East Hampshire Council election, 2011
Encyclopedia
The 2011 East Hampshire Council election took place on 5 May 2011 to elect members of East Hampshire
District
Council in Hampshire
England
. The whole council was up for election and the Conservative party
stayed in overall control of the council.
saw the Conservatives increase their majority on the council after winning 30 seats, compared to 14 for the Liberal Democrats
. In 2008 the councillor
for Whitehill
Pinewood, Ian Dowdle, defected from the Liberal Democrats to join the Conservatives. However in 2010 Dowdle would resign from the Conservatives over the party's handling of the local eco-town and he then resigned from the council in January 2011. A further 2 defections took place in March 2011 with Conservatives Maureen Comber and Eve Hope, representing Selborne
, and Bramshott
and Liphook
respectively, joining the Liberal Democrats.
in the election was 48%.
Conservative gained 5 seats from the Liberal Democrats in Alton
, including defeating the Liberal Democrat leader on the council, Jerry James, in Alton Wooteys. Other Conservative gains came in Clanfield
and Finchdean
, Horndean
Kings, Horndean Murray and Petersfield
Causeway. This left the Liberal Democrats with just 5 councillors, all in the Whitehill and Bordon
area.
The Conservatives leader of the council Patrick Burridge described the results as "beyond my wildest dreams". Meanwhile the new Liberal Democrat leader on the council Adam Carew put their defeats down to high Conservative turnout in the Alternative Vote referendum which was held at the same time as the council election and that the "low popularity rating" of the national Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg
"had a negative effect".
5 Conservative candidates were unopposed at the election. Seat changes are compared to the 2007 election and do not take into account defections.
East Hampshire
East Hampshire is a local government district in Hampshire, England. Its council is based in Petersfield. Other towns are Alton, Horndean and Whitehill-Bordon....
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 Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
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 Conservative party
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...
stayed in overall control of the council.
Background
The previous election in 2007East Hampshire Council election, 2007
The 2007 East Hampshire Council election took place on 3 May 2007 to elect members of East Hampshire District Council in Hampshire England. The whole council was up for election and the Conservative party stayed in overall control of the council....
saw the Conservatives increase their majority on the council after winning 30 seats, compared to 14 for the Liberal Democrats
Liberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...
. In 2008 the 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:...
for Whitehill
Whitehill, Hampshire
Whitehill is a village and civil parish in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. It is south of Bordon.The nearest railway station is Liss, south of the village.For more information on Whitehill-Bordon and the eco-town proposal, see Bordon....
Pinewood, Ian Dowdle, defected from the Liberal Democrats to join the Conservatives. However in 2010 Dowdle would resign from the Conservatives over the party's handling of the local eco-town and he then resigned from the council in January 2011. A further 2 defections took place in March 2011 with Conservatives Maureen Comber and Eve Hope, representing Selborne
Selborne
Selborne is a village in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. It is south of Alton. It will be just within the extreme northern boundary of the proposed South Downs National Park, which is due to take effect in mid-2010....
, and Bramshott
Bramshott
Bramshott is a village in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. It lies 0.9 miles north of Liphook.-Overview:The nearest railway station is 1.3 miles south of the village, at Liphook....
and Liphook
Liphook
Liphook is a large village in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. It is 4.1 miles west of Haslemere, on the A3 road, and lies on the Hampshire/West Sussex border.Liphook has its own railway station, on the Portsmouth Direct Line....
respectively, joining the Liberal Democrats.
Election result
The results saw the Conservatives increase their majority on the council after gaining 9 seats from the Liberal Democrats compared to the 2007 election. This took the Conservatives to 39 councillors, compared to 5 Liberal Democrats, the largest majority since the founding of the council. 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 48%.
Conservative gained 5 seats from the Liberal Democrats in Alton
Alton, Hampshire
Alton is a historic market town and civil parish in the East Hampshire district of the English county of Hampshire. It had a population of 16,584 at the 1991 census and is administered by East Hampshire district council. It is located on the source of the River Wey and is the highest town in...
, including defeating the Liberal Democrat leader on the council, Jerry James, in Alton Wooteys. Other Conservative gains came in Clanfield
Clanfield, Hampshire
Clanfield is a village and civil parish in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. It is 2.4 miles north of Horndean, just west of the A3 road....
and Finchdean
Finchdean
Finchdean is a village in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. It lies on the Hampshire/West Sussex border, 1.7 miles east of Horndean....
, Horndean
Horndean
Horndean is a village and civil parish in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. It is 8 miles north of Portsmouth.The nearest railway station is 2.2 miles southeast of the village at Rowlands Castle....
Kings, Horndean Murray and Petersfield
Petersfield
Petersfield can refer to any of the following places:*Petersfield, Hampshire, a market town in England*Petersfield, Jamaica, a small town in the parish of Westmoreland*Petersfield, Manitoba, in Canada*Petersfield, an area of Cambridge, England...
Causeway. This left the Liberal Democrats with just 5 councillors, all in the Whitehill and Bordon
Bordon
Bordon is a town in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. It lies 5.4 miles southeast of Alton and forms a part of the civil parish of Whitehill, the adjoining village. Both settlements are on the A325 road and close to the A3 road between London and Portsmouth...
area.
The Conservatives leader of the council Patrick Burridge described the results as "beyond my wildest dreams". Meanwhile the new Liberal Democrat leader on the council Adam Carew put their defeats down to high Conservative turnout in the Alternative Vote referendum which was held at the same time as the council election and that the "low popularity rating" of the national Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg
Nick Clegg
Nicholas William Peter "Nick" Clegg is a British Liberal Democrat politician who is currently the Deputy Prime Minister, Lord President of the Council and Minister for Constitutional and Political Reform in the coalition government of which David Cameron is the Prime Minister...
"had a negative effect".
5 Conservative candidates were unopposed at the election. Seat changes are compared to the 2007 election and do not take into account defections.