1996 Eastbourne Borough Council election

The 1996 Eastbourne Borough Council election took place on 2 May 1996 to elect members of Eastbourne Borough Council in East Sussex, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Liberal Democrats stayed in overall control of the council. ^[1]

After the election, the composition of the council was:

• Liberal Democrats 22
• Conservative 8 ^[1]

Election result

^[2] Overall turnout at the election was 36.35%, down from 40.03% in 1995. ^[2]

Eastbourne local election result 1996 ^{[2] [3]}

Party		Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
	Liberal Democrats	6				60.0	4	1
	Conservative	4		0		40.0
	Labour	0	0	0	0	0.0
	Independent	0	0	0	0	0.0
	Liberal	0	0	0	0	0.0

Ward results

Devonshire ^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Josephine Teso	795
	Conservative	Sheila Charlton	700
	Labour	Jacqueline Frisby	366
Majority			95
Turnout			1,864	34.3
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Downside ^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Robert Kirtley
	Conservative	Simon Herbert
	Labour	Gary Coe
Majority			938	48.8
Turnout			1,924	32.3
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Hampden Park ^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Michael Thompson
	Labour	Sharon Wentworth
	Conservative	George Mills
Majority
Turnout			1,743	28.7
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Langney ^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Lesley Morris
	Conservative	Linda Bicknell
	Labour	Eoin Fisher
Turnout
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Meads ^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Mark Deschamps
	Liberal Democrats	Shirley Bloom
	Independant	Raymond Openshaw
Majority			1,217	48.0
Turnout			2,533	38.4
	Conservative hold		Swing

Ocklynge ^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	John Strivens
	Conservative	Derek Townsend
	Labour	Edward Parton
Majority
Turnout			2,049	37.1
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative		Swing

Ratton ^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Michael Tunwell	1,308	46.1
	Liberal Democrats	Gary Potter	1,081	38.1
	Labour	John Breed	256	9.0
	Liberal	Mona-Theresia Williamson	187	6.6
Majority			227	8.0
Turnout			2,837	45.7
	Conservative hold		Swing

Roselands ^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Leslie Mason
	Conservative	Andrew Jay
	Labour	Jeremy Cole
Turnout
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

St Anthony's ^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Margo Smith
	Liberal Democrats	Hedley Marshall
	Labour	Robert Rossetter
Majority
Turnout			2,621	33.8
	Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats		Swing

Upperton ^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Ann Murray
	Liberal Democrats	Madeleine Greenaway
	Labour	Steve Wallis
Majority
Turnout
	Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats		Swing

By-elections between 1996 and 1998

A by-election was held on 20 June 1996 in Devonshire ward after the resignation of Darin Scott. ^[2] Conservative Sheila Charlton gained the seat from the Liberal Democrats. ^[2]

Devonshire by-election 1996 ^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Sheila Charlton	654
	Liberal Democrats	Madeleine Greenaway	626
	Labour	Jacqueline Frisby	320
Majority			38
Turnout			1,600	29.3
	Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats		Swing

A by-election was held on 5 December 1996 in Langney ward after the resignation of Alan Shuttleworth. ^[2] Gary Potter held the seat for the Liberal Democrats. ^[2]

Langney by-election 5 December 1996 ^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Gary Potter	1,160
	Conservative	Leonard Meladio	419
	Labour	Steve Wallis	259
Majority			741
Turnout			1,794	18.8
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

A by-election was held on 28 August 1997 in Langney ward after the resignation of Paul Heasman. ^[2] Gary Potter held the seat for the Liberal Democrats. ^[2]

Langney by-election 28 August 1997 ^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Richard McMahon	914
	Conservative	Patrick Warner	470
	Labour	Steve Wallis	164
Majority			444
Turnout			1,548	15.73
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

References

1. "Policy and politics: Local Elections: Analysis: Council poll results". The Guardian . 9 May 1998. p. 16.
2. "Borough elections". Eastbourne Borough Council. Archived from the original on 28 November 2011. Retrieved 13 December 2011.
3. "Local Elections results". The Times . 9 May 1998. p. 46.