2015 Wychavon District Council election

Map of the results of the 2015 Wychavon District Council election. Conservatives in blue, Liberal Democrats in yellow and UK Independence Party in purple.

The 2015 Wychavon District Council election took place on 7 May 2015 to elect members of Wychavon District Council in Worcestershire, England. The whole council was up for election and the Conservative Party stayed in overall control of the council. ^[1]

Background

After the 2011 elections to Wychavon District Council the Conservatives controlled the council with 39 councillors, while the Liberal Democrats had five seats and there was one Labour Party councillor. ^[2] In March 2012 the Conservative councillor for Lovett and North Claines, Alan Fisher, was suspended from the council for 6 months and on his return sat as an independent councillor. ^{[3] [4]} Another change came in December 2013 when the councillor for Elmley Castle and Somerville, Roma Kirke, left the Conservatives to become an independent, before resigning from the council in December 2014. ^{[5] [6]} A further seat was vacant at the 2015 election in Badsey ward after the death of Conservative councillor Reg Jakeman, leaving the Conservatives with 36 seats, Liberal Democrats five, Labour one and there was one independent. ^[7]

The 2015 election was the first time where parliamentary, district and parish elections were held at the same time in Wychavon since Wychavon District Council was founded in 1974. ^[8] Over 100 candidates stood in the district election, up from 72 in 2011 and the number of contested wards increased from 21 to 28. ^[8] Four Conservative candidates were elected unopposed in Bredon, Drakes Broughton, Honeybourne and Pebworth, and Norton and Whittington wards. ^{[7] [9]}

Election result

The Conservatives retained control of the council after winning 39 seats, the same as in 2011, but up from immediately before the election. ^{[10] [11]} Labour lost their only seat on the council to the Conservatives in Droitwich West, after the Labour councillor Peter Pinfield stood down at the election, which meant the Conservatives won every seat in Droitwich. ^[12]

The Liberal Democrats remained the largest opposition party on the council with five seats, after holding all of the seats they had been defending. ^[13] The only other councillor elected was Ged Bearcroft for the UK Independence Party in Great Hampton ward. ^[11] He defeated the Conservative councillor for the previous 32 years, John Smith, by 17 votes after a recount, to win the first ever UK Independence Party seat on Wychavon District Council. ^{[11] [13]} Overall turnout at the election was 70.19%, ^[9] up from 47% in 2011 and 42% in 2007, and reaching 81.78% in Bowbrook. ^{[12] [14]}

Following the election the Conservative leader of the council, Paul Middlebrough, stepped down as leader after eight years and was succeeded by Linda Robinson. ^[10]

Wychavon local election result 2015 ^[9]

Party		Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
	Conservative	39	3	1	+2	86.7	58.2	49,387	-0.6%
	Liberal Democrats	5	0	0	0	11.1	14.5	12,283	-7.6%
	UKIP	1	1	0	+1	2.2	9.3	7,898	+9.3%
	Green	0	0	0	0	0	7.5	6,397	+5.5%
	Labour	0	0	1	-1	0	6.0	5,081	-4.4%
	Independent	0	0	2	-2	0	4.1	3,493	-2.6%
	Monster Raving Loony	0	0	0	0	0	0.4	326	+0.4%

Ward results

Badsey ^[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Mark Goodge	681	44.4	-6.8
	Independent	Mary Campbell	574	37.4	-11.4
	UKIP	Anthony Haugh	279	18.2	+18.2
Majority			107	7.0	+4.6
Turnout			1,534	68.7	+23.8
	Conservative hold		Swing

Bengeworth (2 seats) ^[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Martin King	1,385
	Conservative	Emma Stokes	1,199
	UKIP	Jeremy Farrow	986
	Green	Christopher Wilson	687
Turnout			4,257	61.7	+22.3
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

Bowbrook ^[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Alexandra Rowley	1,109	55.9	-3.6
	Conservative	Sydney Bates	874	44.1	+3.6
Majority			235	11.9	-7.1
Turnout			1,983	81.8	+23.8
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Bredon ^[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Adrian Hardman	unopposed
	Conservative hold		Swing

Bretforton and Offenham ^[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Keith Wright	840	56.2	+2.8
	Conservative	David Ernest	655	43.8	-2.8
Majority			185	12.4	+5.6
Turnout			1,495	69.1	+19.1
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Broadway and Wickhamford (2 seats) ^[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Elizabeth Eyre	2,048
	Conservative	Bradley Thomas	1,533
	Green	Liam Wilson	684
	Monster Raving Loony	Paul Brockman	326
Turnout			4,591	73.3
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

Dodderhill ^[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Hugh Hamilton	902	67.0	-5.8
	Liberal Democrats	Peter Evans	445	33.0	+5.8
Majority			457	33.9	-11.6
Turnout			1,347	67.7	+28.6
	Conservative hold		Swing

Drakes Broughton ^[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Paul Middlebrough	unopposed
	Conservative hold		Swing

Droitwich Central ^[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Roy Murphy	486	37.8	-5.6
	Labour	Alan Humphries	347	27.0	-7.9
	UKIP	Neil Whelan	323	25.1	+25.1
	Liberal Democrats	Rebecca Littlechild	130	10.1	-11.6
Majority			139	10.8	+2.3
Turnout			1,286	65.4	+23.4
	Conservative hold		Swing

Droitwich East (2 seats) ^[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Gordon Brookes	1,587
	Conservative	Glenise Noyes	1,201
	Labour	Sheila Neary	775
	UKIP	Andrew Morgan	724
	Liberal Democrats	David Rowe	534
Turnout			4,821	69.7	+25.0
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

Droitwich South East (2 seats) ^[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Richard Morris	1,950
	Conservative	Maureen Lawley	1,663
	UKIP	Charlotte Townsend	613
	Labour	Stephen Ainsworth	494
	Liberal Democrats	Robert Crawford	455
	Green	Robert Burkett	296
	Liberal Democrats	Adrian Key	287
Turnout			5,758	78.9	+27.1
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

Droitwich South West (2 seats) ^[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Robert Beale	1,208
	Conservative	Thomas Noyes	1,131
	UKIP	Yuleen Jewell	641
	Labour	Bill Baker	602
	Liberal Democrats	Wendy Carter	432
	Green	Jane Zurek	301
	Liberal Democrats	John Littlechild	231
Turnout			4,546	70.4	+24.6
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

Droitwich West (2 seats) ^[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Janet Bolton	983
	Conservative	Catherine Powell	897
	Labour	Eve Freer	829
	Labour	Jacqueline O'Reilly	604
	Green	Ann Bennett	381
Turnout			3,694	56.5	+22.3
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing

Eckington ^[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Ronald Davis	1,177	69.4	+5.9
	Labour	Priscilla Cameron	518	30.6	+16.7
Majority			659	38.9	-2.0
Turnout			1,695	76.2	+16.2
	Conservative hold		Swing

Elmley Castle and Somerville ^{[5] [9]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	George Mackison	1,013	67.3	-1.5
	Green	Daniel Mulligan	492	32.7	+32.7
Majority			521	34.6	-3.1
Turnout			1,505	76.6	+44.0
	Conservative gain from Independent		Swing

Evesham North (2 seats) ^[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Robert Raphael	908
	Conservative	Josephine Sandalls	774
	UKIP	Richard Keel	702
	Green	Colin Tether	616
	Liberal Democrats	Timothy Haines	456
Turnout			3,456	60.7	+26.4
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

Evesham South (2 seats) ^[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	James Bulman	1,368
	Conservative	Kenneth Barclay-Timmis	1,271
	Green	Edward Cohen	903
Turnout			3,542	61.3
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

Fladbury ^[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Michelle English	1,061	62.9	-14.8
	Liberal Democrats	Diana Brown	338	20.0	-2.3
	Green	Julian Eldridge	289	17.1	+17.1
Majority			723	42.8	-12.7
Turnout			1,688	77.4	+11.2
	Conservative hold		Swing

Great Hampton ^[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	UKIP	Gerald Bearcroft	624	43.6
	Conservative	John Smith	607	42.4
	Green	Michael Parker	201	14.0
Majority			17	1.2
Turnout			1,432	66.8
	UKIP gain from Conservative		Swing

Hartlebury ^[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Nigel Dowty	943	59.3
	Independent	Sheridan Tranter	439	27.6
	Liberal Democrats	Andrew Murcott	208	13.1
Majority			504	31.7
Turnout			1,590	73.7
	Conservative hold		Swing

Harvington and Norton ^[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Charles Homer	1,103	73.6
	Green	Sarah Cohen	395	26.4
Majority			708	47.2
Turnout			1,498	74.2
	Conservative hold		Swing

Honeybourne and Pebworth ^[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Alastair Adams	unopposed
	Conservative hold		Swing

Inkberrow (2 seats) ^[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Audrey Steel	2,248
	Conservative	David Wilkinson	1,778
	Independent	David Powis	958
	UKIP	Clive Owen	716
	UKIP	Peter Jewell	548
Turnout			6,248	78.9	+21.8
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

Little Hampton (2 seats) ^[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Gerard O'Donnell	1,223
	Conservative	Frances Smith	1,030
	UKIP	Peter Long	808
	Green	Jonathan Thompson	534
Turnout			3,595	60.1	+25.5
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

Lovett and North Claines (2 seats) ^{[4] [9]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Anthony Miller	2,109
	Conservative	Lynne Duffy	1,846
	Liberal Democrats	Roy Roberson	826
	Independent	Nigel Addison	739
Turnout			5,520	76.3	+27.1
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative gain from Independent		Swing

Norton and Whittington ^[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Robert Adams	unopposed
	Conservative hold		Swing

Ombersley ^[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Peter Tomlinson	1,058	76.3
	Liberal Democrats	Judith Cussen	329	23.7
Majority			729	52.6
Turnout			1,387	72.7
	Conservative hold		Swing

Pershore (3 seats) ^[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Charles Tucker	1,598
	Conservative	Michael Rowley	1,419
	Conservative	Valerie Wood	1,315
	Conservative	David Smith	1,226
	Liberal Democrats	Carolyn Harford	1,035
	UKIP	Jonathan Townsend	934
	Liberal Democrats	Derrick Watt	858
	Independent	David Annis	783
	Labour	Peter Brookbank	771
Turnout			9,939	66.8	+17.3
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

Pinvin ^[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Elizabeth Tucker	1,129	65.0	-5.9
	Conservative	Clive Brooker	608	35.0	+5.9
Majority			521	30.0	-11.8
Turnout			1,737	74.8	+19.4
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

South Bredon Hill ^[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Adrian Darby	671	46.6
	Conservative	Beverley Hardman	628	43.6
	Labour	Robert Facer	141	9.8
Majority			43	3.0
Turnout			1,440	76.4
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

The Littletons ^[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Richard Lasota	951	60.6	+5.5
	Green	Innes Barnes	618	39.4	+39.4
Majority			333	21.2	+10.9
Turnout			1,569	72.3	+20.0
	Conservative hold		Swing

Upton Snodsbury ^[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Linda Robinson	1,340	78.3
	Liberal Democrats	Gregory Thomas	372	21.7
Majority			968	56.6
Turnout			1,712	78.6
	Conservative hold		Swing

By-elections between 2015 and 2019

A by-election was held in Droitwich East on 30 July 2015 after the death of Conservative councillor Glenise Noyes. ^{[15] [16]} The seat was held for the Conservatives by Karen Tomalin with a majority of the 320 votes over Labour party candidate Jacqueline O'Reilly. ^{[16] [17]}

Droitwich East by-election 30 July 2015 ^[17]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Karen Tomalin	495	52.2	+8.3
	Labour	Jacqueline O'Reilly	175	18.4	-3.0
	UKIP	Andrew Morgan	171	18.0	-2.0
	Liberal Democrats	Rory Roberson	108	11.4	-3.4
Majority			320	33.8
Turnout			949	22.1	-47.6
	Conservative hold		Swing

Two by-elections were held on 4 May 2017.

A by-election was held in Evesham South after the retirement of Ken Barclay on health grounds. The seat was held for the Conservatives by Matt Snape with a majority of 351 votes over the Liberal Democrat candidate Julie Haines. ^[18]

Evesham South by-election 2017 ^[18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Matt Snape	538	51.2	+15.4
	Liberal Democrats	Julie Haines	187	17.8	New
	Green	Julie Tucker	171	16.2	-9.2
	Independent	Emma Nishigaki	154	14.6	New
Majority			351	33.4
Turnout			1,050
	Conservative hold		Swing

A by-election was held in Droitwich South East following the death of Maureen Lawley. The seat was held for the Conservatives by Sital Harris with a majority of 903 votes over the Liberal Democrat candidate Adrian Key. ^[19]

Droitwich South East by-election 2017 ^[19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Sital Harris	1161	66.6
	Liberal Democrats	Adrian Key	258	14.8
	Labour	Valerie Patricia Rose Humphries	216	12.4
	Green	Jane Delia Zurek	96	5.5
Majority			351	51.8
Turnout			1,050
	Conservative hold		Swing

References

1. "Local election results 2015 in full". The Guardian . 15 May 2015. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
2. "Conservative Roma Kirke wins Whychavon by-election". BBC News Online. 24 June 2011. Retrieved 31 July 2015.
3. "Wychavon councillor Alan Fisher suspended". BBC News Online. 20 March 2012. Retrieved 31 July 2015.
4. Harris, Mel (25 September 2012). "Political Balance". Wychavon District Council. Retrieved 31 July 2015.
5. Harris, Mel (17 December 2013). "Political Balance" (PDF). Wychavon District Council. Retrieved 31 July 2015.
6. "Agenda item". Wychavon District Council. 16 December 2014. Retrieved 31 July 2015.
7. "Conservatives looking to remain at helm of Wychavon District Council". Evesham Observer. 16 April 2015. Retrieved 31 July 2015.
8. "Wychavon set for biggest election in its history". Wychavon District Council. 20 April 2015. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
9. "Election of District Councillors for the Wards of Summary of Results". Wychavon District Council. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
10. Edwards, Tom (11 May 2015). "Exclusive: council leader to quit after eight years in charge". Worcester News . NewsBank.
11. "Conservatives increase their dominance of Wychavon District Council". Evesham Journal. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
12. "How the Droitwich seats on Wychavon District were won and lost". Droitwich Standard. 9 May 2015. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
13. Johnson, Lydia (8 May 2015). "Victory for Tories in Wychavon — and one historic step for UKIP". Worcester News . NewsBank.
14. Johnson, Lydia (11 May 2015). "Complex counts and high turnout saw election counts run over by several hours on Friday". Evesham Journal. NewsBank.
15. Townley, Alex (21 May 2015). "Silent tribute paid to 'a gentle and free spirit'". Droitwich Advertiser. NewsBank.
16. Forrest, James (31 July 2015). "Conservatives win Droitwich bt-election". Worcester News . Retrieved 1 August 2015.
17. "Declaration of result of poll". Wychavon District Council. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
18. "Declaration of result of poll". Wychavon District Council. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
19. "Declaration of result of poll". Wychavon District Council. Retrieved 28 September 2018.