	-5.9
Majority			994	34.1
Turnout			2,937	39.1
	Labour hold		Swing

Caversham Heights

Caversham Heights
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour Co-op	Sam Juthani	1,454	41.0	+10.7
	Conservative	Paul Alan Carnell*	1,324	37.3	+1.7
	Green	Danny McNamara	500	14.1	-9.9
	Liberal Democrats	Vania Costa-Krol	270	7.6	-17.3
Majority			130	3.7
Turnout			3,563	47.6
	Labour Co-op gain from Conservative		Swing

Church

Church
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Paul Richard Woodward*	1,268	61.4	+9.7
	Conservative	James Mwaniki Mugo	448	21.7	-16.0
	Green	Brent Smith	198	9.6	-7.4
	Liberal Democrats	Mark Clifford Cole	152	7.4	-5.8
Majority			820	39.7
Turnout			2,083	25.3
	Labour hold		Swing

Coley

Coley
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Paul Stephen Gittings*	1,297	57.9	-2.4
	Conservative	Lizzy Sheppard	462	20.6	-2.4
	Green	Isobel Claire Hoskins	267	11.9	-12.0
	Liberal Democrats	Benjamin Francis Sims	213	9.5	-8.7
Majority			835	37.3
Turnout			2,252	32.0
	Labour hold		Swing

Emmer Green

Emmer Green
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Stephen James Goss	1,233	40.0	-0.7
	Labour	Matt Buckley	1,133	36.8	-1.9
	Green	Wendy Jane Rooke	378	12.3	-15.5
	Liberal Democrats	Pieter Herman M De Boiserie	336	10.9	-11.0
Majority			100	3.2
Turnout			3,095	40.7
	Conservative hold		Swing

Katesgrove

Katesgrove
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Green	Doug Cresswell*	1,048	47.0	+4.6
	Labour Co-op	Marg Cobb	832	37.3	+3.4
	Conservative	Ian Binge	213	9.5	-1.5
	Liberal Democrats	Margaret McNeill	80	3.6	-4.1
	TUSC	Lily Jayne Challice	58	2.6	N/A
Majority			216	9.7
Turnout			2,257	29.5
	Green hold		Swing

Kentwood

Kentwood
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Raj Singh*	1,171	45.3	+5.4
	Labour	Mamuna Naz	1,016	39.3	+0.4
	Green	Caroline Hearst	209	8.1	-4.6
	Liberal Democrats	Jonathan Peter Barker	187	7.2	-4.1
Majority			155	6.0
Turnout			2,583	38.3
	Conservative hold		Swing

Norcot

Norcot
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Colette Lolita Dennis*	1,202	58.0	+1.2
	Conservative	Suzanne Rowe	371	17.9	-0.8
	Green	Richard Peter Walkem	206	9.9	-8.6
	Liberal Democrats	Christopher Ward	126	6.1	-5.9
	Independent	Alan John Gulliver	71	3.4	-4.6
	Liberal	Stephen Anthony Graham	57	2.8	N/A
	TUSC	Jen Bottom	39	1.9	-3.1
Majority			831	40.1
Turnout			2,082	27.6
	Labour hold		Swing

Park

Park (2 seats due to by-election)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Green	Josh Williams*	1,536	54.7	+5.9
	Green	Sarah Magon	1,408	50.1	-2.0
	Labour	Ram Bahadur Galami	1,087	38.7	+3.6
	Labour	Ollie Williamson	1,070	38.1	+7.3
	Conservative	Adam Iestyn Phelps	164	5.8	-1.5
	Conservative	Allison Carnell	160	5.7	-0.8
	Liberal Democrats	Chris Dodson	86	3.1	-0.8
	Liberal Democrats	Henry David Wright	57	2.0	N/A
Turnout			2,842	40.5
	Green hold		Swing
	Green hold		Swing

The by-election in Park ward was triggered by the resignation of Green councillor Brenda McGonigle in March 2023.^[2]

Redlands

Redlands
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour Co-op	Will Cross*	1,194	46.4	+5.1
	Green	Kate Nikulina	1,034	40.2	+0.2
	Conservative	Abdoulaye Diouma Sow	193	7.5	-2.3
	Liberal Democrats	Francis David Jakeman	114	4.4	-1.8
	TUSC	Melanie Samantha Jayne Dent	36	1.4	N/A
Majority			160	6.2
Turnout			2,590	31.3
	Labour Co-op hold		Swing

Southcote

Southcote
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	John Joseph Ennis*	1,454	60.8	+6.2
	Conservative	Ben Michael Brereton Blackmore	547	22.9	-0.4
	Green	Jamie Whitham	223	9.3	-7.1
	Liberal Democrats	Riccardo Giovanni Mancuso-Marcello	136	5.7	-5.7
	TUSC	Neil Robert Adams	31	1.3	-2.1
Majority			907	37.9
Turnout			2,413	31.1
	Labour hold		Swing

Thames

Thames
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Ama Asare	997	51.5	-1.1
	Conservative	Shivraj Hawaldar	395	20.4	-3.5
	Green	Mike Harling	295	15.2	-10.8
	Liberal Democrats	Jo Ramsay	248	12.8	-2.3
Majority			602	31.1
Turnout			1,948	32.9
	Labour hold		Swing

Tilehurst

Tilehurst
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Anne Thompson*	1,158	50.9	+6.3
	Labour Co-op	Len Middleton	481	21.1	+4.9
	Conservative	Casey George Christopher Byrne	479	21.0	-4.0
	Green	Gabriel Berry-Khan	159	7.0	-3.8
Majority			677	29.8
Turnout			2,282	31.5
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Whitley

Whitley
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour Co-op	Alice Mpofu-Coles*	1,111	61.3	+5.0
	Conservative	Vani Goel	383	21.1	+0.1
	Liberal Democrats	Sarah Lucy Dobson	176	9.7	-1.5
	Green	Kathy Smith	141	7.8	-7.8
Majority			728	40.2
Turnout			1,822	23.5
	Labour Co-op hold		Swing

By-Elections

Due to the death of Norcot councillor Colette Dennis in summer 2023, a by-election was held for her seat on Reading Borough Council on the 3rd of August.^[10] The by-election was won by Labour, with the Liberal Democrats leapfrogging the Conservatives and the Greens into second place. ^[11]

Norcot By-Election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Finn McGoldrick	929	58.2	+0.2
	Liberal Democrats	Marie French	280	17.5	+11.4
	Conservative	Lizzy Sheppard	209	13.1	-4.8
	Green	Richard Peter Walkem	101	6.3	-3.6
	Independent	Alan John Gulliver	47	3.1	-0.4
	TUSC	Jen Bottom	28	1.8	-0.1
Majority			649	40.6	+0.5
Turnout			1,598	21.1	-6.5
	Labour hold		Swing

References

^ Including one vacant seat in Park ward previously held by the Greens.

^ Nóvoa, Carlos; Boyd, Alex; Ault, Richard (6 April 2023). "Interactive map shows where in Berkshire local elections are being held in 2023". GetReading. Retrieved 9 April 2023.
^ ^a ^b Aldridge, James (30 March 2023). "Reading councillors retiring ahead of local elections 2023". Reading Chronicle. Retrieved 9 April 2023.
^ "Reading election result". BBC News Online. 5 May 2023. Archived from the original on 5 May 2023. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
^ Aldridge, James (5 May 2023). "Reading Borough Council elections 2023 results in full". Reading Chronicle. Retrieved 24 May 2023.
^ "Norcot ward by-election – August 2023". Reading Borough Council. 14 August 2023. Archived from the original on 1 February 2024. Retrieved 1 February 2024.
^ "Labour win by-election in Reading's Norcot ward". Reading Today. 7 August 2023. Archived from the original on 1 February 2024. Retrieved 1 February 2024.
^ "Statement of persons nominated and notice of poll – local elections and casual vacancy 2023". Reading Borough Council. 5 April 2023. Archived from the original on 9 April 2023. Retrieved 9 April 2023.
^ "May 2023 election declaration times for councils and mayors - PA". Press Association. 3 May 2023. Archived from the original on 5 May 2023. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
^ "Local Election Results 4 May 2023". Reading Borough Council. 5 May 2023. Archived from the original on 5 May 2023. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
^ https://www.reading.gov.uk/the-council-and-democracy/elections-and-voting/norcot-ward-by-election/
^ https://rdg.today/labour-win-by-election-in-readings-norcot-ward/

[1] Including one vacant seat in Park ward previously held by the Greens.

[2] Nóvoa, Carlos; Boyd, Alex; Ault, Richard (6 April 2023). "Interactive map shows where in Berkshire local elections are being held in 2023". GetReading. Retrieved 9 April 2023.

[McGonigle-3] Aldridge, James (30 March 2023). "Reading councillors retiring ahead of local elections 2023". Reading Chronicle. Retrieved 9 April 2023.

[4] "Reading election result". BBC News Online. 5 May 2023. Archived from the original on 5 May 2023. Retrieved 5 May 2023.

[5] Aldridge, James (5 May 2023). "Reading Borough Council elections 2023 results in full". Reading Chronicle. Retrieved 24 May 2023.

[6] "Norcot ward by-election – August 2023". Reading Borough Council. 14 August 2023. Archived from the original on 1 February 2024. Retrieved 1 February 2024.

[7] "Labour win by-election in Reading's Norcot ward". Reading Today. 7 August 2023. Archived from the original on 1 February 2024. Retrieved 1 February 2024.

[8] "Statement of persons nominated and notice of poll – local elections and casual vacancy 2023". Reading Borough Council. 5 April 2023. Archived from the original on 9 April 2023. Retrieved 9 April 2023.

[9] "May 2023 election declaration times for councils and mayors - PA". Press Association. 3 May 2023. Archived from the original on 5 May 2023. Retrieved 5 May 2023.

[10] "Local Election Results 4 May 2023". Reading Borough Council. 5 May 2023. Archived from the original on 5 May 2023. Retrieved 5 May 2023.

[11] ttps://www.reading.gov.uk/the-council-and-democracy/elections-and-voting/norcot-ward-by-election/

[12] ttps://rdg.today/labour-win-by-election-in-readings-norcot-ward/

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Council elections in Berkshire
Bracknell Forest Borough Council	1973 1976 1979 1983 1987 1991 1995 1997 2000 2003 2007 2011 2015 2019 2023
Reading Borough Council	1973 1976 1979 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 1997 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015 2016 2018 2019 2021 2022 2023
Slough Borough Council	1973 1976 1979 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 1997 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015 2016 2018 2019 2021 2022 2023
West Berkshire Council	1973 1976 1979 1983 1987 1991 1995 1997 2000 2003 2007 2011 2015 2019 2023
Windsor and Maidenhead Borough Council	1973 1976 1979 1983 1987 1991 1995 1997 2000 2003 2007 2011 2015 2019 2023
Wokingham Borough Council	1973 1976 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 1997 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015 2016 2018 2019 2021 2022 2023
Berkshire County Council	1889 1892 1895 1898 1901 1904 1907 1910 1913 1919 1922 1925 1928 1931 1934 1937 1946 1949 1952 1955 1958 1961 1964 1967 1970 1973 1977 1981 1985 1989 1993 Abolished
See also: Wards Boundary changes