Belsize (/ˈbɛlsaɪz/) is a ward in the London Borough of Camden, in the United Kingdom. The ward covers most of Belsize Park, between Haverstock Hill, Swiss Cottage, and Primrose Hill.

The ward has existed since the creation of the borough on 1 April 1965 and was first used in the 1964 elections.^[1] The ward was redrawn in May 1978,^[2] May 2002,^[3] and May 2022.^[4][5] From 2010, the ward was in the Hampstead and Kilburn constituency, having previously been in Hampstead and Highgate from 1983 until 2010, and Hampstead prior to 1983. In 2018, the ward had an electorate of 8,999.^[6] The Boundary Commission projects the electorate to rise to 9,097 by 2025.^[6]

The ward currently returns three councillors to Camden Council, with an election every four years. At the last election in May 2022, all three candidates from the Liberal Democrats were elected to represent the ward.

The ward underwent boundary changes for the 2022 election. A significant portion of the ward was transferred to the newly created Primrose Hill ward, and significant portions of the existing Hampstead Town and Frognal and Fitzjohns wards were transferred to Belsize.^[4][5]

At the 2022 election, leader of the Conservative group on Camden London Borough Council Oliver Cooper stood as a candidate in Belsize, having previously represented Hampstead Town. Hampstead Town had been a safe Conservative ward, while Belsize had been marginal between the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats.^[7][8] Leader of the Liberal Democrat group Luisa Porritt, who represented Belsize, stood down at the 2022 election, citing work commitments, while the Camden New Journal suggested that the new ward boundaries would favour the Conservatives.^[9]

Notable former councillors include Opposition Leaders Claire-Louise Leyland (2010–18), Piers Wauchope (2002–06), Judith Barnes (1986–98), and Tony Kerpel (1978–86); MEP Luisa Porritt (2018–22); future Council Leader Richard Arthur (1974–78); and former Leader Martin Morton (1976–78).

The last election was held in May 2022. Candidates seeking re-election are marked with an asterisk (*). Councillors seeking re-election for a different ward are marked with a cross (†).

2002–2018

2022 election

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2022 council election: Belsize^[10][11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Tom Simon*	1,494
	Liberal Democrats	Judy Dixey	1,445
	Liberal Democrats	Matthew Kirk	1,317
	Conservative	Oliver Cooper†	1,124
	Conservative	Steve Adams*	1,106
	Conservative	Aarti Joshi	953
	Labour	Issy Waite	705
	Labour	Shaheen Ahmed Chowdhury	692
	Labour	Peter Ptashko	644
Turnout				38.4
	Liberal Democrats win (new seat)
	Liberal Democrats win (new seat)
	Liberal Democrats win (new seat)

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2018 election

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2018 council election: Belsize^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Tom Simon	1,250	11.6	0.9
	Conservative	Steve Adams	1,201	11.2	2.0
	Liberal Democrats	Luisa Porritt	1,179	11.0	2.8
	Conservative	Leila Roy*	1,170	10.9	1.6
	Conservative	Kirsty Roberts	1,162	10.8	0.2
	Liberal Democrats	Benjamin Samuel Newman	1,127	10.5	3.2
	Labour	James Jordan Calmus	1,067	10.0	0.2
	Labour	Sucharita Sethi	996	9.3	0.8
	Labour	Momota Khatoon	971	9.1	1.4
	Green	Sara Katchi	238	2.2	0.8
	Green	Phyl Eyres	223	2.1	0.8
	Independent	Nigel Rumble	123	1.1	1.1
Majority			9	0.08
Turnout			10,707	42.5	4.2
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative		Swing

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2014 election

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2014 council election: Belsize^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Jonny Bucknell*	1,219	13.2
	Conservative	Claire-Louise Leyland*	1,157	12.5
	Conservative	Leila Roy	1,016	11.0
	Liberal Democrats	Tom Simon*	992	10.7
	Labour	Madeleine Jennings	939	10.2
	Labour	James McGowan	782	8.5
	Liberal Democrats	Bradley Hillier-Smith	760	8.2
	Labour	Harunur Rashid	709	7.7
	Liberal Democrats	Lawrence Joseph Nicholson	678	7.3
	Green	Rowan St Clair	275	3.0
	Green	Darren Robert Murphy	269	2.9
	Green	Stuart Temple Taylor	243	2.6
	Independent	Nigel Rumble	199	2.2
Majority			24	0.3
Turnout			9,238	38.3
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats		Swing

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2010 election

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2010 council election: Belsize^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Jonny Bucknell	1,969	36.1	-1.0
	Conservative	Claire-Louise Leyland	1,969	36.1	-0.1
	Liberal Democrats	Tom Simon*	1,949	35.7	-5.1
	Conservative	Nigel Rumble	1,897	34.8	-0.9
	Liberal Democrats	Anne Ward	1,746	32.0	-8.5
	Liberal Democrats	Paul Perkins	1,727	31.7	-6.4
	Labour	Samantha Gunasekera	1,094	20.1	+6.2
	Labour	Sada Deshmukh	1,051	19.3	+5.1
	Labour	Luca Salice	1,027	18.8	+6.5
	Green	Anya Courts	410	7.5	-0.3
	Green	Sophie North	372	6.8	-1.6
	Green	Francesca Richards-Spiller	325	6.0	-0.2
	BNP	Derek Collins	90	1.7	N/A
Turnout			5,454	62.3	+24.0
	Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats		Swing
	Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats		Swing
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

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2009 by-election

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Belsize by-election, 2 April 2009^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Tom Simon	1,136	46.0	+5.4
	Conservative	Gary Bernadout	952	38.6	+1.7
	Labour	Sean Birch	270	10.9	−3.2
	Green	Naomi Aptowitzer	109	4.4	−3.9
Majority			184	7.5
Turnout			2,467	29.8
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

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The by-election was called following the resignation of Cllr Christopher J. Basson.

2006 election

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2006 council election: Belsize

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Alexis Rowell	1,358	40.8	+22.7
	Liberal Democrats	Christopher Basson	1,349	40.5	+24.0
	Liberal Democrats	Arthur Graves	1,268	38.1	+21.8
	Conservative	Jonathan Bucknell*	1,233	37.1	-3.0
	Conservative	Piers Wauchope*	1,205	36.2	-2.5
	Conservative	Sheila Gunn*	1,187	35.7	-3.4
	Labour	Sadashivrao Deshmukh	471	14.2	-13.4
	Labour	Matthew McGregor	462	13.9	-15.8
	Labour	Jenny Westaway	410	12.3	-14.3
	Green	Jane Ennis	278	8.4	-2.2
	Green	Anya Courts	260	7.8	-1.3
	Green	Adam Spanier	207	6.2	-2.2
Turnout			9,688	38.3
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative		Swing
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative		Swing
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative		Swing

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2002 election

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2002 council election: Belsize

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Jonny Bucknell	1,041	40.1
	Conservative	Sheila Gunn	1,016	39.1
	Conservative	Piers Wauchope	1,005	38.7
	Labour	Aileen Hammond*	770	29.7
	Labour	Sadashivrao Deshmukh	716	27.6
	Labour	Patricia Nightingale	691	26.6
	Liberal Democrats	Pauline Marriott	469	18.1
	Liberal Democrats	Ardon Lyon	429	16.5
	Liberal Democrats	Dudley Miles	423	16.3
	Green	Phyllis Eyres	274	10.6
	Green	Jack Price	236	9.1
	Green	Maeve Tornero	219	8.4
Turnout			7,289

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