Exeter election results in full – Labour has lost control of the city after 14 years in power, and while retains the largest number of seats, it no longer holds the overall majority. Read all the news from the overnight vote count.
Labour has lost overall control of Exeter City Council, although it remains the largest party, writes local democracy reporter Guy Henderson.
It lost four of the eight seats it was defending at the elections, three of them to the Greens and one to Reform UK. The Liberal Democrats gained one seat from the Conservatives, which meant the Tories lost the only seat they were defending.
Reform held one seat as well as gaining Priory from Labour.
A total of 14 of the council’s 39 seats were up for grabs in yesterday’s contest. The make-up of Exeter City Council is now: Labour 18, Green 10, Lib Dem 5, Reform UK 3, Independent 2, Conservative 1
Labour has 18 and, in theory, the combined opposition parties have 21 seats, but the ‘Progressive’ group which saw Green and Lib Dems working together has been dissolved over major policy differences at a national level. It is also uncertain what alliances the three Reform UK councillors would make.
Full results and turnout:
Exeter City Council’s chief executive Bindu Arjoon is pictured here announcing the results. Photo: Guy Henderson.
Alphington – LABOUR HOLD – FINDLAY Lucy Jane, Labour and Co-operative Party 976; LUSCOMBE Kayleigh Michelle Suzanne, The Conservative Party Candidate 442; PALMER Jayden Simon, Reform UK 856; PICKIN JJ, Liberal Democrat 185; WOTTON Greg, Green Party Candidate 623. Turnout 47.52 per cent
Duryard and St. James – LIB DEM HOLD – HAWKE Jonathan Michael, Labour Party 261; HODGE David John,Reform UK 327; ISHAKOGLU Mithat, Green Party Candidate 751; MITCHELL Kevin John, Liberal Democrat 983; STANWELL-WISE Sebastian, The Conservative Party Candidate 117. Turnout 39.02 per cent
Exwick – LABOUR HOLD – GILLETT Lee Matthew, Reform UK 931; HORNER Jamie Liam, Liberal Democrat 149; KNOTT Paul Graeme, Labour and Co-operative Party 1054; LEGESSE Kalkidan, Green Party Candidate 709; LUSCOMBE David, The Conservative Party Candidate 205. Turnout 41.76 per cent
Heavitree – GREEN HOLD BOTH SEATS – BEER Tina Rose, Reform UK 697; BROCK Philip John, Liberal Democrat 243; MUTTON Dave, Labour Party 499; NEW Katherine Helen Judy, The Conservative Party Candidate 273; NEWBERY Jordan, Independent 94; NORRIS Lisa Jane, Reform UK 657; SMITH Stella, Green Party Candidate 1889; SUTTON Rachel Helen, Labour Party 523; TERRY Helen, Green Party Candidate 1868; TRUDGEON Colin John, The Conservative Party Candidate 173; WILLIAMS Nigel David, Liberal Democrat 201. Turnout 53.72 per cent.
Mincinglake and Whipton – REFORM UK HOLD – AYRES Martin, Green Party Candidate 812; CASEMORE Steve, Labour and Co-operative Party 658; PAYNE Anthony John, Reform UK 952; PAYNE Michael Geoffrey, Liberal Democrat 178; THOMPSON David John, The Conservative Party Candidate 190. Turnout 43.48 per cent..
Newtown and St. Leonard`s – GREEN GAIN FROM LAB – CHELVANAYAGAM Bernadette, Green Party Candidate 1430; PYE Jonny, Liberal Democrat 146; SMITH Ruth, The Conservative Party Candidate 220; VIZARD Matthew James, Labour Party 839; WESTLAKE Jo, Reform UK 389. Turnout 46.08 per cent
Pennsylvania – GREEN GAIN FROM LAB – ACZEL Will, Liberal Democrat 628; BAKER Gill, Green Party Candidate 1325; BATTERSHILL Michael Stephen, Reform UK 585; BLACK Paula Joan, Labour and Co-operative Party 584; HANNAFORD Rob, The Conservative Party Candidate 303; HATCHER Myles Jefferson, Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition 10. Turnout 48.41 per cent.
Pinhoe – LABOUR HOLD – ALLEN Mark, Green Party Candidate 518; BALDWIN Ian Anthony, The Conservative Party Candidate 538; CAMPION Christine Anne, Liberal Democrats 245; MESSER Ashton Michael, Reform UK 966; WOOD Duncan, Labour and Co-operative Party 1160. Turnout 42.34 per cent
Priory – REFORM GAIN FROM LABOUR – ASVACHIN Marina Yvette, Labour Party 815; NEWBY Rob, The Conservative Party Candidate 363; THOMAS Philip Alexander, Liberal Democrat 199; VICKERS Jack David, Green Party Candidate 660; WILLIAMS Nicholas, Reform UK 827. Turnout 43.8 per cent.
St. David`s – GREEN HOLD – AL-SAKET Yasmine, The Conservative Party Candidate 168; CLOW Susan, Reform UK 444; CURNOCK Charles Anthony, Liberal Democrat 159; LELLIOTT Rose Alexandra, Labour and Co-operative Party 446; RAPPERT Brian, Green Party Candidate 1618. Turnout 30.94 per cent
St. Loyes – LIB DEM GAIN FROM CON – COLLACOTT Joan Marilyn, The Conservative Party Candidate 808; JHAVERI Laila, Labour Party 342; OWEN Christopher John Lambert, Reform UK 812; RICHARDS Paul Stephen, Liberal Democrats 817; WHIPPLE Chloe, Green Party Candidate 410. Turnout 46.04 per cent
St. Thomas – GREEN GAIN FROM LAB – COCKBURN Robert-James Stuart, Reform UK 711; NEWCOMBE Vanessa, Liberal Democrat 865; REED Jack, Green Party Candidate 1354; STONE Caroline Elizabeth, The Conservative Party Candidate 154; WRIGHT Laura Charis Adelaide, Labour and Co-operative Party 571. Turnout 49.83 per cent.
Topsham – LABOUR HOLD – COOKSON James Elie, Labour Party 1189; DAVIES Sue, Reform UK 860; GAINSFORD Tim, Liberal Democrats 247; KEEN Ann Barbara, Green Party Candidate 699; THOMPSON Cynthia, The Conservative Party Candidate 956. Turnout 47.34 per cent.
Local elections: Labour big guns toppled
Photo shows counting under way at the 2026 Exeter City Council elections.
Photo: Guy Henderson.
Labour has pledged to continue providing leadership in Exeter despite losing overall control of the council last night.
The city was one of five councils across the country where Labour lost overall control.
The unpopularity on the doorstep of Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer was cited by a number of councillors as a factor in the party’s troubled night.
The Green Party made the biggest gains across Exeter as Labour lost ground, and the city council’s deputy leader Laura Wright was the highest-profile casualty of the night.
Cllr Wright, who was also the portfolio holder for corporate services and the city centre, was beaten into fourth place in the St Thomas ward, polling almost 800 votes fewer than the Green Party’s Jack Reed, who won the seat. The Liberal Democrats were second and Reform UK third in St Thomas.
Other prominent members of the party in Exeter also lost their seats. In Newtown and St Leonards the casualty was Matthew Vizard, who held the portfolio for climate change. He was runner-up, but was 600 votes behind the Green Party’s Bernadette Chelvanayagam.
Marina Asvashin, the portfolio holder for housing and homelessness prevention, was edged out in Priory by just 12 votes.
The winner there was Nicholas Williams, representing Reform UK.
The fourth Labour defeat came in Pennsylvania in a seat formerly held by Cllr Josie Parkhouse, who did not seek re-election. The seat was won by Green candidate Gill Baker.
City council leader Phil Bialyk (Lab, Exwick), who did not have to defend his seat in this round of elections, said that as the largest party, Labour would continue to provide the councillors to lead the city forward.
He said: “My group will put forward our list of the people who we want to be portfolio holders, leader and deputy leader, and that will go to council.
“I am committed to making sure that Exeter continues to be run properly going forward.”
The other ‘gain’ last night came in St Loyes, where a recount was needed to separate the three main contenders to take over the seat from retiring Conservative group leader Peter Holland.
Liberal Democrat Paul Richards just clinched the seat, polling 817 votes.
In second place, just five votes behind, was Reform UK’s Christopher Owen, with Conservative Joan Collacott just four votes further back.
Labour held Alphington, Exwick, Pinhoe and Topsham while the Greens held St Davids and took both contested seats in Heavitree.
The Liberal Democrats held Duryard and St James while Reform UK held Mincinglake and Whipton.
The make-up of Exeter City Council is now: Labour 18, Green 10, Lib Dem 5, Reform UK 3, Independent 2, Conservative 1.
Labour has 18 and, in theory, the combined opposition parties have 21 seats.
Exeter Green winner can’t wait to get started
Jack Reed, winner for the Greens, is seen here celebrating victory in the Exeter City Council elections 2026.
Photo: Guy Henderson.
It was the Greens who celebrated the loudest and the longest as the results of the 2026 Exeter City Council elections were read out.
Fourteen seats on the council were up for grabs in polls that almost didn’t take place at all.
Exeter’s Labour administration had asked the government for permission to postpone the polls, saying there was no point electing members of a ‘zombie’ council which will be wiped out soon by a nationwide shake-up of councils.
Not having elections would save time and money, it said, and the government agreed, only to change its mind under threat of a legal challenge and reinstate the polls.
Labour remained the largest party on the council but lost four seats – three of them to the Greens, who are the second-largest group on the council with 10 seats.
Among the Green winners was Jack Reed, who usurped Exeter’s deputy council leader Laura Wright – the night’s highest-profile Labour casualty.
He said he had been campaigning since December, and now couldn’t wait to get started in the council chamber.
“There’s a lot to do,” he said. “But I’ve got a lot of energy, so let’s do it!”
He pledged to bring honesty and integrity to his new role and added: “I want to make sure I bring the voices of St Thomas residents to the council. I think we’ve lost that recently.”
And, he added, beating Cllr Wright by nearly 800 votes was a wider margin than anticipated.
“We did not expect it to be that big a margin,” he added.
“Maybe 10 or 20 votes, but this was huge, with the Labour Party in fourth place.
“The people of St Thomas have spoken. They want a hard-working Green councillor, and I’m ready to do that.”
The Reform UK surge which some pundits had predicted failed to materialise in terms of Exeter council seats, although the party did poll significant numbers of votes.
In the wards it did not win, it placed second six times.
There was drama and a recount in St Loyes, where the top three candidates were covered by just nine votes. Liberal Democrat Paul Richards topped the poll with 817 votes, taking the seat previously held by retiring Conservative group leader Peter Holland. Second was Reform’s Christopher Owen on 812 and third was Conservative Joan Collacott on 808.
Turnouts were noticeably high, too, with the highest being 53.72 per cent in Heavitree.
After the results had all been called, council leader Phil Bialyk (Lab, Exwick) said: “I am so pleased that we have not been thrown to the wolves.
“We have got stable leadership here for the next two years, and we will need that as we become a unitary authority. We want to transition in a way that is best for Exeter and the 49 parishes around it.
“Exeter has got everything to look forward to.”
Exeter Greens say election results send ‘a clear message’
(Added May 8, 1.32pm)
Exeter’s jubilant Greens have hailed an ‘amazing’ night at the city council elections and thanked their legion of volunteers.
The Greens made the largest number of gains at the polls, defending three seats and gaining three to take their total tally to 10 seats on the council.
They secured more than 14,500 votes compared to less than 10,000 each for Labour and Reform, and say that means they are in a strong position for the next General Election.
Group leader Diana Moore (St Davids) said: “We went into these local elections saying we were the party that could replace Labour and stop Reform, and that’s what has happened.
“Labour has lost control of Exeter but Reform has failed to make major gains. Greens secured the most votes across the city by a wide margin which places us in a strong position to win the parliamentary seat in the next general election.”
She said voters had sent Labour a clear message, that they want the council to be run differently.
“They want an end to the managed decline of our city and want bold ideas to create a thriving city and tackle the cost of living and housing crises,” she said.
Among the new green faces on the council is Brian Rappert, who received 1,618 votes as he won his seat, another of the St Davids seats. It secured him the night’s biggest majority.
“These results are truly fantastic,” he said. “We have seen a Green surge sweep across the city. In two wards we now hold all the seats – St David’s and Newtown and St Leonards – and have made breakthroughs in Pennsylvania and St Thomas.
“In every Green seat we won, we secured a landslide.”
Bernadette Chelvanayagam, who was elected as the third Green councillor in Newtown and St Leonard’s, unseated Matt Vizard, who was Labour’s portfolio holder for climate, ecological change and communities:
She said: ““We are so grateful to the thousands of residents who spoke to us on the doorstep and then decided to vote Green. Our membership has quadrupled in Exeter over the last year, to more than 1,100 members.
“This has swelled our number of volunteers who helped deliver leaflets and knocked on thousands of doors – these amazing results would not have been possible without them.”
