| Election Name: | 2021 Cambridgeshire County Council election |
| Country: | Cambridgeshire |
| Type: | parliamentary |
| Party Colour: | yes |
| Turnout: | 39.1% (2.9%[1]) |
| Previous Election: | 2017 Cambridgeshire County Council election |
| Previous Year: | 2017 |
| Next Election: | 2025 Cambridgeshire County Council election |
| Next Year: | 2025 |
| Seats For Election: | All 61 seats to Cambridgeshire County Council |
| Election Date: | 6 May 2021 |
| Majority Seats: | 31 |
| Image1: | Con |
| Leader1: | Steve Count |
| Party1: | Conservative Party (UK) |
| Leader Since1: | 25 April 2014 |
| Leaders Seat1: | March North & Waldersey |
| Last Election1: | 36 seats, 40.4% |
| Seats Before1: | 34 |
| Seats1: | 28 |
| Seat Change1: | 8 |
| Popular Vote1: | 75,023 |
| Percentage1: | 39.5% |
| Swing1: | 0.9% |
| Leader2: | Lucy Nethsingha |
| Party2: | Liberal Democrats (UK) |
| Leader Since2: | May 2015 |
| Leaders Seat2: | Newnham |
| Last Election2: | 15 seats, 29.9% |
| Seats Before2: | 16 |
| Seats2: | 20 |
| Seat Change2: | 5 |
| Popular Vote2: | 53,340 |
| Percentage2: | 28.1% |
| Swing2: | 1.8% |
| Image3: | Lab |
| Leader3: | Elisa Meschini |
| Party3: | Labour Party (UK) |
| Leader Since3: | December 2019 |
| Leaders Seat3: | King's Hedges |
| Last Election3: | 7 seats, 18.0% |
| Seats Before3: | 6 |
| Seats3: | 9 |
| Seat Change3: | 2 |
| Popular Vote3: | 36,437 |
| Percentage3: | 19.2% |
| Swing3: | 1.2% |
| Party4: | Independent (politician) |
| Last Election4: | 1 seats, 2.7% |
| Seats Before4: | 2 |
| Seats4: | 2 |
| Seat Change4: | 1 |
| Popular Vote4: | 5,150 |
| Percentage4: | 2.7% |
| Swing4: | 0.1% |
| Party5: | St Neots Independents |
| Colour5: | 6EFFC5 |
| Last Election5: | 2 seats, 1.8% |
| Seats Before5: | 2 |
| Seats5: | 2 |
| Popular Vote5: | 2,283 |
| Percentage5: | 1.2% |
| Swing5: | 0.6% |
| Party6: | Green Party of England and Wales |
| Last Election6: | 0 seats, 3.7% |
| Seats Before6: | 0 |
| Seats6: | 0 |
| Popular Vote6: | 17,445 |
| Percentage6: | 9.3% |
| Swing6: | 5.5% |
| Map Size: | 250px |
| Map2 Image: | 2021 Cambridgeshire County Council diagram.svg |
| Map2 Caption: | Council composition after the election |
| Council control | |
| Posttitle: | Council control after election |
| Before Election: | Conservative |
| After Election: | No Overall Control |
The 2021 Cambridgeshire County Council election took place on 6 May 2021 as part of the 2021 local elections in the United Kingdom.[2] All 61 councillors were elected from 59 electoral divisions, which returned either one or two county councillors each by first-past-the-post voting for a four-year term of office. The election was held alongside a full election for Cambridge City Council, the Cambridgeshire Police and Crime Commissioner, Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough and one-third of Peterborough City Council.[3] [4] [5]
| Party | Seats | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 36 | |||
| 15 | |||
| 7 | |||
| St Neots Independents | 2 | ||
| 1 | |||
| Total | 61 | ||
| Party | Seats | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 34 | |||
| 16 | |||
| 6 | |||
| St Neots Independents | 2 | ||
| 2 | |||
| Vacant (Conservative)[6] | 1 | ||
| Total | 61 | ||
In between the 2017 election and the 2021 election, the following council seats changed hands:
| Division | Date | Previous Party | New Party | Cause | Resulting Council Composition | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Con | LDem | Lab | STI | Ind | ||||||
| Trumpington | May 2018[8] | Sitting councillor loses Whip. | 36 | 14 | 7 | 2 | 2 | |||
| Trumpington | 2 May 2019[9] | Independent incumbent resigned. Liberal Democrats won by-election. | 36 | 15 | 7 | 2 | 1 | |||
| Duxford | 27 February 2020[10] | Conservative incumbent resigned. Liberal Democrats won by-election. | 35 | 16 | 7 | 2 | 1 | |||
| Cherry Hinton | 7 December 2020[11] | Councillor quit party to sit as an independent member. | 35 | 16 | 6 | 2 | 2 | |||
| Sawston and Shelford | 26 February 2021[12] | Sitting councillor resigned.[13] | 34 | 16 | 6 | 2 | 2 | |||
The Hickford Inquiry (that had come to be known in the press as 'Farmgate') into the tenancy of a county council owned farm by sitting Conservative councillor Roger Hickford and the delay in releasing the report was widely discussed in social media and covered in the local press election campaign coverage. Allegations of bullying and insider trading were made against the Conservative deputy-leader.[14] Following the suspension of another Conservative councillor Simon King by his local party, over expenses submitted to Fenland District Council and the prime minister's flat refurbishment, there was a risk of allegations of sleaze dominating the campaign.[15] Both the seats in his Sawston & Shelford ward were lost to the Liberal Democrats in the election, largely contributing to the Conservatives' loss of control of the council.[16]
| Party | Councillors | Votes | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Of total | Net | Of total | Net | ||||||||
| Conservative Party | 28 | -8 | data-sort-value="" | 77,068 | 39.0% | -1.6% | |||||
| Liberal Democrats | 20 | +5 | data-sort-value="" | 56,465 | 28.6% | -1.2% | |||||
| Labour Party | 9 | +2 | data-sort-value="" | 37,783 | 19.1% | +0.8% | |||||
| Green | 0 | 0 | data-sort-value="" | 18,572 | 9.4% | +5.6% | |||||
| Independents | 2 | +1 | data-sort-value="" | 5,150 | 2.6% | +0.3% | |||||
| St. Neots Independents | 2 | 0 | data-sort-value="" | 2,283 | 1.2% | -0.6% | |||||
| UK Independence Party | 0 | 0 | data-sort-value="" | 343 | 0.2% | -3.5% | |||||
| Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition | 0 | 0 | data-sort-value="" | 55 | 0.0% | - | |||||
| Workers Party of Britain | 0 | 0 | data-sort-value="" | 48 | 0.0% | - | |||||
In the local government elections the Conservatives had a net gain of 13 councils in England, Cambridgeshire, however was of the few Conservative held councils that was lost.[17] Only the Labour Party and the Conservative Party contested all 69 seats on the council. The Liberal Democrats stood 61 candidates, not standing in three divisions in Fenland and five divisions in Huntingdon District. The Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition stood two candidates in the Godmanchester & Huntingdon South and the Huntingdon North & Hartford divisions. The four UK Independence Party candidates failed to win any seats. The Conservatives lost their overall majority despite winning all 9 Fenland District seats, and the low turnout in the north of the county, Wisbech West not even reaching 25%.[18]
On 7 May Conservative county councillor Josh Schumann told the Cambridge Independent: "It is an indication we are going to have to work with others to ensure that the council delivers a lot of what it has done over the last four years."[19] A week later the BBC reported that the leaders of the Liberal Democrats, Labour and Independent groups had signed an agreement for control of the council.[20]
Steve Count (March North & Waldersey) was reelected leader of the Conservative Group with Joshua Schumann (Burwell) as the deputy leader, Lucy Nethsingha (Newnham) was reelected leader of the Liberal Democrat Group with Lorna Dupré (Sutton) as the deputy, and Elisa Meschini (King's Hedges) was reelected leader of the Labour Group with Richard Howitt (Petersfield) becoming deputy leader.[21]
Lucy Nethsingha, the leader of the Liberal Democrat group, was duly elected leader of the council and formed a coalition administration, with Labour leader Elisa Meschini as her deputy leader.[22]
All electoral divisions elected one councillor unless stated otherwise.
(* denotes sitting councillor)
District summary
Labour proved the dominant force in Cambridge, gaining seats in Chesterton and Market divisions from the Liberal Democrats, as well regaining the Cherry Hinton seat previously held by a former Labour member, who did not stand for re-election.
| Party | Seats | +/− | Votes | % | +/− | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | 2 | 16,325 | 41.9 | +4.8 | ||
| 3 | 2 | 10,705 | 27.5 | −9.7 | ||
| 0 | 6,418 | 16.5 | +8.3 | |||
| 0 | 5,501 | 14.1 | −0.7 | |||
| 0 | 27 | 0.1 | −0.6 | |||
Division results
District summary
The Liberal Democrats gained both Ely seats from the Conservatives, and held on to their Sutton seat. Elsewhere, East Cambs remained blue.
| Party | Seats | +/− | Votes | % | +/− | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 2 | 10,480 | 44.2 | −10.0 | ||
| 3 | 2 | 8,113 | 34.2 | +3.4 | ||
| 0 | 3,614 | 15.2 | +2.6 | |||
| 0 | 1,514 | 6.4 | +4.0 | |||
Division results
District summary
It was a clean sweep for the Conservative Party in Fenland. Despite some very low turnouts and swings against some candidates, they held every seat. Among those returning was Conservative group leader Steve Count.
| Party | Seats | +/− | Votes | % | +/− | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | 17,030 | 63.0 | +8.3 | |||
| 0 | 4,411 | 16.3 | +2.7 | |||
| 0 | 2,077 | 7.7 | +1.2 | |||
| 0 | 1,946 | 7.3 | -2.2 | |||
| 0 | 1,299 | 4.8 | +1.8 | |||
| 0 | 97 | 0.4 | −11.8 | |||
| 0 | 48 | 0.2 | +0.2 | |||
Division results
District summary
The Conservative Party gained a couple of seats in Huntingdonshire from the Liberal Democrats, strengthening their hold on the area, losing by just 11 votes in St Neots East and Gransden to Stephen Ferguson (Independent).
| Party | Seats | +/− | Votes | % | +/− | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 | 1 | 23,249 | 49.8 | +1.0 | ||
| 2 | 1 | 2,888 | 6.2 | +2.9 | ||
| 2 | 2,283 | 4.9 | −2.4 | |||
| 1 | 2 | 7,711 | 16.5 | −4.8 | ||
| 0 | 7,566 | 16.2 | +3.9 | |||
| 0 | 2,762 | 5.9 | +5.9 | |||
| 0 | 219 | 0.5 | −6.5 | |||
| 0 | 55 | 0.1 | +0.1 | |||
Division results
District summary
The Liberal Democrats in South Cambridgeshire, gained seats from Conservatives in five divisions. The closest battle was in Hardwick, where Michael Atkins (Lib Dems) beat Lina Nieto (Con) by just five votes.
| Party | Seats | +/− | Votes | % | +/− | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 | 7 | 27,990 | 45.7 | +5.7 | ||
| 2 | 7 | 20,808 | 34.0 | −6.2 | ||
| 0 | 6,442 | 10.5 | +6.6 | |||
| 0 | 5,867 | 9.6 | −4.3 | |||
| 0 | 185 | 0.3 | −1.1 | |||
Division results
One of the two Sawston & Shelford seats was vacant as Roger Hickford had resigned, the other incumbent did not stand for re-election.