Every council change across Cambridgeshire in 2026 local elections

One Cambridgeshire council saw a major shake up

One Cambridgeshire council saw a political party lose control after 12 years – amid some major changes following the 2026 local elections. The results of the local elections were filtered throughout Thursday (May 7) night and Friday (May 8), with some surprising results coming out across the county.

Counts took place for Cambridge City Council, South Cambridgeshire District Council, Huntingdonshire District Council and Peterborough City Council. Elections didn’t take place in Fenland or East Cambridgeshire as they are due to take place next year.

Cambridge City Council saw one of the biggest changes, with a major upset for the Labour party. For the last 12 years, the council has been run by a major Labour majority.

However on Friday, the party lost six seats to the Green Party. While Labour still remains the largest party, the Green Party has become the second largest and Labour has lost its majority.

Of the six seats that Labour lost included leader of the city council, Cameron Holloway. The former leader lost out his seat in Petersfield to Green member Kathryn Fisher.

Speaking after the election, Mr Holloway said he was “still pleased” that Labour remained the largest party. He added: “I think there are a lot of people who are feeling disillusioned – feeling a bit fed up and it felt to me like a bit of a protest vote and a bit of a desire for something new.

“But there are no easy answers and the Greens offer an easy answer – there is not an easy answer in a complex world. In a world where economies are struggling, where there’s war, we need serious politicians – we don’t need people who are going to give easy answers.”

While there were no other major shake ups, other councils did see a slight change in which parties gained elected seats. In South Cambridgeshire, Liberal Democrats initially held 34 of the 45 seats, with nine held by Conservatives, one independent and one vacancy.

However in this year’s elections, the Liberal Democrats increased their majority by gaining 43 out of the 45 seats, while Conservatives only got elected for two. MP Pippa Heylings praised the “stonking” result for the party.

In Peterborough, the Conservatives became the biggest party in the city. Initially the party held 10 seats, however party members were elected to 13 seats on Friday.

Labour originally held the majority number of seats in the council, however its seats dropped from 13 councillors to 11. Reform made the biggest increase in Peterborough, with the party now having five members elected to the council, compared to one before.

In Huntingdonshire, no party gained overall control, but the Liberal Democrats came closest by winning 20 seats, with 27 needed for a majority. Conservatives came in as the second largest party, winning 15 seats.

This was followed by 10 seats for Reform, four Independents, two for the Greens and one for Labour.