Great Yarmouth Council election, 2011
Encyclopedia
The 2011 Great Yarmouth Council election took place on 5 May 2011 to elect members of Great Yarmouth
Borough
Council in Norfolk
, England
. One third of the council was up for election and the Conservative party
stayed in overall control of the council. At the same time as the election, the introduction of a directly elected mayor in Great Yarmouth was rejected in a referendum
.
After the election, the composition of the council was
. 13 seats were being contested with Labour targeting Caister
North and St Andrews, while the Conservatives were threatening Caister South and Nelson wards
.
for Great Yarmouth
Tony Wright. Meanwhile Kerry Payne held the seat in Nelson for Labour, despite being challenged by the incumbent
councillor
Brenda Taylor, who ran as an independent
after being de-selected by Labour.
The results of the referendum saw 15,595 vote no, as against 10,051 yes, with 291 ballot papers being spoilt, therefore the introduction of a directly elected mayor was rejected.
Great Yarmouth (borough)
The Borough of Great Yarmouth is a local government district with borough status in Norfolk, England. It is named after its main town, Great Yarmouth.-History:...
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 Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
, 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 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. At the same time as the election, the introduction of a directly elected mayor in Great Yarmouth was rejected in a referendum
Referendum
A referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This may result in the adoption of a new constitution, a constitutional amendment, a law, the recall of an elected official or simply a specific government policy. It is a form of...
.
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...
24 - 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...
15
Background
Before the election the Conservatives ran the council with 24 seats, compared to 15 for 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...
. 13 seats were being contested with Labour targeting Caister
Caister-on-Sea
Caister-on-Sea, also known colloquially as Caister, is a settlement in Norfolk in the United Kingdom, close to the large town of Great Yarmouth. It is a seaside resort and busy holiday destination on the "Golden Mile", with its main attraction being its sandy "Georgian Beach". It is home to Great...
North and St Andrews, while the Conservatives were threatening Caister South and Nelson wards
Wards 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:...
.
Election result
The results saw the Conservatives remain in control of the council, with no change in their majority. The Conservatives gained one seat from Labour in Caister South, but lost a seat back in St Andrew's by 54 votes. The successful Labour candidate in St Andrew's ward was Barbara Wright, the wife of the former Member of ParliamentMember 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 Great Yarmouth
Great Yarmouth (UK Parliament constituency)
Great Yarmouth is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election....
Tony Wright. Meanwhile Kerry Payne held the seat in Nelson for Labour, despite being challenged by the incumbent
Incumbent
The incumbent, in politics, is the existing holder of a political office. This term is usually used in reference to elections, in which races can often be defined as being between an incumbent and non-incumbent. For example, in the 2004 United States presidential election, George W...
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:...
Brenda Taylor, who ran as an independent
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...
after being de-selected by Labour.
Referendum on an elected mayor
At the same time as the council election Great Yarmouth held a referendum on whether to introduce a directly elected mayor. This came after the Labour councillors Michael Castle and Trevor Wainwright collected the necessary 3,500 signatures, 5% of the population of the area. However both the local Conservative and Labour parties opposed the introduction of a directly elected mayor, with the Conservative leader of the council, Barry Coleman, leading the campaign for a no vote.The results of the referendum saw 15,595 vote no, as against 10,051 yes, with 291 ballot papers being spoilt, therefore the introduction of a directly elected mayor was rejected.