2019 Southampton City Council election

2019 Southampton City Council election

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16 of the 48 seats to Southampton City Council 25 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party Third party   Leader Christopher Hammond Dan Fitzhenry n/a Party Labour Conservative Independent Leader's seat Woolston Harefield n/a Last election 25 19 4 Seats before 26 19 3 Seats won 9 7 0 Seats after 29 18 1 Seat change 3 1 2 Popular vote 18,788 17,266 Percentage 37.25% 34.23%
Map showing the election results. Each ward represents 1 seat
Council control before election Labour Council control after election Labour

Elections to Southampton City Council took place on Thursday 2 May 2019, alongside other local elections across the country. The Labour Party held a narrow majority of two at the last election and the seats contested in this election were last contested in 2015. Labour were defending 6 seats, the Conservatives were defending 8, whilst independent councillors, who held two seats, were not standing re-elections. Following a by-election in the Coxford ward where Labour gained the seat formerly held by an independent.

The result saw the Labour party gain Coxford, Freemantle, Portswood and Swaythling, but lost Millbrook and Bitterne to the Conservatives, making a net gain of three.

Background

The council elects its councillors in thirds, with a third being up for election every year for three years, with no election each fourth year to correspond with councillors' four-year terms. ^{[1] [2]} Councillors defending their seats in this election were previously elected in 2015. In that election, 8 Conservative candidates, 7 Labour candidates were elected and independent People Before Profit councillor was elected in Coxford. After the 2015 local election, the Labour party saw a loss of one of their Councillors, Andrew Pope, who formed the Southampton Independents party. ^[3] He is not seeking re-election in this election. ^[4] The last election in 2018 saw both the council leader Simon Letts and leader of the Conservative bloc in the city be defeated in their wards by each other's party. Letts was replaced with Christopher Hammond as council leader, and Dan Fitzhenry as leader of the Conservatives. ^[5]

People Before Profit, an independent group with all three of its councillors elected in the Coxford ward, decided to separate after the 2018 election. ^[6] On 3 January 2019, former group leader of People Before Profit, Keith Morrell, announced that he would resign with immediate effect, triggering a by-election in the year. ^[7] Hours later, Don Thomas announced he would not seek re-election in the Coxford ward. ^[8]

14 March by-election

Due to the independent councillor Keith Morrell resigning as a councillor, a by-election was triggered for the Coxford ward. Morrell was re-elected in the seat for a third term in the 2018 elections, with 47% of the vote. ^[9] The Conservative Party candidate for the by-election Diana Galton is the mother of Millbrook Councillor Steven Galton, a front bench member for the Conservatives. ^[10]

Coxford By-Election 14 March 2019 ^[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour Co-op	Matthew Raynard	668	26.2	-2.0
	Conservative	Diana Galton	529	20.7	+4.3
	Liberal Democrats	Josh Smith	450	17.6	+14.7
	Socialist Alternative	Susan Anne Atkins	368	14.4	N/A
	Integrity Southampton	David John Fletcher	178	7.0	N/A
	Independent	Richard Terrence McQuillan	174	6.8	N/A
	UKIP	Derek Lascelles Humber	123	4.8	N/A
	Green	Cara Anne Sandys	53	2.1	−0.9
Majority			139	5.4
Turnout			2,551	25.0	−7.7
	Labour gain from Independent		Swing

Campaigning

Commentators had noted that though Southampton was a Labour controlled area, these local elections were difficult and the council is vulnerable. ^[12] Labour in the city had started incorporating more wealth building programs into their economic agenda to mitigate austerity in the city, similar to what is known as the "Preston model". ^[13]

The conservatives caused a controversy as they selected Josh Payne to contest Woolston, who shared the same surname as the incumbent Warwick Payne. Warwick Payne was concerned that people would mix them up on the ballot paper. ^[14]

Election results

Immediately ahead of this election, the composition of the council was:

↓

26	19	3
Labour	Conservative	Oth

After the election result, the composition of the council became:

↓

29	18	1
Labour	Conservative	Oth

As the council is elected in thirds, one councillor for each of the 16 wards are elected each year. All comparisons in seats and swing are to the corresponding 2015 election.

2019 Southampton City Council election
Party		This election			Full council			This election
		Seats	Net	Seats %	Other	Total	Total %	Votes	Votes %	+/−
	Labour	9	3	56.3	20	29	60.4	18,788	37.3	+3.1
	Conservative	7	1	43.7	11	18	37.5	17,266	34.2	+0.1
	Liberal Democrats	0		0	0	0	0.0	6,356	12.6	+5.4
	Green	0		0	0	0	0.0	4,950	9.8	+1.2
	UKIP	0		0	0	0	0.0	2,756	5.5	–7.1
	Integrity Southampton	0		0	0	0	0.0	236	0.5	New
	Socialist Alternative	0		0	0	0	0.0	80	0.2	New

Results by ward

The statement of persons nominated was revealed 3 April 2019. ^[15] A (*) by a councillor's name indicates that they were standing for re-election, The declaration of the results were posted on 3 May. ^[16]

Bargate

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	John Noon*	1,363	49.1	+6.6
	Conservative	Matt Magee	683	24.6	-10.5
	Green	Joe Cox	435	15.7	+1.1
	Liberal Democrats	Joshua Jason Coleman Smith	263	9.5	+4.5
Majority			680	24.5	+17.1
Turnout			2,777	22.39	-29.62
	Labour hold		Swing	8.6

Bassett

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Les Harris*	1,252	33.9	-12.1
	Liberal Democrats	Richard Blackman	1,236	33.4	22.2
	Labour	Simon Osler	658	17.8	-5.3
	UKIP	John Dean Leaver	267	7.2	-2.3
	Green	Bethany Norman	267	7.2	-1.7
Majority			16	0.4	-22.5
Turnout			3,696	35.98	-29.57
	Conservative hold		Swing	-17.2

Bevois ^[16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Jacqui Rayment	1,743	65.6	+11.1
	Green	Ron Meldrum	374	14.1	+0.6
	Conservative	Gloria Munetsi	291	11.0	-7.2
	Liberal Democrats	Vijay Chopra	218	8.2	+1.5
Majority			1,369	51.5	+15.1
Turnout			2,656	24.52	-30.39
	Labour hold		Swing	5.3

Bitterne ^[16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Elliot David Prior	1,062	38.2	+5.2
	Labour	Andy Frampton	941	33.8	-6.2
	UKIP	Kevin Alan Masters	421	15.1	-2.7
	Green	Jenny Barnes	206	7.4	+3.1
	Liberal Democrats	Olivia Caitlin Reed	141	5.1	+1.0
Majority			121	4.3	-2.7
Turnout			2,782	27.91	-28.00
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing	5.7

Bitterne Park

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	David John Fuller	1,756	47.0	+7.5
	Labour Co-op	Simon James Oldham	1,092	29.2	-0.6
	Green	Lindsi Bluemel	511	13.7	+4.9
	Liberal Democrats	Carol Juliet Lloyd	380	10.2	+2.2
Majority			664	17.8	8.1
Turnout			3739	36.43	-28.83
	Conservative hold		Swing	+4.1

Coxford

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Barrie Margetts	768	29.0	+7.8
	Conservative	Diana June Galton	739	27.9	+8.8
	Liberal Democrats	Sam Philip Chapman	470	17.7	+14.3
	Socialist Alternative - Putting People First	Sue Atkins	442	16.7	+16.7
	Green	Cara Anne Sandys	194	7.3	+4.0
Majority			29	1.1	-14.4
Turnout			2651	26.01	-32.70
	Labour gain from Independent		Swing	22.3

Freemantle

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Vivienne Windle	1,503	43.4	+9.4
	Conservative	Vikkie Cheng	978	28.3	-7.0
	Green	John Charles Thomas Spottiswoode	481	13.9	+1.3
	Liberal Democrats	Andrew Thomas Beal	442	12.8	+5.9
Majority			525	15.2	+13.9
Turnout			3460	31.42	-29.27
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	8.2

Harefield

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Dan Fitzhenry	1,646	47.0	+3.0
	Labour Co-op	Alan Lloyd	1,088	31.1	+1.3
	Green	Chris Bluemel	291	8.3	+3.9
	Integrity Southampton	Peter Alexander Virgo	236	6.7	+6.7
	Liberal Democrats	John Robert Charles Dennis	221	6.3	+1.4
Majority			558	15.9	+1.7
Turnout			3503	33.82	-28.22
	Conservative hold		Swing	0.9

Millbrook

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Graham Reginald Galton	1,541	43.6	10.9
	Labour	David Furnell	1,203	34.1	-1.3
	Green	Jonathan Simon Bean	380	10.8	+4.2
	Liberal Democrats	Samuel David Harris	237	6.7	+0.4
	Socialist Alternative - Putting People First	Maggie Fricker	103	2.9	+2.9
Majority			338	9.6	+7.0
Turnout			3513	31.86	-26.84
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing	6.1

Peartree

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Alex Houghton	1,737	46.0	+7.9
	Labour	Jackie Landman	1162	30.8	-1.6
	UKIP	Kim Rose	369	9.8	-5.4
	Green	Rosanna Newey	261	6.9	+0.6
	Liberal Democrats	Robert William Naish	229	6.1	-0.9
Majority			575	15.2	+9.5
Turnout			3773	36.54	-26.33
	Conservative hold		Swing	4.8

Portswood

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Gordon Cooper	1,219	34.2	+6.0
	Liberal Democrats	James Arnold Read	1016	28.5	+8.4
	Green	Katherine Jane Barbour	637	17.9	+0.5
	Conservative	James Victor Burgess	615	17.3	-14.5
	Socialist Alternative - Putting People First	Nick Chaffey	48	1.3	+1.3
Majority			203	5.7	+2.1
Turnout			3560	34.42	-28.76
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	10.3

Redbridge

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Sally Victoria Spicer	1,154	42.9	+5.0
	UKIP	Richard John Lyons	730	27.1	+2.2
	Conservative	Richard Arthur Palmer	558	20.7	-6.0
	Liberal Democrats	Simon David Stokes	233	8.7	+4.4
Majority			424	15.8	+4.6
Turnout			2692	24.69	-28.14
	Labour hold		Swing	5.5

Shirley

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Satvir Kaur	1,685	41.9	+6.0
	Conservative	Andrew Hetherton	1200	29.8	-5.0
	Liberal Democrats	Alex Clifton-Melhuish	445	11.1	+4.3
	Green	Lucy Michelle Mundell	383	9.5	+0.2
	UKIP	Pearline Hingston	286	7.1	-3.1
Majority			485	12.1	+11.0
Turnout			4023	38.49	-26.22
	Labour hold		Swing	5.5

Sholing

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Sarah Marie Vaughan	1,679	51.8	+10.2
	Labour	Pat Evemy	910	28.1	-4.2
	Liberal Democrats	Eileen Margaret Bowers	379	11.7	+7.6
	Socialist Alternative - Putting People First	Declan Peter Clune	207	6.4	+6.4
Majority			769	23.7	+14.4
Turnout			3241	30.42	-34.14
	Conservative hold		Swing	7.2

Swaythling

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Matt Bunday	1,023	40.7	+10.1
	Conservative	Spiros Vassiliou	748	29.7	-1.7
	Liberal Democrats	Sarah Wood	252	10.0	+0.1
	Green	Angela Mary Cotton	246	9.8	-2.3
	UKIP	Alan Kebbell	235	9.3	-4.9
Majority			275	10.9	+10.1
Turnout			2516	29.08	-28.45
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	5.9

Woolston

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Warwick Payne	1,276	42.5	+1.8
	Conservative	Josh Payne	781	26.0	-4.3
	UKIP	Derek Humber	448	14.9	-1.7
	Green	Clive Hillman	284	9.5	+4.4
	Liberal Democrats	Colin Bleach	194	6.5	+1.1
Majority			495	16.5	+6.1
Turnout			3002	27.93	-29.86
	Labour hold		Swing	3.1

References

1. "Local government structure and elections". GOV.UK. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
2. "Election Timetable in England" (PDF).
3. "Southampton councillor Andrew Pope stands down and Stephen Barnes-Andrews quits as finance chief". Southern Daily Echo . Newsquest. 15 May 2015. Retrieved 13 September 2018.
4. Maria Zaccaro (5 April 2019). "Every candidate in Hampshire's local elections". Southern Daily Echo . Newsquest . Retrieved 15 April 2019.
5. "Dan Fitzhenry says 'Potholes are my priority'". Southern Daily Echo . Newsquest. 22 May 2018. Retrieved 13 September 2018.
6. William Rimell (20 June 2018). "Independent group on city council to split". Southern Daily Echo . Newsquest . Retrieved 13 September 2018.
7. "Independent councillor Keith Morrell resigns with immediate effect". Southern Daily Echo . Newsquest. 3 January 2019. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
8. William Rimell (5 January 2019). "Cllr Don Thomas announces plans to step down - hours after former party member quits". Southern Daily Echo . Newsquest . Retrieved 12 January 2019.
9. Andrew Teale. "Previews: 14 Mar 2019". Britain Elects.
10. "Nominees unveiled for Coxford by-election". Southern Daily Echo . Newsquest.
11. "Nominees unveiled for Coxford by-election". Southern Daily Echo . Newsquest.
12. Akehurst, Luke. "What would good local election results in 2019 look like?". LabourList . Retrieved 21 April 2019.
13. Leibowitz, Jonty; McInroy, Neil (25 March 2019). "Beyond Preston: How local wealth building is taking the UK by storm". City Metric . Retrieved 21 April 2019.
14. "Southampton council election rivals both called Payne". BBC News . 2 April 2019. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
15. "STATEMENT OF PERSONS NOMINATED" (PDF). Southampton City Council. 3 April 2019. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
16. "Declaration of Results" (PDF). Southampton City Council. 3 May 2019. Retrieved 3 May 2019.