Elections for Cambridge City Council (in Cambridge, England) were held on Thursday 5 May 2011. As the council is elected by thirds, one seat in each of the wards was up for election, with the exception of Cherry Hinton ward where two seats were up for election due to the early retirement of Councillor Stuart Newbold. The vote took place alongside the 2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum and a Cambridgeshire County Council by-election for Arbury ward.

2011 Cambridge City Council election

← 2010 5 May 2011 2012 →
16: plus by-election 22 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party   Party Labour Liberal Democrats Seat change Swing   Third party Fourth party   Party Independent Green Seats won 0 0 Seats after 0 Seat change Swing
Winner of each seat at the 2011 Cambridge City Council election

2011 Cambridge City Council election[1][2]
Party		This election			Full council			This election
		Seats	Net	Seats %	Other	Total	Total %	Votes	Votes %	+/−
	Liberal Democrats	6	4	40.0	19	25	59.5	9,844	25.4	-10.0
	Labour	9	4	60.0	5	14	33.3	13,762	35.5	+12.1
	Green	0		0.0	2	2	4.8	6,045	15.6	-0.9
	Independent	0		0.0	1	1	2.4	138	0.4	N/A
	Conservative	0		0.0	0	0	0.0	8,326	21.5	-1.7
	TUSC	0		0.0	0	0	0.0	455	1.2	+0.1
	UKIP	0		0.0	0	0	0.0	193	0.5	+0.1

This result has the following consequences for the total number of seats on the Council after the elections:

The Liberal Democrats retained control of the council, albeit with a reduced majority.

Note: in results where, in previous elections, two seats were up for election the party share of the vote is based on an average for those candidates who stood for that particular party in the election.

Changes in party vote is in comparison with the 2010 Cambridge City Council election results.^[3]

Councillor Caroline Hart was defending her Abbey seat for the Labour Party.

Councillor Alan Levy was defending his Arbury seat for the Liberal Democrats.

Councillor Tania Zmura retired her seat. Philip Tucker was aiming to retain the vacated seat for the Liberal Democrats.

Due to the retirement of Labour Party Councillor Stuart Newbold, two seats were up for election. Councillor Russ McPherson was defending his seat for the Labour Party.

Councillor Jeremy Benstead was defending his Coleridge seat for the Labour Party.

Councillor Clare Blair was defending her East Chesterton seat for the Liberal Democrats.

Councillor Mike Pitt was defending his King's Hedges seat for the Liberal Democrats.

Councillor Michael Dixon retired his seat. Andrea Reiner was aiming to retain the vacated seat for the Liberal Democrats.

Councillor Julie Smith was defending her Newnham seat for the Liberal Democrats.

Councillor Lucy Walker retired her Petersfield seat. Kevin Blencowe was aiming to retain the vacated seat for the Labour Party.

Councillor Viki Sanders retired her Queen Edith's seat. George Pippas was aiming to retain the vacated seat for the Liberal Democrats.

Councillor Raj Shah was defending his Romsey seat for the Liberal Democrats.

Councillor Andy Blackhurst was defending his Trumpington seat for the Liberal Democrats.

Councillor Damien Tunnacliffe was defending his West Chesterton seat for the Liberal Democrats.

Following the retirement of County Councillor Rupert Moss-Eccardt, the Cambridgeshire County Council seat for Arbury was vacant. Amy Ellis was aiming to retain the seat for the Liberal Democrats.

Cambridge was one of the few areas of the country that voted "yes" for the Alternative Vote in the referendum held on 5 May 2011. The result was as follows:

United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, 2011 - Cambridge result

Choice	Votes	%
Yes	21,253	54.32
No	18,871	45.85
Valid votes	39,124	99.4
Invalid or blank votes	236	0.6
Total votes	39,361	100.00
Registered voters/turnout	81,273	48.43
Source: [1]