Somerset Council elections are held every four years to elect Somerset Council, the local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England. From 1889 until 2023 the council was called Somerset County Council and it was an upper tier county council, with district-level functions being provided by the area's district councils. The districts were all abolished with effect from 1 April 2023, at which point the county council became a unitary authority, taking on the functions of the abolished district councils. The county council changed its name to Somerset Council to coincide with the change in its powers. [1] There are 110 councillors, elected from 54 wards. [2]
Political control of the council since the 1974 reforms has been as follows: [3] [4]
Party in control | Years | |
---|---|---|
Conservative | 1974–1985 | |
No overall control | 1985–1989 | |
Conservative | 1989–1993 | |
Liberal Democrats | 1993–2001 | |
No overall control | 2001–2005 | |
Liberal Democrats | 2005–2009 | |
Conservative | 2009–2022 | |
Liberal Democrats | 2022–2023 |
Party in control | Years | |
---|---|---|
Liberal Democrats | 2023–present [2] |
The leaders of the council since 2001 have been: [5]
Councillor | Party | From | To | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Cathy Bakewell | Liberal Democrats | 2001 | 16 May 2007 | |
Jill Shortland | Liberal Democrats | 16 May 2007 | 24 Jun 2009 | |
Ken Maddock | Conservative | 24 Jun 2009 | 16 May 2012 | |
John Osman | Conservative | 16 May 2012 | 7 May 2017 | |
David Fothergill | Conservative | 24 May 2017 | 25 May 2022 | |
Bill Revans [6] | Liberal Democrats | 25 May 2022 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | 1,428 | 42.6 | +7.2 | ||
Liberal Democrats | 1,125 | 33.6 | -1.4 | ||
Labour | 798 | 23.8 | -5.8 | ||
Majority | 303 | 9.0 | |||
Turnout | 3,351 | 37.0 | |||
Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | 948 | 68.2 | +28.7 | ||
Liberal Democrats | 442 | 31.8 | -14.0 | ||
Majority | 506 | 36.4 | |||
Turnout | 1,390 | 28.0 | |||
Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats | Swing | ||||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Matthew Ellis | 1,568 | 51.2 | +6.9 | |
Liberal Democrats | Ian Hasell | 1,497 | 48.8 | +9.7 | |
Majority | 71 | 2.4 | |||
Turnout | 3,065 | 43.8 | |||
Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Margaret Robinson | 950 | 47.4 | +10.0 | |
Liberal Democrats | Rachel Witcombe | 783 | 39.1 | +5.5 | |
Labour | Christopher Inchley | 271 | 13.5 | -15.5 | |
Majority | 167 | 8.3 | |||
Turnout | 2,004 | 29.0 | |||
Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | John Parham | 1,307 | 41.3 | ||
Liberal Democrats | Garfield Kennedy | 892 | 28.2 | ||
Labour | Chris Inchley | 711 | 22.5 | ||
Green | Ian Forster | 256 | 8.1 | ||
Majority | 415 | 13.1 | |||
Turnout | |||||
Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal Democrats | Paul Maxwell | 1,333 | 53.6 | ||
Conservative | Paul Thompson | 943 | 37.9 | ||
Green | Ian Greenfield | 108 | 4.3 | ||
UKIP | Godfrey Davey | 104 | 4.2 | ||
Majority | 390 | 15.7 | |||
Turnout | 42.8 | ||||
Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Swing | ||||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | John Denbee | 1,285 | 58.0 | ||
Liberal Democrats | Helen Groves | 932 | 42.0 | ||
Majority | 353 | 15.9 | |||
Turnout | |||||
Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Linda Oliver | 1,163 | 47.7 | ||
Liberal Democrats | Damon Hooton | 836 | 34.3 | ||
Labour | Catherine Richardson | 163 | 6.7 | ||
Independent | Adrian Dobinson | 139 | 5.7 | ||
Green | Les Spalding | 139 | 5.7 | ||
Majority | 327 | 13.4 | |||
Turnout | |||||
Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats | Swing | ||||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Michael Adkins | 1,298 | 29.9 | ||
Liberal Democrats | Barrie Hall | 976 | 22.5 | ||
Labour | Libby Lisgo | 927 | 21.4 | ||
UKIP | Robert Bainbridge | 814 | 18.8 | ||
Green | Alan Debenham | 326 | 7.5 | ||
Majority | 322 | 7.4 | |||
Turnout | |||||
Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats | Swing | ||||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal Democrats | Dawn Johnson | 1,677 | 63.2 | +15.6 | |
Conservative | Ruth Harmon | 886 | 33.4 | -6.4 | |
Labour | Michael McGuffie | 92 | 3.5 | -2.4 | |
Majority | 791 | 29.8 | |||
Turnout | 2,655 | ||||
Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | ![]() | |||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal Democrats | Kevin Messenger | 1,247 | 54.8 | N/A | |
Conservative | David Hall | 614 | 27 | N/A | |
Green | Ewan Jones | 415 | 18.2 | N/A | |
Majority | 633 | 27.8 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 2,276 | 28.3 | –31.3 | ||
Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Swing | ||||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal Democrats | Stephen Richard John Page | 1,212 | 50.12 | ||
Conservative | David Hall | 878 | 36.31 | ||
Labour | Gregory Lawrence Chambers | 174 | 7.20 | ||
Green | Matthew Francis Geen | 154 | 6.37 | ||
Majority | 334 | 13.81 | |||
Turnout | 2,428 | 27.98 | –15.34 | ||
Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | ||||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal Democrats | Rob Reed | 1,313 | 47.33 | ||
Conservative | Ken Maddock | 1,122 | 40.45 | ||
Green | Michael Kenneth Smyth | 200 | 7.21 | N/A | |
Labour | David Alan Oakensen | 139 | 5.01 | N/A | |
Majority | 191 | 6.88 | |||
Turnout | 2,788 | 36.07 | –7.93 | ||
Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | ||||
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