| Election Name: | 2023 Babergh District Council election |
| Country: | Suffolk |
| Type: | parliamentary |
| Previous Election: | 2019 Babergh District Council election |
| Previous Year: | 2019 |
| Next Election: | 2027 Babergh District Council election |
| Next Year: | 2027 |
| Seats For Election: | All 32 seats to Babergh District Council |
| Majority Seats: | 17 |
| Leader1: | Leigh Jamieson |
| Party1: | Green Party of England and Wales |
| Last Election1: | 4 seats, 23.3% |
| Seats Before1: | 4 |
| Seats1: | 10 |
| Seat Change1: | 6 |
| Popular Vote1: | 11,116 |
| Percentage1: | 31.1% |
| Swing1: | 7.8% |
| Party2: | Independent politician |
| Last Election2: | 8 seats, 19.5% |
| Seats Before2: | 14 |
| Seats2: | 9 |
| Seat Change2: | 1 |
| Popular Vote2: | 5,671 |
| Percentage2: | 15.9% |
| Swing2: | 3.6% |
| Leader3: | Simon Barrett |
| Party3: | Conservative Party (UK) |
| Last Election3: | 15 seats, 34.8% |
| Seats Before3: | 10 |
| Seats3: | 7 |
| Seat Change3: | 8 |
| Popular Vote3: | 8,610 |
| Percentage3: | 24.1% |
| Swing3: | 10.7% |
| Leader4: | Sue Carpendale |
| Party4: | Liberal Democrats (UK) |
| Last Election4: | 3 seats, 10.3% |
| Seats Before4: | 3 |
| Seats4: | 5 |
| Seat Change4: | 2 |
| Popular Vote4: | 5,645 |
| Percentage4: | 15.8% |
| Swing4: | 5.5% |
| Party5: | Labour Party (UK) |
| Last Election5: | 2 seats, 9.6% |
| Seats Before5: | 1 |
| Seats5: | 1 |
| Seat Change5: | 1 |
| Popular Vote5: | 4,680 |
| Percentage5: | 13.1% |
| Swing5: | 3.5% |
| Map Size: | 400px |
| Leader | |
| Posttitle: | Leader after election |
| Before Election: | John Ward Independent |
| Before Party: | No overall control |
| After Election: | David Busby Liberal Democrat |
| After Party: | No overall control |
The 2023 Babergh District Council election was held on 4 May 2023 to elect members of Babergh District Council in Suffolk, England.[1] This was on the same day as other local elections.
Prior to the election the council was under no overall control, being run by a coalition of independents, Greens, Liberal Democrats and Labour, led by independent councillor John Ward who had been initially appointed as a Conservative before leaving the party in 2022.[2] [3]
All parties, excluding the Conservatives, stood increased numbers of candidates since the 2019 election. The number of Labour and Liberal Democrat candidates doubled and the Green Party stood a full-slate for the first time at a Babergh District Council election. In contrast to the other parties, the number of Conservative candidates substantially declined, with several former councillors opting to stand as Independents.
The council remained under no overall control, with the Greens emerging as the largest party.[4] Conservative group leader Simon Barrett lost his seat.[5] Conversely, Deputy Council Leader and Independent Group Leader Clive Arthey was heavily defeated in Lavenham, which the Conservatives targeted hard, thus culminating in their only gain of the election.
A coalition of the Greens, independents and Liberal Democrats formed after the election with an agreement that leadership would rotate between the groups across the four years to the next election, with Liberal Democrat councillor David Busby being leader for the first year, Green councillor Deborah Saw leading for the second and fourth years and independent councillor John Ward leading for the third year.[6] [7]
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The Statement of Persons Nominated, which details the candidates standing in each ward, was released by Babergh District Council following the close of nominations on 5 April 2023.[8] The results for each ward were as follows, with an asterisk (*) indicating an incumbent councillor standing for re-election.[5] [9] [10]