The 2007 West Somerset District Council election took place on 3 May 2007 to elect members of West Somerset District Council in Somerset, England. The whole council was up for election and independents gained overall control of the council from the Conservative party. [1]
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 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 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.
The Conservatives dropped to 13 seats, a net loss of 4, and fell behind the independents who became the largest group with 16 councillors. [2] [3] Conservative losses included defeats in the seats of Alcombe East, Old Cleeve, Porlock, Quantock Vale and West Quantock, but did they make some gains, including in Watchet where an independent lost a seat. [3] Both the Labour party and the Liberal Democrats lost a seat, to only have one councillor each. [4] Overall turnout at the election was 46.9%. [3]
A Councillor is a member of a local government council.
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.
Old Cleeve is a village 5 miles (8 km) south east of Minehead in the West Somerset district of Somerset, England, and also a civil parish. The civil parish of Old Cleeve covers an area of 2,092 hectares and includes the villages of Old Cleeve, Blue Anchor, Roadwater and Washford as well as hamlets such as Bilbrook, Chapel Cleeve, Golsoncott and Leighland Chapel. Approximately half the parish lies within the Exmoor National Park. In 2011, the population of the parish was 1,672.
Following the election independent councillor Keith Ross became the new leader of the council, taking over from the Conservatives, with Labour councillor Simon Stokes becoming deputy leader. [5]
Party | Seats | Gains | Losses | Net gain/loss | Seats % | Votes % | Votes | +/− | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Independent | 16 | 9 | 3 | +6 | 51.6 | 48.0 | 10,292 | +18.8% | |
Conservative | 13 | 4 | 8 | -4 | 41.9 | 43.0 | 9,218 | +0.9% | |
Labour | 1 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 3.2 | 5.4 | 1,150 | -11.3% | |
Liberal Democrat | 1 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 3.2 | 3.6 | 776 | -7.1% | |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Independent | Ian Melhuish | 323 | |||
Conservative | Nicolas Messarra | 201 | |||
Conservative | Jamie Anderson | 157 | |||
Turnout | 681 | 43.7 | +22.8 | ||
Independent gain from Conservative | Swing | ||||
Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Simon Stokes | 479 | |||
Conservative | Norman Hercock | 355 | |||
Labour | Marcus Kravis | 348 | |||
Turnout | 1,182 | 39.2 | +4.4 | ||
Labour hold | Swing | ||||
Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | ||||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Roger Webber | 313 | 55.4 | -23.1 | |
Independent | Aron Cody-Boutcher | 252 | 44.6 | +23.2 | |
Majority | 61 | 10.8 | -46.5 | ||
Turnout | 565 | 56.2 | +7.0 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Keith Turner | 255 | 63.1 | +23.3 | |
Independent | David Gliddon | 149 | 36.9 | -23.3 | |
Majority | 106 | 26.2 | |||
Turnout | 404 | 54.3 | +9.4 | ||
Conservative gain from Independent | Swing | ||||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal Democrat | Peter Humber | 417 | 71.8 | ||
Conservative | Brian Jenkinson | 164 | 28.2 | ||
Majority | 253 | 43.5 | |||
Turnout | 581 | 56.4 | |||
Liberal Democrat hold | Swing | ||||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Tim Taylor | 315 | 58.0 | ||
Independent | Roy Harbour | 228 | 42.0 | ||
Majority | 87 | 16.0 | |||
Turnout | 543 | 58.3 | |||
Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Independent | Keith Ross | 684 | |||
Independent | Michael Gammon | 451 | |||
Conservative | Paul Chamberlain | 341 | |||
Turnout | 1,476 | 53.3 | +0.8 | ||
Independent hold | Swing | ||||
Independent hold | Swing | ||||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Bryan Leaker | 186 | 59.8 | -0.4 | |
Independent | Julie Harvey-Smith | 125 | 40.2 | +19.3 | |
Majority | 61 | 19.6 | -19.6 | ||
Turnout | 311 | 47.9 | -2.5 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Steven Pugsley | unopposed | |||
Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Independent | Doug Ross | 822 | |||
Conservative | Christine Lawrence | 580 | |||
Conservative | David Sanders | 453 | |||
Conservative | Jeremy White | 415 | |||
Turnout | 2,270 | 41.4 | +3.9 | ||
Independent gain from Conservative | Swing | ||||
Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Independent | Terry Venner | 822 | |||
Independent | Michael Downes | 706 | |||
Independent | John Walker | 631 | |||
Conservative | Anthony Berry | 571 | |||
Conservative | Dudley Seale | 442 | |||
Conservative | Stan Taylor | 331 | |||
Turnout | 3,503 | 43.4 | +2.2 | ||
Independent gain from Liberal Democrat | Swing | ||||
Independent hold | Swing | ||||
Independent gain from Conservative | Swing | ||||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Independent | Kate Kravis | 532 | |||
Independent | Neil Parbrook | 479 | |||
Conservative | Pamela Driver | 302 | |||
Turnout | 1,313 | 42.7 | |||
Independent gain from Conservative | Swing | ||||
Independent hold | Swing | ||||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Angela Palmer | 656 | |||
Independent | Jon Freeman | 427 | |||
Conservative | Mike Padgett | 273 | |||
Turnout | 1,356 | 47.7 | |||
Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
Independent gain from Conservative | Swing | ||||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Independent | Chris Morgan | 424 | |||
Independent | Paul Tipney | 420 | |||
Conservative | Mary Crowley | 335 | |||
Conservative | Loretta Whetlor | 243 | |||
Turnout | 1,422 | 46.6 | +4.8 | ||
Independent gain from Conservative | Swing | ||||
Independent gain from Conservative | Swing | ||||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Christopher White | 347 | 71.0 | ||
Independent | John Bray | 142 | 29.0 | ||
Majority | 205 | 41.9 | |||
Turnout | 489 | 59.3 | |||
Conservative gain from Independent | Swing | ||||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | David Westcott | 716 | |||
Conservative | Anthony Knight | 505 | |||
Independent | Jennifer Hill | 441 | |||
Independent | David Banks | 425 | |||
Liberal Democrat | Anthony Bowden | 359 | |||
Labour | Peter Murphy | 323 | |||
Conservative | Ann Snelling | 300 | |||
Turnout | 3,069 | 42.3 | +0.7 | ||
Conservative gain from Independent | Swing | ||||
Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
Independent hold | Swing | ||||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Independent | Mitch Wicking | 301 | 58.2 | +14.4 | |
Conservative | Barbara Child | 216 | 41.8 | -14.4 | |
Majority | 85 | 16.4 | |||
Turnout | 51.7 | 54.6 | +1.6 | ||
Independent gain from Conservative | Swing | ||||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Independent | Hugh Davies | 696 | |||
Independent | Edwin May | 298 | |||
Independent | Ian Aldridge | 269 | |||
Conservative | Rose Woods | 246 | |||
Independent | John Holden | 214 | |||
Independent | William Gulliford | 31 | |||
Turnout | 1,754 | 47.7 | +1.8 | ||
Independent hold | Swing | ||||
Independent hold | Swing | ||||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Dudley Seale | 263 | 59.4 | +21.0 | |
Independent | Sandra Slade | 103 | 23.3 | -38.3 | |
Labour | Ronald Bridle | 42 | 9.5 | +9.5 | |
Liberal Democrat | Anthony Bowden | 35 | 7.9 | +7.9 | |
Majority | 160 | 36.1 | |||
Turnout | 443 | 41.1 | -2.6 | ||
Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Independent | Sandra Slade | 393 | 51.5 | -7.5 | |
Conservative | Leslie Smith | 370 | 48.5 | +7.5 | |
Majority | 23 | 3.0 | |||
Turnout | 763 | ||||
Independent hold | Swing | ||||
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