Basildon Council election, 2002
Encyclopedia
The 2002 Basildon Council election took place on 2 May 2002 to elect members of Basildon
Borough
Council in Essex
, England
. The whole council was up for election with boundary changes since the last election in 2000
. The council stayed under no overall control
.
were created for the election including Crouch, Pitsea
South East and St Martin's.
Before the election both the Labour
and Conservative
parties had 19 seats, while the Liberal Democrats had 4 seats and Labour led a minority administration. Several councillor
s stood down at the election including the Labour leader of the council John Potter. Candidates standing in the election included the first member of the British National Party
to do so, Matthew Single in Vange
ward.
to keep Labour in power. Meanwhile the British National Party
failed to win a seat after coming fifth in Vange ward.
Following the election the alliance between Labour and the Liberal Democrats was confirmed in control of the council, with Labour councillor Nigel Smith, husband of Member of Parliament
for Basildon
Angela Smith, becoming the new leader of the council.
Basildon (district)
Basildon is a local government district in south Essex in the East of England, centred around the town of Basildon. The district was formed under the Local Government Act 1972 on 1 April 1974 from the former area of Basildon Urban District and the part of Thurrock Urban District that was within the...
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 Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south 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 with boundary changes since the last election in 2000
Basildon Council election, 2000
The 2000 Basildon Council election took place on 4 May 2000 to elect members of Basildon Borough Council in Essex, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Labour party lost overall control of the council to no overall control....
. 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...
.
Background
A review of the boundaries on Basildon council made changes for this election leading to the whole council being elected. Several new 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:...
were created for the election including Crouch, Pitsea
Pitsea
Pitsea is a small town in the east of the Basildon district of south Essex, England. It comprises five sub-districts: Eversley, Northlands Park Neighbourhood , Chalvedon, Pitsea Mount and Burnt Mills. Vange is located to the west of Pitsea, Bowers Gifford and North Benfleet to the east and Nevendon...
South East and St Martin's.
Before the election both the 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...
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 had 19 seats, while the Liberal Democrats had 4 seats and Labour led a minority administration. Several 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 stood down at the election including the Labour leader of the council John Potter. Candidates standing in the election included the first member of the British National Party
British National Party
The British National Party is a British far-right political party formed as a splinter group from the National Front by John Tyndall in 1982...
to do so, Matthew Single in Vange
Vange
Vange is a former village now subsumed within the urban area of the Basildon District of Essex. As it is much smaller than Basildon, Laindon and Pitsea, it does not have its own town centre or railway station...
ward.
Election result
The results saw the Conservatives become the largest party on the council with 21 seats, but fail to win a majority. They gained 1 seat each from Labour and the Liberal Democrats, who were left with 18 and 3 seats respectively. However the expectation was that an alliance between Labour and the Liberal Democrats would continue to run the council as the outgoing Labour chairman could use his casting voteCasting 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...
to keep Labour in power. Meanwhile the British National Party
British National Party
The British National Party is a British far-right political party formed as a splinter group from the National Front by John Tyndall in 1982...
failed to win a seat after coming fifth in Vange ward.
Following the election the alliance between Labour and the Liberal Democrats was confirmed in control of the council, with Labour councillor Nigel Smith, husband of Member 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,...
for Basildon
Basildon (UK Parliament constituency)
Basildon was a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election....
Angela Smith, becoming the new leader of the council.