Hartlepool Council election, 2000
Encyclopedia
Elections to Hartlepool
Council in the ceremonial county
of County Durham
in England
were held on 4 May 2000. One third of the council was up for election and the Labour party
lost overall control of the council to no overall control
.
After the election, the composition of the council was
. The Labour Party however was seen as strongly favoured to maintain a majority on the council. A four per cent swing was required in order for the Labour Party to lose control of the council.
The Liberal Democrat and Conservative
parties said that voters were unhappy with the Labour national government
and that the election was a chance for voters to demonstrate this. Labour accused the other two parties of having done a deal to avoid opposing each other in some of the wards where Labour might be defeated. However the Conservatives said that this was "pure coincidence", and the Liberal Democrats said that there no deal between them before the election. The Conservative party did not put up candidates in five wards, while the Liberal Democrats did not stand in Seaton and Throston wards.
Opponents accused council leader Russell Hart of concentrating on building up his own importance and during the campaign they circulated fake five pound note
s with Hart's face on instead of the Queen. Meanwhile Labour brought in a series of national figures to campaign for the party in the election including Members of Parliament
(MPs) Hilary Armstrong
, Joyce Quin, Alan Howarth and Member of the European Parliament
Gordon Adam
.
s including Stephen Wallace, the election agent
for local MP Peter Mandelson
, former election agent Bernard Carr, mayor Ron Watts and longest serving councillor Bill Iseley, who had been a councillor for 39 years. Overall turnout
in the election was 27%.
Conservative national party leader William Hague
said that "The Hartlepool result shows that the Conservatives can fight and win in all areas of Britain", while the Liberal Democrats described the results as showing "that the people of Hartlepool have rejected Labour". However Labour blamed the results on an election deal between the Liberal Democrats and Conservatives.
Hartlepool (borough)
Hartlepool is a unitary authority in the ceremonial county of County Durham, north east England. In 2003 it had a resident population of 90,161. It borders the non-metropolitan county of County Durham to the north, Stockton-on-Tees to the south and Redcar and Cleveland to the south-east along the...
Council in the ceremonial county
Ceremonial counties of England
The ceremonial counties are areas of England to which are appointed a Lord Lieutenant, and are defined by the government as counties and areas for the purposes of the Lieutenancies Act 1997 with reference to the metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties of England and Lieutenancies Act 1997...
of County Durham
County Durham
County Durham is a ceremonial county and unitary district in north east England. The county town is Durham. The largest settlement in the ceremonial county is the town of Darlington...
in 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...
were held on 4 May 2000. One third of the 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...
lost overall control of the council to 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...
.
After the election, the composition of the council was
- LabourLabour 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...
21 - Liberal Democrat 14
- ConservativeConservative 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...
10 - IndependentIndependent (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...
2
Campaign
15 seats were up for election in 2000 with Labour defending 13 seats that they had won in the 1996 election. Before the election six of those seats were seen as being vulnerable including Dyke House, Grange, Park and Seaton wardsWards of the United Kingdom
A ward in the United Kingdom is an electoral district at sub-national level represented by one or more councillors. It is the primary unit of British administrative and electoral geography .-England:...
. The Labour Party however was seen as strongly favoured to maintain a majority on the council. A four per cent swing was required in order for the Labour Party to lose control of the council.
The Liberal Democrat 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...
parties said that voters were unhappy with the Labour national government
Premiership of Tony Blair
The Premiership of Tony Blair began on 2 May 1997 and ended on 27 June 2007. While serving as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Blair concurrently served as the First Lord of the Treasury, the Minister for the Civil Service, the Leader of the Labour Party , and a Member of Parliament for the...
and that the election was a chance for voters to demonstrate this. Labour accused the other two parties of having done a deal to avoid opposing each other in some of the wards where Labour might be defeated. However the Conservatives said that this was "pure coincidence", and the Liberal Democrats said that there no deal between them before the election. The Conservative party did not put up candidates in five wards, while the Liberal Democrats did not stand in Seaton and Throston wards.
Opponents accused council leader Russell Hart of concentrating on building up his own importance and during the campaign they circulated fake five pound note
Bank of England note issues
The Bank of England, which is now the Central Bank of the United Kingdom, has issued banknotes since 1694. Since 1970, its new series of notes have featured portraits of British historical figures. Of the eight banks authorised to issue banknotes in the UK, only the Bank of England can issue...
s with Hart's face on instead of the Queen. Meanwhile Labour brought in a series of national figures to campaign for the party in the election including Members of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(MPs) Hilary Armstrong
Hilary Armstrong
Hilary Jane Armstrong, Baroness Armstrong of Hill Top is a British Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament for North West Durham from 1987 to 2010.-Early life:...
, Joyce Quin, Alan Howarth and Member of the European Parliament
Member of the European Parliament
A Member of the European Parliament is a person who has been elected to the European Parliament. The name of MEPs differ in different languages, with terms such as europarliamentarian or eurodeputy being common in Romance language-speaking areas.When the European Parliament was first established,...
Gordon Adam
Gordon Adam
Dr Gordon Johnston Adam is a British mining engineer and Labour Party politician. With one brief interruption, he served as a Member of the European Parliament for 25 years.-Training and career:...
.
Election result
The results saw Labour lose overall control of the council for the first time in 21 years. The nine gains made by the Liberal Democrats and Conservatives exceeded pre-election expectations. Defeated Labour councillorCouncillor
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 including Stephen Wallace, the election agent
Election agent
In elections in the United Kingdom, as well as in certain other similar political systems such as India's, an election agent is the person legally responsible for the conduct of a candidate's political campaign and to whom election material is sent to by those running the election. In elections in...
for local MP Peter Mandelson
Peter Mandelson
Peter Benjamin Mandelson, Baron Mandelson, PC is a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Hartlepool from 1992 to 2004, served in a number of Cabinet positions under both Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, and was a European Commissioner...
, former election agent Bernard Carr, mayor Ron Watts and longest serving councillor Bill Iseley, who had been a councillor for 39 years. Overall turnout
Voter 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 27%.
Conservative national party leader William Hague
William Hague
William Jefferson Hague is the British Foreign Secretary and First Secretary of State. He served as Leader of the Conservative Party from June 1997 to September 2001...
said that "The Hartlepool result shows that the Conservatives can fight and win in all areas of Britain", while the Liberal Democrats described the results as showing "that the people of Hartlepool have rejected Labour". However Labour blamed the results on an election deal between the Liberal Democrats and Conservatives.