1999 Bromsgrove District Council election

The 1999 Bromsgrove District Council election took place on 6 May 1999 to elect members of Bromsgrove district council in Worcestershire, England. The whole council was up for election and the Conservative Party gained overall control of the council from the Labour Party. ^[1]

Campaign

The Labour Party had won control of the council in the previous election in 1995 for the first time and were hopeful of staying in control of the council. ^[2] They pledged to maintain bus passes for the elderly and press on with CCTV in the town centre. ^[2] However the Conservatives attacked Labour for having increased council tax over the last four years, including 9.73% in the last year. ^[3] A proposed development on the local recreation ground for an arts and leisure centre was a major issue in the campaign, with Labour saying it would be good for Bromsgrove, while the Conservatives pledged to try to save the recreation ground. ^[3] During the campaign the Conservative Party leader William Hague visited Bromsgrove with the local Member of Parliament Julie Kirkbride to rally party activists. ^[2]

Before the election the Conservatives required a 7% swing to gain control of the council, with Bromsgrove seen as a key council in the local elections across England. ^{[4] [5]} A by-election in October 1998 in Catshill ward was seen as a good sign for the Conservatives after they gained the seat with a swing of over 25%. ^[6] In total 80 candidates stood in the election from the Labour party, Conservatives, Liberal Democrats and the Wythall Ratepayers' and Residents' Association. ^[7] Candidates included seven couples and former Conservative councillors such as Joy Buchby and Nick Psirides. Meanwhile, the only Liberal Democrat councillor, Sandra Docker, stood down at the election. ^[7]

Just before the election there was controversy over Labour Party leaflets that were sent to pensioners claiming that the Conservatives would abolish free bus passes for pensioners. ^[8] The Conservatives denied they would end the bus passes and reported Labour to the Data Protection Registrar, claiming that confidential council records had been used to send the leaflets to target pensioners, although Labour denied this. ^[8]

Election result

The results in Bromsgrove were one of the first to come in across the country and saw the Conservatives retake control of the council gaining 17 seats. ^[9] Conservative gains included the Labour leader on the council, Trevor Porter in Sidemoor ward, ^[10] and the council chairman, Trevor Crashley in Whitford ward. ^[11] The Conservatives also made two wins in Sidemoor ward, where they had never won any seats before, with swings reaching up to 40% in some wards. ^[10]

Defeated candidates saw a low turnout and the plans to develop the recreation ground as responsible for their defeats, ^[11] with the neighbouring Labour MP Michael John Foster blaming the results on local, rather than national, issues. ^[12] Following the election William Hague visited Bromsgrove again to celebrate the results, both in Bromsgrove and nationally. ^[13] Overall turnout in the election was 37.4%. ^[14]

Bromsgrove Local Election Result 1999 ^{[15] [16]}

Party		Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
	Conservative	30			+17	76.9	56.6	29,876
	Labour	7			-16	17.9	35.3	18,637
	Wythall Ratepayers' and Residents' Association	2			0	5.1	4.5	2,382
	Liberal Democrats	0			-1	0.0	3.6	1,912

Ward results

Alvechurch (3) ^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	J Luck	1,108
	Conservative	J Griffiths	1,044
	Conservative	B Taylor	1,002
	Labour	D Waters	723
	Labour	S Oliver	677
	Labour	A Clewlow	604
Turnout			5,158	37.3

Barnt Green (2) ^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	A Doyle	1,309
	Conservative	M Taylor	1,253
	Liberal Democrats	T Gray	458
	Labour	J Cochrane	412
Turnout			3,432	43.1

Beacon (2) ^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	D McGrath	598
	Labour	P Williamson	509
	Conservative	G Bennett	432
	Liberal Democrats	G Ray	298
Turnout			1,837	34.5

Catshill (3) ^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	P Collins	1,095
	Conservative	S Bushby	999
	Conservative	D Gardner	941
	Labour	S Farr	551
	Labour	G Witcomb	543
	Labour	A Deakin	534
Turnout			4,663	35.0

Charford (2) ^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	L McNamara	829
	Labour	C Brooks	798
	Conservative	B Graham	494
	Conservative	J Pardoe	440
Turnout			2,561	30.7

Cofton Hackett ^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	R Deeming	370	72.0
	Labour	J Peel	144	28.0
Majority			226	44.0
Turnout			514	35.5

Drakes Cross (3) ^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	J Dyer	811
	Wythall Ratepayers' and Residents' Association	G Denaro	662
	Wythall Ratepayers' and Residents' Association	J Gardener	659
	Wythall Ratepayers' and Residents' Association	L Wright	620
	Conservative	D Woodward-Sheath	592
	Labour	C Brooks	286
Turnout			3,630	24.8

Furlongs (2) ^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	P Barnsley	932
	Conservative	T Matthews	834
	Labour	M Harford	318
Turnout			2,084	36.9

Hagley (2) ^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	M Oliver	914
	Conservative	H Whitehouse	869
	Labour	A Zalin	274
Turnout			2,057	34.9

Majors Green ^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	P Duddy	383	63.3
	Wythall Ratepayers' and Residents' Association	P Harrison	149	24.6
	Labour	E Holmes	73	12.1
Majority			234	38.7
Turnout			605	36.6

Norton (3) ^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	D Norton	1,542
	Conservative	C Lanham	1,466
	Conservative	N Psirides	1,418
	Labour	P Baker	892
	Labour	R Clayton	876
	Labour	W Newnes	831
Turnout			7,025	43.9

Sidemoor (3) ^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	R Dent	844
	Labour	C Mole	736
	Conservative	J Hancox	733
	Conservative	B Gall	707
	Labour	T Porter	624
	Labour	G Hulett	620
	Liberal Democrats	M Parr	341
Turnout			4,605	37.6

South Wythall ^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	S Peters	318	47.3
	Wythall Ratepayers' and Residents' Association	H Allen	292	43.5
	Labour	P O'Connor	62	9.2
Majority			26	3.8
Turnout			672	36.7

Stoke Prior ^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	C Tidmarsh	613	66.6
	Labour	A Wardle	308	33.4
Majority			305	33.2
Turnout			921	41.5

Stoney Hill (2) ^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	A Hadley	1,130
	Conservative	E Shaw	1,123
	Labour	C Rudge	753
	Labour	S Shannon	739
	Liberal Democrats	G Selway	155
Turnout			3,900	46.9

Tardebigge ^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	P Whittaker	502	78.4
	Labour	R Cooke	138	21.6
Majority			364	56.8
Turnout			640	46.0

Uffdown and Waseley (3) ^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	P McDonald	788
	Conservative	D Hancox	741
	Labour	C Wilson	636
	Labour	K McNamara	601
	Liberal Democrats	G Mack	438
Turnout			3,204	39.3

Whitford (3) ^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	E Tibby	814
	Conservative	K Gall	776
	Conservative	G Pardoe	762
	Labour	T Crashley	704
	Labour	M Holmes	672
	Labour	J Marshall	631
	Liberal Democrats	M Mihailovic	222
Turnout			4,581	36.9

Woodvale ^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	M Gill	565	78.7
	Labour	B Sutherland	153	21.3
Majority			412	57.4
Turnout			718	41.2

References

1. "How Britain voted: Council Election Results". The Independent . 8 May 1999. p. 12.
2. Summers, Deborah (21 April 1999). "Hague outsmarts Labour with bacon butty detour". Birmingham Post . p. 4.
3. "Candidates in battle of the giants Bromsgrove: Tories promise to save the Rec". Birmingham Mail . 9 April 1999. p. 6.
4. Frean, Alexandra (5 May 1999). "Tory gains will give Hague little comfort". The Times . p. 9.
5. "The armchair guide". The Times . 6 May 1999. p. 17.
6. Game, Chris (6 May 1999). "Getting into the swing of parish pump issues Polling today may produce very different results to a General Election, says Chris Game". Birmingham Post . p. 13.
7. Smith, Sue (5 May 1999). "Local election countdown: Bromsgrove". Birmingham Mail . p. 6.
8. Summers, Deborah (5 May 1999). "Tories cry foul over Labour's bus pass scare election leaflets". Birmingham Post . p. 1.
9. Frean, Alexandra (7 May 1999). "Tory gains are shot in the arm for party". The Times . p. 5.
10. "Tories regain Bromsgrove". The Times . 7 May 1999. p. 6.
11. Smith, Sue (7 May 1999). "Tories swept back in big turn-about: Worcestershire". Birmingham Mail . p. 7.
12. Woodward, Will (7 May 1999). "Britain's elections:Tories claim gains put them back in business Labour takes comfort from mid-term vote share but lead belies national poll ratings". The Guardian . p. 8.
13. Gray, Chris (8 May 1999). "The revival starts here vows Hague". Birmingham Post . p. 1.
14. "District Council Election" (PDF). Bromsgrove District Council. Retrieved 12 September 2009.^{[ dead link ]}
15. "Bromsgrove". BBC News Online . Retrieved 12 September 2009.
16. "How the nations voted". The Times . 8 May 1999. p. 48.