1999 Stratford-on-Avon District Council election

The 1999 Stratford-on-Avon District Council election took place on 6 May 1999 to elect members of Stratford-on-Avon District Council in Warwickshire, England. One third of the council was up for election and the council stayed under no overall control. ^[1]

After the election, the composition of the council was:

• Conservative 24
• Liberal Democrat 20
• Independent 7
• Labour 4 ^[2]

Campaign

Before the election the Liberal Democrats ran the council as a minority administration with the support of the independents. ^[3] The Liberal Democrats held 23 seats, compared to 18 for the Conservatives, 9 independents and 5 Labour seats. ^[4] 19 seats were contested in the election with both the Liberal Democrats and independents defending 7, compared to only 3 for the Conservatives and 2 for Labour. ^[4]

The Conservatives were hoping to gain the 10 seats they needed in to win a majority on the council and pledged to sort out the finances of the council, increase CCTV and improve the management of tourism. ^[4] However the Liberal Democrats defended their record in control of the council saying that they had eliminated the council's debts, while reducing council tax levels to the lowest yet. ^[4] Meanwhile, Labour were aiming to make a couple of gains and said they would try and ensure more of the council's money was spent outside of the town centre. ^[4]

Election result

The results saw the Conservatives become the largest party on the council with 24 seats after making 6 gains, but failed to win a majority. ^[5] This meant that the independents, despite losing 2 seats, held the balance of power on the council with 7 councillors. ^[6]

Stratford-on-Avon local election result 1999 ^[7]

Party		Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
	Conservative	9			+6	47.4
	Liberal Democrats	5			-3	26.3
	Independent	4			-2	21.1
	Labour	1			-1	5.3

References

1. "Stratford-on-Avon". BBC News Online . Retrieved 12 March 2010.
2. "Britain votes: Local Council Election Results". The Independent . 7 May 1999. p. 12.
3. Worrall, Boris (13 April 1999). "Labour fearing the worst as town hall battles loom". Birmingham Post . p. 4.
4. Summers, Deborah (23 April 1999). "Much ado about the battle for council power". Birmingham Post . p. 4.
5. "Success for hospital campaigners as town turns". Birmingham Post . 7 May 1999. p. 7.
6. "At-a-glance guide to how the councils stand". Birmingham Post . 8 May 1999. p. 3.
7. "How the nations voted". The Times . 8 May 1999. p. 48.