2011 Swale Borough Council election

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

Background

For the 2011 election Swale switched to having the whole council elected every four years, from the previous system where a third of the seats were elected each year, followed by one year without an election.^[2] The decision was taken by the council in March 2010, after a consultation produced 162 responses in favour of the change and 136 responses against changing.^[2] As a result, all 47 seats on the council were contested with over 120 candidates standing at election.^[3]

Election result

The Conservatives remained in control of the council with 32 of the 47 seats, after a net loss of 1 seat.^[1] Labour increased to 13 councillors, the Liberal Democrats were reduced to 1 seat and the only independent councillor retained her seat.^[1]^[4]

Labour's Mark Ellen regained a seat in Sheerness East that he had lost at the 2010 election,^[5] while in Milton Regis Labour defeated the leader of the Liberal Democrat group Elvie Lowe who had represented the ward for 24 years.^[6] However the Conservatives took a seat from Labour in St Michaels ward, where the Conservative deputy mayoress Sylvia Bennett gained a seat on the council.^[5]

In West Downs the only independent councillor, Monique Bonney, held her seat defeating Conservative county councillor Mike Whiting by 41 votes.^[4] Meanwhile, the closest result came in Murston where both the Conservative and Liberal Democrat councillors, Ed Gent and Dave Banks, took 420 votes after six recounts.^[5] Conservative Ed Gent took the seat after his name was pulled out of a hat and he was therefore given one extra vote.^[6] This meant Mike Henderson was the only Liberal Democrat to be elected after he held his seat in Davington Priory.^[7]

Following the election Roger Truelove became the new leader of the Labour group, replacing the leader for the previous 15 years Angela Harrison.^[8] The only Liberal Democrat councillor, Mike Henderson, meanwhile joined with the independent councillor Monique Bonney in the independent group on the council to ensure they both got positions on council committees.^[8]

Swale local election result 2011^[9]^[10]
	Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
Conservative	32	1	2	-1	68.1	50.4	33,548	+0.2%
Labour	13	4	1	+3	27.7	34.8	23,188	+5.3%
Liberal Democrats	1	0	2	-2	2.1	6.8	4,520	-9.3%
Independent	1	0	0	0	2.1	1.0	635	+1.0%
UKIP	0	0	0	0	0	5.5	3,683	+1.8%
Green	0	0	0	0	0	1.2	815	+0.6%
Monster Raving Loony	0	0	0	0	0	0.3	213	+0.3%

Ward results

Abbey (2 seats)^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Bryan Mulhern	759
	Conservative	Anita Walker	682
	Labour	Trevor Payne	626
	Labour	Fran Rehal	536
	Green	Gary Miller	322
	Liberal Democrats	David Evans	191
	Liberal Democrats	Richard Williams	154
Turnout			3,270	40.4	−23.1
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

Borden^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Nicholas Hampshire	506	50.9	−2.8
	UKIP	Michael Baldock	361	36.3	+36.3
	Labour	Matthew Partridge	127	12.8	−0.3
Majority			145	14.6	−5.9
Turnout			994	51.7	+9.4
	Conservative hold		Swing

Boughton and Courtenay (2 seats)^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Andrew Bowles	1,291
	Conservative	George Bobbin	1,187
	Labour	Ash Rehal	586
Turnout			3,064	49.1	+11.7
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

Chalkwell (2 seats)^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Roger Truelove	900
	Labour	Ghlin Whelan	760
	Conservative	Clive Duncan	316
	Conservative	Sandra Warham	272
	UKIP	Alison Donkin	147
	Liberal Democrats	Anthea Spurling	141
Turnout			2,536	39.8	−23.8
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing

Davington Priory^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Michael Henderson	360	43.8	−14.4
	Conservative	Andy Culham	256	31.2	+3.6
	Labour	Caroline MacDonald	145	17.7	+3.5
	Green	Tim Valentine	60	7.3	+7.3
Majority			104	12.7	−17.9
Turnout			821	44.1	−0.2
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

East Downs^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Colin Prescott	731	65.4	−12.2
	Labour	Barry Hefferon	299	26.8	+4.4
	UKIP	Nadine McDermott	87	7.8	+7.8
Majority			432	38.7	−16.5
Turnout			1,117	53.3	+11.9
	Conservative hold		Swing

Grove (2 seats)^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Duncan Dewar-Whalley	792
	Conservative	Gareth Randall	781
	Labour	Richard Raycraft	488
	Labour	Peter Wilson	422
	UKIP	Ian Davison	418
	Liberal Democrats	Bernie Lowe	226
Turnout			3,127	38.5	−25.2
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

Hartlip, Newington and Upchurch (2 seats)^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Gerry Lewin	1,031
	Conservative	John Wright	836
	UKIP	Richard Palmer	509
	Labour	James Graham	418
	Labour	David Walker	339
Turnout			3,133	45.2	−27.3
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

Iwade and Lower Halstow^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Ben Stokes	712	52.6	−5.9
	Labour	Janet Gregory	509	37.6	+21.6
	UKIP	Christopher Trafford	77	5.7	+5.7
	Liberal Democrats	Peter Springham	56	4.1	−21.3
Majority			203	15.0	−18.1
Turnout			1,354	44.9	+10.1
	Conservative hold		Swing

Kemsley (2 seats)^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Brenda Simpson	830
	Conservative	Sue Gent	797
	Labour	Tony Phillips	461
	Labour	Bradley Wise	397
	UKIP	Peter Paige	230
	Liberal Democrats	Mary Zeng	122
Turnout			2,837	33.4	−29.3
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

Leysdown and Warden^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Pat Sandle	438	62.8	+33.9
	Labour	Matt Wheatcroft	259	37.2	+25.1
Majority			179	25.6
Turnout			697	32.3	−1.0
	Conservative hold		Swing

Milton Regis (2 seats)^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Adam Tolhurst	527
	Labour	Tony Winckless	491
	Liberal Democrats	Elvie Lowe	353
	Conservative	Margaret Bridge	331
	Conservative	Eileen Hodgson	289
	Liberal Democrats	David Spurling	227
	Monster Raving Loony	Sheikh Mihand	42
Turnout			2,260	37.2	+4.4
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour gain from Liberal Democrats		Swing

Minster Cliffs (3 seats)^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Adrian Crowther	1,148
	Conservative	Ken Pugh	1,057
	Conservative	Andy Booth	910
	Labour	Jamie Bicknell	533
	Labour	Libby Tucker	532
	Labour	Mark Tucker	484
	UKIP	Maureen Morgan	390
Turnout			5,054	38.5	−26.0
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

Murston (2 seats)^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Nick Williams	482
	Conservative	Ed Gent	421
	Liberal Democrats	Dave Banks	420
	Labour	Paul Williams	369
	Liberal Democrats	Keith Nevols	236
Turnout			1,928	32.3	−24.0
	Labour gain from Liberal Democrats		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

Queenborough and Halfway (3 seats)^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Jackie Constable	908
	Conservative	Peter Marchington	846
	Labour	Mick Constable	841
	Conservative	Richard Darby	812
	Conservative	Mick Galvin	754
	Labour	Julian Stewart	625
	Liberal Democrats	Sandy Sims	149
Turnout			4,935	36.9	−23.9
	Labour hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing

Roman (2 seats)^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Mike Haywood	752
	Labour	Martin McCusker	530
	Conservative	Alan Blackley	396
	Conservative	Keith Ferrin	279
	UKIP	Aaron Donkin	207
	Liberal Democrats	Rosemary Madgwick	119
Turnout			2,283	36.2	−24.5
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing

Sheerness East (2 seats)^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Mark Ellen	504
	Labour	David Sargent	453
	Conservative	Chris Foulds	376
	Conservative	Emma Bridge	360
	Liberal Democrats	Colin Howe	98
Turnout			1,791	31.8	−19.1
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing

Sheerness West (2 seats)^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Angela Harrison	688
	Labour	Stephen Worrall	575
	Conservative	David Wilson	434
	Liberal Democrats	David Kemp	122
Turnout			1,829	32.1	−19.4
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing

Sheppey Central (3 seats)^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	June Garrad	911
	Conservative	John Morris	871
	Conservative	Lesley Ingham	838
	Labour	Alan Henley	664
	Labour	Pat Wiggins	618
	Labour	Ian Smart	557
	UKIP	Rosemary Donkin	326
	Monster Raving Loony	Mad Mike Young	171
Turnout			4,956	32.0	−37.7
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

St Anns^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Mike Cosgrove	906
	Conservative	John Coulter	854
	Labour	Judith Webb	628
	Labour	Paul Durkin	627
	Green	Tina Hagger	224
	Liberal Democrats	Brian Head	154
	Liberal Democrats	Richard Matthewman	100
Turnout			3,493	47.5	−21.7
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

St Michaels (2 seats)^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Derek Conway	1,242
	Conservative	Sylvia Bennett	1,021
	Labour	Shelley Cheesman	521
	Labour	Geraldine Feltham	403
	Liberal Democrats	Brenda Hammond	317
	UKIP	Stephen Trafford	296
Turnout			3,800	44.0	+7.1
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing

Teynham and Lynsted (2 seats)^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Lloyd Bowen	940
	Conservative	Rick Barnicott	857
	Labour	Ian Buxton	470
	Labour	Gillian Griffiths	460
	UKIP	James Nash	163
	Independent	Graeme William	107
Turnout			2,997	42.4	−23.9
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

Watling (2 seats)^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	David Simmons	979
	Conservative	Ted Wilcox	941
	Labour	Catherine Read	430
	Labour	Michael Wakeman	364
	Liberal Democrats	Ruth Cronk	331
	Liberal Democrats	Michael Wheeler	329
	Green	Huw Jones	209
Turnout			3,583	47.6	−22.1
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

West Downs^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Monique Bonney	528	52.0	−5.7
	Conservative	Mike Whiting	487	48.0	+5.7
Majority			41	4.0	−11.3
Turnout			1,015	52.1	+8.1
	Independent hold		Swing

Woodstock (2 seats)^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Alan Willicombe	1,121
	Conservative	Jean Willicombe	950
	UKIP	Lee Burgess	472
	Labour	Margaret Cooper	441
	Labour	Andrew Cooper	439
	Liberal Democrats	Ann McLean	315
Turnout			3,738	53.7	−24.4
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

By-elections between 2011 and 2015

Kemsley

A by-election was held in Kemsley on 8 March 2012 after the death of Conservative councillor Brenda Simpson.^[11] The seat was held for the Conservatives by Mike Whiting with a majority of 72 votes over Labour candidate Richard Raycraft.^[11]

Kemsley by-election 8 March 2012^[11]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Mike Whiting	384	33.7	−16.9
	Labour	Richard Raycraft	312	27.3	−0.7
	UKIP	Derek Carnell	279	24.5	+10.5
	Liberal Democrats	Berick Tomes	166	14.5	+7.1
Majority			72	6.4
Turnout			1,141	23.2	−10.2
	Conservative hold		Swing

Sheppey Central

A by-election was held in Sheppey Central on 16 October 2014 following the death of Conservative councillor John Morris.^[12] The seat was gained for the UK Independence Party by David Jones with a majority of 507 votes over Conservative Tina Booth.^[12] David Jones became the second UK Independence Party councillor on Swale council after the defection of Adrian Crowther from the Conservatives in 2013.^[12]

Sheppey Central by-election 16 October 2014^[12]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	UKIP	David Jones	831	58.4	+42.7
	Conservative	Tina Booth	324	22.8	−21.2
	Labour	Alan Henley	240	16.9	−15.2
	Monster Raving Loony	"Mad" Mike Young	27	1.9	0.0
Majority			507	35.6
Turnout			1,422	19.9	−12.1
	UKIP gain from Conservative		Swing

References

^ ^a ^b ^c "England council elections". BBC News Online. 10 May 2011. Retrieved 4 April 2015.
^ ^a ^b Thonr, Jan (17 March 2010). "Get on the rolls before polling time". East Kent Gazette. NewsBank.
^ Waite, Steve (13 April 2011). "List of candidates is confirmed for poll". East Kent Gazette. NewsBank.
^ ^a ^b "Independent retains seat". East Kent Gazette. NewsBank. 11 May 2011. p. 10.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Day of tension ends with a tie-breaker". East Kent Gazette. NewsBank. 11 May 2011. p. 10.
^ ^a ^b "Election results for Swale". Kent Online. 6 May 2011. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
^ Stafford, Lowri (12 May 2011). "Election sees Tories hang on to power". Faversham Times. NewsBank.
^ ^a ^b Stafford, Lowri (18 May 2011). "Lib Dem joins independent". East Kent Gazette. NewsBank.
^ "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 ^v ^w ^x ^y ^z "Election Results 2011". Swale Borough Council. Retrieved 4 April 2015.
^ ^a ^b ^c Robinson, Hayley (13 March 2012). "Tories hold on to Kemsley seat". Kent Online. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Dyson, Lewis (17 October 2014). "David Jones becomes first UKIP councillor elected to Swale council after landslide win at Sheppey Central by-election". Kent Online. Retrieved 5 April 2015.

[vote2011-1] "England council elections". BBC News Online. 10 May 2011. Retrieved 4 April 2015.

[rolls-2] Thonr, Jan (17 March 2010). "Get on the rolls before polling time". East Kent Gazette. NewsBank.

[confirmed-3] Waite, Steve (13 April 2011). "List of candidates is confirmed for poll". East Kent Gazette. NewsBank.

[independent-4] "Independent retains seat". East Kent Gazette. NewsBank. 11 May 2011. p. 10.

[tension-5] "Day of tension ends with a tie-breaker". East Kent Gazette. NewsBank. 11 May 2011. p. 10.

[election-6] "Election results for Swale". Kent Online. 6 May 2011. Retrieved 5 April 2015.

[hang-7] Stafford, Lowri (12 May 2011). "Election sees Tories hang on to power". Faversham Times. NewsBank.

[joins-8] Stafford, Lowri (18 May 2011). "Lib Dem joins independent". East Kent Gazette. NewsBank.

[authority-9] "Local authority elections: England". The Guardian. NewsBank. 7 May 2011.

[results-10] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w ^x ^y ^z "Election Results 2011". Swale Borough Council. Retrieved 4 April 2015.

[kemsley-11] Robinson, Hayley (13 March 2012). "Tories hold on to Kemsley seat". Kent Online. Retrieved 5 April 2015.

[landslide-12] Dyson, Lewis (17 October 2014). "David Jones becomes first UKIP councillor elected to Swale council after landslide win at Sheppey Central by-election". Kent Online. Retrieved 5 April 2015.

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