The 2023 Mid Devon District Council election took place on 4 May 2023 to elect members of Mid Devon District Council in Devon, England. It was held on the same day as other local elections in the United Kingdom.
The Liberal Democrats took control of the council for the first time since 1999.
Overview Prior to the election the council was under no overall control, being run by a minority administration of some of the independent councillors, with independent Barry Warren serving as leader of the council.
New ward boundaries took effect for this election, following a review by the Local Government Boundary Commission for England. The number of seats stayed the same at 42, but the configuration of wards was changed to comprise five 3-member wards, ten 2-member wards and seven single member wards.
The election saw the Liberal Democrats win a majority of the seats on the council. The independents and Conservatives both lost significant numbers of seats: leader of the council Barry Warren lost his seat, as did the Conservative group leader Clive Eginton. Liberal Democrat group leader Luke Taylor was appointed leader of the council at the subsequent annual council meeting on 24 May 2023.
Results summary
Ward results
Mid Devon District Council election results.
Bradninch
Cadbury
Canonsleigh
Clare & Shuttern
Crediton Boniface
Crediton Lawrence
Cullompton Padbrook
Cullompton St Andrews
Cullompton Vale
Halberton
Lower Culm
Sandford & Creedy
Silverton
Taw Vale
Tiverton Castle
Tiverton Cranmore
Tiverton Lowman
Tiverton Westexe
Upper Culm
Upper Yeo & Taw
Way
Yeo
Changes 2023–2027 August 2023: Stuart Penny, elected as a Conservative for Upper Yeo & Taw, left the party to sit as an independent. By March 2024: Jamie Frost, elected as a Liberal Democrat for Tiverton Westexe, left the party to sit as an independent. April 2024: Claudette Harrower, elected as a Conservative for Tiverton Westexe, joined the Liberal Democrats. May 2026: Luke Taylor stood down as leader of the council and was succeeded by his deputy, Liberal Democrat David Wulff. June 2026: John Poynton, elected as a Liberal Democrat for Lower Culm, left the party to sit as an ungrouped councillor.
By-elections
Upper Yeo & Taw
The by-election was triggered by the resignation, for personal reasons, of Stuart Penny, who had been elected as a Conservative but was by then sitting as an independent.
Tiverton Westexe
Independent councillor Jamie Frost, elected as a Liberal Democrat in 2023, was disqualified after failing to attend a council meeting for six consecutive months, causing this by-election.
Clare & Shuttern
Liberal Democrat councillor Rachel Gilmour, who had been elected as the Member of Parliament for Tiverton and Minehead in July 2024, stood down from the council, prompting this by-election.
Crediton Lawrence
The by-election was called following the death of Liberal Democrat councillor Frank Letch, the council's chairman, on 8 April 2025.
Bradninch
Liberal Democrat councillor Luke Taylor, the former leader of the council, resigned in August 2026 after accepting a job transfer to the United States, triggering this by-election.
References