County result maps
2001 results map
2005 results map
2009 results map
2013 results map
2017 results map
2022 results map
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 |  11.0 | |||
| 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 | ||||
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