City of Lincoln Council elections: Races to watch

It’s election season once again in Lincoln.

Candidates are knocking on doors, distributing leaflets and preparing their speeches in the hopes of getting your vote.

Voting will take place on Thursday, May 5, with one seat up for grabs in each on the city’s 11 wards.

The Local Democracy Service has taken a look at some of the more interesting races which look set to be competitive or have notable outcomes.

Labour currently hold a commanding lead on the city council, with 22 of the 33 seats.

However the Conservatives saw a significant increase of the vote share last year, and will be hoping to turn that into more seats this time around.

Candidates from the Liberal Democrats, Greens and Trade Union and Socialist Coalition will also be looking to capitalise on dissatisfaction with the larger parties.

Here are some of the races to keep your eye on during Election Night.

Glebe

Glebe ward was the tightest race in last year’s elections, with just 28 votes separating first and second place.

Council leader Ric Metcalfe successfully defended the seat for Labour in that race.

In 2022, there’s a four-person race for the seat.

Current Labour councillor Patrick Vaughan is standing against Tjeerd Carter-Tijmstra (Green), Jeanette Pavey (Conservative)  and Aiden Wells (Liberal Democract). It remains to see whether the margin will be as close as previous races.

Hartsholme

At the other end of the scale, some extremely safe seats will be on the ballot.

The Conservatives romped to victory in Hartsholme in the last elections, with Conservative David Clarkson taking nearly 60% of the vote.

Although it may not be in danger of changing hands, the size of the outcome could tell us which party is having a good night and which ones will end up disappointed.

If Conservatives run away again, they could be in with a chance of making in-roads in other part of the city – but a closer result could signal that Labour can rest easy.

This race will see Jim Charters (Liberal Democrat), Callum Roper (Labour and Co-operative) and Rachel Storer (Conservative) face off.

Abbey

Abbey ward delivered the Liberal Democrats their only seat on the council last year when Clare Smalley clinched it.

The party saw a big 24 per cent swing in their favour, and won with nearly half of all votes.

This year, the party is putting up Martin Christopher as its candidate, who will be standing against current Labour & Co-operative  councillor Bill Bilton and Conservative candidate Roger Hansard.

Moorland

The Conservatives managed to pick up a Moorland seat in their only new gain on 2021’s election night.

Matthew Fido produced a 12 point swing to take it from Labour, and the party will be hoping to recreate it this year.

Labour Councillor Adriana McNulty is standing for re-election against Pete Edwards (Conservative), Christopher Padley (Green) and Ross Pepper (Liberal Democrat).

With only 95 votes deciding the outcome last year, all parties will be aware of the potential for this ward to swing again.

Boultham

Another race which could go down to the wire is Boultham, which is currently held by Labour.

The Conservatives’ Daniel Carvalho made a spirited attempt at taking it last year, creating a swing of 10 points as they chipped away at smaller parties’ share.

This left them within fewer than 90 votes of taking it.

He will be standing again this year and will be hoping to continue to momentum.

Gary Hewson (Labour) is the sitting councillor seeking re-election, with Sarah Uldall (Liberal Democrat) and Kenneth Yates (Green) also looking at improving at improving on their parties’ last performances.