Wokingham Council election, 2001
Encyclopedia
The 2001 Wokingham Council election took place on 7 June 2001 to elect members of Wokingham Unitary
Council in Berkshire
, England
. One third of the council was up for election and the council stayed under no overall control
.
The previous election in 2000
saw both the Conservatives
and Liberal Democrats win 27 seats. The Liberal Democrats took control of the administration 2 months later after one of the Conservative councillor
s, Nigel Rose, abstained
enabling the Liberal Democrats to get the mayor's casting vote
.
The results of the 2001 election saw no change with both main parties remaining on the same number of seats. Overall turnout
was significantly increased at 63.75% due to the election being held at the same time as the 2001 general election
.
After the election, the composition of the council was
Unitary authority
A unitary authority is a type of local authority that has a single tier and is responsible for all local government functions within its area or performs additional functions which elsewhere in the relevant country are usually performed by national government or a higher level of sub-national...
Council in Berkshire
Berkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
, 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...
. One third of the council was up for election and the council stayed under 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...
.
The previous election in 2000
Wokingham Council election, 2000
The 2000 Wokingham Council election took place on 4 May 2000 to elect members of Wokingham Unitary Council in Berkshire, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Conservative party lost overall control of the council to no overall control....
saw both the Conservatives
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...
and Liberal Democrats win 27 seats. The Liberal Democrats took control of the administration 2 months later after one of the Conservative 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, Nigel Rose, abstained
Abstention
Abstention is a term in election procedure for when a participant in a vote either does not go to vote or, in parliamentary procedure, is present during the vote, but does not cast a ballot. Abstention must be contrasted with "blank vote", in which a voter casts a ballot willfully made invalid by...
enabling the Liberal Democrats to get the mayor's casting vote
Casting vote
A casting vote is a vote given to the presiding officer of a council or legislative body to resolve a deadlock and which can be exercised only when such a deadlock exists...
.
The results of the 2001 election saw no change with both main parties remaining on the same number of seats. 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...
was significantly increased at 63.75% due to the election being held at the same time as the 2001 general election
United Kingdom general election, 2001
The United Kingdom general election, 2001 was held on Thursday 7 June 2001 to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. It was dubbed "the quiet landslide" by the media, as the Labour Party was re-elected with another landslide result and only suffered a net loss of 6 seats...
.
After the election, the composition of the council was
- 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...
27 - Liberal Democrat 27