2000 Southend-on-Sea Borough Council election

2000 Southend-on-Sea Borough Council election ^[1]

←  1999 4 May 2000 (2000-05-04) 2001  →
14 out of 39 seats to Southend-on-Sea Borough Council 20 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party Third party   Party Conservative Liberal Democrats Labour Seats won 12 2 0 Seats after 25 9 5 Seat change 6 3 3 Popular vote 21,567 8,625 6,564 Percentage 57.4% 23.0% 17.5% Swing 11.2% 0.9% 11.7%
Winner of each seat at the 2000 Southend-on-Sea Borough Council election.
Council control before election No overall control Council control after election Conservative

The 2000 Southend-on-Sea Council election took place on 4 May 2000 to elect members of Southend-on-Sea Unitary Council in Essex, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Conservative party gained overall control of the council from no overall control. ^[2]

Campaign

Before the election the council was run by a coalition between the Liberal Democrat and Labour parties, but the election was expected to see the Conservatives take control from them. ^[3] 14 of the 39 seats were being contested, ^[4] with the Conservatives only needing to gain one seat in order to have a majority. ^[5] They only required a tiny swing to achieve this, which would give the Conservatives control of the council for the first time in 8 years. ^[5] The election was a high-profile one with the Conservative leader, William Hague, campaigning in the area on the Monday before the election. ^[6]

A major issue in the election was the number of refugees in the town, which was estimated at up to 2,000. ^[6] The Conservatives said that the area had become a "dumping ground" and called on all asylum seekers to be detained upon entry into the country. ^[6] However Labour accused the Conservatives of "playing the race card" ^[6] and reported a Conservative leaflet to the Commission for Racial Equality. ^[7]

Other issues included Conservative plans to build a new bypass to ease traffic within the town. ^[4] Meanwhile, the Liberal Democrat and Labour parties defended their record of investing £50 million in the town during their period in control of the council, while keeping council tax rises down, with the latest council tax level the second lowest in Essex. ^[4]

Election result

The results saw the Conservatives gain control of the council with an 11-seat majority after winning over 57% of the vote. ^[6] They gained 3 seats each from both Labour and the Liberal Democrats ^[6] with defeated councillors including 3 members of the executive, Nigel Baker, Stephen George and Chris Mallam. ^[8] These defeats meant that Labour failed to hold any of the seats they had been defending, while the Liberal Democrats only managed to hold on to 2 seats. ^[9] Overall turnout in the election was just above the national average at 30%. ^[6]

Following the election Charles Latham became the new Conservative leader of the council and announced they would scrap planned bus lanes and abolish charges for social care services. ^{[10] [11]}

2000 Southend-on-Sea Borough Council election [1] [12]
Party		This election			Full council			This election
		Seats	Net	Seats %	Other	Total	Total %	Votes	Votes %	+/−
	Conservative	12	6	85.7	13	25	64.1	21,567	57.4	+11.2
	Liberal Democrats	2	3	14.3	7	9	23.1	8,625	23.0	–0.9
	Labour	0	3	0.0	5	5	12.8	6,564	17.5	–11.7
	UKIP	0		0.0	0	0	0.0	579	1.5	N/A
	Independent	0		0.0	0	0	0.0	146	0.4	N/A
	Green	0		0.0	0	0	0.0	78	0.2	N/A

Ward results

Belfairs

Belfairs ^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Howard Briggs*	2,337	69.1	+10.7
	Liberal Democrats	Colin Ritchie	713	21.1	−6.4
	Labour	Charles Willis	331	9.8	−4.3
Majority			1,624	48.0	+17.1
Turnout			3,381	37.4	−0.7
Registered electors			9,051
	Conservative hold		Swing	8.6

Blenheim

Blenheim ^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Peter Collins	1,367	46.6	+7.4
	Liberal Democrats	Christopher Mallam*	1,010	34.4	−6.2
	Labour	Teresa Merrison	324	11.0	−9.2
	UKIP	David Stephens	233	7.9	N/A
Majority			357	12.2	N/A
Turnout			2,934	32.3	+3.6
Registered electors			9,085
	Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats		Swing	6.8

Chalkwell

Chalkwell ^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Lesley Salter*	1,633	60.0	+5.6
	Liberal Democrats	Roger Fisher	623	22.9	−5.9
	Labour	Ruth Jarvis	285	10.5	−6.3
	UKIP	David Cooper-Walker	179	6.6	N/A
Majority			1,010	37.1	+11.4
Turnout			2,720	28.3	+0.3
Registered electors			9,640
	Conservative hold		Swing	5.8

Eastwood

Eastwood ^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Roger Weaver*	1,997	63.4	+13.9
	Liberal Democrats	Mervyn Howell	818	26.0	−8.0
	Labour	Denis Garne	334	10.6	−5.9
Majority			1,179	37.4	+21.9
Turnout			3,149	29.8	−0.1
Registered electors			10,583
	Conservative hold		Swing	11.0

Leigh

Leigh ^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Peter Wrexham*	1,515	46.8	+9.3
	Conservative	Joyce Lambert	1,356	41.9	+1.6
	Labour	Jane Norman	197	6.1	−8.3
	UKIP	Melvyn Smith	167	5.2	N/A
Majority			159	4.9	N/A
Turnout			3,235	35.2	+1.4
Registered electors			9,198
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing	3.9

Milton

Milton ^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Jonathan Garston	1,096	50.4	+5.8
	Labour	Stephen George*	782	36.0	–9.7
	Liberal Democrats	Amanda Smith	150	6.9	–2.8
	Independent	Patricia Clark	146	6.7	N/A
Majority			314	14.4	N/A
Turnout			2,174	25.2	+1.3
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing	7.8

Prittlewell

Prittlewell (2) ^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Christopher Kerr	1,638	56.8	+18.8
	Conservative	Anna Waite	1,557	54.0	+16.0
	Liberal Democrats	Nigel Baker*	975	33.8	–4.5
	Liberal Democrats	Stephen Newton	902	31.3	–7.0
	Labour	Sylvia Groom	357	12.4	–11.3
	Labour	Anne Chalk	342	11.9	–11.8
Turnout			5,771	33.1	+6.3
Registered electors			8,976
	Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats
	Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats

St Lukes

St Lukes ^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Melvyn Day	780	48.4	+14.0
	Labour	Joyce Mapp*	627	38.9	−15.9
	Liberal Democrats	Michael Clark	126	7.8	−3.1
	Green	Adrian Hedges	78	4.8	N/A
Majority			153	9.5	N/A
Turnout			1,611	19.1	−0.7
Registered electors			8,458
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing	15.0

Shoebury

Shoebury ^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Anthony North*	2,282	68.8	+15.8
	Labour	Peter Griffiths	802	24.2	−13.9
	Liberal Democrats	Granville Stride	232	7.0	−1.9
Majority			1,480	44.6	+29.7
Turnout			3,316	22.3	−0.5
Registered electors			14,939
	Conservative hold		Swing	14.9

Southchurch

Southchurch ^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Ann Holland*	1,882	75.6	+12.3
	Labour	Colin Van-Assen	397	16.0	−11.1
	Liberal Democrats	Michael Woolcott	209	8.4	−1.1
Majority			1,485	59.7	+23.5
Turnout			2,488	28.3	+2.1
Registered electors			8,832
	Conservative hold		Swing	11.7

Thorpe

Thorpe ^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Anthony Delaney	2,059	76.5	+8.0
	Labour	John Townsend	409	15.2	−6.2
	Liberal Democrats	Linda Smith	224	8.3	−1.7
Majority			1,650	61.3	+14.2
Turnout			2,692	27.1	+2.8
Registered electors			9,962
	Conservative hold		Swing	7.1

Victoria

Victoria ^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Paul Jones	922	45.9	+16.5
	Labour	David Norman	870	43.3	−15.9
	Liberal Democrats	Robert Howes	217	10.8	−0.6
Majority			52	2.6	N/A
Turnout			2,009	21.8	−0.3
Registered electors			9,243
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing	16.2

Westborough

Westborough ^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Mary Lubel*	911	43.8	+2.6
	Conservative	Michael Samuel	661	31.8	+14.0
	Labour	Raymond Hales	507	24.4	−16.6
Majority			250	12.0	+11.8
Turnout			2,079	24.3	−5.0
Registered electors			8,590
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing	5.7

References

1. "Election results: local councils". The Times . 5 May 2000. p. 4.
2. "Southend-on-Sea". BBC News Online . Retrieved 1 April 2010.
3. Salman, Saba (25 April 2000). "Local voters set to kick Blair over mayoral 'fix'". Evening Standard . p. 22.
4. "South Essex: Elections kick off..." Echo. 4 April 2000. Retrieved 2 April 2010.^{[ dead link ]}
5. "Reporting from Southend". BBC News Online . 3 May 2000. Retrieved 1 April 2010.
6. Sherwin, Adam (5 May 2000). "Hard line on refugees helps Southend Tories". The Times . p. 4.
7. "Southend: Labour says Tory leaflet is racist". Echo. 13 April 2000. Retrieved 2 April 2010.^{[ dead link ]}
8. "Election round-up: Tories romp to victory in South Essex". Echo. 5 May 2000. Retrieved 2 April 2010.^{[ dead link ]}
9. "Election round-up: Southend losers pledge to win next time". Echo. 5 May 2000. Retrieved 2 April 2010.^{[ dead link ]}
10. "Southend: Tories axe charges for caring". Echo. 10 May 2000. Retrieved 2 April 2010.^{[ dead link ]}
11. "Southend: Bus lanes ditched". Echo. 8 May 2000. Retrieved 2 April 2010.^{[ dead link ]}
12. "Southend Borough Council: Borough Council Election" (PDF). Southend-on-Sea Borough Council. Retrieved 1 April 2010.^{[ dead link ]}