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Post by Pete Whitehead on Mar 10, 2013 20:56:39 GMT
Well Coventry as a whole isn't a particulalry strange area for them to stand and they'd had some quite promising results in the past in some wards like Woodlands. Foleshill is certainly rather bizarre though - perhaps they thought they might win over some of the Sikh vote. There have been stranger places than these two in Islington. I remember them standing in a by-election in Hampstead Town (not the most recent one) where of course theygot a derisory vote but tthe very fact they had a candidate was enough to have the local liberal intelligentsia choking on their muesli. One wonders if that is actually a reason for them standing there and in areas like Islington too. It seems as good a reason as any tbh
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Post by Arthur Figgis on Mar 12, 2013 10:14:00 GMT
Here is some background to the by-election in the Chorleywood Chenies ward of Chorleywood Parish Council in the District of Three Rivers (Hertfordshire). Chorleywood Parish Council comprises 17 members, elected from five wards as follows – Chorleywood Cedars (2), Chorleywood Chenies (3), Chorleywood East (6), Chorleywood Quickwood (1) and Chorleywood West (5). The Chorleywood Chenies and Chorleywood West parish wards are combined to form the district ward of Chorleywood West. The council strengths were as follows: Elections on 3 May 2006: Con 9, Lib Dem 7, Independent 1 Elections on 27 May 2010: Lib Dem 9, Con 7, Independent 1 The current chairman and vice-chairman of the parish council are Lib Dem. The result in Chorleywood Chenies on 4 May 2006 was: Independent 463, Con 411/296, Lib Dem 355/324/250 Elected: Independent 1, Con 1, Lib Dem 1 The result in Chorleywood Chenies on 27 May 2010 was: Lib Dem 336/303/237, Independent 298, Con 188/178 Elected: Lib Dem 2, Independent 1 The by-election on 21 March is caused by the death of Dr Norman Eve (Independent). The three candidates are Lib Dem, No Description and Con. The result in the Chorleywood West ward of Three Rivers Council on 4 May 2006 was Lib Dem 1221, Con 888, Green Party 72, Lab 69, UKIP 31, The New Party 13 The result in the Chorleywood West ward of Three Rivers Council on 3 May 2007 was Lib Dem 1163, Con 933, Green Party 78 The result in the Chorleywood West ward of Three Rivers Council on 1 May 2008 was Lib Dem 1238, Con 1059, Lab 62 The result in the Chorleywood West ward of Three Rivers Council on 6 May 2010 was Lib Dem 1945, Con 1506 The result in the Chorleywood West ward of Three Rivers Council on 5 May 2011 was Con 1197, Lib Dem 1170, Lab 149, Green Party 85 The result in the Chorleywood West ward of Three Rivers Council on 3 May 2012 was Lib Dem 1028, Con 862, Lab 134 Lib Dem posters up in the ward. The independent has no link to the deceased councillor, who was the last representative from the Chenies Estate Residents Association (which has now been disbanded and merged into the Chorleywood Residents Association). |
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Post by jonnymorris on Mar 12, 2013 23:38:56 GMT
Well Coventry as a whole isn't a particulalry strange area for them to stand and they'd had some quite promising results in the past in some wards like Woodlands. Foleshill is certainly rather bizarre though - perhaps they thought they might win over some of the Sikh vote. There have been stranger places than these two in Islington. I remember them standing in a by-election in Hampstead Town (not the most recent one) where of course theygot a derisory vote but tthe very fact they had a candidate was enough to have the local liberal intelligentsia choking on their muesli. One wonders if that is actually a reason for them standing there and in areas like Islington too. It seems as good a reason as any tbh They don't have a "strategy". If one of them is lurking around locally, they might stand. There's no actual logic behind it. Or indeed much of a party any more. |
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Post by independentukip on Mar 14, 2013 13:14:44 GMT
I think that Gooshays in Havering looks the most interesting and unpredictable of that lot. I wonder if it could be UKIP's moment? Not sure of the date but Kerry Smith (UKIP election agent) has written asking for help here and said, "It’s looking to be a clear battle between UKIP and Labour." |
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Post by paulypaul on Mar 14, 2013 16:23:42 GMT
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Post by listener on Mar 15, 2013 14:03:59 GMT
Here is some background to the three by-elections in the Maghull North ward of Maghull Town Council in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton (Merseyside).
Maghull had been Lib Dem territory for some years, until Labour swept in with a landslide in Borough and Town Council seats in 2011. Since then it appears that the Town Council has become very politicized.
The Leader of the Town Council, Caroline Esterson, is the wife of local Labour MP, Bill Esterson – who caused a couple of interesting by-elections on Medway Council, when he won the Sefton Central parliamentary seat back in 2010.
Maghull Town Council comprises 16 members, elected from four wards as follows – Maghull East (5), Maghull North (5), Maghull South (2) and Maghull West (4).
Maghull East and Maghull North town wards combine with the Lydiate South ward of Lydiate parish to form the Sudell ward of the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton.
The council strengths were as follows:
Elections on 3 May 2007: Lib Dem 16
11 candidates were returned unopposed and a solitary Conservative candidate in Maghull East was defeated. There were no Labour candidates.
Elections on 5 May 2011: Lab 13, Lib Dem 3
Both Lab and the Lib Dems fielded a full slate of 16 candidates.
The Town Mayor, Deputy Town Mayor and Leader of the Town Council are Labour.
The result in Maghull North on 3 May 2007 was:
Lib Dem 5 unopposed
The result in Maghull North on 5 May 2011 was:
Lab 1033/995/902/896/840, Lib Dem 660/609/563/505/499, Con 348, Independent 181
Elected: Lab 5
On 7 December 2011 it was reported to Maghull Town Council that Kris Brown (Lab) had resigned his seat in Maghull South ward. The Council noted that, following advertisement of the vacancy, an election had not been called and resolved to proceed with a process of co-option.
On 12 December 2011, the Leader of the Lib Dem group blogged “When is a Council vacancy, not a vacancy?” – and protested that the vacancy had been not been advertised in Maghull South ward itself. He also reported that Kris Brown had subsequently joined the Lib Dems.
On 21 March 2012, Maghull Town Council co-opted Gwen Kermode (Lab) to fill the vacancy. Interviews had been held on a date previous to the meeting and three candidates had been interviewed. The interviews had been conducted at 29 Liverpool Road North, which appears to be the Labour Party constituency office. The leader of the Lib Dem group expressed concern that the Liberal Democrats had not been invited to participate in the interviews, and therefore felt that they had been deliberately excluded.
The three by-elections on 21 March have been caused by the resignation of Adam Lewis (Lab), Claire Jones (Lab) and Michael Jones (Lab). Claire Jones was elected in 2011 under the name of Claire Traynor.
On 22 January 2013, the Leader of the Lib Dem group blogged:
“Whatever excuses the Labour Party give, the reality is that it has been obvious ever since Labour snatched control of the Town Council that many of their new members did not want to be Town Councillors. They seemed no more dedicated to the Maghull community than I am a Dutchman.
It has also been very clear that disputes within Labour’s ranks have been tearing them apart. The resignations will also surely be connected with those internal Labour wars.”
The seven candidates are Lab, (3), Green Party (1) and Lib Dem (3).
The result in the Sudell ward of Sefton Council on 4 May 2006 was Lib Dem 1539, Con 862, Lab 743
The result in the Sudell ward of Sefton Council on 3 May 2007 was Lib Dem 1724, Con 719, Lab 550, UKIP 138
The result in the Sudell ward of Sefton Council on 1 May 2008 was Lib Dem 1614, Con 676, Lab 482, UKIP 306
The result in the Sudell ward of Sefton Council on 6 May 2010 was Lib Dem 2636, Lab 2506, Con 1393, UKIP 380, Green Party 100
The result in the Sudell ward of Sefton Council on 5 May 2011 was Lab 2314, Lib Dem 1169, Con 713, Green Party 143
The result in the Sudell ward of Sefton Council on 3 May 2012 was Lab 2124, Lib Dem 820, UKIP 286, Con 285, Green Party 86
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Post by East Anglian Lefty on Mar 15, 2013 22:01:48 GMT
On 22 January 2013, the Leader of the Lib Dem group blogged: “Whatever excuses the Labour Party give, the reality is that it has been obvious ever since Labour snatched control of the Town Council that many of their new members did not want to be Town Councillors. They seemed no more dedicated to the Maghull community than I am a Dutchman. It has also been very clear that disputes within Labour’s ranks have been tearing them apart. The resignations will also surely be connected with those internal Labour wars.” The leader of the Lib Dem group seems to have an interesting perspective on democratic elections. |
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Post by stepney on Mar 15, 2013 23:05:38 GMT
On 22 January 2013, the Leader of the Lib Dem group blogged: “Whatever excuses the Labour Party give, the reality is that it has been obvious ever since Labour snatched control of the Town Council that many of their new members did not want to be Town Councillors. They seemed no more dedicated to the Maghull community than I am a Dutchman. It has also been very clear that disputes within Labour’s ranks have been tearing them apart. The resignations will also surely be connected with those internal Labour wars.” The leader of the Lib Dem group seems to have an interesting perspective on democratic elections. "Snatch" doesn't necessarily imply duplicity or anti-democratic underhandedness. It can imply a close result. Here ITN used it to refer to us gaining control of Lancashire, Derbyshire and Staffordshire in 2009 (as well as "seized control" in relation to Devon and Somerset). |
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Post by East Anglian Lefty on Mar 15, 2013 23:17:56 GMT
Except that the election in question wasn't remotely close, so all the special pleading in the world isn't going to make him less of a bitter tosser.
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Post by paulypaul on Mar 16, 2013 0:15:58 GMT
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Post by AdminSTB on Mar 16, 2013 10:07:33 GMT
It's pretty rare for Scottish Community Councils to ever be contested. I was elected unopposed to Motherwell Community Council when I stood in 2008.
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Post by listener on Mar 16, 2013 12:17:38 GMT
Here is some background to the by-election in the St. Mary's with Summercombe ward of Brixham Town Council in the unitary Borough of Torbay.
Brixham Town Council comprises 12 members, elected from two wards as follows –Berry Head with Furzeham (7) and St. Mary’s with Summercombe (5).
The town wards are coterminous with the district wards of the same name.
The council strengths were:
Elections on 3 May 2007: Independent 7, Con 3, Lib Dem 1, Vacant 1
St. Mary’s with Summercombe ward attracted only 4 candidates for 5 seats and the final vacancy was filled by co-option.
Elections on 5 May 2011: Independent 10, Con 1, Lab 1 – all candidates were unopposed
16 March 2013: Independent 7, Con 1, Lab 1, Brixham Residents Against Tesco Superstore (BRATS) 1, Vacant 2
The current chairman and vice-chairman are Independent.
The result in St. Mary’s with Summercombe ward on 3 May 2007 was:
Independent 2, Con 1, Lib Dem 1, Vacant 1 - unopposed
The result in St. Mary’s with Summercombe ward on 5 May 2011 was:
Independent 4, Con 1 unopposed
Rosemary Clarke (Brixham Resident Against Tesco Superstore) won the by-election in Berry Head and Furzeham on 15 November 2012, caused by the resignation of Vic Ellery (Ind), who stepped down when he became director of the charity, Brixham Does Care.
The first by-election in St. Mary’s with Summercombe ward on 21 March is caused by the resignations of Gordon Boote (Independent), in disgust after Brixham Town Council threw out plans for a £20 million Tesco store in the port.
The second by-election is caused by the resignation of Nick Henderson (Independent). The planning committee chairman, who would have been at the heart of the £20 million Tesco application for the port, has thrown in the towel. He had become more and more disenchanted with the way the Council is operating.
The four candidates on 21 March are Brixham Residents Against Tesco Superstore (BRATS) (2) and Independent (2).
The results in the St. Mary’s with Summercombe ward of Torbay Borough Council were as follows:
3 May 2007 – Con 894/884, Lib Dem 678/585, BNP 295
Elected: Con 2
5 May 2011 – Con 664/556, Lib Dem 570/367, Independent 482/351/156, Lab 396/367, Green Party 184
Elected: Con 1, Lib Dem 1
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Post by listener on Mar 16, 2013 12:19:17 GMT
Here is some background to the by-election in the Shepton West ward of Shepton Mallet Town Council in the District of Mendip in Somerset.
Shepton Mallet Town Council comprises 16 members, elected from two wards as follows –Shepton East (8) and Shepton West (8).
The town wards are coterminous with the district wards of the same name.
The council strengths were:
Elections on 3 May 2007: Con 7, Independent 4, Lib Dem 3, Lab 2
Elections on 5 May 2011: Con 6, Lib Dem 5, Independent 4, Lab 1
15 March 2013: Con 7, Lib Dem 4, Independent 2, Lab 1, Vacant 2
The current chairman is Independent and the vice-chairman is Conservative. The town council appointed them on 8 January 2013, following the resignation of the previous chairman, Sue Cook (Lib Dem). Terry Marsh (Independent) had been the vice-chairman and now stepped up to be chairman.
The result in Shepton West ward on 3 May 2007 was:
Independent 645/599/503, Lib Dem 628/581/537/516, Lab 530/517/495/393
Elected: Ind 2, Con 4, Lib Dem 2
The result in Shepton West on 5 May 2011 was:
Independent 687/593/508, Lib Dem 654/597/453/432, Con 642/576/548/485, Lab 584/521/396/394
Elected: Ind 2, Lib Dem 2, Con 3, Lab 1
The result of the Shepton West by-election on 15 November 2012 was:
Con 261, Lib Dem 236, Lab 235
Con gain from Independent
Simon Davies (Con) won the by-election in Shepton West on 15 November 2012, caused by the resignation of Jeff Curtis (Ind), According to Shepton Mallet People his resignation was instigated by arguments and allegations of councilors not working together for the benefit of the town. Heated rows also took place over controversial leaked design ideas for a new town hall.
In January Sue Cook (Lib Dem) resigned as Chairman of the Town Council. Will Dunscombe (No Description) and Sue Cook (Lib Dem) have now resigned from the Council. Both have cited personal reasons for their decisions – however the last year has been a difficult one for Shepton Mallet Town Council with controversies, allegations and complaints between councillors and the public culminating in investigations and apologies.
The four candidates on 21 March are Con (2) and Lab (2). There are no Independent or Lib Dem candidates to defend the seats. If the Conservatives win these two seats, they will take overall control of the town council.
The results in the Shepton West ward of Mendip District Council were as follows:
14 June 2007: Con 582/518, Lab 396/384, Lib Dem 307/271
Elected: Con 2
By-election of 1 July 2010: Lib Dem 459, Con 358, Lab 241, Green Party 44
Lib Dem gain from Con
5 May 2011 – Con 565/469, Lib Dem 491/479, Lab 471/379, Independent 400
Elected: Con 1, Lib Dem 1
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Post by listener on Mar 16, 2013 12:20:44 GMT
Here is some background to the by-election in the Upton Park ward of Upton-by-Chester and District Parish Council in the Unitary District of Cheshire West and Chester.
Upton-by-Chester and District Council is a grouped council covering the three parishes of Bache, Moston and Upton-by-Chester. The council comprises 16 members, with Bache and Moston returning one member each and Upton-by Chester electing 14 members from three wards as follows – Upton Grange (5), Upton Heath (7) and Upton Park (2).
The three parishes in the grouped council are coterminous with Upton ward of Cheshire West and Chester (as first contested in 2011).
I do not have the parish election results from the old Chester City Council for 4 May 2006.
The council strengths were:
Elections on 5 May 2011: Con 14, Lab 1, Independent 1
15 March 2013: Con 12, Lab 2, Independent 1, Vacant 1
The result in Upton Park on 5 May 2011 was:
Con 278/204, Lab 153
Elected: Con 2
Ian Gibson (Lab) won the by-election in Upton Heath on 21 February 2013, following the resignation of Jack Doyle (Con).
The by-election in Upton Park on 21 March 2013 is caused by the resignation of Danny Worley (Con). A Labour Party website referred to the “second forced resignation of a Tory parish councilor in two months for not attending enough meetings”.
The three candidates on 21 March are Con, Lab and Lib Dem.
The results in the Upton ward of Cheshire West and Chester Council were as follows:
1 May 2008: Con 2598/2411/2398, Lib Dem 1137/1076/822, Lab 701/655/596, UKIP 181
Elected: Con 3
(In 2008, Upton ward also contained the unparished Newton area of Chester City and did not include the parish of Moston.)
5 May 2011 – Con 1735/1527, Lab 1113/1024, Lib Dem 587/314
Elected: Con 2
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Post by paulypaul on Mar 16, 2013 18:38:26 GMT
It's pretty rare for Scottish Community Councils to ever be contested. I was elected unopposed to Motherwell Community Council when I stood in 2008. Is there some sort of mid-term backfilling of community councils? I noticed that Highland and Perth & Kinross had a number of community council election's scheduled for the 21st. |
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Post by AdminSTB on Mar 16, 2013 21:12:04 GMT
It was a new community council, replacing a patchwork of smaller ones that covered parts of the town, and also covering other parts of the town where no community council had been established before.
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Post by paulypaul on Mar 16, 2013 21:48:19 GMT
It was a new community council, replacing a patchwork of smaller ones that covered parts of the town, and also covering other parts of the town where no community council had been established before. South Ayrshire seem to have all out community council elections on the 21st? www.south-ayrshire.gov.uk/communitycouncils/elections.aspx |
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Post by AdminSTB on Mar 17, 2013 21:01:18 GMT
It's pretty rare for Scottish Community Councils to ever be contested. I was elected unopposed to Motherwell Community Council when I stood in 2008. What do Community Councils do in Scotland? I believe they have even fewer powers than English parishes. We received grants from North Lanarkshire Council and from NHS Lanarkshire to deliver certain projects, such as an over 55s health awareness event. We had input into planning decisions made by NLC, and we had a general democratic involvement role. So yeah, we were largely pretty powerless ourselves, we were more like a focus group for the council... |
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Post by listener on Mar 18, 2013 9:31:52 GMT
Community Councils in Scotland have no role in the provision of services, nor do they have tax-raising powers, unlike the Parish Councils of England and the Community Councils of Wales.
The North Lanarkshire Community Councils Scheme defines the statutory role of community councils as follows:
“Community Councils are voluntary organisations. Their role is established by local government legislation which identifies the general purpose of a Community Council to be to ascertain, co-ordinate and express to the local authority - and to other public authorities - the views of the community it represents, in relation to matters for which those Authorities are responsible, and take such action in the interests of that community as appears to be expedient and practicable.”
The North Lanarkshire Community Councils Scheme describes the role of a community councillor as follows:
“Community Councillors are required to represent the views of the local community. To do this Community Council members will have to ascertain the views of people in the community on particular topics. The views of the community may, from time to time, conflict with the personal views of individual Community Council members. When this situation arises a Community Council is required to ensure that the views of the community take precedence over the personal views of individual members.”
The North Lanarkshire Scheme provides for blanket coverage of North Lanarkshire with 80 councils. The scheme sets out a membership formula for councils of between 12 and 30 members, depending on the population. Within the total membership, there is provision for elected and for co-opted members.
Community Councils are established only where there is local demand. 20 local electors may start the process to form a community council by petitioning North Lanarkshire Council to set up a council and hold an election. The Council is only formed where sufficient candidates are nominated in the election to form a quorum.
At the last quadrennial community council elections in North Lanarkshire, only 41 councils were formed out of a possible 80. The 41 councils (all unwarded) were elected unopposed, without exception.
The Highland Council Scheme provides for 196 community councils (all unwarded). At the last election round in 2011, elections were called for 137 councils out of a possible 196. 112 were uncontested and 25 were contested.
With regard to the current Community Council elections in South Ayrshire, I note that 23 councils have been formed out of a possible 29. 21 councils (embracing 32 wards) are uncontested and just 2 single-ward communities are contested.
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Post by AdminSTB on Mar 18, 2013 11:47:31 GMT
Just to make it clear, I have no intention of adding the 196 Highland Community Councils, or any others, to my Scottish Elections website. Highland alone took long enough to write up.  |
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