Poole People | |
---|---|
Leader | Mark Howell [1] |
Founded | 2010 [2] |
Headquarters | Poole |
Ideology | Localism Non-partisan politics [3] |
BCP Council | 5 / 76 |
Website | |
www | |
The Party for Poole People (known simply as Poole People) is a movement and local political party in Poole, Dorset, England. [4] Defining itself as neither left or right wing, the party has stood in elections for the former Poole Borough Council and the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council which replaced it. On the council it is part of the Poole Independents Group, which includes all three Poole People Councillors, one Alliance for Local Living (ALL) Councillor and one independent Councillor. It was previously part of the "Unity Alliance" administration on Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council from 2019 [5] until a vote of no confidence in 2020, [6] after which the party has been in opposition. It was founded in 2010 by Mark Howell, and has contested three local elections, as well as the Poole constituency in the 2015 UK general election.
Mark Howell, the party leader, was the first elected member of the party, standing in the 2010 Poole Town by-election after former Council Leader Cllr Leverett died, gaining the seat from the Conservatives. [7] He was re-elected to his seat in the subsequent 2011 council election, with the party making two more gains from the Conservatives, in Hamworthy East and a further seat in Poole Town, bringing the number of councillors up to three. The subsequent defection by a Conservative councillor in 2012 to the party brought its number up to four in total. [8] In the 2015 council election, the Conservatives gained a Hamworthy East seat whilst Poole People gained a Conservative seat in Hamworthy West, meaning that the party remained on 3 seats in total. In the 2017 General Election party leader Mark Howell stood for the parliamentary seat of Poole, where he received 1,776 votes (3.7%), coming sixth out of seven.
In 2019 Poole Borough Council was combined with those of Bournemouth and Christchurch to form a new unitary authority; In the inaugural 2019 council elections for the new Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council, Poole People stood eight councillors in five wards out of the twelve wards entirely within the former Poole Borough (Talbot and Branksome Woods had a small area in the former borough), with seven councillors elected. [9] The election saw the Conservatives as the largest party but without a majority, which lead to the creation of the majority Unity Alliance Administration, [5] a coalition of parties in which Poole People joined led by the Liberal Democrats, the second largest party on the council. As well as joining the administration, Poole People also formed a grouping with the Alliance for Local Living, called Poole People and ALL. The Alliance for Local Living's leader and single councillor, Felicity Rice won alongside one of two seats in the Oakdale ward, alongside Poole People Councillor Pete Miles. The Hamworthy ward elected two councillors from Poole People.
However, in October of that year two councillors resigned from the party and group to sit as independents, citing concerns about the leader and “the binds of the political whip”. Councillor Butt left the Unity Alliance administration at the time, with Councillor Bagwell subsequently leaving the administration in September 2020. [10] [11] As such, Poole People currently has five sitting councillors. A vote of no confidence was passed in September 2020, [12] with Conservatives taking minority administration of the council after a meeting on 1 October, [13] meaning that Poole People is currently in opposition.
Two further Poole People councillors (Steve Baron and Peter Miles) subsequently left the group in November 2020, stating that the party had "lost its way" and that they would be more "free to speak out" as independents, thus leaving the party with just three councillors, and the Poole People and ALL BCP group with four. [14]
In June 2022, Julie Bagwell joined the Poole Local Group. [15]
Name | Ward | First elected | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Mark Howell | Poole Town | 2010 [note 1] | Leader of Poole People; Former Deputy Leader of BCP Council and Portfolio Holder for Regeneration and Culture during Unity Alliance |
Andy Hadley | Poole Town | 2015 [note 1] | Portfolio Holder for Transport and Infrastructure during Unity Alliance |
L-J Evans | Poole Town | 2019 | Chair of Unity Alliance group [6] |
Year | Votes | % | +/- | Seats | +/- |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2019 [16] | 11,243 | 5.4% | N/A | 7 / 76 | N/A |
2023 | 5,995 | 3.0% | 2.4% | 5 / 76 | 2 |
Year | Votes | % | +/- | Seats | +/- |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2011 | 9,603 | 8.8% | 8.8% | 3 / 42 | 3 |
2015 [17] | 13,269 | 7.7% | 1.1% | 3 / 42 | |
The party leader and councillor Mark Howell stood for the party in the Poole constituency in the 2015 election, receiving 1,766 votes (3.7%). The party did not contest the seat in the 2017 or 2019 general elections.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Robert Syms | 23,745 | 50.1 | 2.6 | |
UKIP | David Young | 7,956 | 16.8 | 11.5 | |
Labour | Helen Rosser | 6,102 | 12.9 | 0.1 | |
Liberal Democrats | Philip Eades | 5,572 | 11.8 | 19.8 | |
Green | Adrian Oliver | 2,198 | 4.6 | 4.6 | |
Poole People | Mark Howell | 1,766 | 3.7 | 3.7 | |
Independent | Ian Northover | 54 | 0.1 | 0.3 | |
Majority | 15,789 | 33.3 | 17.4 | ||
Turnout | 47,393 | 65.3 | 8.1 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
The 2015 East Dorset District Council election took place on 7 May 2015 in order to elect members of the East Dorset District Council in Dorset, England. The whole council was up for election after boundary changes reduced the number of seats by seven. The Conservative Party stayed in overall control of the council.
The 2003 Christchurch Borough Council election took place on 1 May 2003 to elect members of Christchurch Borough Council in Dorset, England. The whole council was up for election after boundary changes reduced the number of seats by one. The Conservative Party stayed in overall control of the council.
The 2007 Christchurch Borough Council election took place on 3 May 2007 to elect members of Christchurch Borough Council in Dorset, England. The whole council was up for election and the Conservative party stayed in overall control of the council.
The 2011 Christchurch Borough Council election took place on 5 May 2011 to elect members of Christchurch Borough Council in Dorset, England. The whole council was up for election and the Conservative Party stayed in overall control of the council.
The 2015 Christchurch Borough Council election took place on 7 May 2015 to elect members of Christchurch Borough Council in Dorset, England. The whole council was up for election and the Conservative party stayed in overall control of the council.
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) is a unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. It was created on 1 April 2019 by the merger of the areas that were previously administered by the unitary authorities of Bournemouth and Poole, and the non-metropolitan district of Christchurch. The authority covers much of the area of the South Dorset conurbation.
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council is a unitary local authority for the district of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole in England that came into being on 1 April 2019. It was created from the areas that were previously administered by the unitary authorities of Bournemouth and Poole and the non-metropolitan district of Christchurch.
Dorset Council is a unitary local authority for the Dorset district in England covering most of the ceremonial county of Dorset. It was created on 1 April 2019 to administer most of the area formerly administered by Dorset County Council, which was previously subdivided into the districts of Weymouth and Portland, West Dorset, North Dorset, Purbeck, and East Dorset, as well as Christchurch, which is now part of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole.
The 2019 Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council election took place on 2 May 2019 to elect the inaugural members of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council in England, formed from the former unitary authorities of Bournemouth and Poole, and borough of Christchurch. At the same time an election for the new Christchurch Town Council was held.
The 2019 Guildford Borough Council election were held on 2 May 2019, to elect all 48 seats to the Guildford Borough Council in Surrey, England as part of the 2019 local elections.
The Alliance of Local Living (ALL) is a minor localist party and political group based in Dorset, with separate branches in the two authorities, ALL for Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and ALL for Dorset. The BCP office is based in Poole, whilst the Dorset office is based in Weymouth. The party has five councillors in total, one on BCP Council and the remaining four on Dorset Council.
The Christchurch Independents (CI) are a political party and group in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council, formed by journalist Andy Martin and (former) Conservative and Independent Councillors after the reorganisation of local government in Dorset, with new candidates joining to stand in Christchurch wards for the inaugural 2019 Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council Election. Originally not forming a registered political party, CI was initially the joint-third largest alongside the Poole People and ALL group. In 2020, Christchurch Independents councillor Colin Bungey died, leading to a by-election being held the next year in the Commons Ward, for which the Christchurch Independents were registered as a political party.
Alderney and Bourne Valley is a ward in Poole, Dorset. Since 2019, the ward has elected 3 councillors to Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council.
Canford Heath is a ward in Poole, Dorset. Since 2019, the ward has elected 3 councillors to Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council.
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council is a unitary authority in Dorset, England. It was formed in April 2019, with the inaugural elections held in May of that year. The council is made up of 76 councillors from 33 wards, elected for a four-year term, with the next elections due take place in 2027.
Hamworthy is a ward in Poole, Dorset. Since 2019, the ward has elected 3 councillors to Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council.
Poole Town is an electoral ward in Poole, Dorset. Since 2019, the ward has elected 2 councillors to Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council.
Redhill and Northbourne is a ward in Bournemouth, Dorset. Since 2019, the ward has elected 2 councillors to Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council.
The Poole Engage Party is a local political party on Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council. Until December 2022, the party was known as the Poole Local Group.
The 2023 Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council election took place on 4 May, 2023, to elect all 76 members of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council in Dorset, England.