Ashfield Council election, 2011
Encyclopedia
The 2011 Ashfield Council election took place on 5 May 2011 to elect members of Ashfield
District
Council in Nottinghamshire
, England
. The whole council was up for election and the Labour party
gained overall control of the council from no overall control
.
had led the council. However the Labour, independent
and Conservative
councillor
s joined together to oust the Liberal Democrats and since then Labour leader John Knight had been leader of the council.
Before the election the Liberal Democrats had 13 councillors, compared to 10 independents, 9 Labour and 1 Conservative. Both the Labour and Liberal Democrat parties put up 33 candidates in the election, compared to 13 Conservatives, with 9 of the 13 Conservative candidates being in Hucknall
, which was seen as the Conservatives best area. In all the 33 candidates who stood for the 4 seats in Hucknall was a record for the town.
Three days before the election the national Labour leader Ed Miliband
visited the area to campaign in the local elections.
in the election was slightly under 39%.
|}
Ashfield
Ashfield is a local government district in western Nottinghamshire, England. According to the 2001 UK census, it has a population of 111,387. The district is mostly urban, with a tradition of coal mining. There are three towns in the district; the largest being Sutton-in-Ashfield...
District
Non-metropolitan district
Non-metropolitan districts, or colloquially shire districts, are a type of local government district in England. As created, they are sub-divisions of non-metropolitan counties in a so-called "two-tier" arrangement...
Council in Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire is a county in the East Midlands of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. The whole council was up for election and the Labour party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
gained overall control of the council from no overall control
No overall control
Within the context of local councils of the United Kingdom, the term No Overall Control refers to a situation in which no single party achieves a majority of seats and is analogous to a hung parliament...
.
Background
Before the 2011 election the Liberal Democrats formed the largest group on the council and following the 2007 electionAshfield Council election, 2007
The 2007 Ashfield Council election took place on 3 May 2007 to elect members of Ashfield District Council in Nottinghamshire, England. The whole council was up for election and the Labour party lost overall control of the council to no overall control....
had led the council. However the Labour, independent
Independent (politician)
In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...
and Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
councillor
Councillor
A councillor or councilor is a member of a local government council, such as a city council.Often in the United States, the title is councilman or councilwoman.-United Kingdom:...
s joined together to oust the Liberal Democrats and since then Labour leader John Knight had been leader of the council.
Before the election the Liberal Democrats had 13 councillors, compared to 10 independents, 9 Labour and 1 Conservative. Both the Labour and Liberal Democrat parties put up 33 candidates in the election, compared to 13 Conservatives, with 9 of the 13 Conservative candidates being in Hucknall
Hucknall
Hucknall, formerly known as Hucknall Torkard, is a town in Greater Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England, in the district of Ashfield. The town was historically a centre for framework knitting and then for mining but is now a focus for other industries as well providing housing for workers in...
, which was seen as the Conservatives best area. In all the 33 candidates who stood for the 4 seats in Hucknall was a record for the town.
Three days before the election the national Labour leader Ed Miliband
Ed Miliband
Edward Samuel Miliband is a British Labour Party politician, currently the Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition...
visited the area to campaign in the local elections.
Election result
The results had Labour gain 15 seats to win a majority on the council with 24 of the 33 seats. Both the independents and Liberal Democrats lost 7 seats, to fall to 3 and 6 seats respectively. Meanwhile the only Conservative councillor, John Dymock, lost his seat in Hucknall North. Overall turnoutVoter turnout
Voter turnout is the percentage of eligible voters who cast a ballot in an election . After increasing for many decades, there has been a trend of decreasing voter turnout in most established democracies since the 1960s...
in the election was slightly under 39%.
|}