Whilst the Conservatives gained a seat from the Lib Dems in Woking earlier this week, last week’s by-election on the controversial Shepton Mallet Town Council in Somerset appears to have gone unnoticed. This was the 4th by-election in West ward since the full elections in May 2013. It resulted in a Lib Dem gain from Conservative.
Here is the background to the by-election in the West ward of Shepton Mallet Town Council in the District of Mendip (Somerset).
Shepton Mallet Town Council comprises 16 members elected from two wards – East (8) and West (8).
The two 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
The current make-up is: Con 6, Lib Dem 5, Lab 3, Independent 2
The current chairman is Independent.
The result of the election in West on 3 May 2007 (8 seats) was:
Independent 645/599/503, Con 628/581/537/516, Lab 530/517/495/393
Elected: Independent 2, Con 4, Lab 2
The result of the election in West on 5 May 2011 (8 seats) was:
Independent 687/593/508, Con 642/576/548/485,
Lib Dem 654/597/453/432, Lab 584/521/396/394
Elected: Independent 2, Con 3, Lib Dem 2, Lab 1
On 15 November 2012, Simon Davies (Con) gained a seat in West ward, following the resignation of Jeff Curtis (Ind), who could not attend meetings due to his shifts at work. He said “When I came to the Council in 2010 it was so I could do some good for the town and I tried my hardest to do so.”
The voting figures were: Con 261, Lib Dem 236, Lab 235.
On 21 March 2013, John Gilham (Lab) and Deborah Towner (Lab) gained seats in West ward, following the resignations of Will Dunscombe (Ind) and Sue Cook (Lib Dem). Both cited personal reasons for their decisions, but there had been controversies, allegations and complaints between councillors and the public, culminating in investigations and apologies. Sue Cook had earlier stood down as Chairman of the town council.
The voting figures were: Lab 294/281, Con 240/231.
On 12 September 2013, Robin Scott (Lib Dem) gained a seat in West ward, following the resignation of Derek Marvin (Con), who said that he could no longer tolerate what he described as the sheer and utter havoc that he had witnessed – which he puts firmly at the door of party politics. Derek Marvin stood in the by-election as The Local Community candidate, but failed to be elected.
The voting figures were: Lib Dem 202, Con 153, The Local Community 124, Lab 122.
The result in the Shepton West ward of Mendip District Council on 3 May 2007 was
Con 582/518, Lab 396/384, Lib Dem 307/271
Elected – Con 2
Garfield Kennedy (Lib Dem) gained the by-election on 1 July 2010, caused by the disqualification of Ashley Taylor (Con).
The voting figures were Lib Dem 459, Con 358, Lab 241, Green Party 44.
The result in the Shepton West ward of Mendip District Council on 5 May 2011 was
Con 565/469, Lib Dem 491/479, Lab 471/379, Independent 400
Elected – Con 1 Lib Dem 1
Further information about recent developments at the town council are set out here:
www.sheptonmalletjournal.co.uk/Shepton-Mallet-Town-Council-paying-price-utter/story-19341048-detail/story.html
