Christchurch Borough Council in Dorset, England, existed from 1974 to 2019, when it was abolished and subsumed into Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council.
Christchurch Borough Council in Dorset, England, existed from 1974 to 2019, when it was abolished and subsumed into Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council.
The first elections to the council were held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority prior to the district coming into effect the following year. From 1973 until its abolition in 2019 political control of the council was held by the following parties: [1]
| Party in control | Years | |
|---|---|---|
| Conservative | 1973–1995 | |
| No overall control | 1995–1999 | |
| Conservative | 1999–2019 | |
The role of mayor was largely ceremonial at Christchurch Borough Council. Political leadership was instead provided by the leader of the council. The leaders from 2003 until the council's abolition in 2019 were: [2]
| Councillor | Party | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harold Cooper | Conservative | 2003 | ||
| Alan Griffiths | Conservative | 2003 | 2010 | |
| Ray Nottage [3] | Conservative | 2011 | 20 Feb 2017 | |
| David Flagg [4] | Conservative | 20 Feb 2017 | 31 Mar 2019 | |
Summary of the council composition after each election; click on the year for full details of each election. Boundary changes took place for the 2003 election, reducing the number of seats by one. [5]
| Year | Conservative | Independent | UK Independence Party | Liberal Democrats | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 [7] | 8 | 7 | 0 | 10 | Borough boundary changes took place but the number of seats remained the same [8] |
| 1999 [9] | 17 | 3 | 0 | 5 | |
| 2003 [5] | 14 | 2 | 0 | 8 | New ward boundaries [10] |
| 2007 [11] | 17 | 3 | 0 | 4 | |
| 2011 [1] | 21 | 2 | 0 | 1 | |
| 2015 [12] [13] | 21 | 2 | 1 | 0 | |
By-elections occur when seats become vacant between council elections. Below is a summary of recent by-elections; [14] full by-election results can be found by clicking on the by-election name.
| By-election | Date | Incumbent party | Winning party | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Burton | 1 May 1997 | Liberal Democrats | Liberal Democrats | ||
| Jumpers by-election | 7 June 2001 | Liberal Democrats | Liberal Democrats | ||
| Jumpers by-election | 5 May 2005 | Independent | Liberal Democrats | ||
| Portfield by-election | 5 May 2005 | Conservative | Liberal Democrats | ||
| Purewell and Stanpit by-election | 5 May 2005 | Liberal Democrats | Liberal Democrats | ||
| Portfield by-election | 16 July 2009 | Liberal Democrats | Liberal Democrats | ||
| Mudeford and Friars Cliff by-election | 2 March 2017 | Conservative | Conservative | ||
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The 2011 Christchurch Borough Council election took place on 5 May 2011 to elect members of Christchurch Borough Council in Dorset, England. The whole council was up for election and the Conservative Party stayed in overall control of the council.
The 2015 Christchurch Borough Council election took place on 7 May 2015 to elect members of Christchurch Borough Council in Dorset, England. The whole council was up for election and the Conservative party stayed in overall control of the council.
West Dorset District Council in Dorset, England existed from 1974 to 2019. The council was abolished and subsumed into Dorset Council in 2019.
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) is a unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. It was created on 1 April 2019 by the merger of the areas that were previously administered by the unitary authorities of Bournemouth and Poole, and the non-metropolitan district of Christchurch. The authority covers much of the area of the South Dorset conurbation.
The 2019 Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council election took place on 2 May 2019 to elect the inaugural members of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council in England, formed from the former unitary authorities of Bournemouth and Poole, and borough of Christchurch. At the same time an election for the new Christchurch Town Council was held.
The Alliance for Local Living (ALL) was a minor localist party and political group based in Dorset, with separate branches in the two authorities, ALL for Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and ALL for Dorset. The BCP office was based in Poole, whilst the Dorset office was based in Weymouth. The party was deregistered in November 2023, at which point it had four councillors on Dorset Council, who continued to sit together as an informal grouping. The group became Independents for Dorset in 2024.
Christchurch Town is a ward in Christchurch, Dorset. Since 2019, the ward has elected 2 councillors to Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council. Before then the Town Centre ward elected two councillors to Christchurch Borough Council.
Commons is a ward of Christchurch, Dorset. Since 2019, the ward has elected 2 councillors to Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council.
