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Post by Davıd Boothroyd on Apr 16, 2023 15:43:23 GMT
Did elections by thirds first come into existence with the 1974 reorganisations? Or does it predate that? Before the 1974 reorganisation, all boroughs were elected by thirds save for the Metropolitan Boroughs in London. Urban District Councils, Rural District Councils, and County Councils had all out elections. |
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Post by batman on Apr 16, 2023 15:46:56 GMT
Already mentioned by @europeanlefty above. And in addition let's not forget Adur and Nuneaton & Bedworth also Nuneaton and Bedworth, and Adur |
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Post by owainsutton on Apr 16, 2023 15:55:05 GMT
Did elections by thirds first come into existence with the 1974 reorganisations? Or does it predate that? Before the 1974 reorganisation, all boroughs were elected by thirds save for the Metropolitan Boroughs in London. Urban District Councils, Rural District Councils, and County Councils had all out elections. Ahhhh!! Now I understand why there's the oddities of thirds such as Burnley and Ipswich, when surrounded by all-out lower-tier councils in the same county. |
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Post by John Chanin on Apr 16, 2023 16:04:44 GMT
Fareham also elects by halves. And Hastings. Don't forget Nuneaton & Bedworth. On the other hand Adur is best forgotten. |
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Post by greenhert on Apr 16, 2023 18:56:45 GMT
Plus Adur and Nuneaton & Bedworth. Still only 7 in total. Strangely none of them are planning to switch to full council elections at the moment unlike so many councils that used to elect by thirds.... |
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Post by greenhert on Apr 16, 2023 18:57:45 GMT
Did elections by thirds first come into existence with the 1974 reorganisations? Or does it predate that? Before the 1974 reorganisation, all boroughs were elected by thirds save for the Metropolitan Boroughs in London. Urban District Councils, Rural District Councils, and County Councils had all out elections. And this included municipal boroughs as well as county boroughs (a precursor of today's unitary authorities), did it not? |
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Post by carolus on Apr 16, 2023 19:10:44 GMT
Plus Adur and Nuneaton & Bedworth. Still only 7 in total. Strangely none of them are planning to switch to full council elections at the moment unlike so many councils that used to elect by thirds.... if you include Nuneaton & Bedworth, and Adur, then that gets you to nine. Or possibly 11. |
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J.G.Harston
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Post by J.G.Harston on Apr 16, 2023 21:49:23 GMT
Did elections by thirds first come into existence with the 1974 reorganisations? Or does it predate that? Before the 1974 reorganisation, all boroughs were elected by thirds save for the Metropolitan Boroughs in London. Urban District Councils, Rural District Councils, and County Councils had all out elections. Are you sure? I have annual election stats for Whitby Urban District Council. Eg: 1966 Ind:7 Lab:6 Rate:4 Lib:1 (from 1965 elections) 1967 Ind:7 Lab:6 Oth:4 Lib:1 (from 1966 elections) 1968 Ind:8 Lab:5 Oth:4 Lib:1 (from 1967 elections) 1969 Ind:12 Lab:2 Con:1 Oth:3 (from 1968 elections) |
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J.G.Harston
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Post by J.G.Harston on Apr 16, 2023 21:50:28 GMT
Did elections by thirds first come into existence with the 1974 reorganisations? Or does it predate that? It predates it. I know Birmingham did it from at least before World War I It was specificed in the 1840ish local government act that started the process of "modern" local councils. |
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iang
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Post by iang on Apr 17, 2023 5:17:29 GMT
It predates it. I know Birmingham did it from at least before World War I It was specificed in the 1840ish local government act that started the process of "modern" local councils. 1835 Municipal Corporations Act |
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Post by Pete Whitehead on Apr 17, 2023 8:35:22 GMT
Before the 1974 reorganisation, all boroughs were elected by thirds save for the Metropolitan Boroughs in London. Urban District Councils, Rural District Councils, and County Councils had all out elections. Are you sure? I have annual election stats for Whitby Urban District Council. Eg: 1966 Ind:7 Lab:6 Rate:4 Lib:1 (from 1965 elections) 1967 Ind:7 Lab:6 Oth:4 Lib:1 (from 1966 elections) 1968 Ind:8 Lab:5 Oth:4 Lib:1 (from 1967 elections) 1969 Ind:12 Lab:2 Con:1 Oth:3 (from 1968 elections) Yes loads of Urban district councils (perhaps all?) had annual elections as can be seen here oldukcouncils.freeforums.net/ |
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Post by greenchristian on Apr 17, 2023 13:07:00 GMT
Voting by thirds causes voter fatigue, please provide evidence to support this. I prefer by thirds, voters have a say more often, probably why the current government doesn't seem to like it. Voting by thirds has a number of party advantages: 1. Getting people to vote for a single candidate in a ward is a lot easier than getting them to vote in a disciplined way for two or three. 2. It keeps the party machine working on an ongoing basis - that's particularly true in the remaining two-tier areas, with elections every year. 3. It's a bit easier to manage mid-term resignations - with care and co-operation they can normally be combined with the normal May cycle. With all-outs by-elections are almost certain. I don't think there's any evidence of voter fatigue in by-thirds councils. But there's certainly a cost that one or two avoided by-elections wouldn't cover. It does produce the possibility of very sharp changes. Whether that's desirable is arguable. Potentially it means a council can have a 4 year term with the possibility of a more strategic approach whereas with finely balanced by-thirds councils the tactics for the next election must always be in mind. Arguably in properly contested wards the electorate might get a more responsive cohort of councillors with by-thirds - less of "we only see you at elections". I always favoured by-thirds, but it's certainly arguable. Incidentally by-thirds doesn't necessarily mean huge wards in rural areas - you just need to organise the cycle to allow single member wards to come up every 4 years at some point. Plenty of councils elect by thirds but have varying numbers of councillors per ward. Thirds also means that parties with smaller local memberships can compete on a more level playing field. Finding 18 candidates is a lot more achievable than finding 54. And, on a related note, I don't think I've ever come across a case of an uncontested ward in a by-thirds council. That's a problem that seems confined to all-out ones. |
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Post by Pete Whitehead on Apr 17, 2023 13:12:05 GMT
It happens (used to be fairly common in boroughs like Barnsley and Knowsley) but is certainly less common
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Post by Deleted on Apr 17, 2023 13:22:44 GMT
Still only 7 in total. Strangely none of them are planning to switch to full council elections at the moment unlike so many councils that used to elect by thirds.... if you include Nuneaton & Bedworth, and Adur, then that gets you to nine. Or possibly 11. Thanks, I'd forgotten about those two, can't believe they haven't been mentioned yet! |
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Post by carolus on Apr 17, 2023 13:36:45 GMT
It happens (used to be fairly common in boroughs like Barnsley and Knowsley) but is certainly less common Sefton, St Oswald was a Labour hold unopposed last year. |
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Post by owainsutton on Apr 17, 2023 17:23:18 GMT
It happens (used to be fairly common in boroughs like Barnsley and Knowsley) but is certainly less common Sefton, St Oswald was a Labour hold unopposed last year. It's happened in Halton in recent times, too. |
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Post by carolus on Apr 17, 2023 17:44:05 GMT
Sefton, St Oswald was a Labour hold unopposed last year. It's happened in Halton in recent times, too. I was surprised to see there was a ward (Broadheath) that was unopposed three years running (2014-16), although given the size of the Labour leads before and after, perhaps the mystery is solved. I suppose it's not too surprising that we see it from time to time even in thirds councils - we still get the occasional unopposed byelection (e.g. Rutland last year). When was the last time there was a truly zero-candidate principle authority election? |
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Post by owainsutton on Apr 17, 2023 17:49:32 GMT
It's happened in Halton in recent times, too. I was surprised to see there was a ward (Broadheath) that was unopposed three years running (2014-16), although given the size of the Labour leads before and after, perhaps the mystery is solved. I suppose it's not too surprising that we see it from time to time even in thirds councils - we still get the occasional unopposed byelection (e.g. Rutland last year). When was the last time there was a truly zero-candidate principle authority election? Eden gets close, in 2003. One nominee for a two-seat ward. www.andrewteale.me.uk/leap/results/2003/161/ |
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Post by greatkingrat on Apr 17, 2023 17:52:30 GMT
It's happened in Halton in recent times, too. I was surprised to see there was a ward (Broadheath) that was unopposed three years running (2014-16), although given the size of the Labour leads before and after, perhaps the mystery is solved. I suppose it's not too surprising that we see it from time to time even in thirds councils - we still get the occasional unopposed byelection (e.g. Rutland last year). When was the last time there was a truly zero-candidate principle authority election? There was a ward in Gwynedd a few years back with no candidates. www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-north-west-wales-17622555 |
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Post by johnloony on Apr 17, 2023 18:24:17 GMT
It's happened in Halton in recent times, too. I was surprised to see there was a ward (Broadheath) that was unopposed three years running (2014-16), although given the size of the Labour leads before and after, perhaps the mystery is solved. I suppose it's not too surprising that we see it from time to time even in thirds councils - we still get the occasional unopposed byelection (e.g. Rutland last year). When was the last time there was a truly zero-candidate principle authority election? There are usually a handful in Orkney, Shetland, Western Isles |
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