Wyre Forest District Council election, 2015

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Map of the results of the 2015 Wyre Forest District Council election. Conservatives in blue, Labour in red, independents in light grey, Health Concern in pink, UK Independence Party in purple, Liberal in orange and vacant in white. Wyre Forest UK political composition map.svg
Map of the results of the 2015 Wyre Forest District Council election. Conservatives in blue, Labour in red, independents in light grey, Health Concern in pink, UK Independence Party in purple, Liberal in orange and vacant in white.

The 2015 Wyre Forest District Council election took place on 7 May 2015 to elect members of Wyre Forest District Council in Worcestershire, England. The whole council was up for election after boundary changes reduced the number of seats by nine. [1] The Conservative party gained overall control of the council from no overall control. [2]

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.

Worcestershire County of England

Worcestershire is a county in the West Midlands of England. Between 1974 and 1998, it was merged with the neighbouring county of Herefordshire as Hereford and Worcester.

England Country in north-west Europe, part of the United Kingdom

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to the west and Scotland to the north-northwest. The Irish Sea lies west of England and the Celtic Sea lies to the southwest. England is separated from continental Europe by the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south. The country covers five-eighths of the island of Great Britain, which lies in the North Atlantic, and includes over 100 smaller islands, such as the Isles of Scilly and the Isle of Wight.

Contents

Background

After the last election in 2014 no party had a majority on Wyre Forest District Council. [3] The Conservatives were the largest party with 15 councillors, while Labour had 9, Health Concern 7, the UK Independence Party 5, independents 4 and there were 2 Liberals. [3] Following the election the Conservatives formed an alliance with the 4 independents and 2 Liberals to run the council with exactly half of the seats. [4]

A Councillor is a member of a local government council.

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. Labour is a full member of the Party of European Socialists and Progressive Alliance, and holds observer status in the Socialist International. As of 2017, the party was considered the "largest party in Western Europe" in terms of party membership, with more than half a million members.

In June 2014 Mike Price defected from the Liberal party to the Conservatives, meaning that Fran Oborski was left as the only Liberal councillor. [5] By the time of the 2015 election the Conservative group had increased to 17 councillors, as independent Julian Phillips joined the party. [6] [7]

The whole of Wyre Forest District Council was elected in 2015 after boundary changes reduced the number of wards from 17 to 12 and the number of councillors from 42 to 33. [2] These changes meant ten wards elected three councillors each, while one ward elected two councillors and one ward elected a single councillor. [8] However the election in the Areley Kings and Riverside ward was delayed until June 2015 after the death of one of the candidates. [9]

The wards and electoral divisions in the United Kingdom are electoral districts at sub-national level represented by one or more councillors. The ward is the primary unit of English electoral geography for civil parishes and borough and district councils, electoral ward is the unit used by Welsh principal councils, while the electoral division is the unit used by English county councils and some unitary authorities. Each ward/division has an average electorate of about 5,500 people, but ward-population counts can vary substantially. As at the end of 2014 there were 9,456 electoral wards/divisions in the UK.

Areley Kings village in United Kingdom

Areley Kings is a Worcestershire village on the River Severn 10 miles north of Worcester in the picturesque area of the Wyre Forest. The area is featured in the Domesday Book and many historical places of interest, like Areley Hall, are open to visitors. Nearby Stourport on Severn grew during the Victorian era and is still very popular with tourists and holiday makers all year round for canal and river cruising and for the many well signed walks through some of the finest Worcestershire countryside.

Four councillors stood down and did not seek re-election in 2015, Douglas Godwin, Pauline Hayward, Lynn Hyde and Mike Kelly. [10]

Election result

The Conservatives gained a majority on the council after winning 21 of the 30 seats contested on 7 May. [2] Both Labour and Health Concern were reduced to two seats on the council, while the UK Independence Party only won one seat. [2] Among those to lose seats were the leader of the UK Independence Party on the council, Michael Wrench, and the Health Concern mayor of Stourport, Cliff Brewer. [2] Independents won all three seats in Aggborough and Spennells, while Fran Oborski was re-elected as the only Liberal councillor. [2]

Stourport-on-Severn town and civil parish in the Wyre Forest District of Worcestershire, England

Stourport-on-Severn, often shortened to Stourport, is a town and civil parish in the Wyre Forest District of North Worcestershire, England, a few miles to the south of Kidderminster and down stream on the River Severn from Bewdley. Stourport lies on the River Severn, and at the time of the 2011 census had a population of 20,292.

Spennells is a suburb of Kidderminster, Worcestershire about a mile south of the town centre. It is located just to the east of the A449 and the railway line between Worcester and Kidderminster. There is a park, a lake and Kidderminster Golf Club is just to the north. Many of the streets on the major housing estate are named after birds. The area has several shops including a supermarket, a pharmacy, a florist, a hairdresser, a hospice shop, and two takeaway restaurants. Spennells has a primary school, Heronswood Primary School.

Opposition candidates were concerned that the reduction in the number of polling stations after the boundary changes had resulted in long queues to vote. [2]

After the delayed election in Areley Kings and Riverside resulted in two Conservatives and one Labour councillors being elected, the Conservatives had 23 seats and Labour had 3 seats. [11]

Wyre Forest local election result 2015 [6] [11] [12]
PartySeatsGainsLossesNet gain/lossSeats %Votes %Votes+/−
  Conservative 23+669.738.142,669+11.9%
  Labour 3-69.115.817,693-2.2%
  Independent 309.13.94,421+0.6%
  Health Concern 2-56.113.615,261-7.2%
  UKIP 1-43.020.723,180-5.1%
  Liberal 103.02.42,651-1.8%
  Green 0004.54,992+3.1%
  Liberal Democrat 0000.6642+0.6%
  TUSC 0000.4469+0.1%
 Patriotic Socialist Party0000.034+0.0%

The above results include the delayed election in Areley Kings and Riverside.

Ward results

Aggborough and Spennells (3 seats) [12]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Independent Helen Dyke1,706
Independent Peter Dyke1,441
Independent John Aston1,274
Conservative Tracey Onslow-Fage1,239
Conservative Ian Siddall1,046
Conservative Andrew Tromans993
Labour Brian Rushbrook704
UKIP Graham Gardner653
Health Concern Keith Robertson617
UKIP Mark Humphries591
UKIP Philip Jeanes505
Green Douglas Hine410
Turnout 11,17965.1
Bewdley and Rock (3 seats) [12]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Conservative John-Paul Campion2,194
Conservative Stephen Clee1,953
Conservative Jennifer Greener1,874
Health Concern Calne Edginton-White1,080
Health Concern John Beeson959
Labour Mark Flello904
UKIP Maurice Alton875
Health Concern Philip Edmundson837
UKIP Christopher Wood757
Labour Rodney Stanczyszyn730
UKIP Gary Talbot627
Green Phillip Oliver566
Turnout 13,35673.7
Blakebrook and Habberley South (3 seats) [12]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Conservative John Hart1,232
Conservative Ruth Gregory1,194
Conservative Juliet Smith1,070
UKIP David Hollyoak871
UKIP Philip Daniels833
Labour Bernadette Connor792
Labour Paul Connor790
UKIP Caroline Moran699
Health Concern Julie Bennett669
Labour Leroy Wright612
Green Natalie McVey481
Green Victoria Lea289
Liberal Democrat Michael Troth211
Green Martin Layton206
TUSC Kevin Young68
Turnout 10,01755.8
Broadwaters (3 seats) [12]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Health Concern Mary Rayner931
Conservative John Desmond923
UKIP Steven Harrington748
Labour Mumshad Ahmed745
Labour Steven Walker722
Labour Adrian Sewell717
Conservative Gillian Onslow689
Health Concern Peter Young655
UKIP William Hopkins637
UKIP Paul Wooldridge602
Conservative Greta Smith561
Green David Finch358
Liberal Esther Smart192
Patriotic Socialist PartyBrian Ryder34
Turnout 8,51453.0
Foley Park and Hoobrook (3 seats) [12]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Conservative Nathan Desmond1,348
Conservative Sally Chambers1,297
Labour Samuel Arnold1,046
Conservative Nichola Gale1,036
UKIP Michael Wrench901
UKIP Sophie Edginton891
UKIP Charlotte Stokes792
Health Concern Louise Hinett770
Liberal Democrat Clare Cassidy431
Green Ronald Lee392
Turnout 8,90455.0
Frances and Habberley North (3 seats) [12]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Conservative Jeffrey Baker2,006
Conservative Anne Hingley1,930
Labour Nigel Knowles1,443
Conservative Daniel McCann1,347
Health Concern Caroline Shellie1,137
Labour Barry McFarland1,113
UKIP Anthony Clent1,039
UKIP David White809
UKIP Peter Willoughby742
Green Jonathan Mills437
TUSC Nigel Gilbert155
TUSC Ingra Kirkland112
Turnout 12,27064.3
Lickhill [12]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Conservative David Little58138.2
Health Concern Brian Glass33622.1
UKIP Adrian Dawes28518.7
Labour Carol Warren25917.0
Green Nicholas Atkinson614.0
Majority24516.1
Turnout 1,52268.9
Mitton (3 seats) [12]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Conservative Sara Fearn1,517
Conservative Christopher Rogers1,273
Conservative Tony Muir1,170
Health Concern Clifford Brewer1,122
Health Concern James Parish1,118
UKIP John Holden1,022
Health Concern Michael Salter987
UKIP Berenice Dawes952
UKIP Wayne Sheldon840
Labour Jillian Hawes823
Labour George Jones675
Green Gilda Davis350
Turnout 11,84961.6
Offmore and Comberton (3 seats) [12]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Liberal Frances Oborski1,353
Conservative Rosemary Bishop1,274
Health Concern Graham Ballinger985
Conservative Paul Harrison953
UKIP Martin Stooke949
Conservative Michael Price903
Labour Margaret Bradley881
UKIP Kathleen Breese842
UKIP Anthony Whitmore685
Labour John Rocks661
Liberal Rachel Akathiotis558
Liberal Shazu Miah548
Green Brett Caulfield405
TUSC Lawrence Boyle134
Turnout 11,13161.5
Wribbenhall and Arley (2 seats) [12]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Conservative Gordon Yarranton1,195
Conservative Julian Phillips1,078
Labour George Court581
Health Concern Linda Candlin545
Health Concern Elizabeth Davies525
UKIP David Field525
Labour Conan Norton422
UKIP Melanie Mannion394
Green Louise Ryan215
Turnout 5,48069.7
Wyre Forest Rural (3 seats) [12]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Conservative Marcus Hart2,517
Conservative Ian Hardiman2,417
Conservative Stephen Williams2,141
Labour Christopher Nicholls1,347
UKIP Dan Collins898
Health Concern Derek Killingworth880
UKIP Sarah Hopkins874
Green Katherine Spohrer756
UKIP Craig Leonard724
Turnout 12,55474.4

Areley Kings and Riverside delayed election

The election in Areley Kings and Riverside ward took place on 9 June 2015, delayed from 7 May when the rest of the council voted. [9] This came after the death of a Health Concern candidate for the ward and former councillor for Areley Kings, Nigel Thomas, on 12 April. [9]

Conservatives Ken and Lin Henderson won two of the three seats, while the Labour group leader Jamie Shaw was also elected. [11] There was a recount after Lin Henderson took the third seat, three votes ahead of Labour's Vi Higgs. [11] Meanwhile, the failure of Health Concern to win seats in the ward meant that they had no councillors for Stourport for the first time in over a decade. [11]

Areley Kings and Riverside (3 seats) [13]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Conservative Ken Henderson662
Labour Jamie Shaw633
Conservative Lin Henderson564
Labour Vi Higgs561
Labour Rob Lloyd532
Conservative Malcolm Gough492
Health Concern John Thomas404
Health Concern Cliff Brewer378
Health Concern Dixon Sheppard326
UKIP Martin Clapton213
UKIP Ian Jones209
UKIP Trevor Newman196
Green John Davis66
Turnout 5,23627.0

By-elections between 2015 and 2016

A by-election will take place in Blakebrook and Habberley South on 24 September 2015 after the resignation of Conservative councillor Ruth Gregory due to ill health. [14] [15]

Related Research Articles

Independent Community and Health Concern, previously Independent Kidderminster Hospital and Health Concern is a political party based in Kidderminster, United Kingdom. It grew out of the campaign to restore the casualty unit at Kidderminster Hospital, and the National Health Service is still its primary focus, but the party has since diversified. Since 2015 it has also been known as the Wyre Forest Independent Party and has successfully contested local elections within the Wyre Forest local government area, which includes Kidderminster.

Cannock Chase District Non-metropolitan district in England

Cannock Chase is a local government district in England. It covers a large part of Cannock Chase forest and the towns of Cannock, Rugeley and Hednesford.

Wyre Forest (UK Parliament constituency) Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom

Wyre Forest is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election. The current MP is Mark Garnier of the Conservative Party who was elected at the 2010 general election.

The 1998 Wyre Forest District Council election took place on 7 May 1998 to elect members of Wyre Forest District Council in Worcestershire, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Labour party stayed in overall control of the council.

The 1999 Wyre Forest District Council election took place on 6 May 1999 to elect members of Wyre Forest District Council in Worcestershire, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Labour party lost overall control of the council to no overall control.

The 2000 Wyre Forest District Council election took place on 4 May 2000 to elect members of Wyre Forest District Council in Worcestershire, England. One third of the council was up for election and the council stayed under no overall control.

2002 Wyre Forest District Council election

The 2002 Wyre Forest District Council election took place on 2 May 2002 to elect members of Wyre Forest District Council in Worcestershire, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Independent Kidderminster Hospital and Health Concern party gained overall control of the council from no overall control.

2003 Wyre Forest District Council election

The 2003 Wyre Forest District Council election took place on 1 May 2003 to elect members of Wyre Forest District Council in Worcestershire, England. One third of the council was up for election and the council stayed under no overall control.

2004 Wyre Forest District Council election

The 2004 Wyre Forest District Council election took place on 10 June 2004 to elect members of Wyre Forest District Council in Worcestershire, England. The whole council was up for election with boundary changes since the last election in 2003. The council stayed under no overall control, but with the Conservatives taking over as the largest party on the council from the Health Concern party.

2006 Wyre Forest District Council election

The 2006 Wyre Forest District Council election took place on 4 May 2006 to elect members of Wyre Forest District Council in Worcestershire, England. One third of the council was up for election and the council stayed under no overall control.

2007 Wyre Forest District Council election

The 2007 Wyre Forest District Council election took place on 3 May 2007 to elect members of Wyre Forest District Council in Worcestershire, England. One third of the council was up for election and the council stayed under no overall control.

2008 Wyre Forest District Council election

The 2008 Wyre Forest District Council election took place on 1 May 2008 to elect members of Wyre Forest District Council in Worcestershire, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Conservative party gained overall control of the council from no overall control.

1979 United Kingdom local elections

Local elections were held in the United Kingdom on 3 May 1979. The results provided some source of comfort to the Labour Party (UK), who recovered some lost ground from local election reversals in previous years, despite losing the general election to the Conservative Party on the same day.

2010 Wyre Forest District Council election

The 2010 Wyre Forest District Council election took place on 6 May 2010 to elect members of Wyre Forest District Council in Worcestershire, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Conservative party gained overall control of the council from no overall control.

2011 Wyre Forest District Council election

The 2011 Wyre Forest District Council election took place on 5 May 2011 to elect members of Wyre Forest District Council in Worcestershire, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Conservative party stayed in overall control of the council.

2012 Wyre Forest District Council election

The 2012 Wyre Forest District Council election took place on 3 May 2012 to elect members of Wyre Forest District Council in Worcestershire, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Conservative party lost overall control of the council to no overall control.

2014 Wyre Forest District Council election

The 2014 Wyre Forest District Council election took place on 22 May 2014 to elect members of Wyre Forest District Council in Worcestershire, England. One third of the council was up for election and the council stayed under no overall control.

2015 Wychavon District Council election

The 2015 Wychavon District Council election took place on 7 May 2015 to elect members of Wychavon District Council in Worcestershire, England. The whole council was up for election and the Conservative party stayed in overall control of the council.

References

  1. ↑ Bate, Gema (22 April 2015). "Record numbers register for postal vote". The Shuttle . Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Tories take total control of Wyre Forest Council". The Shuttle . 8 May 2015. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
  3. 1 2 "Results Elections 2014". The Times . NewsBank. 24 May 2014. pp. 88–89.
  4. ↑ Tomaney, William (10 June 2014). "Wyre Forest Tories form ruling political alliance with Liberal and Independent group". The Shuttle . NewsBank.
  5. ↑ Tomaney, William (17 June 2014). "Councillor Mike Price in shock switch from Liberals to Conservative party". Worcester News . Retrieved 9 May 2015.
  6. 1 2 "Your District Councillor". Wyre Forest District Council. Archived from the original on 9 May 2015. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
  7. ↑ "Councillor Information". Wyre Forest District Council. Archived from the original on 15 April 2015. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
  8. ↑ "New boundaries and less councillors for Wyre Forest District Council". The Shuttle . 14 October 2014. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
  9. 1 2 3 Farrington, Dayna (1 May 2015). "Areley Kings & Riverside election date announced". The Shuttle . Retrieved 9 May 2015.
  10. ↑ Bate, Gema (24 April 2015). "Tributes paid to retiring councillors". The Shuttle . Retrieved 9 May 2015.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 "Wyre Forest Tories tighten grip on council". Evesham Journal. 10 June 2015. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 "Election Results". Wyre Forest District Council. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  13. ↑ "Areley Kings & Riverside - Election held 9th June 2015". Wyre Forest District Council. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
  14. ↑ "Illness forces Kidderminster councillor to stand down". The Shuttle . 10 August 2015. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
  15. ↑ Farrington, Dayna (14 August 2015). "Blakebrook & Habberley South election date announced". The Shuttle . Retrieved 22 August 2015.
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