Cambridgeshire and Peterborough loss unpacked as Labour slumps to third

Labour has lost the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough mayoral election to former Tory MP Paul Bristow.

Current deputy mayor Anna Smith faced off against the former MP for Peterborough, as well as Reform UK candidate Ryan Coogan, Green candidate Bob Ensch and Lib Dem candidate Lorna Dupre.

Current mayor Nik Johnson, who won in 2021 on second preferences after trailing the Conservatives in the first round, declined to run for re-election due to ill health.

Labour were pushed into third in the contest, behind Reform, and in a close race with the Liberal Democrats.

The result comes amid a raft of other local and mayoral elections across England.

Smith told LabourList that she had hoped to be elected as mayor, having previously served in the post on a temporary basis while Johnson underwent surgery.

Reflecting on her greatest achievements during her time as deputy mayor, Smith said that “tiger passes”, a £1 bus fare across the region for those under 25, had been the single policy that people had repeatedly brought up on the doorstep, with more than a million journeys with the passes since it launched last year.

It comes as Labour lost the Runcorn and Helsby by-election to Reform by just six votes, with one of the closest parliamentary by-elections in history going to a recount and Reform’s swing exceeding national polls.

The first drip of council results early on Friday also looked alarming for both the Conservatives and Labour, with the Tories down 50 seats and Labour down 13 as of 7am.

READ MORE: Council by council Labour gains and losses – and its position in each mayor race

Labour lost a dozen seats in Northumberland, where it was the largest party in the 2000s, finishing a distant third behind Reform and the Tories, who narrowly remain the biggest party.

But the first three major sets of results fully declared all saw Labour edge tight victories to hold on, with Reform finishing second in three mayoralties – North Tyneside, West of England and then Doncaster.

READ MORE: ‘If election results are grim, let’s not learn the wrong lessons again’

In Doncaster, Labour’s Ros Jones was re-elected for a fourth time, but only by around 700 votes to Reform.

In North Tyneside, Karen Clark held it for Labour but with only 32.4% of the vote to Reform’s  29.4%. Labour’s vote tally more than halved, however, from 33,119 for Clark’s outgoing predecessor in 2021 to just 16,230 this time round.

In the West of England, Labour’s Helen Godwin secured a majority of less than 6,000 votes over Arron Banks, with 25% of the vote to Reform’s 22.1%, It marked an unusual four-way contest, with the Greens third on 20% and Tories on 16.6%.

Read more on the 2025 local elections:

Results on the day

Analysis and what to expect

• Runcorn blame game begins – why did Labour lose?
• ‘Labour has lost in Runcorn – here are the eight things the party should do now‘
• MPs who could lose their seat on Runcorn by-election swing to Reform
• ‘Results so far say one thing: voters think change isn’t coming fast enough’
• Three ways to measure Labour’s success tonight
• Expert predicts ‘bad night’ with no net Labour gains
• ‘Uxbridgitis: If election results are grim, let’s not learn the wrong lessons again’
• Where’s Keir? PM barely features in Labour party election broadcasts for the locals
• The meme elections: Labour’s social media pivot to take fight to Farage

LabourList’s on-the-ground reports from the campaign

• Hull and East Yorkshire: Labour candidate spars with Reform’s boxing star in UK’s most disillusioned city
• Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Nik Johnson on why he’s standing down and Anna Smith on knife-edge Labour-Tory fight to replace him
• West of England: Tory and Green threats, Dan Norris and low voter awareness
• Lancashire: Long shadow of Gaza looms over key battleground

Inside the Runcorn campaign

• Mood on the doorstep: Labour’s last push for Tory voters to keep out Reform
• At least 150 Labour MPs visit – but Keir Starmer ain’t one
• Karen Shore interview: Labour candidate on Reform, the NHS and closing asylum hotels
• Runcorn poll: One in ten Labour voters expected to back Reform

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