Elections 2023: ‘We’ve done well, but not well enough’, says Lib Dem group leader in East Cambridgeshire

The Liberal Democrat group leader on East Cambridgeshire District Council, Cllr Lorna Dupre, said that the election count had been "nail-bitingly close".

But despite the party making gains, winning all the seats in Ely's wards, she acknowledged: "We've done well, but not well enough”.

The Liberal Democrats gained four seats to win 13, but it was not enough to take control of the council as the Conservatives took 15 seats. No Independents, Greens or Labour councillors were elected. The result meant the parties have the same number of seats as they did after the 2019 election.

In spite of the national picture, which showed many Conservative-controlled councils falling into Lib Dem and Labour hands, it means East Cambridgeshire remains Conservative-led.

Cllr Dupre said: “It came down to a handful of votes in one or two seats and was nail-bitingly close.”

But she welcomed wins in key areas of the district.

“We have consolidated our position by taking all the seats in Ely and taken a seat in Stretham so that's really good news for us and we are now in a strong position to be challenging the Conservative majority on the council. They have a majority of just two seats, which they will have to defend on every vote and they will have to turn up to every vote," she told the Cambridge Independent at the vote in Soham.

And she added that these gains did reflect a broader national trend, saying: “Nationally, it fits in with the picture of Liberal Democrat advances across the country, gaining councillors, gaining councils and this is part of that picture. It is closer than it was four years ago. It is so within reach.

“It represents that real anger with the government and we have seen a lot of that during the campaign. People are very angry about the sleaze, the scandals, the sewage in our rivers, the delays to ambulances, the difficulties getting GP appointments, the crumbling hospitals and the DIY dentistry. All of those things point to a country that the government is allowing to fall apart.”

Commenting on gaining all the seats in the Ely wards, Cllr Dupre said: “I think Ely is becoming a much liberal-minded city. It’s really good to have a strong team of councillors, familiar faces and new councillors as well working together in the best interests of Ely and its residents and I think that’s going to be really exciting.”

You can see our interview with Conservative council leader Cllr Anna Bailey here, read our live blog to see how it all unfolded, and see the full ward-by-ward breakdown of results here.

Meanwhile, Cambridge City Council remains in Labour hands. You can see the results here.