Barrow-in-Furness Council election, 2010
Encyclopedia
The 2010 Barrow-in-Furness Council election took place on 6 May 2010 to elect members of Barrow-in-Furness
Borough
Council in Cumbria
, England
. One third of the council was up for election and the council stayed under no overall control
.
After the election, the composition of the council was
not having an election. From the 2011 election
Barrow-in-Furness moved to having full council elections every 4 years.
Before the election the Conservative party
had 16 councillor
s, compared to 8 for Labour
, 7 independents
, 4 Socialist People's Party
and 1 Liberal Democrat. However in the lead up to election independent councillor John Millar joined the Conservatives and defended Dalton
South as a Conservative in the election.
The Conservatives hoped to win a majority on the council, defending their record as the council administration by pointing to a list of achievements and saying they had kept council tax
levels low. However Labour were only defending 2 seats and attacked the Conservative record, while calling for more council apprenticeship
s and the return of a scheme of lower bus fares for pensioner
s.
and Roosecote.
Following the election the Conservative leader of the council, Jack Richardson, was re-elected and Conservative Rory McClure became mayor. This came after all 5 independents backed the Conservatives in the vote and the 2 Socialist Peoples Party councillors abstained
.
Barrow-in-Furness (borough)
Barrow-in-Furness is a local government district with borough status in Cumbria, England. It is named after its main town, Barrow-in-Furness. Other settlements include Dalton-in-Furness, Roose and Askam-in-Furness. It is the smallest borough in the county, but is the most densely populated, with...
Borough
Borough status in the United Kingdom
Borough status in the United Kingdom is granted by royal charter to local government districts in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The status is purely honorary, and does not give any additional powers to the council or inhabitants of the district...
Council in Cumbria
Cumbria
Cumbria , is a non-metropolitan county in North West England. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local authority, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumbria's largest settlement and county town is Carlisle. It consists of six districts, and 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...
. 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...
.
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...
16 - 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...
13 - 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...
5 - Socialist People's PartySocialist People's Party (Furness)The People's Party or Socialist People's Party is a minor political party in the Furness region of England.The party was founded in 1995 by four Labour Party borough councillors who had been suspended from Labour for opposing a reduction in the housing budget...
2
Background
The 2010 election was the last where only a third of the council was contested. This meant 12 seats were up for election, with only Barrow Island wardWards 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:...
not having an election. From the 2011 election
Barrow-in-Furness Council election, 2011
The 2011 Barrow-in-Furness Council election took place on 5 May 2011 to elect members of Barrow-in-Furness Borough Council in Cumbria, England. The whole council was up for election and the Labour party gained overall control of the council from no overall control.-Campaign:Before the election no...
Barrow-in-Furness moved to having full council elections every 4 years.
Before the election 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...
had 16 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, compared to 8 for Labour
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...
, 7 independents
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...
, 4 Socialist People's Party
Socialist People's Party (Furness)
The People's Party or Socialist People's Party is a minor political party in the Furness region of England.The party was founded in 1995 by four Labour Party borough councillors who had been suspended from Labour for opposing a reduction in the housing budget...
and 1 Liberal Democrat. However in the lead up to election independent councillor John Millar joined the Conservatives and defended Dalton
Dalton-in-Furness
Dalton-in-Furness is a small town of 8,394 people, north east of Barrow-in-Furness, in Cumbria, England.-History:Dalton is mentioned in the Domesday Book, written as "Daltune" as one of the townships forming the Manor of Hougun held by Earl Tostig. Historically, it was the capital of Furness...
South as a Conservative in the election.
The Conservatives hoped to win a majority on the council, defending their record as the council administration by pointing to a list of achievements and saying they had kept council tax
Council tax
Council Tax is the system of local taxation used in England, Scotland and Wales to part fund the services provided by local government in each country. It was introduced in 1993 by the Local Government Finance Act 1992, as a successor to the unpopular Community Charge...
levels low. However Labour were only defending 2 seats and attacked the Conservative record, while calling for more council apprenticeship
Apprenticeship
Apprenticeship is a system of training a new generation of practitioners of a skill. Apprentices or protégés build their careers from apprenticeships...
s and the return of a scheme of lower bus fares for pensioner
Pensioner
In common parlance, a pensioner is a person who has retired, and now collects a pension. This is a term typically used in the United Kingdom and Australia where someone of pensionable age may also be referred to as an 'old age pensioner', or OAP. In the United States, the term retiree is more...
s.
Election result
The results saw Labour gain 8 seats to double the number of councillors the party held on the council to 16. The gains came at the expense of all the other groups on the council, with only the Conservatives holding 2 seats in HawcoatHawcoat
Hawcoat is a ward of the UK town Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, North West England.The ward is one of the few places in Barrow that has been permanently inhabited since the middle ages; Hawcoat was named and identified as Hietun in the Domesday Book. It is the most northerly ward in Barrow and in 2001...
and Roosecote.
Following the election the Conservative leader of the council, Jack Richardson, was re-elected and Conservative Rory McClure became mayor. This came after all 5 independents backed the Conservatives in the vote and the 2 Socialist Peoples Party councillors 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...
.