West Somerset District Council election, 2011

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Map of the results of the 2011 West Somerset District Council election. Conservatives in blue, independents in grey and Labour in red. West Somerset UK local election 2011 map.svg
Map of the results of the 2011 West Somerset District Council election. Conservatives in blue, independents in grey and Labour in red.

The 2011 West Somerset District Council election took place on 5 May 2011 to elect members of West Somerset District Council in Somerset, England. The whole council was up for election with boundary changes since the last election in 2007 reducing the number of seats by 3. [1] The Conservative party gained overall control of the council from independents. [1]

West Somerset Non-metropolitan district in England

West Somerset was a local government district in the English county of Somerset. The council covered a largely rural area, with a population of 34,900 in an area of 740 square kilometres (290 sq mi); it is the least populous non-unitary district in England. According to figures released by the Office for National Statistics in 2009, the population of West Somerset has the oldest average age in the United Kingdom at 52. The largest centres of population are the coastal towns of Minehead and Watchet (4,400).

Non-metropolitan district Type of local government district in England

Non-metropolitan districts, or colloquially "shire districts", are a type of local government district in England. As created, they are sub-divisions of non-metropolitan counties in a two-tier arrangement.

Somerset County of England

Somerset is a county in South West England which borders Gloucestershire and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east and Devon to the south-west. It is bounded to the north and west by the Severn Estuary and the Bristol Channel, its coastline facing southeastern Wales. Its traditional border with Gloucestershire is the River Avon. Somerset's county town is Taunton.

Contents

Background

Before the election Conservative Tim Taylor was the leader of the council in an alliance with independents. [2] Since the 2007 election boundary changes reduced the number of seats on the council from 31 to 28. [3]

A total of 63 candidates stood at the election for the 28 seats on the council. [4] These included 15 sitting councillors and a record 12 Green Party candidates, a party that had not contested any seats in West Somerset in 2007. [3] [5] This was compared to only 4 Labour party and 2 Liberal Democrat candidates, with the number of Green candidates being put down to the proposal for a new nuclear power plant at Hinkley Point. [5] One seat, Greater Exmoor, only had one candidate, Conservative Steven Pugsley, so he was elected without opposition. [4]

A Councillor is a member of a local government council.

Green Party of England and Wales Political party in England and Wales

The Green Party of England and Wales is a green, left-wing political party in England and Wales. Headquartered in London, since September 2018, its co-leaders are Siân Berry and Jonathan Bartley. The Green Party has one representative in the House of Commons, one in the House of Lords, and three in the European Parliament. In addition, it has various councillors in UK local government and two members of the London Assembly.

The Labour Party is a centre-left political party in the United Kingdom that 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.

Election result

The Conservatives took control of the council with 19 councillors after gaining 6 seats. [6] This was mainly at the expense of independents who dropped 9 seats, with only 7 independents being elected. [6] The independent losses included the defeat of councillors Sandra Slade and Paul Tipney in Minehead South and Quantock Vale respectively. [3]

Minehead town in Somerset, England

Minehead is a coastal town and civil parish in Somerset, England. It lies on the south bank of the Bristol Channel, 21 miles (34 km) north-west of the county town of Taunton, 12 miles (19 km) from the border with the county of Devon and in proximity of the Exmoor National Park. The parish of Minehead has a population of approximately 11,981 making it the most populous town in the West Somerset local government district, which in turn, is the worst area in the country for social mobility. This figure includes Alcombe and Woodcombe, suburban villages which have been subsumed into Minehead.

Quantock Hills range of hills west of Bridgwater in Somerset, England

The Quantock Hills is a range of hills west of Bridgwater in Somerset, England. The Quantock Hills were England's first Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, being designated in 1956, and consist of heathland, oak woodlands, ancient parklands and agricultural land.

The Labour party gained a seat to move to 2 councillors, while the Liberal Democrats lost their only seat on the council [6] and the Greens failed to win any seats. [3]

West Somerset local election result 2011 [7] [1]
PartySeatsGainsLossesNet gain/lossSeats %Votes %Votes+/−
  Conservative 19 +6 67.9 47.4 10,486 +4.4%
  Independent 7 -9 25.0 32.4 7,169 -15.6%
  Labour 2 +1 7.1 7.0 1,548 +1.6%
  Green 0 0 0 11.1 2,449 +11.1%
  Liberal Democrat 0 -1 0 2.2 479 -1.4%

Ward results

Alcombe (2) [7]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Independent Ian Melhuish 409
Conservative Paul Grierson 357
Labour Andy Lewis 280
Green Venetia Moore 200
Turnout 1,246 33.6
Brendon Hills [7]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Conservative Keith Turner 456 74.3
Independent Nick Moore 158 25.7
Majority 298 48.5
Turnout 614 51.6
Carhampton & Withycombe [7]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Conservative Timothy Taylor 382 66.3
Independent William Butcher 194 33.7
Majority 188 32.6
Turnout 576 51.0
Crowcombe & Stogumber [7]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Conservative Anthony Trollope-Bellew 373 54.8
Independent Roy Harbour 178 26.1
Green Jamie Robertson 130 19.1
Majority 195 28.6
Turnout 681 53.4
Dulverton & District (2) [7]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Independent Keith Ross 736
Conservative Bruce Heywood 543
Independent David Lungley 450
Conservative Kathy Smith 434
Turnout 2,163 51.3
Dunster & Timberscombe [7]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Conservative Alec Chick 336 57.9
Green Nicky Gibbard 166 28.6
Independent Gary Miele 78 13.4
Majority 170 29.3
Turnout 580 47.5
Greater Exmoor [7]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Conservative Steven Pugsley unopposed
Minehead Central (3) [7]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Independent Andrew Hadley 588
Conservative Mandy Chilcott 543
Conservative Richard Lillis 349
Independent Stephen Grice 302
Labour Lesley Culverhouse 298
Independent Ernest Taylor 247
Independent John Clyde-Smith 146
Green Cait Collins 137
Green Simon Gibbard 127
Turnout 2,737 32.4
Minehead North (2) [7]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Independent David Ross 471
Conservative David Sanders 448
Independent Steve Pickard 220
Green Katy Attwater 218
Turnout 1,357 29.4
Minehead South (2) [7]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Conservative Les Smith 520
Labour Maureen Smith 520
Conservative Tristan Tonks 365
Independent Sandra Slade 335
Green David Taylor 259
Turnout 1,999 41.3
Old Cleeve (2) [7]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Conservative Kate Kravis 523
Conservative Martin Dewdney 423
Green Jude Johnson-Smith 304
Liberal Democrat Ian Galloway 219
Green David Latimer 178
Turnout 1,647 46.0
Porlock & District (2) [7]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Conservative Karen Mills 683
Independent Jon Freeman 591
Conservative Nick Messarra 414
Turnout 1,688 47.7
Quantock Vale (2) [7]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Conservative Chris Morgan 521
Conservative Sue Goss 442
Independent Paul Tipney 434
Turnout 1,397 45.1
Watchet (3) [7]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Conservative David Westcott 669
Conservative Anthony Knight 637
Labour Peter Murphy 450
Conservative Ann Snelling 327
Green Izzy Silvester 297
Independent Loretta Whetlor 269
Liberal Democrat Anthony Bowden 260
Green Bruce Scott 259
Independent John Richards 238
Turnout 3,406 38.5
West Quantock [7]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Conservative Geoffrey Dowding 417 70.6
Green Miriam Robertson 174 29.4
Majority 243 41.1
Turnout 591 53.8
Williton (2) [7]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Independent Hugh Davies 700
Independent Edwin May 425
Conservative Rosemary Woods 324
Turnout 1,449 39.5

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References

  1. 1 2 3 "England council elections". BBC News Online. 10 May 2011. Retrieved 27 November 2011.
  2. ↑ "Somerset Conservatives celebrate election results". BBC News Online. 6 May 2011. Retrieved 27 November 2011.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "West Somerset Council election results". West Somerset Free Press. 6 May 2011. Retrieved 27 November 2011.
  4. 1 2 "Full list of West Somerset election candidates". Somerset County Gazette . 8 April 2011. Retrieved 27 November 2011.
  5. 1 2 Blair, David (26 April 2011). "Somerset Greens energised by fallout from Japan". Financial Times . Retrieved 27 November 2011.
  6. 1 2 3 "Tories take control of three West councils as voters reject AV system in referendum". this is Cornwall. 7 May 2011. Retrieved 27 November 2011.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 "District Election Results 2011". West Somerset Council. Retrieved 27 November 2011.
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