Elections took place on Thursday 7 May 2026 for 15 of the 42 seats on Cambridge City Council.
One councillor was elected in each of the 14 wards, with an additional councillor being elected in Trumpington following a resignation.
The remaining 27 councillors – two in each ward but only one in Trumpington – were not affected by the elections and remain in post.
The votes were counted on Friday 8 May.
There are 42 seats on Cambridge City Council. 15 of these were contested at this election. To gain a majority on the city council, a party needs to win 22 seats.
We took part in the national flexible-voting pilot for these elections. Read more about the early voting trial.
Results
Following these elections, there is no political party in overall control of Cambridge City Council. Councillors are now discussing a way forward for the governance of the council, ahead of the Annual Council Meeting on 21 May, when the Council will confirm the composition of a number of key positions to ensure that decisions of the Council can be made.
| Party | Unaffected seats | Seats won so far (of 15) | Running total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | 13 | 4 | 17 |
| Liberal Democrat | 7 | 4 | 11 |
| Green | 5 | 7 | 12 |
| Conservative | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Your Party | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Independent | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Reform | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Communist | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ward | Winning party | Time announced |
|---|---|---|
| Abbey | Green | 1.51pm |
| Arbury | Green | 3.02pm |
| Castle | Green | 3.04pm |
| Cherry Hinton | Labour | 2.30pm |
| Coleridge | Green | 2.31pm |
| East Chesterton | Labour | 2.33pm |
| King’s Hedges | Labour | 1.53pm |
| Market | Liberal Democrat | 1.55pm |
| Newnham | Green | 2.35pm |
| Petersfield | Green | 2.37pm |
| Queen Edith’s | Liberal Democrat | 3.05pm |
| Romsey | Green | 3.07pm |
| Trumpington (1) | Liberal Democrat | 3.21pm |
| Trumpington (2) | Liberal Democrat | 3.21pm |
| West Chesterton | Labour | 2.39pm |
Official notices
- Declaration of result of poll [PDF, 0.3MB]
- Notice of poll [PDF, 0.3MB]
- Statement of persons nominated [PDF, 0.2MB]
- Notice of Election Agents [PDF, 0.2MB]
- Notice of vacancy: Trumpington ward [PDF, 0.2MB]
- Notice of election [PDF, 0.1MB]
Important dates and deadlines
- Postal vote packs will be issued on Friday 17 April for existing postal voters and new postal vote applications received by 1 April
- Register to vote by 11.59pm on Monday 20 April
- Apply for a postal vote or postal proxy vote by 5pm on Tuesday 21 April
- Make changes to an existing postal vote or proxy vote by 5pm on Tuesday 21 April
- Postal vote packs will be issued on Friday 24 April for applications received between 2 April and the deadline on 21 April
- Apply for a proxy vote by 5pm on Tuesday 28 April
- Apply for a Voter Authority Certificate (free voter ID) by 5pm on Tuesday 28 April
- Voting hubs will be open from 9am to 6pm on Thursday 30 April to Saturday 2 May as part of this year’s early voting trial
- Polling day will be on Thursday 7 May – polling stations will be open from 7am to 10pm
- The results of the elections will be announced throughout the afternoon on Friday 8 May
