2007 Wealden District Council election

Map of the results of the 2007 Wealden council election. Conservatives in blue, Liberal Democrats in yellow, independents in grey and Greens in green.

The 2007 Wealden District Council election took place on 3 May 2007 to elect members of Wealden District Council in East Sussex, England. The whole council was up for election and the Conservative party stayed in overall control of the council. ^[1]

Background

At the 2003 election the Conservatives held control of the council with 34 seats, compared to 15 for the Liberal Democrats and 6 independents. ^[2] However, in September 2006 Liberal Democrat councillor Stephen Shing was expelled from the Liberal Democrats and continued on the council as an independent. ^[3]

The Conservatives took 4 seats without any opposition and were also guaranteed seats in other wards where there were not enough candidates from other parties for the number of seats being contested. ^[4] The returning officer for Wealden, Charlie Lant, formed a band called The Council Tax Band with other council officers and performed a song called Vote! in an effort to boost turnout at the election. ^{[5] [6]}

An important issue at the election was a legal loophole, which was allowing developers to build increased numbers of houses in the area. ^[4]

Election result

The Conservatives held control of the council staying on 34 seats, but both the Conservative leader of the council Nigel Coltman and the Liberal Democrat group leader Laura Murphy were defeated. ^[7] The Liberal Democrats lost 2 seats, dropping to 12 councillors, while independents remained on 7 seats and the Green party won its first councillors on the council after gaining 2 seats. ^{[8] [9] [10]} Overall turnout at the election was 38.51%, ^[11] up from 35% in 2003. ^[12]

The Conservative leader Nigel Coltman was defeated by Liberal Democrat Brian Cook in Hailsham East by a 55-vote majority, with the Conservatives also losing 2 seats to the Greens in Forest Row. ^[7] However the Conservatives did not suffer a net loss of seats as they also made gains including defeating the Liberal Democrat group leader Laura Murphy in Hailsham Central and North. ^[7] The Liberal Democrats did gain a seat in Polegate South from an independent by 1 vote, but Stephen Shing was re-elected as an independent in Willingdon, while Shing's son Daniel also gained a seat in the same ward and Shing's wife Oi Lin gained one in Polegate North. ^[7]

Wealden local election result 2007 ^{[13] [14]}

Party		Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
	Conservative	34	3	3	0	61.8	54.6	36,928	+5.2%
	Liberal Democrats	12	3	5	-2	21.8	23.4	15,820	-11.6%
	Independent	7	2	2	0	12.7	15.0	10,153	+5.5%
	Green	2	2	0	+2	3.6	6.0	4,082	+4.1%
	Labour	0	0	0	0	0	0.6	424	-3.3%
	English Democrat	0	0	0	0	0	0.3	190	+0.3%
	UKIP	0	0	0	0	0	0.1	57	-0.1%

Ward results

Alfriston ^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Keith Whitehead	707	71.8	+4.5
	Liberal Democrats	Christine Page	277	28.2	-4.5
Majority			430	43.7	+9.1
Turnout			984	48.5	-1.0
	Conservative hold		Swing

Buxted and Maresfield (2) ^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Norman Buck	1,203
	Conservative	Ken Ogden	1,115
	Liberal Democrats	Michael Cooper	394
Turnout			2,712	39.0	+2.8
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

Chiddingly and East Hoathly ^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Barby Dashwood-Hall	628	66.2
	Liberal Democrats	Barbara Holbrook	321	33.8
Majority			307	32.3
Turnout			949	42.3
	Conservative hold		Swing

Cross-in-Hand/Five Ashes ^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Jonica Fox	unopposed
	Conservative hold		Swing

Crowborough East (2) ^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Sylvia Tidy	581
	Liberal Democrats	Jane Clark	579
	Conservative	Pat Kennedy	565
	Liberal Democrats	Ian Mein	510
	Green	Sarah Hale	185
	Green	Scott Mason	133
Turnout			2,553	33.5	+6.0
	Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats		Swing
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Crowborough Jarvis Brook ^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal Democrats	Martin Prestage	222	45.0	+6.2
	Conservative	John Stevens	215	43.6	+21.5
	Green	Colin Stocks	56	11.4	+11.4
Majority			7	1.4
Turnout			493	25.3	-3.5
	Liberal Democrats gain from Independent		Swing

Crowborough North (2) ^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Independent	Chantal Wilson	1,108
	Conservative	David Larkin	739
	Liberal Democrats	Adrian Morris	530
Turnout			2,377	37.9	+2.1
	Independent hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

Crowborough St Johns ^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Jim Hollins	469	59.4	-15.9
	English Democrat	Paul Adams	190	24.1	+24.1
	Labour	Jean McCarthy	47	6.0	-1.7
	Liberal Democrats	Valerie Banks	43	5.4	-11.5
	Green	Gabrielle Symonds	40	5.1	+5.1
Majority			279	35.4	-23.0
Turnout			789	40.4	+8.4
	Conservative hold		Swing

Crowborough West (2) ^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Diane Phillips	992
	Conservative	Antony Quin	954
	Liberal Democrats	Edward Willis	336
	Labour	Brendan Clegg	192
Turnout			2,474	34.9	+2.7
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

Danehill/Fletching/Nutley (2) ^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Roy Galley	unopposed
	Conservative	Sylvia Martin	unopposed
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

East Dean ^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Charles Peck	793	81.6	+13.8
	Liberal Democrats	Howard Coote	179	18.4	-13.8
Majority			614	63.2	+27.5
Turnout			972	50.8	+3.9
	Conservative hold		Swing

Forest Row (2) ^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Green	David Jonas	938
	Green	Vania Phitidis	877
	Conservative	Rowena Moore	839
	Conservative	Peter Davey	826
Turnout			3,480	46.9	+13.4
	Green gain from Conservative		Swing
	Green gain from Conservative		Swing

Framfield ^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Ann Newton	704	72.6	+7.7
	Liberal Democrats	Steve Hey	209	21.5	+2.1
	UKIP	Keith Riddle	57	5.9	-9.9
Majority			495	51.0	+5.5
Turnout			970	45.3	+3.1
	Conservative hold		Swing

Frant/Withyham ^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Johanna Howell	1,072
	Conservative	John Padfield	955
	Green	Keith Obbard	566
Turnout			2,593	39.5	+0.9
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

Hailsham Central and North (2) ^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal Democrats	Paul Holbrook	687
	Conservative	Jo Bentley	644
	Liberal Democrats	Laura Murphy	641
	Conservative	Angela Geall	577
	Independent	John Glover	291
	Independent	Robin Kempe	242
Turnout			3,082	36.1	+4.0
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing
	Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats		Swing

Hailsham East ^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal Democrats	Brian Cock	323	54.7	+29.4
	Conservative	Nigel Coltman	268	45.3	+11.6
Majority			55	9.3
Turnout			591	30.2	+3.6
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative		Swing

Hailsham South and West (3) ^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Independent	Nick Ellwood	742
	Independent	Ian Haffenden	690
	Independent	Geoff Rowe	675
	Conservative	Lynn Bowman	628
	Liberal Democrats	Anne Blake-Coggins	606
	Liberal Democrats	Ann Murrey	599
	Conservative	Arthur Kay	508
	Conservative	Ginny Heard	497
Turnout			4,945	29.1	+0.4
	Independent hold		Swing
	Independent hold		Swing
	Independent hold		Swing

Hartfield ^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Michael Hoy	661	60.6
	Liberal Democrats	Mike Burbridge	294	27.0
	Green	Heidi Ruse	135	12.4
Majority			367	33.7
Turnout			1,090	52.5
	Conservative hold		Swing

Heathfield East ^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Jan Dunk	unopposed
	Conservative hold		Swing

Heathfield North and Central (3) ^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Dick Angel	1,423
	Conservative	Margaret Kirkpatrick	1,337
	Conservative	Niki Oakes	1,303
	Liberal Democrats	Jim Benson	561
Turnout			4,624	33.2	+5.0
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

Hellingly (2) ^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal Democrats	John Blake	943
	Liberal Democrats	David White	929
	Conservative	Keith Byatt	727
	Conservative	James Kennedy	653
Turnout			3,252	39.7	+2.8
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Herstmonceux ^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Andy Long	559	69.0	+5.9
	Independent	Laurence Keeley	251	31.0	+31.0
Majority			308	38.0	+11.8
Turnout			810	37.6	+1.1
	Conservative hold		Swing

Horam ^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Susan Stedman	570	75.1	+18.2
	Liberal Democrats	Lois Norton	189	24.9	-18.2
Majority			381	50.2	+36.5
Turnout			759	36.6	+3.4
	Conservative hold		Swing

Mayfield ^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Brian Redman	647	72.3	+18.0
	Liberal Democrats	Sharon Cottingham	124	13.9	-31.8
	Green	Derek Forman	124	13.9	+13.9
Majority			523	58.4	+49.9
Turnout			895	43.7	+2.0
	Conservative hold		Swing

Ninfield and Hooe with Wartling ^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Pam Doodes	633	83.1
	Liberal Democrats	Edward Thompson	129	16.9
Majority			504	66.1
Turnout			762	39.2
	Conservative hold		Swing

Pevensey and Westham (3) ^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Kevin Balsdon	1,439
	Conservative	Dianne Dear	1,417
	Conservative	Lin McKeever	1,312
	Liberal Democrats	Christine Thomas	893
Turnout			5,061	31.7	+2.0
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

Polegate North (2) ^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Independent	Oi Shing	764
	Liberal Democrats	Roy Martin	683
	Liberal Democrats	Chris Berry	554
	Independent	John Harmer	394
	Independent	Gerald Carter	333
	Conservative	Derrick Wilkins	271
	Green	Peter Wright	108
Turnout			3,107	42.8	+5.1
	Independent gain from Liberal Democrats		Swing
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Polegate South ^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal Democrats	Don Broadbent	302	36.9	+5.3
	Independent	Ivy Scarborough	301	36.8	-8.9
	Conservative	Anne McIlvenny	216	26.4	+3.7
Majority			1	0.1
Turnout			819	41.7	+3.0
	Liberal Democrats gain from Independent		Swing

Rotherfield ^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Huw Merriman	620	77.7	+30.3
	Liberal Democrats	Graham Morgan	178	22.3	-23.4
Majority			442	55.4	+53.6
Turnout			798	42.7	+1.0
	Conservative hold		Swing

Uckfield Central ^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Claire Dowling	542	58.0	+5.3
	Liberal Democrats	Dorothy Sparks	392	42.0	+3.8
Majority			150	16.1	+1.6
Turnout			934	40.3	+5.2
	Conservative hold		Swing

Uckfield New Town ^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal Democrats	Julia Hey	410	63.4	+9.2
	Conservative	Terence Clark	237	36.6	+13.8
Majority			173	26.7	-4.5
Turnout			647	31.4	+0.4
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Uckfield North (2) ^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal Democrats	Paul Sparks	693
	Liberal Democrats	Alan Whittaker	532
	Conservative	Michael Lunn	453
	Conservative	Anne Sabine	373
	Green	Sam Bryant	250
Turnout			2,301	30.0	+2.2
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Uckfield Ridgewood ^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal Democrats	Robert Sweetland	469	51.6	-5.6
	Conservative	Kim Clark	440	48.4	+11.7
Majority			29	3.2	-17.3
Turnout			909	40.9	+1.8
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Wadhurst (2) ^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Bob Standley	1,069
	Conservative	Graham Wells	1,052
	Green	Beth Martin	390
	Labour	Bruce Meredeen	185
Turnout			2,696	38.4	+6.4
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

Willingdon (3) ^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Independent	Stephen Shing	2,275
	Independent	Daniel Shing	2,087
	Conservative	Ron Cussons	890
	Conservative	Dick Broady	812
	Conservative	Douglas Murray	793
	Liberal Democrats	Andy Watkins	614
	Liberal Democrats	Kay Dewick	475
	Green	Izzy Riach	280
Turnout			8,226	57.1	+8.4
	Independent hold		Swing
	Independent gain from Liberal Democrats		Swing
	Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats		Swing

By-elections between 2007 and 2011

Uckfield New Town

A by-election was held in Uckfield New Town on 17 July 2008 after Liberal Democrat councillor Julia Hey resigned from the council. ^[15]

Uckfield New Town By-Election 17 July 2008 ^[16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal Democrats	Carol Sweetland	311	47.4	-16.0
	Conservative	John Carvey	289	44.1	+7.5
	UKIP	Michael Pursglove	56	8.5	+8.5
Majority			22	3.3	-23.4
Turnout			656	31.8	+0.4
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Alfriston

A by-election was held in Alfriston on 25 September 2008 after Conservative Keith Whitehead stood down from the council. ^[17] The seat was gained from the Conservatives by Liberal Democrat Andy Watkins with a 30-vote majority, defeating the former Conservative leader of Wealden council, Nigel Coltman who had been trying to return to the council. ^[17]

Alfriston By-Election 25 September 2008 ^{[16] [17]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal Democrats	Andrew Watkins	495	51.6	+23.4
	Conservative	Nigel Coltman	465	48.4	-23.4
Majority			30	3.2
Turnout			960	48.0	-0.5
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative		Swing

Heathfield North and Central

A by-election was held in Heathfield North and Central on 23 September 2010 after the death of Conservative councillor Niki Oakes in June 2010. ^[18]

Heathfield North and Central By-Election 23 September 2010 ^[16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Peter Newnham	802	69.2	-2.5
	Liberal Democrats	Jim Benson	357	30.8	+2.5
Majority			445	38.4
Turnout			1,159	19.4	-13.8
	Conservative hold		Swing

References

1. "Wealden". BBC News Online. 4 May 2007. Retrieved 23 December 2011.
2. "Wealden District Council: Con hold". The Argus . 2 May 2003. Retrieved 2 January 2012.
3. Harrity, Lisa-Marie (15 September 2006). "Liberal ousted after 30 years". The Argus . Retrieved 2 January 2012.
4. Marzouk, Lawrence (30 April 2007). "Liberal Democrats hope to make gains in Wealden". The Argus . Retrieved 2 January 2012.
5. "'Rock-and-poll' band boosts vote". BBC News Online. 3 May 2007. Retrieved 2 January 2012.
6. Gurner, Richard (24 April 2007). "Officials get in the groove for elections". The Argus . Retrieved 2 January 2012.
7. "Local elections results across Sussex". The Argus . 5 May 2007. Retrieved 2 January 2012.
8. Morris, Nigel (5 May 2007). "BNP fails to break into new areas". The Independent . p. 1.
9. Woodward, Will; Muir, Hugh (5 May 2007). "Elections 2007: Up close". The Guardian . p. 7.
10. "Tories retain control of Wealden". BBC News Online. 4 May 2007. Retrieved 2 January 2012.
11. "District election results - May 2007". Wealden District Council. Archived from the original on 5 October 2007. Retrieved 23 December 2011.
12. "Tories keep control". Sussex Express. 8 May 2003. Retrieved 23 December 2011.
13. "District Council election". Wealden District Council. Retrieved 23 December 2011.
14. "Results". The Times . 5 May 2007. p. 83.
15. "Three fight in by-election". Sussex Express. 26 June 2008. Retrieved 2 January 2012.
16. "Election Results". Wealden District Council. Retrieved 2 January 2012.
17. "LibDems win by-election". Sussex Express. 26 September 2008. Retrieved 2 January 2012.
18. "Niki's legacy set to live on through gong". this is Sussex. 12 November 2010. Retrieved 2 January 2012.^{[ permanent dead link ]}