2011 Fenland District Council election

Map of the results of the 2011 Fenland council election. Conservatives in blue, independents in grey and Liberal Democrats in yellow.

The 2011 Fenland District Council election took place on 5 May 2011 to elect members of Fenland District Council in Cambridgeshire, England. The whole council was up for election and the Conservative Party stayed in overall control of the council. ^[1]

2011 Fenland District Council election

←  2007 5 May 2011 2015  →
All 40 seats to Fenland District Council
First party Second party Third party   Leader N/A Party Conservative Liberal Democrats Labour Leader since N/A Leader's seat N/A Last election 39 seats, 97.5% 0 seats, 0% 0 seats, % Seats before 38 1 0 Seats won 34 2 0 Seat change -4 +1 0   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   Party Independent UKIP Green Last election 1 0 seats, % 0 seats, % Seats before 0 0 Seats won 4 0 0 Seat change +3 0 Percentage  %  %
Council control before election Conservative Council control after election Conservative

Background

In the 2007 election, the Conservatives won 39 of the 40 seats, with the only other seat being won by an independent. ^[2] However, in April 2010 Liberal Democrat Dave Patrick gained a seat at a by-election from the Conservatives in Kirkgate ward. ^[3]

A total of 96 candidates stood in the election for the 40 seats on the council. ^[4] 2 Conservatives candidates were unopposed at the election, Martin Curtis in Kingsmoor and Pop Jolley in Wimblington, a substantial drop from the number at the 2007 election. ^[4] For the other 38 seats the candidates were 38 Conservatives, 20 Labour, 19 Liberal Democrats, 10 independents, 4 United Kingdom Independence Party and 3 Green Party. ^[5] The most candidates were in Waterlees ward in Wisbech, where 9 candidates stood for 2 seats on the council. ^[5]

Election result

The Conservatives retained control of the council, but their majority was reduced slightly. ^[6] They won 34 of the 40 seats on the council, after losing 4 seats, 3 to independents and 1 to the Liberal Democrats. ^{[6] [7]} The wins for the Conservatives included Will Sutton in Elm and Christchurch, where he defeated the former Conservative member of the cabinet Phil Webb, who been deselected before the election and stood as an independent. ^[7] Conservative leader of the council Alan Melton, who comfortably held his own seat in Birch ward in Chatteris, said he was "ecstatic" at the results, which he said showed support for his party's policies. ^[7]

The Conservatives losses came in Waterlees, where independents Michael and Virginia Bucknor gained both seats from the Conservatives, and in March West where independent Rob Skoulding took one of the three seats. ^[7] Meanwhile, Liberal Democrat Gavin Booth gained one of the two seats in Parson Drove and Wisbech St Mary from the Conservatives. ^[7] After independent Mark Archer and Liberal Democrat Dave Patrick held their seats, this meant the opposition on the council was 4 independent and 2 Liberal Democrat councillors. ^[7]

Fenland Local Election Result 2011 ^[8]

Party		Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
	Conservative	34	0	4	4	85.0	59.9	24,602	-7.7
	Independent	4	3	0	3	10.0	11.3	4,647	+5.7
	Liberal Democrats	2	1	0	1	5.0	10.9	4,463	-8.4
	Labour	0	0	0	0	0	15.4	6,321	+7.8
	Green	0	0	0	0	0	1.3	541	+1.3
	UKIP	0	0	0	0	0	1.2	497	+1.2

Ward results

Bassenhally (Whittlesey)

Bassenhally ^{[8] [9]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Ken Mayor	392	79.0
	Liberal Democrats	Tracey Wilkes	104	21.0
Majority			288	58.0
Turnout			496	39.8
	Conservative hold		Swing

Benwick, Coates and Eastrea

Benwick, Coates and Eastrea (2) ^{[8] [9]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Ralph Butcher	880
	Conservative	Alex Miscandlon	530
	Independent	Bob Wicks	414
	Labour	Aidan Hervey	248
	Green	Shane Alexander	194
Turnout			2,266	41.5	+2
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

Birch (Chatteris

Birch ^{[8] [9]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Alan Melton	424	55.4	+4.7
	Liberal Democrats	Christine Colbert	234	30.6	−9.8
	UKIP	Sandra Rylance	107	14.0	+14.0
Majority			190	24.8	+14.5
Turnout			765	40.6	+8
	Conservative hold		Swing

Clarkson (Wisbech)

Clarkson ^{[8] [9]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Carol Cox	258	56.7
	Labour	Ann Purt	127	27.9
	Liberal Democrats	Robert McLaren	70	15.4
Majority			131	28.8
Turnout			455	26.2
	Conservative hold		Swing

Delph

Delph ^{[8] [9]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Kay Mayor	434	72.2
	Labour	David Lewis	167	27.8
Majority			267	44.4
Turnout			601	39.3
	Conservative hold		Swing

Doddington

Doddington ^{[8] [9]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	David Connor	554	76.6
	Liberal Democrats	Janet Feekins	169	23.4
Majority			385	53.2
Turnout			723	42.9
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elm and Christchurch

Elm and Christchurch (2) ^{[8] [9]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Mac Cotterell	711
	Conservative	Will Sutton	489
	Independent	Phil Webb	268
	Labour	Nicholas Poole	221
	Independent	Robert Pinnock	198
	Liberal Democrats	Verity Roscoe	118
Turnout			2,005	34.3	+6
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

Hill (Wisbech)

Hill (2) ^{[8] [9]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Simon King	797
	Conservative	Bruce Wegg	677
	Labour	Dean Reeves	366
	Liberal Democrats	Luke Roscoe	202
Turnout			2,042	30.3
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

Kingsmoor (Whittlesey))

Kingsmoor ^[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Martin Curtis	unopposed
	Conservative hold		Swing

Kirkgate (Wisbech)

Kirkgate ^{[8] [9]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	David Patrick	311	48.6
	Conservative	Robert Lawrence	233	36.4
	Labour	John White	96	15.0
Majority			78	12.2
Turnout			640	35.1
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Lattersey (Whittlesey)

Lattersey ^{[8] [9]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Steve Garratt	453	67.9
	Labour	Jes Hibbert	162	24.3
	Liberal Democrats	Paul Adams	52	7.8
Majority			291	43.6
Turnout			667	35.7
	Conservative hold		Swing

Manea

Manea ^{[8] [9]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Mark Archer	568	73.9	+12.5
	Conservative	James Carney	201	26.1	−12.5
Majority			367	47.7	+24.9
Turnout			769	47.7	−6
	Independent hold		Swing

March East

March East (3) ^{[8] [9]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Clark	1,154
	Conservative	Bernard Keane	1,002
	Conservative	Fred Yeulett	914
	Labour	Martin Field	727
	Labour	Louis Sugden	617
	Labour	John Williams	613
	Independent	Reg Kemp	537
Turnout			5,564	38.4	+4
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

March North

March North (3) ^{[8] [9]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Mike Cornwell	1,064
	Conservative	Trevor Quince	923
	Conservative	Peter Tunley	827
	Labour	Matthew Routledge	627
	Liberal Democrats	William McAdam	468
Turnout			3,909	34.8	+6
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

March West

March West (3) ^{[8] [9]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Kit Owen	1,117
	Independent	Rob Skoulding	1,082
	Conservative	Jan French	1,019
	Conservative	Adam Triggs	813
	Independent	Matt Broadfield	483
	Labour	Christopher Carter	472
	Liberal Democrats	Stephen Court	460
Turnout			5,446	43.3	+11
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Independent gain from Conservative		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

Medworth (Wisbech)

Medworth ^{[8] [9]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Jonathan Farmer	364	59.1	−5.6
	Labour	Mark Plum	194	31.5	−3.8
	Liberal Democrats	Christopher Randall	58	9.4	+9.4
Majority			170	27.6	−1.9
Turnout			616	30.5	−2
	Conservative hold		Swing

Parson Drove & Wisbech St Mary

Parson Drove and Wisbech St Mary (2) ^{[8] [9]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Robert Scrimshaw	849
	Liberal Democrats	Gavin Booth	652
	Conservative	Steve Tierney	602
	Liberal Democrats	Mary Lane	405
	Labour	David Goode	303
Turnout			2,811	42.9
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative		Swing

Peckover (Wisbech)

Peckover ^{[8] [9]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	David Oliver	446	69.8
	Labour	Simon Massen	131	20.5
	Liberal Democrats	Heather Kinnear	62	9.7
Majority			315	49.3
Turnout			639	34.5
	Conservative hold		Swing

Roman Bank

Roman Bank (3) ^{[8] [9]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Michael Humphrey	1,256
	Conservative	Philip Hatton	1,092
	Conservative	Chris Seaton	1,007
	Labour	Kay Scott	590
	Liberal Democrats	Nicholas Smith	361
Turnout			4,306	40.4
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

Slade Lode

Slade Lode ^{[8] [9]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Florrie Newell	301	46.5	−0.8
	Liberal Democrats	Chris Howes	206	31.8	−8.7
	Labour	Grant Osbourn	140	21.6	+9.4
Majority			95	14.7	+8.0
Turnout			647	33.3	+2
	Conservative hold		Swing

Staithe (Wisbech)

Staithe ^{[8] [9]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Roger Green	301	55.1
	Labour	Reg Mee	157	28.8
	UKIP	Will Schooling	88	16.1
Majority			144	26.3
Turnout			546	29.9
	Conservative hold		Swing

St Andrews ^{[8] [9]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Derek Stebbing	542	69.0
	Green	David Chivall	243	31.0
Majority			299	38.0
Turnout			785	38.3
	Conservative hold		Swing

St Marys ^{[8] [9]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Ken Peachey	364	46.0
	Independent	Roy Gerstner	324	40.9
	Green	Hilary Chivall	104	13.1
Majority			40	5.1
Turnout			792	39.3
	Conservative hold		Swing

The Mills

The Mills ^{[8] [9]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Chambers	422	57.3	+0.2
	Liberal Democrats	Diane Baldry	314	42.7	−0.2
Majority			108	14.7	+0.6
Turnout			736	36.1	+1
	Conservative hold		Swing

Waterlees (2) ^{[8] [9]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Virginia Bucknor	392
	Independent	Michael Bucknor	381
	Conservative	Ray Griffin	298
	Conservative	David Wheeler	285
	Labour	Barry Diggle	186
	Labour	Avis Gilliatt	177
	UKIP	Paul Clapp	165
	UKIP	Christopher Schooling	137
	Liberal Democrats	Christopher Hancox	31
Turnout			2,052	27.0	−17
	Independent gain from Conservative		Swing
	Independent gain from Conservative		Swing

Wenneye ^{[8] [9]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Peter Murphy	607	76.5	+8.2
	Liberal Democrats	Josie Ratcliffe	186	23.5	−8.2
Majority			421	53.1	+16.4
Turnout			793	39.8	+4
	Conservative hold		Swing

Wimblington ^[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Pop Jolley	unopposed
	Conservative hold		Swing

References

1. "England council elections". BBC News. 10 May 2011. Retrieved 14 September 2011.
2. "Fenland". BBC News. 4 May 2007. Retrieved 16 September 2011.
3. "Dave Patrick stuns Tories and wins Wisbech seat on Fenland District Council for Lib Dems". Wisbech Standard . 16 April 2010. Retrieved 16 September 2011.
4. Elworthy, John (5 April 2011). "Stunning 60 per cent rise in candidates vying for seats on Fenland District Council". Cambs Times. Retrieved 16 September 2011.
5. Caney, Gavin (26 April 2011). "Fenland District Council candidates take to the streets as election battle hots up". Cambs Times. Retrieved 16 September 2011.
6. "Labour gains seats from Lib Dems in Cambridge". BBC News. 7 May 2011. Retrieved 15 September 2011.
7. Setchell, Rob; Caney, Gavin; Jackson, Tom; Elworthy, John (6 May 2011). "Highs, lows, tears, tantrums and surprises as Fenland decides". Eastern Daily Press . Archived from the original on 25 August 2012. Retrieved 16 September 2011.
8. "District - 2011 Fenland Election Results". Fenland District Council. Archived from the original on 11 May 2011. Retrieved 14 September 2011.
9. "District – Verification Totals". Fenland District Council. Archived from the original on 11 May 2011. Retrieved 14 September 2011.
10. "Shock as Labour take a seat in Fenland – their first for eight years". Cambs Times. 10 May 2011. Retrieved 15 September 2011.