Talbot and Branksome Woods

Boundary of Talbot and Branksome Woods in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole.

Talbot and Branksome Woods is a ward in Dorset. Since 2019, the ward has elected 3 councillors to Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council. ^[1]

History

In April 2025, councillor Karen Rampton resigned from the Conservative Party. ^[2] Philip Broadhead resigned in July 2025. ^[3]

Geography

The ward crosses the boundary of Bournemouth and Poole and covers the suburbs of Talbot Woods, Branksome Woods and Meyrick Park, and parts of Talbot Village and Charminster. ^[4] The Talbot Campus of the Bournemouth University is also in the ward.

Councillors

Election	Councillors
2019		Karen Rampton (Conservative/Independent)		Philip Broadhead (Conservative)		Drew Mellor (Conservative)
2023						Matt Gillett (Liberal Democrats)
2025				Dawn Logan [5] (Liberal Democrats)

Elections

Incumbent councillors are denoted with a double dagger mark (‡).

2025

11 September 2025, a by-election was held following the resignation of Philip Broadhead. ^[6]

• Charlie Cushway, Labour candidate, 170 votes
• Amy Louise Hardy, Green candidate, 165 votes
• Martin Houlden, Reform UK candidate, 791 votes
• Jo Keeling, Local Conservative Group candidate, 770 votes
• Dawn Logan, Liberal Democrat candidate, 910 votes

2023

Talbot and Branksome Woods: 2023 election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Matthew Stephen Gillett	1,143	39.1	+21.7
	Conservative	Karen Alexis Rampton‡	1,073	36.7	−6.7
	Conservative	Philip Alan Broadhead‡	1,068	36.6	−8.1
	Liberal Democrats	Mark Battistini	1,063	36.4	+18.8
	Conservative	Jane Newell	1,024	35.1	−9.4
	Liberal Democrats	Daniel Parkin	985	33.7	+16.7
	Green	Ian Charles Cunliffe	413	14.1	−6.6
	Labour	Paul Forsdick	391	13.4	−0.6
	Labour	Elaine Yiannaki	372	12.7	−1.0
	Labour	Stephen Stones	313	10.7	−2.9
	Heritage	Jim Burch	181	6.2	N/A
	No Description	Charlotte Robinson	112	3.8	N/A
Majority
Turnout			2,920	29.34
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

2019

Talbot and Branksome Woods (3 seats): 2019 election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Philip Broadhead	1,439	44.7
	Conservative	Drew Mellor	1,433	44.5
	Conservative	Karen Rampton	1,399	43.4
	Independent	Lynda B-Price	719	22.3
	Green	Yasmine Osbourne	666	20.7
	Liberal Democrats	Jana Sadeh	567	17.6
	Liberal Democrats	Matthew Gillett	561	17.4
	Liberal Democrats	David England	548	17.0
	Labour	Jago Corry	450	14.0
	Labour	Ruth Messer	440	13.7
	Labour	Patrick Connolly	437	13.6
Majority
Turnout			3,221	31.50
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)

References

1. "LGBCE | Ward boundaries finalised for new Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council | LGBCE Site". www.lgbce.org.uk. Archived from the original on 30 April 2019. Retrieved 4 September 2021.
2. "'It is no longer consistent with my views' - Councillor resigns from Tory party". Bournemouth Echo. 9 April 2025. Retrieved 9 April 2025.
3. "Former BCP Council leader steps down as councillor". BBC News. 25 July 2025. Retrieved 12 September 2025.
4. "Talbot and Branksome Woods - MapIt". mapit.mysociety.org. Retrieved 25 September 2021.
5. "Liberal Democrats win Talbot and Branksome Wood by-election". Bournemouth Echo. 12 September 2025. Retrieved 12 September 2025.
6. "Liberal Democrats win Talbot and Branksome Wood by-election". Bournemouth Echo. 12 September 2025. Retrieved 12 September 2025.