Redcar and Cleveland Council election, 2007
Encyclopedia
The 2007 Redcar and Cleveland Council election took place on 3 May 2007 to elect members of Redcar and Cleveland
Unitary
Council in England
. The whole council was up for election and the council stayed under no overall control
.
Labour
lost their majority on the council, after winning 23 seats, compared to 15 for the Liberal Democrats
, 13 Conservatives
and 8 independents
. A coalition between the Liberal Democrats, Conservatives and independents then took control of the council.
In 2004 a Labour councillor
for Guisborough
, and former deputy leader of the party, Keith Pudney, became an independent, before becoming a Liberal Democrat in 2005. However, also in 2005, Labour gained a seat in Westworth from an independent at a by-election
. A final change came in February 2007 when David Tomlin resigned from the Labour party after being convicted for falsely claiming benefits
. This meant that before the 2007 election Labour had 22 seats, the Liberal Democrats 16, Conservatives 13, East Cleveland Independents 2, the Independent Group 5 and 1 independent, with the Liberal Democrats, Conservatives and the 2 East Cleveland Independents forming the administration, while Labour and the other independents were in opposition.
In total 160 candidates stood for the 59 seats that were being contested at the election. The council already had the best female representation of any council in North East England
with 30 women councillors and 75 of the candidates were female. The candidates comprised 50 from Labour, 42 Liberal Democrats, 37 Conservatives, 4 British National Party
and 27 various independents. Meanwhile 7 sitting councillors stood down at the election, Christopher Beadle, Keith Blott, Bill Goodwill, Barbara Harpham, Keith Pudney, Alma Thrower and David Tomlin.
Following the election the Labour group leader, George Dunning, became the new leader of the council, after Labour got the support of 2 independents, Mike Findley and Mary Lanigan.
Redcar and Cleveland
The borough of Redcar & Cleveland is a unitary authority in the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, England consisting of Redcar, Saltburn-by-the-Sea, Guisborough, and small towns such as Brotton, Eston, Skelton and Loftus. It had a resident population of 139,132 in 2001, and is part of the Tees...
Unitary
Unitary authorities of England
Unitary authorities of England are areas where a single local authority is responsible for a variety of services for a district that elsewhere are administered separately by two councils...
Council 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...
. The whole 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...
.
Background
At the last election in 2003Redcar and Cleveland Council election, 2003
The 2003 Redcar and Cleveland Council election took place on 1 May 2003 to elect members of Redcar and Cleveland Unitary Council in England. The whole council was up for election with boundary changes since the last election in 1999...
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...
lost their majority on the council, after winning 23 seats, compared to 15 for the Liberal Democrats
Liberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...
, 13 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 8 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...
. A coalition between the Liberal Democrats, Conservatives and independents then took control of the council.
In 2004 a Labour 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:...
for Guisborough
Guisborough
Guisborough is a market town and civil parish within the unitary authority of Redcar and Cleveland and the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, England....
, and former deputy leader of the party, Keith Pudney, became an independent, before becoming a Liberal Democrat in 2005. However, also in 2005, Labour gained a seat in Westworth from an independent at a by-election
By-election
A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....
. A final change came in February 2007 when David Tomlin resigned from the Labour party after being convicted for falsely claiming benefits
Welfare
Welfare refers to a broad discourse which may hold certain implications regarding the provision of a minimal level of wellbeing and social support for all citizens without the stigma of charity. This is termed "social solidarity"...
. This meant that before the 2007 election Labour had 22 seats, the Liberal Democrats 16, Conservatives 13, East Cleveland Independents 2, the Independent Group 5 and 1 independent, with the Liberal Democrats, Conservatives and the 2 East Cleveland Independents forming the administration, while Labour and the other independents were in opposition.
In total 160 candidates stood for the 59 seats that were being contested at the election. The council already had the best female representation of any council in North East England
North East England
North East England is one of the nine official regions of England. It covers Northumberland, County Durham, Tyne and Wear, and Teesside . The only cities in the region are Durham, Newcastle upon Tyne and Sunderland...
with 30 women councillors and 75 of the candidates were female. The candidates comprised 50 from Labour, 42 Liberal Democrats, 37 Conservatives, 4 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...
and 27 various independents. Meanwhile 7 sitting councillors stood down at the election, Christopher Beadle, Keith Blott, Bill Goodwill, Barbara Harpham, Keith Pudney, Alma Thrower and David Tomlin.
Election result
Labour made a net gain of 6 seats, to go to 28 seats on the council, 2 short of a majority. The gains came at the expense of the Liberal Democrats who dropped 3 to 13 seats and the Conservatives who were down 2 to 11 seats. 7 independents were also elected, 4 in the Independent Group, 1 Loftus Ward Independent, 1 East Cleveland and Guisborough Independent and 1 East Cleveland Independent.Following the election the Labour group leader, George Dunning, became the new leader of the council, after Labour got the support of 2 independents, Mike Findley and Mary Lanigan.