Town and Community Council Byelections

[marksenior]

Wantage TC Segsbury LD gain from Con

LD 484 Con 395 Lab 224

[middleenglander]

The results of the 25 political Town and Parish Council by-elections on 5th May 2016 can be summarised by:

Conservative hold - 10
Bicester, East (Cherwell)
Bicester, South East (Cherwell)
Cranleigh, East (Waverley)
Harpenden, East (St Albans)
Hawkinge, Uphill (Shepway)
Hertford, Kingsmead (East Hertfordshire)
Ilkley, West (Bradford)
Kidlington, Dogwood (Cherwell)
Sandwich, North (Dover)
Witham, South (Witham)
Conservative gain - 3
Glastonbury, St Benedicts (Mendip) - from Green
Newmarket, St Mary's (Forest Heath) - from Independent
Petersfield, St Mary's - from Green

Labour hold - 3
Goole, North (East Riding of Yorkshire)
Hatfield, Dunscroft (Doncaster)
Mossley, Cheshire (Thameside)
Labour gain - 2
Chipping Norton (West Oxfordshire) - from Conservative (majority 1)
Todmorden, Walsden (Calderdale) - from Conservative

Liberal Democrat hold - 1
Abbots Langley, Leavesdon (Three Rivers)
Liberal Democrat gain - 3
Ingol & Tanterton (Preston)- from No Description
Newbury, Victoria (West Berkshire) - from Conservative
Wantage, Segsbury - from Conservative

Independent / Other hold - 1
St Neots, Eneysbury
Independent / Other gain - 2
Bury St Edmunds, St Oalaves (St Edmunsbury) - Independent gain from Labour
Dover, St Radigundas - No Description gain from Co-opted

[listener]

Many thanks, Middle Englander, for the results summary. I had not caught up with all the results - I am still working through the Metropolitan and District results.

A Conservative was also returned unopposed in the Central ward of Chalfont St. Peter Parish in Chiltern District.

As a postscript to the parish elections on 5 May, there was a by-election for 9 vacancies on Oundle Parish Council in East Northamptonshire, out of a total council of 14. Only one valid nomination (No Description) was received.

According to a statement on the East Northamptonshire website:
"Whilst no further nominations were received by the Returning Officer, eleven further nomination papers were informally checked for validity prior to the deadline on 7 April. Upon checking, each of the eleven nominations received were found to be invalid for being either incomplete or incorrect and were returned to the town council. As there were fewer nominations than seats available, the one validly nominated candidate is elected uncontested and the Returning Officer will confirm the date for the remaining eight vacancies to be filled by election in due course."

[listener]

I am aware of only one political by-election tomorrow (19 May) in the Hendy ward of Llanedi Community Council in Carmarthenshire between Labour and People First - Working for Carmarthenshire.

It seems quite lively, because the People First candidate was (as reported by the Llanelli Herald) thrown out of a full County Council meeting in January, after asking questions about asset transfers. He claimed that Llanedi Community Council was not fit for purpose and asked for what he claimed is a damning report on Llanedi Community Council by an independent auditor to be made public.

There are 2 town council by-elections on 26 May:
Longridge (Derby) in Ribble Valley - Lab, No Description and Green Party
Wirksworth (Town) in Derbyshire Dales - Lab and Independent

Several by-elections coming up on 2 June.

[listener]

The by-election on 26 May for the Nantgarw ward of Taff's Well and Nantgarw community council in Rhondda Cynon Taf is a Labour hold unopposed.

[ColinJ]

Some vacancies have occurred in two parish councils within the Three Rivers District Council area.

After the 2014 parish elections to Chorleywood Parish Council, the composition was 10 LD, 7 C. Three Liberal Democrat councillors in Chorleywood North ward - Barbara Green, John Copley and Harry Davies - have resigned. The resignations are unconnected.

A by-election will be held on 14 July. The result last time (seven elected) was:
C 1005 / 976 / 957
LD 452 / 371 / 368 / 365 / 362 / 347 / 268
UKIP 351

It is quite feasible that control of the parish council will ‘flip’ to the Conservatives if they nominate a full slate of candidates.

After the 2015 parish elections to Watford Rural Parish Council, the composition was 7 C, 5 Lab, 1 LD, 1 UKIP. A Labour councillor in South Oxhey ward - William Waite - has resigned, and two Conservative councillors in Carpenders Park ward - Terry Dos Ramos and Angela Roberts - have also resigned. None of these resignations are connected.

It would appear that the South Oxhey vacancy will be filled by co-option, as no Notice of Election has appeared on the district council web site. There will be a by-election in Carpenders Park ward; it is possible the election was called by the Liberal Democrats. Polling is also set for 14 July. The result last time (four elected) was:
C 1879 / 1849 / 1821 / 1808
Lab 765 / 705 / 599 / 548

The parish ward of Carpenders Park is smaller than the district council ward of the same name and resides wholly within the Watford parliamentary constituency.

[listener]

Llanedi (Hendy) in Carmarthenshire - 19 May 2016 - PC gain from Lab (undefended) - PC win overall control of Llanedi Council

Resignation of Natalie Reynolds (Lab)

Result: PC 391, People First – Working for Carmarthenshire 80
The People First candidate had stood unsuccessfully for Plaid Cymru in 2012.

3 May 2012 - PC 412/436/366/336/327/273 (4 elected), Lab 441/414/330/316 (3 elected), Independent 366/326 (1 elected)
1 May 2008 – PC 535/529/483/469/442/389 (6 elected), Independent 453 (elected), Lab 424/333/331/317 (1 elected)

New council composition: PC 9, Lab 6, Independent 1



Longridge (Derby) in Ribble Valley - 26 May 2016 - No Description hold

Resignation of Stuart Carefoot (No Description), due to the health concerns of a family member. He had been due to serve as Town Mayor in 2016-17.

Result: No Description 131, Lab 122, Green Party 37

7 May 2015 – No Description 588/555/452 (3 elected), Lab 421/344 (1 elected)
5 May 2011 – 4 No Description - UNCONTESTED
3 May 2007 – 3 No Description, 1 Vacancy - UNCONTESTED

New council composition: No Description 10, Lab 2



Wirksworth (Town) in Derbyshire Dales - 26 May 2016 - Lab hold

Resignation of Benjamin Dew (Lab)
He had served as Town Mayor of Wirksworth in 2013-14, when aged only 22.

Result: Lab 507, Independent 279

7 May 2015 – Lab 1253/1211/1173/1021/967/850/542 (6 elected), Con 825 (elected), Green Party 823 (elected), Independent 772/590 (1 elected), No Description 279
5 May 2011 – Lab 958/869/853/830/821/648/633/494 (7 elected), Independent 712/575 (1 elected), Green Party 586/579 (1 elected)
3 May 2007 – Lab 688/643/631/598/583/567/443/383/362 (6 elected), No Description 563/477/459 (3 elected), Con 449

New council composition: Lab 6, Con 1, Green Party 1, Independent 1, No Description 1, Co-opted 1

[listener]

Here are details of the 4 political town, parish and community by-elections on 2 June 2016.

Corwen (Upper) in Denbighshire and Llanelly (Gilwern) in Monmouthshire are non-political contests.
Labour is returned unopposed in Llanelli (Lliedi) in Carmarthenshire



Dyserth in Denbighshire

Death of Peter Owen (Con)

Candidates: 2 No Description, 1 Lib Dem

3 May 2012 – No Description 373/344/320/300/263/243/238/232/230/223 (9 elected), Con 360 (elected), Lab 287 (elected), Lib Dem 193
1 May 2008 – No Description 484/390/374/366/310/303/285/269/234 (9 elected), Con 401 (elected), Lib Dem 245 (elected), Teacher and Writer 220

Current council composition: No Description 9, Lab 1, Vacant 1



Lewes (Lewes Bridge) in Lewes (East Sussex)

Resignation of Daisy Cooper (Lib Dem)

Candidates: Lib Dem, Green Party, Lab, Independent and Con

7 May 2015 – Lib Dem 1027/827/769/695/631 (5 elected), Green Party 704/630/581/580/543/478 (1 elected), Lab 526/496/476/467/464/449, Con 462/454, UKIP 280, Independent 222, No Description 217

5 May 2011 – Lib Dem 747/604/602/576/542/472 (5 elected), Green Party 653/507/493/476/458/433 (1 elected), Lab 348/346/322/312/286/266, Con 305, Socialist Labour Party 257, UKIP 161

3 May 2007 – Lib Dem 759/697/677/565/523/523 (6 elected), No Description 509, Green Party 445/414/371/369/341/327, Socialist Labour Party 311, Con 299, Lab 226

Current council composition: Green Party 8, Lib Dem 5, Independent 4, Vacant 1



Newmarket (Severals) in Forest Heath (Suffolk)

Resignation of Neil Vollenhoven (West Suffolk Independent)

Candidates: Con, Lab

7 May 2015 – Con 777/748/748 (3 elected), West Suffolk Independent 742/629 (2 elected), Lab 530, Independent Community Education 328, No Description 251

5 May 2011 – Con 539/523/501 (3 elected), Lab 346 (elected), Independent 304 (elected), No Description 245

Current council composition: Con 8, No Description 3, West Suffolk Independents 2, Lab 1, UKIP 1, Independent 1, Co-opted 1, Vacant 1



Tring Rural in Dacorum (Hertfordshire)

Resignation of Robert Briant (No Description)

Candidates: UKIP, 2 No Description

7 May 2015 – No Description 473/467/462/452/422/417/405/393/376 (8 elected), Independent 390

5 May 2011 (8 seats) – Non Political Description 2, No Description 6 - UNOPPOSED

3 May 2007 (8 seats) – Non Political Description 1, No Description 6, Vacant 1 - UNOPPOSED

Current council composition: No Description 7, Vacant 1

[Pete Whitehead]

Jun 2, 2016 9:03:20 GMT ColinJ said:

Some vacancies have occurred in two parish councils within the Three Rivers District Council area.

After the 2014 parish elections to Chorleywood Parish Council, the composition was 10 LD, 7 C. Three Liberal Democrat councillors in Chorleywood North ward - Barbara Green, John Copley and Harry Davies - have resigned. The resignations are unconnected.

A by-election will be held on 14 July. The result last time (seven elected) was:
C 1005 / 976 / 957
LD 452 / 371 / 368 / 365 / 362 / 347 / 268
UKIP 351

It is quite feasible that control of the parish council will ‘flip’ to the Conservatives if they nominate a full slate of candidates.

It was bizarre how the Conservatives undernominated so badly in that ward last time and effectively gifted control to the Lib Dems. I wonder if the resignations of these Lib Dem candidates has to do with them never having expected (or wanted) to be elected in the first place (presumably not knowing that the Tories would undernominate)

[Lord Twaddleford]

Noticed that there hasn't been any mention of this one here, but there's an upcoming by-election for the Towyn & Kinmel Bay town council on 9th June for Kinmel Bay ward, 3 vacancies to fill and 4 candidates standing.

Notice of Poll, with list of candidates: 3 Independents & 1 Conservative
2012 election results
Current composition of the council

Comparing the 2012 results to the current composition of the council, it appears that 2 Independents and 1 Conservative have (presumably) resigned.

[middleenglander]

Results of the political Town / Parish / Community Councils on 2nd June 2016:

Dyserth, Denbighshire: Conservative died
Independent 258 (39%), Independent 207 (32%), Liberal Democrat 189 (29%)

Lewes Bridge, Lewes: Liberal Democrat resigned
Liberal Democrat 498 (40%), Green 369 (30%), Labour (16%), Conservative 112 (9%), Independent (5%)

Newmarket, Severals: West Suffolk Independent resigned
Conservative 289 (64%), Labour 163 (36%)

Tring Rural: No Descrption resigned
No Description 244 (66%), No Description 109 (29%), UKIP 18 (5%)

[ColinJ]

Jun 3, 2016 12:40:49 GMT Pete Whitehead said:

Jun 2, 2016 9:03:20 GMT ColinJ said:

Some vacancies have occurred in two parish councils within the Three Rivers District Council area.

After the 2014 parish elections to Chorleywood Parish Council, the composition was 10 LD, 7 C. Three Liberal Democrat councillors in Chorleywood North ward - Barbara Green, John Copley and Harry Davies - have resigned. The resignations are unconnected.

A by-election will be held on 14 July. The result last time (seven elected) was:
C 1005 / 976 / 957
LD 452 / 371 / 368 / 365 / 362 / 347 / 268
UKIP 351

It is quite feasible that control of the parish council will ‘flip’ to the Conservatives if they nominate a full slate of candidates.

It was bizarre how the Conservatives undernominated so badly in that ward last time and effectively gifted control to the Lib Dems. I wonder if the resignations of these Lib Dem candidates has to do with them never having expected (or wanted) to be elected in the first place (presumably not knowing that the Tories would undernominate)

When I wrote to the clerk of the parish council as to the reasons for the vacancies, she replied, "All three councillors resigned from their positions. One due to ill health, one because they spend over half the year abroad and the other for personal reasons." Doesn't really answer your question, Pete, I'm afraid.

[Lord Twaddleford]

I previously mentioned the upcoming Towyn and Kinmel Bay town council vacancies, and I figured it'd be rather remiss of me not to also mention the more recent vacancy in Llandudno.

1 vacancy in the Mostyn Ward of the Llandudno Town Council, caused by the resignation of Councillor Jobi Hold (Labour). By-election scheduled for 7th July.

[listener]

There appear to be two political by-elections this week, involving four seats.



Great Aycliffe (West) in Durham - 9 June 2016

Resignation of Raymond Bowman (Lab)

Candidates: Independent, Lab and UKIP

21 January 2016 (by-election) – Independent 334, Lab 268 – Independent gain from Lab
23 July 2015 (by-election) – Lab 333, Independent 137, UKIP 94 – Lab hold

2 May 2013 - Lab 490/443/435/409/403 (5 elected), Independent 460/330/277/274/253/242 (1 elected)

3 May 2007 – Independent 713/628/628/595/585/579 (5 elected), Lab 628/562/474/461/436/426 (1 elected)

The election in 2007 was conducted by Sedgefield Borough Council; the election due in 2011 was postponed to 2013.

Current council composition: Lab 24, Independent 5, Vacant 1



Towyn and Kinmel Bay (Kinmel Bay) in Conwy (3 vacancies) - 9 June 2016

? Resignations of Jacqueline Richmond (Independent), John Bevan (Con) and Ken Stone (No Description).

Candidates: 3 Independent and 1 Con

3 May 2012 - Independent 721/606/454/443/335 (5 elected), No Description 396 (elected), Con 438/395/280/230 (2 elected)

1 May 2008 – 4 Conservative, 2 Independent and 1 Non-Political Description (UNCONTESTED) - plus 1 Vacancy – a British National Party candidate had withdrawn his nomination

Current council composition: Independent 5, Con 3, Co-opted 1, Vacant 3



There are also non-political by-elections in
Bulmer in Braintree (Essex)
Hodsock (Langold) in Bassetlaw (Nottinghamshire)

[listener]

I am not aware of any town council by-elections on 16 June, but one very interesting by-election has been called for 23 June, which will decide the control of Deal Town Council in Dover District.


Deal (Middle Deal) in Dover - 23 June 2016

Resignation of Emma Carr (Con)

Candidates: Con, Lab

7 May 2015 – Con 1465/1283/1278/1230/1212 (2 elected), Lab 1438/1323/1291/1231 (3 elected), Lib Dem 600
5 May 2011 – Lab 1201/1180/1110/1085/1085 (5 elected), Con 1022/1014/944/902
3 May 2007 – Lab 905/804/793/762/724 (2 elected), Con 877/874/805 (3 elected), Lib Dem 533/495

Current council composition: Con 7, Lab 7, Vacant 1

The Conservatives won control of Deal Town Council for the first time in 2015, by 8 seats to 7 and elected a Conservative mayor. Follow the resignation of Emma Carr, they held control only by the mayor’s casting vote. At the annual mayor-making ceremony, the outgoing mayor was held up on his return from France. As a result, Labour took the mayoralty unexpectedly by 7 votes to 6.

[Davıd Boothroyd]

Another one where the byelection technically won't be able to share polling stations with the referendum. We need someone to see what they actually do (I suspect ignore the rule and share polling stations anyway).

[Old Fashioned Leftie]

If a decision is made in Deal (or elsewhere) to share polling stations, could the result of the by-election or indeed the referendum result for the area be challenged?

[froome]

Jun 8, 2016 23:27:08 GMT Davıd Boothroyd said:

Another one where the byelection technically won't be able to share polling stations with the referendum. We need someone to see what they actually do (I suspect ignore the rule and share polling stations anyway).

What is the reasoning behind this rule?

I can understand they want to ensure local ballot papers do not get mixed in with the referendum ones, but that should be feasible within the same building (by having two desks operating the different ballots so that each person has to do each ballot separately).

[finsobruce]

Jun 9, 2016 6:07:44 GMT Old Fashioned Leftie said:

If a decision is made in Deal (or elsewhere) to share polling stations, could the result of the by-election or indeed the referendum result for the area be challenged?

Deal or no Deal ?

[Old Fashioned Leftie]

Jun 9, 2016 8:23:35 GMT finsobruce said:

Jun 9, 2016 6:07:44 GMT Old Fashioned Leftie said:

If a decision is made in Deal (or elsewhere) to share polling stations, could the result of the by-election or indeed the referendum result for the area be challenged?

Deal or no Deal ?

Please don't get me started on Noel Edmonds, that world renowned cancer specialist!