2007_Woking_Council_election
The 2007 Woking Council election took place on 3 May 2007 to elect members of Woking Borough Council in Surrey, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Conservative Party gained overall control of the council from no overall control.[1]
After the election, the composition of the council was:
The election saw 12 seats being contested with 2 sitting councillors standing down, Neville Hinks in Knaphill ward and Mehala Gosling in West Byfleet.[3] Both the Liberal Democrats and Conservatives were hoping to win control of the council, with the Liberal Democrats needing 1 more seat and the Conservatives 4.[4] Labour were defending 3 seats which were all threatened by either the Conservatives or Liberal Democrats.[4] The other parties standing in the election were the United Kingdom Independence Party, which was standing in more seats than Labour, and the UK Community Issues Party.[4]
The Conservative campaign was described as being the strongest in years with the seats in Horsell and Knaphill being seen as critical in deciding who would control the council.[4]
The Conservatives won the election gaining a majority on the council, the first time any party had a majority since 1998 and the first time the Conservatives had held a majority since 1994.[5] The Conservatives gained 4 seats in Kingfield and Westfield, Maybury and Sheerwater, Knaphill and Horsell to hold 19 seats compared to 17 for the Liberal Democrats.[5] Meanwhile, Labour lost all 3 of their seats on the council including the party leader, Peter Ford, who lost in Old Woking to the Liberal Democrats.[5] This was the first time Labour had ever failed to have any councillors on Woking council.[6]
The Conservatives won almost 51% of the vote compared to their closest challengers, the Liberal Democrats, on just over 35%,[6] with overall turnout in the election being 43.60%.[7] Following the election the Conservative Anne Murray was expected to take over as leader of the council from Liberal Democrat Sue Smith.[5]
| Party | Seats | Gains | Losses | Net gain/loss | Seats % | Votes % | Votes | +/− | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | 9 | 4 | 0 | +4 | 75.0 | 50.9 | 12,110 | +5.7% | |
| Liberal Democrats | 3 | 1 | 2 | -1 | 25.0 | 35.4 | 8,426 | -5.6% | |
| Labour | 0 | 0 | 3 | -3 | 0 | 8.7 | 2,063 | +0.6% | |
| UKIP | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.5 | 1,062 | +1.1% | |
| UK Community Issues Party | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 | 110 | -0.4% | |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Simon Hutton | 1,346 | 57.0 | +11.3 | |
| Liberal Democrats | John Faulkner | 1,017 | 43.0 | -2.6 | |
| Majority | 329 | 14.0 | +13.9 | ||
| Turnout | 2,363 | 44.0 | +2.1 | ||
| Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal Democrats | Rob Leach | 1,150 | 51.9 | +1.3 | |
| Conservative | Hilary Addison | 829 | 37.4 | -3.0 | |
| Labour | Colin Bright | 163 | 7.4 | -2.0 | |
| UKIP | Judith Squire | 72 | 3.3 | +3.3 | |
| Majority | 321 | 14.5 | +4.3 | ||
| Turnout | 2,214 | 40.9 | +1.6 | ||
| Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal Democrats | Tina Liddington | 925 | 64.2 | +10.2 | |
| Conservative | David Bittleston | 313 | 21.7 | -16.3 | |
| UKIP | Mary Kingston | 102 | 7.1 | +7.1 | |
| Labour | Graeme Carman | 101 | 7.0 | -1.0 | |
| Majority | 612 | 42.5 | +26.5 | ||
| Turnout | 1,441 | 36.3 | +0.8 | ||
| Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Anne Murray | 1,186 | 71.1 | +13.5 | |
| Liberal Democrats | John Doran | 307 | 18.4 | -5.6 | |
| UKIP | Marion Free | 108 | 6.5 | -6.6 | |
| Labour | John Pitt | 66 | 4.0 | -1.4 | |
| Majority | 879 | 52.7 | +19.1 | ||
| Turnout | 1,667 | 47.9 | +1.8 | ||
| Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Beryl Hunwicks | 1,395 | 50.7 | ||
| Liberal Democrats | Gareth Davies | 1,093 | 39.8 | ||
| UKIP | Timothy Shaw | 116 | 4.2 | ||
| Labour | Janice Worgan | 98 | 3.6 | ||
| UK Community Issues Party | Katrina Osman | 47 | 1.7 | ||
| Majority | 302 | 10.9 | |||
| Turnout | 2,749 | 51.8 | +0.4 | ||
| Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Stewart Brown | 602 | 36.4 | +10.5 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Paul Owen | 527 | 31.9 | -6.7 | |
| Labour | John Martin | 417 | 25.2 | +3.8 | |
| UKIP | Dennis Davey | 106 | 6.4 | -5.8 | |
| Majority | 75 | 4.5 | |||
| Turnout | 1,652 | 43.0 | +2.7 | ||
| Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Melanie Whitehand | 1,158 | 44.3 | +7.2 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Christian Morgan-Jones | 1,113 | 42.5 | -6.9 | |
| UKIP | Matthew Davies | 203 | 7.8 | +0.3 | |
| Labour | Christopher Martin | 142 | 5.4 | -0.6 | |
| Majority | 45 | 1.8 | |||
| Turnout | 2,616 | 37.2 | -0.9 | ||
| Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Muzaffar Ali | 1,177 | 38.8 | -9.8 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Mohammed Bashir | 1,040 | 34.2 | +20.3 | |
| Labour | Elizabeth Evans | 665 | 21.9 | -10.2 | |
| UKIP | Rob Burberry | 92 | 3.0 | +3.0 | |
| UK Community Issues Party | Michael Osman | 63 | 2.1 | -3.3 | |
| Majority | 137 | 4.6 | |||
| Turnout | 3,037 | 45.8 | +3.6 | ||
| Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal Democrats | Colin Scott | 337 | 39.7 | +0.7 | |
| Labour | Peter Ford | 325 | 38.3 | -4.3 | |
| Conservative | Ashley Bowes | 187 | 22.0 | +3.6 | |
| Majority | 12 | 1.4 | |||
| Turnout | 849 | 41.0 | +3.8 | ||
| Liberal Democrats gain from Labour | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Peter Ankers | 1,560 | 76.3 | +13.4 | |
| Liberal Democrats | John Magid | 359 | 17.6 | -6.2 | |
| UKIP | Robin Milner | 126 | 6.2 | -3.8 | |
| Majority | 1,201 | 58.7 | +19.6 | ||
| Turnout | 2,045 | 51.4 | +2.0 | ||
| Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Graham Cundy | 1,044 | 72.6 | +9.2 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Andrew Larkham | 326 | 22.7 | +4.9 | |
| UKIP | Marcia Taylor | 68 | 4.7 | +1.3 | |
| Majority | 718 | 49.9 | +4.3 | ||
| Turnout | 1,438 | 41.2 | -2.1 | ||
| Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Richard Wilson | 1,313 | 77.2 | +10.4 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Rashad Raja | 232 | 13.6 | -0.5 | |
| Labour | Mike Kelly | 86 | 5.1 | +0.2 | |
| UKIP | Richard Squire | 69 | 4.1 | +0.9 | |
| Majority | 1,081 | 63.6 | +10.9 | ||
| Turnout | 1,700 | 43.2 | -1.4 | ||
| Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
- "Woking". BBC News Online. Retrieved 23 January 2010.
- "National: Elections 2007: Town and country go to the polls". The Guardian. 4 May 2007. p. 6.
- "Battles loom as list of candidates published". getsurrey. 12 April 2007. Retrieved 24 January 2010.
- "Close call forecast in the battle for control of council". getsurrey. 26 April 2007. Retrieved 24 January 2010.
- "Tories seize control in electoral coup". getsurrey. 4 May 2007. Retrieved 24 January 2010.
- "Tories take over control of council". getsurrey. 11 May 2007. Retrieved 24 January 2010.
- "Election of Borough Councillors for the Wards of Woking Borough Council: Summary of Results" (PDF). Woking Borough Council. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 January 2009. Retrieved 23 January 2010.