2011 Rother District Council election

The 2011 Rother District Council election took place on 5 May 2011 to elect members of Rother District Council in East Sussex, England. The whole council was up for election and the Conservative Party stayed in overall control of the council.^[1]

Election result

The Conservatives stayed in control of the council with a slightly reduced majority after having a net loss of 1 seat to leave them on 27 councillors.^[2] They lost 1 seat to Labour in Bexhill Sidley and 3 seats to independents, with all 4 independents who stood for seats in Bexhill being elected.^[3]^[4] However the Conservatives picked up a seat in Darwell, after independent councillor Wendy Mier stood down at the election, and gained 2 seats from the Liberal Democrats in Salehurst and Bexhill St Michaels.^[4]

The Liberal Democrats also lost a seat to Labour in Rye and as a result dropped from 8 to 5 seats on the council.^[2]^[4] Meanwhile, the Labour gains in Rye and Bexhill Sidley meant the party regained a presence on the council with 2 councillors.^[4] Overall turnout at the election was 48.2%,^[5] which was described as "exceptionally good" by the returning officer.^[4]

Rother local election result 2011^[5]^[6]^[7]
	Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
Conservative	27	3	4	-1	71.1	53.2	30,664	-6.5%
Liberal Democrats	5	0	3	-3	13.2	21.0	12,081	-6.2%
Independent	4	3	1	+2	10.5	8.4	4,815	+2.4%
Labour	2	2	0	+2	5.3	15.8	9,110	+9.2%
Green	0	0	0	0	0	1.6	915	+1.1%

Ward results

Battle Town (2 seats)^[5]^[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Kathryn Field	960
	Liberal Democrats	Kevin Dixon	778
	Conservative	Margaret Howell	640
	Conservative	Norma Lansdowne	529
	Labour	Richard Body	276
	Green	Andrew Ratcliffe	261
Turnout			3,444	48.0	+5.4
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Bexhill Central (2 seats)^[5]^[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Joy Hughes	674
	Conservative	Richard Carroll	666
	Labour	Suze Youde	531
	Labour	Paul Theaker	482
	Liberal Democrats	Neil Francis	347
Turnout			2,700	37.7	+4.0
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

Bexhill Collington (2 seats)^[5]^[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	John Lee	1,096
	Independent	Tony Mansi	1,034
	Conservative	Gillian Wheeler	871
	Conservative	Shirley Miller	819
	Labour	Kate Bird	239
Turnout			4,059	57.5	+13.1
	Independent gain from Conservative		Swing
	Independent gain from Conservative		Swing

Bexhill Kewhurst (2 seats)^[5]^[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Brian Kentfield	1,244
	Conservative	Martin Kenward	1,132
	Liberal Democrats	John Zipperlen	575
	Labour	Yvonne Cleland	426
Turnout			3,377	51.7	+9.4
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

Bexhill Old Town (2 seats)^[5]^[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Frances Winterborn	539
	Liberal Democrats	Stuart Wood	511
	Conservative	Gaynor Gough	502
	Labour	Alan Bearne	287
Turnout			1,839	42.7	+5.4
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Bexhill Sackville (2 seats)^[5]^[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Deirdre Williams	750
	Conservative	Patrick Douart	727
	Liberal Democrats	Vivienne Bond	581
	Liberal Democrats	Toby Cook	520
	Labour	Russell Meredith	337
Turnout			2,915	45.9	+5.0
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

Bexhill Sidley (2 seats)^[5]^[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Jim Carroll	825
	Labour	Maurice Watson	624
	Labour	Andrew Fleming	619
	Conservative	Abul Azad	596
Turnout			2,664	39.0
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing

Bexhill St Marks (2 seats)^[5]^[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Stuart Earl	1,005
	Conservative	Joanne Gadd	980
	Conservative	Robert Chase	837
	Liberal Democrats	Rachel Hills	494
	Labour	Andrew Shepherd	213
Turnout			3,529	54.7	+10.0
	Independent gain from Conservative		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

Bexhill St Michaels (2 seats)^[5]^[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Charles Clark	996
	Conservative	Simon Elford	540
	Liberal Democrats	Martyn Forster	480
	Labour	Philipa Coughlan	344
Turnout			2,360	42.5	+6.3
	Independent hold		Swing
	Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats		Swing

Bexhill St Stephens (2 seats)^[5]^[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Bridget George	830
	Conservative	Paul Lendon	796
	Labour	Paul Courtel	465
	Liberal Democrats	Barbara Warburton	445
Turnout			2,536	41.2	+4.9
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

Brede Valley (2 seats)^[5]^[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Jonathan Johnson	1,173
	Conservative	Carl Maynard	1,117
	Labour	Margaret	439
	Labour	Linda Harland	429
	Liberal Democrats	John Smith	295
Turnout			3,453	48.9	+8.3
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

Crowhurst^[5]^[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Angharad Davies	549	51.7	+5.4
	Liberal Democrats	John Kemp	394	37.1	−9.0
	Labour	Tim MacPherson	119	11.2	+3.5
Majority			155	14.6	+14.4
Turnout			1,062	52.6
	Conservative hold		Swing

Darwell (2 seats)^[5]^[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	David Vereker	1,168
	Conservative	Bob White	1,016
	Green	Andrew Wedmore	386
	Liberal Democrats	Tracy Dixon	363
	Liberal Democrats	Thomas Sayer	341
	Labour	Brian Basham	228
Turnout			3,502	48.7	+6.7
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative gain from Independent		Swing

Eastern Rother (2 seats)^[5]^[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Paul Osborne	1,083
	Conservative	Nick Ramus	1,039
	Labour	Chris Mears	564
	Labour	Nick Warren	510
	Liberal Democrats	Nicholas Cleveland-Stephens	237
Turnout			3,433	49.8	+5.6
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

Ewhurst and Sedlescombe^[5]^[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Tony Ganly	790	77.6	+11.2
	Liberal Democrats	Angus Gillougley	228	22.4	−11.2
Majority			562	55.2	+22.3
Turnout			1,018	51.6	+2.1
	Conservative hold		Swing

Marsham (2 seats)^[5]^[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Roger Bird	1,206
	Conservative	Robin Patten	1,165
	Labour	Bob Ball	377
	Labour	Jonathan Lee	334
	Liberal Democrats	Derek Greenup	247
Turnout			3,329	54.0	+8.5
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

Rother Levels (2 seats)^[5]^[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Martin Mooney	1,219
	Conservative	Ian Jenkins	1,154
	Liberal Democrats	Jennifer Als	533
	Liberal Democrats	Susan Schlesinger	495
Turnout			3,401	51.4	+8.3
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

Rye (2 seats)^[5]^[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	David Russell	620
	Labour	Sam Souster	577
	Labour	Nigel Jennings	488
	Independent	Mary Smith	470
	Conservative	Christopher Saint	459
	Liberal Democrats	Sonia Holmes	280
	Independent	David Wright	214
Turnout			3,108	50.2	+6.5
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Labour gain from Liberal Democrats		Swing

Salehurst (2 seats)^[5]^[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Susan Prochak	958
	Conservative	Graham Browne	838
	Liberal Democrats	Stephen Hardy	711
	Labour	Bob Collins	202
Turnout			2,709	51.0	+5.2
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing
	Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats		Swing

Ticehurst and Etchingham (2 seats)^[5]^[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Robert Elliston	1,060
	Conservative	Mary Barnes	1,050
	Liberal Democrats	Peggy Langdown	403
	Liberal Democrats	Gavin Barrass	366
	Green	Don Nicholls	268
Turnout			3,147	50.2	+9.1
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

By-elections between 2011 and 2015

A by-election was held in Darwell on 31 July 2014 after the resignation of Conservative councillor Bob White.^[8] The seat was held for the Conservatives by Eleanor Kirby-Green with a majority of 179 votes over the UK Independence Party.^[9]

Darwell by-election 31 July 2014^[9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Eleanor Kirby-Green	361	42.7	−11.8
	UKIP	Edward Smith	182	21.5	+21.5
	Green	Andrew Wedmore	154	18.2	+0.2
	Labour	Suz Evasdaughter	84	9.9	−0.7
	Liberal Democrats	Tracy Dixon	65	7.7	−9.2
Majority			179	21.2
Turnout			846	20.7	−28.0
	Conservative hold		Swing

References

^ "England council elections". BBC News Online. 10 May 2011. Retrieved 18 July 2014.
^ ^a ^b "Liberal Democrats hold Eastbourne with cut majority". BBC News Online. 7 May 2011. Retrieved 19 July 2014.
^ "Rother District Council elections - result". Rye & Battle Observer. 6 May 2011. Retrieved 19 July 2014.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "Rother stays blue in ballot". Bexhill-on-Sea Observer. 13 May 2011. Retrieved 19 July 2014.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v "District Election Results 5 May 2011". Rother District Council. Retrieved 18 July 2014.
^ "Local authority elections: England". The Guardian. NewsBank. 7 May 2011.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u "Council Election Results 2011". The Argus. Retrieved 18 July 2014.
^ "By-election date set by council". The Argus. 24 June 2014. Retrieved 19 July 2014.
^ ^a ^b "Darwell Ward by election 31 July 2014". Rother District Council. Retrieved 1 August 2014.

[vote2011-1] "England council elections". BBC News Online. 10 May 2011. Retrieved 18 July 2014.

[eastbourne-2] "Liberal Democrats hold Eastbourne with cut majority". BBC News Online. 7 May 2011. Retrieved 19 July 2014.

[district-3] "Rother District Council elections - result". Rye & Battle Observer. 6 May 2011. Retrieved 19 July 2014.

[blue-4] "Rother stays blue in ballot". Bexhill-on-Sea Observer. 13 May 2011. Retrieved 19 July 2014.

[results-5] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v "District Election Results 5 May 2011". Rother District Council. Retrieved 18 July 2014.

[authority-6] "Local authority elections: England". The Guardian. NewsBank. 7 May 2011.

[council-7] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u "Council Election Results 2011". The Argus. Retrieved 18 July 2014.

[date-8] "By-election date set by council". The Argus. 24 June 2014. Retrieved 19 July 2014.

[darwell-9] "Darwell Ward by election 31 July 2014". Rother District Council. Retrieved 1 August 2014.

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