Reading's local elections saw one of the strongest turnouts in decades and a tight popular‑vote battle between Labour and the Greens. Labour kept control of the council but lost three lead councillors.
The Conservatives were third in the popular vote and picked up seats from Labour and Reform UK. Reform came fourth overall and won no seats.
Biggest vote winners
- Isobel Ballsdon (Conservative, Caversham Heights) - 1,900
- Rob White (Green, Park) - 1,872
- Kathryn McCann (Green, Redlands) - 1,549
- Jacopo Lanzoni (Labour, Caversham) - 1,438
- Louise Keane (Green, Katesgrove) - 1,340
How strong did winners need to be?
Winning candidates typically needed between 700 and 1,100 votes, depending on the ward. Four wards had winners with under 1,000 votes: Abbey, Coley, Norcot and Whitley. The lowest was Jacqueline Dominguez (Green), who beat Karen Rowland (Labour lead councillor for environmental services and community safety) 792 to 683. The average winning vote across the borough was just over 1,100.
Borough-wide popular vote
Labour and Co-operative Party - 15,300
Green Party - 15,113
Conservative Party - 9,179
Reform UK - 8,592
Liberal Democrats - 4,158
Your Local Liberal Party - 51
Social Democratic Party - 29
Independent - 27
Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition - 25
Despite Reform coming fourth overall, Clarence Mitchell (Reform UK, Emmer Green) lost his seat and came third in his ward.
If votes were averaged differently, the Greens narrowly beat Labour with 14,300.5 votes to 14,227.
Turnout ward by ward
Turnout varied from just under a third in some central wards to around half in wards north of the river. Abbey - 32.29% , Battle - 38.17% , Caversham - 49.93% , Caversham Heights - 59% , Church - 34.01% , Coley - 41.80% , Emmer Green - 52.55% , Katesgrove - 34.95% , Kentwood - 46.62% , Norcot - 36.11% , Park - 42.81% , Redlands - 40.17% , Southcote - 37.14% , Thames - 42.40% , Tilehurst - 41.26% , Whitley - 31.97%
Across the borough total turnout was 41.2%, the highest for a Reading local election outside a general‑election year since 1991.
James Aldridge, Local Democracy Reporter
