Local elections 2023: Labour holds Ipswich council while increasing its majority

Labour has held control of Ipswich Borough Council, taking one seat from the Conservatives.

Conservative Liz Harsant lost the seat she had held in the Holywells ward for 22 years to Labour's Cathy Frost.

She said she "had it in the back of her mind" she would lose the seat.

Ms Frost said it was "quite humbling" to have won the seat and she was "taking over from a very hardworking councillor, so I will carry on with that good work".

Residents also voted in Babergh, East Suffolk and West Suffolk, but much attention was focused on Mid Suffolk where the Greens have won an outright majority on a council in England for the first time.

Cathy Frost wins the Holywells seat for Labour in Ipswich

The turnout in Ipswich was 35.1%.

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David Ellesmere, the Labour leader at Ipswich, said he believed the results strengthened the party's chances of winning the Ipswich parliamentary constituency at the next general election.

He said: "I have never heard so many people say, 'I used to vote Conservative and I'm never going to do so again'.

"I think the Conservatives have lost a lot of support."

The Conservatives said it had been "a good evening" compared with national polls

Ian Fisher, leader of the Conservative group, said: "I think it's been a good evening for us when set against the national polls. On the doorstep we got quite a good reaction."

While campaigning he said there had been "a lot of apathy" when talking to people on the doorstep.

"That may be to do with the cost of living crisis, but getting people to get out to vote was difficult," he added.

Conservatives Colin Noble, pictured, and Stephen Frost lost their seats in Lakenheath to independents Gerald Kelly and Tracy Whitehand

Elsewhere, the Conservatives have lost their majority on West Suffolk Council.

With all 64 seats up for election on Thursday, the Conservatives have seen their number of councillors dip from 39 to 26.

Labour has gained 12 and now has 17; there are 10 independents; nine West Suffolk Independents; one Green Party candidate and one Liberal Democrat.

Colin Noble, who was once leader of Suffolk County Council, has lost his Lakenheath seat as two independents were elected there.

Mr Noble said people were "registering their vote with what's happening in the country".

Analysis:

Ben Parker, BBC Radio Suffolk politics correspondent

The overnight count in Ipswich was the start of a downward trend for the Conservatives, but some senior Tories suggested only losing the one seat was as good as they had hoped for.

It did mean Labour strengthened their control on Ipswich Borough Council.

At East Suffolk Council, the Conservatives lost their majority, with the Green Party having a strong showing. It means the district council, which held its second ever election since the merger of Suffolk Coastal and Waveney district councils, is in no overall control.

It was a similar story in West Suffolk, which was formed by a merger of St Edmundsbury and Forest Heath district councils, but this time it was Labour that made considerable gains on the Conservatives.

The Tories lost 12 seats with Labour winning most of those, it's yet to be seen who will run West Suffolk, as no single party is in overall control, although the Tories have 26 of the 64 seats.

The votes are still being counted at Babergh District Council, where most of its services are shared with Mid Suffolk District Council.

Ipswich Borough Council is still run by Labour, which slightly increased its majority

The district and borough councils run many of the public services we rely on, such as bin collections, housing and planning, as well as leisure centres.

No elections were being held for county council seats this time around.

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