← Exeter (all cycles) · 7 May 2026 cohort

Exeter 2026

Local elections held 7 May 2026.

13 ward races

14 seats

13 elected below the proportional quota

92.9% of seats below quota

How to read this page

Each race below shows the share of valid ballots the marginal elected candidate actually won, and compares it to the proportional quota: the share they'd need to clinch the seat under any proportional voting method (1 seats + 1). For a 1-seat ward the quota is 50%; for 2 seats, 33.3%; for 3 seats, 25%.

Where the actual winning share fell below the quota, we show the signed gap as points below quota (a negative number) — the editorial indictment. Above-quota results clear the bar and pass without comment. The voting method is the subject of every observation here. Named candidates appear as the public election record requires; the cause being audited is the voting method, not the individuals. See the methodology page for derivations.

If votes were counted by party

Across the 13 wards in this cycle, parties received the vote totals below. The proportional column shows what each party would have won if the 14 seats had been shared out in proportion to votes received (how, with caveats). The Δ column is the actual seat count minus the proportional seat count — positive numbers are parties First-Past-the-Post over-represented; negative are parties it under-represented.

Party	Votes	Vote %	Seats won	% of seats	Proportional seats	Proportional %	Δ
Green Party	14,667	32.7%	6	42.9%	5	35.7%	+1
Reform UK	10,014	22.3%	2	14.3%	3	21.4%	-1
Labour Party	9,917	22.1%	4	28.6%	3	21.4%	+1
Liberal Democrats	5,245	11.7%	2	14.3%	2	14.3%	0
Conservative Party	4,910	10.9%	0	0.0%	1	7.1%	-1
Independent	94	0.2%	0	0.0%	0	0.0%	0
Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition	10	0.0%	0	0.0%	0	0.0%	0
Total	44,857	100.0%	14	100.0%	14	100.0%	0

Vote share vs seats won

The top bar is each party's share of votes cast in this council. Below, one square per seat, coloured by the party that won it — first the actual First-Past-the-Post result, then what a proportional method would have produced from the same vote totals. Divergence between the bar and the actual grid is the indictment of the method.

Vote share

Actual seats

Proportional seats

Council composition: what this election replaced

Two opencouncildata snapshots: the council immediately after the 2026 election (current) and immediately before it (2025). Only ~⅓ of seats were contested in 2026 — most of the bench is unchanged, and the cycle's effect on the overall composition is what shifts.

Current (2026)

Previous (2025)

Wards in this council

Sorted with the largest gap below the quota first. Click any ward to jump to its full result.

St Loyes · 1 seat · won at 25.6% · −24.4 pts below quota
Priory · 1 seat · won at 28.9% · −21.1 pts below quota
Topsham · 1 seat · won at 30.1% · −19.9 pts below quota
Alphington · 1 seat · won at 31.7% · −18.3 pts below quota
Pinhoe · 1 seat · won at 33.8% · −16.2 pts below quota
Mincinglake and Whipton · 1 seat · won at 34.1% · −15.9 pts below quota
Exwick · 1 seat · won at 34.6% · −15.4 pts below quota
St Thomas · 1 seat · won at 37.0% · −13.0 pts below quota
Pennsylvania · 1 seat · won at 38.6% · −11.4 pts below quota
Duryard and St James · 1 seat · won at 40.3% · −9.7 pts below quota
Heavitree · 2 seats · won at 26.2% · −7.1 pts below quota
Newtown and St Leonard's · 1 seat · won at 47.3% · −2.7 pts below quota
St David's · 1 seat · won at 57.1% · above quota

Race results

St Loyes · single-seat

Marginal winner 25.6% Proportional quota 50.0% Below quota −24.4 pts Valid ballots 3,189

Rank	Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Below quota	Elected
1	Paul Stephen Richards	Liberal Democrats	817	25.6%	−24.4 pts	Elected
2	Christopher John Lambert Owen	Reform UK	812	25.5%	—
3	Joan Marilyn Collacott	Conservative Party	808	25.3%	—
4	Chloe Whipple	Green Party	410	12.9%	—
5	Laila Jhaveri	Labour Party	342	10.7%	—

Electorate 6,933 · Ballots cast 3,193 · Invalid 4 · EC ward code local.exeter.st-loyes.2026-05-07 · Back to ward index

Priory · single-seat

Marginal winner 28.9% Proportional quota 50.0% Below quota −21.1 pts Valid ballots 2,864

Rank	Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Below quota	Elected
1	Nicholas Williams	Reform UK	827	28.9%	−21.1 pts	Elected
2	Marina Yvette Asvachin	Labour Party	815	28.5%	—
3	Jack David Vickers	Green Party	660	23.0%	—
4	Rob Newby	Conservative Party	363	12.7%	—
5	Philip Alexander Thomas	Liberal Democrats	199	6.9%	—

Electorate 6,560 · Ballots cast 2,872 · Invalid 8 · EC ward code local.exeter.priory.2026-05-07 · Back to ward index

Topsham · single-seat

Marginal winner 30.1% Proportional quota 50.0% Below quota −19.9 pts Valid ballots 3,951

Rank	Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Below quota	Elected
1	James Elie Cookson	Labour Party	1,189	30.1%	−19.9 pts	Elected
2	Cynthia Thompson	Conservative Party	956	24.2%	—
3	Sue Davies	Reform UK	860	21.8%	—
4	Ann Barbara Keen	Green Party	699	17.7%	—
5	Tim Gainsford	Liberal Democrats	247	6.3%	—

Electorate 8,372 · Ballots cast 3,960 · Invalid 9 · EC ward code local.exeter.topsham.2026-05-07 · Back to ward index

Alphington · single-seat

Marginal winner 31.7% Proportional quota 50.0% Below quota −18.3 pts Valid ballots 3,083

Rank	Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Below quota	Elected
1	Lucy Jane Findlay	Labour Party	976	31.7%	−18.3 pts	Elected
2	Jayden Simon Palmer	Reform UK	856	27.8%	—
3	Greg Wotton	Green Party	624	20.2%	—
4	Kayleigh Michelle Suzanne Luscombe	Conservative Party	442	14.3%	—
5	JJ Pickin	Liberal Democrats	185	6.0%	—

Electorate 6,527 · Ballots cast 3,095 · Invalid 12 · EC ward code local.exeter.alphington.2026-05-07 · Back to ward index

Pinhoe · single-seat

Marginal winner 33.8% Proportional quota 50.0% Below quota −16.2 pts Valid ballots 3,427

Rank	Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Below quota	Elected
1	Duncan Wood	Labour Party	1,160	33.8%	−16.2 pts	Elected
2	Ashton Michael Messer	Reform UK	966	28.2%	—
3	Ian Anthony Baldwin	Conservative Party	538	15.7%	—
4	Mark Allen	Green Party	518	15.1%	—
5	Christine Anne Campion	Liberal Democrats	245	7.1%	—

Electorate 8,118 · Ballots cast 3,437 · Invalid 10 · EC ward code local.exeter.pinhoe.2026-05-07 · Back to ward index

Mincinglake and Whipton · single-seat

Marginal winner 34.1% Proportional quota 50.0% Below quota −15.9 pts Valid ballots 2,790

Rank	Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Below quota	Elected
1	Anthony John Payne	Reform UK	952	34.1%	−15.9 pts	Elected
2	Martin Ayres	Green Party	812	29.1%	—
3	Steve Casemore	Labour Party	658	23.6%	—
4	David John Thompson	Conservative Party	190	6.8%	—
5	Michael Geoffrey Payne	Liberal Democrats	178	6.4%	—

Electorate 6,437 · Ballots cast 2,799 · Invalid 9 · EC ward code local.exeter.mincinglake-whipton.2026-05-07 · Back to ward index

Exwick · single-seat

Marginal winner 34.6% Proportional quota 50.0% Below quota −15.4 pts Valid ballots 3,048

Rank	Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Below quota	Elected
1	Paul Graeme Knott	Labour Party	1,054	34.6%	−15.4 pts	Elected
2	Lee Matthew Gillett	Reform UK	931	30.5%	—
3	Kalkidan Legesse	Green Party	709	23.3%	—
4	David Luscombe	Conservative Party	205	6.7%	—
5	Jamie Liam Horner	Liberal Democrats	149	4.9%	—

Electorate 7,321 · Ballots cast 3,056 · Invalid 8 · EC ward code local.exeter.exwick.2026-05-07 · Back to ward index

St Thomas · single-seat

Marginal winner 37.0% Proportional quota 50.0% Below quota −13.0 pts Valid ballots 3,655

Rank	Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Below quota	Elected
1	Jack Reed	Green Party	1,354	37.0%	−13.0 pts	Elected
2	Vanessa Newcombe	Liberal Democrats	865	23.7%	—
3	Robert-James Stuart Cockburn	Reform UK	711	19.5%	—
4	Laura Charis Adelaide Wright	Labour Party	571	15.6%	—
5	Caroline Elizabeth Stone	Conservative Party	154	4.2%	—

Electorate 7,347 · Ballots cast 3,661 · Invalid 6 · EC ward code local.exeter.st-thomas.2026-05-07 · Back to ward index

Pennsylvania · single-seat

Marginal winner 38.6% Proportional quota 50.0% Below quota −11.4 pts Valid ballots 3,435

Rank	Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Below quota	Elected
1	Gill Baker	Green Party	1,325	38.6%	−11.4 pts	Elected
2	Will Aczel	Liberal Democrats	628	18.3%	—
3	Michael Stephen Battershill	Reform UK	585	17.0%	—
4	Paula Joan Black	Labour Party	584	17.0%	—
5	Rob Hannaford	Conservative Party	303	8.8%	—
6	Myles Jefferson Hatcher	Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition	10	0.3%	—

Electorate 7,117 · Ballots cast 3,445 · Invalid 10 · EC ward code local.exeter.pennsylvania.2026-05-07 · Back to ward index

Duryard and St James · single-seat

Marginal winner 40.3% Proportional quota 50.0% Below quota −9.7 pts Valid ballots 2,439

Rank	Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Below quota	Elected
1	Kevin Mitchell	Liberal Democrats	983	40.3%	−9.7 pts	Elected
2	Mithat Ishakoglu	Green Party	751	30.8%	—
3	David John Hodge	Reform UK	327	13.4%	—
4	Jonathan Michael Hawke	Labour Party	261	10.7%	—
5	Sebastian Stanwell-Wise	Conservative Party	117	4.8%	—

Electorate 6,271 · Ballots cast 2,445 · Invalid 6 · EC ward code local.exeter.duryard-st-james.2026-05-07 · Back to ward index

Heavitree · 2-seat (bloc vote)

Marginal winner 26.2% Proportional quota 33.3% Below quota −7.1 pts Valid ballots 7,117

Rank	Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Below quota	Elected
1	Stella Smith	Green Party	1,889	26.5%	−6.8 pts	Elected
2	Helen Terry	Green Party	1,868	26.2%	−7.1 pts	Elected
3	Tina Rose Beer	Reform UK	697	9.8%	—
4	Lisa Jane Norris	Reform UK	657	9.2%	—
5	Rachel Helen Sutton	Labour Party	523	7.3%	—
6	Dave Mutton	Labour Party	499	7.0%	—
7	Katherine Helen Judy New	Conservative Party	273	3.8%	—
8	Philip John Brock	Liberal Democrats	243	3.4%	—
9	Nigel David Williams	Liberal Democrats	201	2.8%	—
10	Colin John Trudgeon	Conservative Party	173	2.4%	—
11	Jordan Newbery	Independent	94	1.3%	—

Electorate 6,715 · Ballots cast 7,125 · Invalid 8 · EC ward code local.exeter.heavitree.2026-05-07 · Back to ward index

Newtown and St Leonard's · single-seat

Marginal winner 47.3% Proportional quota 50.0% Below quota −2.7 pts Valid ballots 3,024

Rank	Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Below quota	Elected
1	Bernadette Chelvanayagam	Green Party	1,430	47.3%	−2.7 pts	Elected
2	Matthew James Vizard	Labour Party	839	27.7%	—
3	Jo Westlake	Reform UK	389	12.9%	—
4	Ruth Smith	Conservative Party	220	7.3%	—
5	Jonny Pye	Liberal Democrats	146	4.8%	—

Electorate 6,582 · Ballots cast 3,033 · Invalid 9 · EC ward code local.exeter.newtown-st-leonards.2026-05-07 · Back to ward index

St David's · single-seat

Marginal winner 57.1% Proportional quota 50.0% Below quota +7.1 pts Valid ballots 2,835

Rank	Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Below quota	Elected
1	Brian Rappert	Green Party	1,618	57.1%	+7.1 pts	Elected
2	Rose Alexandra Lelliott	Labour Party	446	15.7%	—
3	Susan Clow	Reform UK	444	15.7%	—
4	Yasmine Al-Saket	Conservative Party	168	5.9%	—
5	Charles Anthony Curnock	Liberal Democrats	159	5.6%	—

Electorate 7,014 · Ballots cast 2,844 · Invalid 9 · EC ward code local.exeter.st-davids.2026-05-07 · Back to ward index