2015_Wyre_Forest_District_Council_election

2015 Wyre Forest District Council election

2015 Wyre Forest District Council election

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The 2015 Wyre Forest District Council election took place on 7 May 2015 to elect members of Wyre Forest District Council in Worcestershire, England. The whole council was up for election after boundary changes reduced the number of seats by nine.[1] The Conservative Party gained overall control of the council from no overall control.[2]

Map of the results of the 2015 Wyre Forest District Council election. Conservatives in blue, Labour in red, independents in light grey, Health Concern in pink, UK Independence Party in purple, Liberal in orange and vacant in white.

Background

After the last election in 2014 no party had a majority on Wyre Forest District Council.[3] The Conservatives were the largest party with 15 councillors, while Labour had 9, Health Concern 7, the UK Independence Party 5, independents 4 and there were 2 Liberals.[3] Following the election the Conservatives formed an alliance with the 4 independents and 2 Liberals to run the council with exactly half of the seats.[4]

In June 2014 Mike Price defected from the Liberal Party to the Conservatives, meaning that Fran Oborski was left as the only Liberal councillor.[5] By the time of the 2015 election the Conservative group had increased to 17 councillors, as independent Julian Phillips joined the party.[6][7]

The whole of Wyre Forest District Council was elected in 2015 after boundary changes reduced the number of wards from 17 to 12 and the number of councillors from 42 to 33.[2] These changes meant ten wards elected three councillors each, while one ward elected two councillors and one ward elected a single councillor.[8] However the election in the Areley Kings and Riverside ward was delayed until June 2015 after the death of one of the candidates.[9]

Four councillors stood down and did not seek re-election in 2015, Douglas Godwin, Pauline Hayward, Lynn Hyde and Mike Kelly.[10]

Election result

The Conservatives gained a majority on the council after winning 21 of the 30 seats contested on 7 May.[2] Both Labour and Health Concern were reduced to two seats on the council, while the UK Independence Party only won one seat.[2] Among those to lose seats were the leader of the UK Independence Party on the council, Michael Wrench, and the Health Concern mayor of Stourport, Cliff Brewer.[2] Independents won all three seats in Aggborough and Spennells, while Fran Oborski was re-elected as the only Liberal councillor.[2]

Opposition candidates were concerned that the reduction in the number of polling stations after the boundary changes had resulted in long queues to vote.[2]

After the delayed election in Areley Kings and Riverside resulted in two Conservatives and one Labour councillors being elected, the Conservatives had 23 seats and Labour had 3 seats.[11]

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The above results include the delayed election in Areley Kings and Riverside.

Ward results

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Areley Kings and Riverside delayed election

The election in Areley Kings and Riverside ward took place on 9 June 2015, delayed from 7 May when the rest of the council voted.[9] This came after the death of a Health Concern candidate for the ward and former councillor for Areley Kings, Nigel Thomas, on 12 April.[9]

Conservatives Ken and Lin Henderson won two of the three seats, while the Labour group leader Jamie Shaw was also elected.[11] There was a recount after Lin Henderson took the third seat, three votes ahead of Labour's Vi Higgs.[11] Meanwhile, the failure of Health Concern to win seats in the ward meant that they had no councillors for Stourport for the first time in over a decade.[11]

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By-elections between 2015 and 2016

A by-election took place in Blakebrook and Habberley South on 24 September 2015 after the resignation of Conservative councillor Ruth Gregory due to ill health.[14][15]

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References

  1. Bate, Gema (22 April 2015). "Record numbers register for postal vote". The Shuttle. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  2. "Results Elections 2014". The Times. NewsBank. 24 May 2014. pp. 88–89.
  3. Tomaney, William (10 June 2014). "Wyre Forest Tories form ruling political alliance with Liberal and Independent group". The Shuttle. NewsBank.
  4. "Your District Councillor". Wyre Forest District Council. Archived from the original on 9 May 2015. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
  5. "Councillor Information". Wyre Forest District Council. Archived from the original on 15 April 2015. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
  6. Farrington, Dayna (1 May 2015). "Areley Kings & Riverside election date announced". The Shuttle. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
  7. Bate, Gema (24 April 2015). "Tributes paid to retiring councillors". The Shuttle. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
  8. "Wyre Forest Tories tighten grip on council". Evesham Journal. 10 June 2015. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
  9. "Election Results". Wyre Forest District Council. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  10. "Areley Kings & Riverside - Election held 9th June 2015". Wyre Forest District Council. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
  11. Farrington, Dayna (14 August 2015). "Blakebrook & Habberley South election date announced". The Shuttle. Retrieved 22 August 2015.

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