Banbury local election 2026: Lib Dems remain the biggest party on the council

The Liberal Democrats remain the biggest party within the council with 20 councillors.

They gained four seats in total in this election, three seats from the Conservative party and one from an independent.

Reform UK gained six seats, including Banbury Cross and Neithrop, Banbury Ruscote, Banbury Hardwick, Banbury Calthorpe and Easington Ward, and two in Bicester West.

The Conservatives lost four seats and Labour lost two seats.

The overall political makeup of the council is now:

• Liberal Democrats – 20
• Conservative - 8
• Labour 8
• Reform UK - 6
• Green - 4
• Independent - 2

Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group and leader of Cherwell District Council, Cllr David Hingley, said: “We are obviously very pleased with the results today because we have increased the number of councillors we have on Cherwell District Council, meaning we will continue to be the largest party on the council.

“We are still not in a situation to have a majority, but we are the largest party, so we will be looking forward to hopefully continuing to run the council as we have done for the past few years.

“We will take a day off tomorrow and then meet up to work out what we will do going forward. If we continue to run the council, we will do so as we have for the last couple of years, with the interest of the district and our residents foremost in mind.”

The results for this year’s Cherwell District Council elections are as follows:

Banbury Cross and Neithrop

Reform gained this seat from the Conservatives.

Yvonne Greene – Reform elected with 713 votes

Jose Omombo Omekandji – Labour 644 votes

Jake Howard – Green 510 votes

Chuk Okeke – Conservative 479 votes

Rebecca Louise Marie Bell – Liberal Democrats 197 votes

Simon Garrett – Independent 133 votes

Turnout 35.37%

Banbury Grimsbury and Hightown Ward

The Labour party held this seat.

Rebecca Biegel – Labour elected with 685 votes

Chris Wiseman – Reform 596 votes

Koppany Nagy – Conservative 456 votes

Jack Vere – Green 425 votes

Sean Murray – Liberal Democrats 176 votes

Cassi Bellingham – Independent 146 votes

Turnout 34.63%

Banbury Ruscote

Reform gained this seat from the Labour Party.

Mark Gorman – Reform elected with 750 votes

Chloe Dawn Smith – Labour 540 votes

Karl Kwiatkowski – Green 313 votes

Nikki Payne – Conservative 300 votes

Julie Battison – Independent 119 votes

Kai Benjamin Smith – Liberal Democrats 96 votes

Turnout 28.53%

Adderbury, Bloxham and Bodicote

The Liberal Democrats party held this seat.

David Richard Hingley – Liberal Democrats elected with 1275 votes

James Edsberg – Conservative 1071 votes

David Andrew Collingwood-Turner – Reform 966 votes

Linda Newbery – Green 333 votes

Helen Margaret Oldfield – Labour 253 votes

Turnout 47.99%

Banbury Hardwick

Reform gained this seat from the Labour Party.

Paul Jeffreys – Reform elected with 950 votes

Andrew Crichton – Labour 701 votes

Simi Cumberbatch – Green 453 votes

Taraji Ogunnubi – Conservative 371 votes

Michael Offei – Liberal Democrats 257 votes

Turnout 35.03%

Bicester East

The Liberal Democrats party gained this seat from an independent.

Bryonie Wells – Liberal Democrats elected with 919 votes

Andrew O`Gorman – Reform 719 votes

Alex Thrupp – Conservative 361 votes

Donna Ford – Independent 348 votes

Amanda Jane Maguire – Green 263 votes

Turnout 40.92%

Bicester North and Caversfield Ward

The Liberal Democrats gained this seat from the Conservative party.

Julius Parker – Liberal Democrats elected with 1006 votes

Nicholas Edward Mawer – Conservative 701 votes

Alan Thomas – Reform 686 votes

Robin Kenneth Winslow Morris – Green 310 votes

Babatunde Aribisala – Labour 92

Turnout 41.29%

Bicester South and Ambrosden

The Liberal Democrats party held this seat.

Chris Pruden – Liberal Democrats elected with 1680 votes

Tom Burgess – Reform 882 votes

Shams Ud-din – Conservative 670 votes

Damien Maguire – Green 641 votes

Sarah Farrow – Labour 203 votes

Turnout 36.83%

Banbury Calthorpe and Easington Ward

The Conservative Party held this seat.

Ian Harwood – Conservative elected with 1294 votes

John Jefferson Brown – Reform elected for one year with 1232 votes

Mark Naden – Reform 1105 votes

Luke Whitehouse – Conservative 1042 votes

Sam Burnett – Green 802 votes

Alex Leonova – Green 760 votes

Andrew Edwin Eaton – Labour 600 votes

Helen Mears – Labour 546 votes

David Christopher Pallot – Liberal Democrats 243 votes

Jacqui Smith – Liberal Democrats 241 votes

Phil Richards – Independent 108 votes

Turnout 45.13%

Deddington

The Conservative party held this seat.

Eddie Reeves – Conservative elected with 1294 votes

James Henry Dean Hartley – Liberal Democrats 1173 votes

Gail Ann Collingwood-Turner – Reform 885 votes

Aaron Bliss – Green 333 votes

Annette Murphy – Labour 300 votes

Turnout 52.22%

Fringford and Heyfords

The Liberal Democrats gained this seat from the Conservative party.

Jean Margaret Conway – Liberal Democrats elected with 1372 votes

John Honey – Reform 876 votes

Sandy Lewis Dallimore – Conservative 868 votes

Chris Nelson – Green 360 votes

Turnout 44.74%

Bicester West

Reform gained this seat from an independent.

Michael Wilson – Reform elected with 753 votes

George Popescu – Reform elected for one year with 741 votes

Dan Hallett – Independent 625 votes

Claire Brenner – Green 600 votes

Jasmine Webb-Majnlund 590 votes

Naomi Rose Crookston – Liberal Democrats 583 votes

Matt Webb – Liberal Democrats 535

Tim Lobanov – Green 328 votes

Marco Caso – Conservative 275 votes

Andrew McHugh – Conservative 258

Paul Graham – Animal Welfare Party 89 votes

Turnout 41.63%

Cropredy, Sibfords and Wroxton Ward

The Liberal Democrat party gained this seat from the Conservatives.

Nicola Rose Borkmann – Liberal Democrats elected with 1151 votes

Mitch Lee – Conservative 1122 votes

Matthew Arthur Taylor – Reform 948 votes

Rachel Payne – Green 258 votes

Anne Cullen – Labour 221

Michael William Patrick Clyne – Social Democratic Party 35 votes

Turnout 52.55%

Kidlington West

The Liberal Democrats held this seat.

Lisa Smith – Liberal Democrats elected with 1427 vote

Dave Paintin – Reform 734 votes

Martin Frederick Bach Phillips – Conservative 548 votes

Amanda Jane Carpenter – Green 457 votes

Turnout 44.73%

Launton and Otmoor

The Liberal Democrats held this seat.

Timothy Simon Faltermeyer – Liberal Democrats elected with 1244 votes

Ian Richard Hodgson – Reform 874 votes

Andrew Payne – Conservative 692 votes

John Robert O`Regan – Green 279 votes

Naomi Celia Karslake – Labour 136 votes

Turnout 48.75%

Kidlington East

The Green Party held this seat.

Fiona Valerie Mawson – Green elected with 1053 votes

Adie Spittle – Reform 745 votes

Gabriel William Jonathan Schenk – Liberal Democrats 495 votes

John Colegrave – Conservative 476 votes

Gregory Michael Fish – Labour 167 votes

Julian Martin Tytherleigh – Independent 56

Turnout 42.20%