Torbay Council election, 2000

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The 2000 Torbay Council election took place on 4 May 2000 to elect members of Torbay unitary authority in England. The whole council was up for election and the Conservative party gained overall control of the council from no overall control. [1]

Torbay Borough and unitary authority in England

Torbay is a borough in Devon, England, administered by the unitary authority of Torbay Council. It consists of 62.87 square kilometres (24.27 sq mi) of land, spanning the towns of Torquay, Paignton and Brixham, located around an east-facing natural harbour on the English Channel. A popular tourist destination with a tight conurbation of resort towns, Torbay's sandy beaches, mild climate and recreational and leisure attractions have given rise to the nickname of the English Riviera.

Conservative Party (UK) Political party in the United Kingdom

The Conservative Party, officially the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom. Presently led by Theresa May, it has been the governing party since 2010. It presently has 314 Members of Parliament in the House of Commons, 249 members of the House of Lords, and 18 members of the European Parliament. It also has 31 Members of the Scottish Parliament, 12 members of the Welsh Assembly, eight members of the London Assembly and 9,008 local councillors. One of the major parties of UK politics, it has formed the government on 45 occasions, more than any other party.

In the context of local authorities in the United Kingdom, the term no overall control refers to a situation in which no single political group achieves a majority of seats; and is analogous to a hung parliament. Of the 310 councils who had members up for election in the 2007 local elections, 85 resulted in a NOC administration.

Contents

Campaign

The election was seen as being a straight fight between the Liberal Democrats and Conservatives. [2] Before the election the Conservatives were optimistic that Torbay would be one of the councils that they would gain in the 2000 local elections [3] and they targeted it as a council that they had to win. [4] This emphasis on the council included two visits by William Hague the Conservative party leader. [5] Pre-election the Liberal Democrats only had control of the council based on the casting vote of the mayor, while the Conservatives needed 5 gains to take control. [5]

William Hague British politician

William Jefferson Hague, Baron Hague of Richmond, is a British Conservative politician and life peer. He represented Richmond, Yorkshire, as its Member of Parliament (MP) from 1989 to 2015 and was the Leader of the Opposition from 1997 to 2001. He was Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs from 2010 to 2014 and was the Leader of the House of Commons from 2014 to 2015.

A casting vote is a vote that someone may exercise to resolve a deadlock. A casting vote is typically by the presiding officer of a council, legislative body, committee, etc., and may only be exercised to break a deadlock. Examples of officers who hold casting votes are the Speaker of the British House of Commons and the President of the United States Senate.

Conservative leaflets led with the theme of "Keep the Pound" but locally they accused the Liberal Democrat administration of incompetence and attacked the 22% Council Tax rise over the previous two years. [4] The Liberal Democrats were also attacked over the council's decision to not put on any floral displays in 1999 to save money, which was seen as being an error for an area dependent on tourism. [6] However the Liberal Democrats accused the Conservatives of playing on voters fears about asylum seekers being housed in the area. [4]

Pound sterling official currency of the United Kingdom and other territories

The pound sterling, commonly known as the pound and less commonly referred to as sterling, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, Jersey, Guernsey, the Isle of Man, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, the British Antarctic Territory, and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence. A number of nations that do not use sterling also have currencies called the pound.

Liberal Democrats (UK) Political party in the United Kingdom

The Liberal Democrats are a liberal political party in the United Kingdom. They presently have 11 Members of Parliament in the House of Commons, 96 members of the House of Lords, and one member of the European Parliament. They also have five Members of the Scottish Parliament and a member each in the Welsh Assembly and London Assembly. The party reached the height of its influence in the early 2010s, forming a junior partner in a coalition government from 2010 to 2015. It is presently led by Vince Cable.

Council Tax

Council Tax is a local taxation system used in England, Scotland and Wales. It is a tax on domestic property which was introduced in 1993 by the Local Government Finance Act 1992, replacing the short lived Community Charge, which in turn replaced the domestic rates. Each property is assigned one of, eight bands in England and Scotland, or nine bands in Wales based on property value, and the tax is set as a fixed amount for each band. The more valuable the property, the higher the tax, except for properties valued above £320,000. Some property is exempt from the tax, some people are exempt from the tax, while some get a discount.

Election result

The results saw the Conservatives win 32 of the 36 seats on the council, with the Liberal Democrats reduced to just 4 seats after having run the council since 1991. [4] Liberal Democrat losses included the leader of the council, Anne Williams, and the mayor, John Turner. [4] The Labour party lost both their seats on the council blaming a poor turnout at 33% and the recent rise of only 75 pence in the state pension for their defeat. [4]

The Labour Party is a centre-left political party in the United Kingdom which has been described as an alliance of social democrats, democratic socialists and trade unionists. The party's platform emphasises greater state intervention, social justice and strengthening workers' rights.

Voter turnout percentage of eligible voters who cast a ballot in an election

Voter turnout is the percentage of eligible voters who cast a ballot in an election. Eligibility varies by country, and the voting-eligible population should not be confused with the total adult population. Age and citizenship status are often among the criteria used to determine eligibility, but some countries further restrict eligibility based on sex, race, or religion.

Following the election William Hague flew to Torbay to celebrate the results and described them as having begun the revival of the party. [7] The result was seen as being an omen for the next general election, where the sitting Liberal Democrat member of parliament Adrian Sanders only had a majority of 12 over the Conservatives. [4] However the 2001 general election would see the Liberal Democrats hold the parliamentary constituency with an increased majority. [8]

Adrian Sanders British politician

Adrian Mark Sanders is a Liberal Democrat politician in the United Kingdom. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Torbay in Devon from 1997 until his defeat in the 2015 general election.

Torbay (UK Parliament constituency) Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom

Torbay is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2015 by Kevin Foster, a Conservative.

Torbay Local Election Result 2000 [9]
PartySeatsGainsLossesNet gain/lossSeats %Votes %Votes+/−
  Conservative 32 +19 88.9 58.9 51,091
  Liberal Democrat 4 -14 11.1 31.9 27,672
  Labour 0 -2 0 8.1 7,000
  Independent Ratepayers 0 0 0 0.6 508
  Best Value for Torbay 0 0 0 0.3 251
  Monster Raving Loony 0 0 0 0.2 177
  Independent 0 -3 0 0 0

Ward results

Blatchcombe (3) [10]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Conservative Eric Abercrombie 866
Conservative Beverley Brennan 828
Conservative Olive Jarmain 827
Liberal Democrat Douglas Lentell 766
Liberal Democrat John Nicholls 757
Liberal Democrat Philip Whitehead 714
Labour Roger Ballinger 369
Labour Wayne Doidge 347
Labour Eric McCaig 328
Turnout 5,802 24.9
Cockington with Chelston (3) [10]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Conservative Michael Hytche 1,688
Conservative Beryl McPhail 1,685
Conservative Christine Weston 1,628
Liberal Democrat Stewart Foulds 720
Liberal Democrat Jerome Betts 686
Liberal Democrat Neil King 647
Labour Rosalind Royle 376
Turnout 7,430 35.8
Coverdale (3) [10]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Conservative John Goulden 1,232
Conservative Alan Hoyle 1,197
Conservative James O'Dwyer 1,187
Liberal Democrat Ann Williams 1,023
Liberal Democrat Richard James 917
Liberal Democrat Vincent McCann 911
Labour Brenda Hill 316
Turnout 6,783
Ellacombe (3) [10]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Conservative Bruce Cowling 970
Conservative Peter Long 908
Liberal Democrat Elizabeth Midgley 787
Liberal Democrat John Davis 786
Conservative Alan Shepheard 768
Liberal Democrat John Dunn 750
Independent Ratepayers Lionel Digby 508
Labour Jonathan Haines 358
Turnout 5,835
Furzeham with Churston(3) [10]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Conservative Robert Pudner 1,846
Conservative Nicholas Bye 1,831
Conservative Moira Tapperell 1,781
Liberal Democrat Andrea Colborne 486
Labour John Robinson 403
Labour Christopher Day 393
Liberal Democrat Marlene Brown 385
Labour William Loader 379
Turnout 7,504
Preston (3) [10]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Conservative Jean Turnbull 1,999
Conservative Beverley Oxley 1,995
Conservative Ronald Morris 1,949
Liberal Democrat Timothy Nicholls 897
Liberal Democrat Linda Turner 871
Liberal Democrat John Pentney 729
Labour James Towell 335
Turnout 8,775
St Marychurch (3) [10]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Conservative Heather Buckpitt 1,531
Conservative Paul Price 1,517
Conservative Donald Brook 1,490
Liberal Democrat Andrew Blake 1,272
Liberal Democrat Hilary Chambers 1,212
Liberal Democrat Roger Stringer 1,169
Turnout 8,191
St Michaels with Goodrington (3) [10]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Conservative Penelope Barnby 1,991
Conservative Maureen 1,990
Conservative Keith Bryant 1,962
Liberal Democrat John Turner 1,133
Liberal Democrat Andrew Douglas-Dunbar 989
Liberal Democrat Doreen Urquart 935
Labour Edward Harris 394
Turnout 9,394
St Peters with St Marys (3) [10]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Conservative Sally Jowett 1,339
Conservative Eileen Salloway 1,332
Conservative Alan Craig 1,285
Labour Michael Morey 931
Labour Irene Reade 624
Labour Peter Pimie 614
Liberal Democrat Frank Lomas 404
Liberal Democrat Stuart John 403
Liberal Democrat David Morris 387
Turnout 7,319
Shiphay (3) [10]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Liberal Democrat Stephen Darling 1,157
Conservative Mark Kingscote 1,120
Liberal Democrat Colin Charlwood 1,102
Conservative John Palmer 1,084
Liberal Democrat Alan Faulkner 1,082
Conservative Gert Eisner 1,057
Labour Stephen Turner 293
Turnout 6,895
Tormohun (3) [10]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Conservative Damian Barton 994
Liberal Democrat Jennider Faulkner 924
Conservative Frances Harrison 917
Conservative Margaret Stafford 891
Liberal Democrat Michael Collins 787
Liberal Democrat Michael Wege 710
Labour Pauline Cartlidge 287
Best Value for Torbay Stanley Lewis 251
Turnout 5,761
Torwood (3) [10]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Conservative Richard Cuming 1,838
Conservative Julian Chandler 1,805
Conservative Matthew Phillips 1,763
Liberal Democrat Kathleen Hawkins 441
Liberal Democrat Eric Blatchford 427
Liberal Democrat Adrian Treneary 306
Labour Edward Corrigam 253
Monster Raving Loony John Rowe 177
Turnout 7,010

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References

  1. ↑ "Torbay". BBC News Online . Retrieved 18 August 2009.
  2. ↑ "Reporting from Torbay". BBC News Online . 4 May 2000. Retrieved 19 August 2009.
  3. ↑ Hetherington, Peter (25 April 2000). "Armchair rebels threaten Labour hopes: Local elections: Party workers fear disillusionment and apathy as expected low turnouts prompt experiments to woo the voters". The Guardian. p. 8.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 de Bruxelles, Simon (5 May 2000). "Torbay becomes Tory-bay once again". The Times. p. 4.
  5. 1 2 "Battleground Torbay: Tide could be on the turn for true blues along the riviera". Financial Times. 5 May 2000. p. 6.
  6. ↑ Watt, Nicholas (2 May 2000). "Flower power boosts Tories". London: The Guardian . Retrieved 19 August 2009.
  7. ↑ Deans, John (6 May 2000). "We're back with a bang, says Hague". Daily Mail. p. 6.
  8. ↑ "Big boost for Kennedy". BBC News Online . 8 June 2001. Retrieved 19 August 2009.
  9. ↑ "Election results: local councils". The Times. 5 May 2000. p. 4.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 "Torbay Council Elections Thursday 4th May 2000" (PDF). Torbay Council. Retrieved 19 August 2009.
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