2007 Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council election

The 2007 Redcar and Cleveland Borough 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.^[1]

Background

At the last election in 2003 Labour lost their majority on the council, after winning 23 seats, compared to 15 for the Liberal Democrats, 13 Conservatives and 8 independents.^[2] A coalition between the Liberal Democrats, Conservatives and independents then took control of the council.^[3]

In 2004 a Labour councillor for Guisborough, and former deputy leader of the party, Keith Pudney, became an independent,^[4] before becoming a Liberal Democrat in 2005.^[5] However, also in 2005, Labour gained a seat in Westworth from an independent at a by-election.^[6] A final change came in February 2007 when David Tomlin resigned from the Labour party after being convicted for falsely claiming benefits.^[7] 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,^[8] with the Liberal Democrats, Conservatives and the 2 East Cleveland Independents forming the administration, while Labour and the other independents were in opposition.^[9]

In total 160 candidates stood for the 59 seats that were being contested at the election.^[8] 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.^[9] The candidates comprised 50 from Labour, 42 Liberal Democrats, 37 Conservatives, 4 British National Party and 27 various independents.^[9] Meanwhile, 7 sitting councillors stood down at the election, Christopher Beadle, Keith Blott, Bill Goodwill, Barbara Harpham, Keith Pudney, Alma Thrower and David Tomlin.^[8]

Election result

Labour made a net gain of 6 seats, to go to 28 seats on the council, 2 short of a majority.^[10] 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.^[10] 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.^[10]

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.^[11]

Redcar and Cleveland local election result 2007^[12]
	Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
Labour	28	7	1	+6	47.5	37.5	34,980	+1.4%
Liberal Democrats	13	0	3	-3	22.0	23.6	22,014	-2.8%
Conservative	11	0	2	-2	18.6	23.7	22,152	-1.9%
Independent	4	0	2	-2	6.8	11.6	10,815	+3.7%
Loftus Ward Independent	1	0	0	0	1.7	1.2	1,137	+1.2%
East Cleveland and Guisborough Independent	1	1	0	+1	1.7	1.1	984	+1.1%
East Cleveland Independent	1	0	0	0	1.7	0.6	559	-3.4%
BNP	0	0	0	0	0	0.8	731	+0.8%

Ward results

Brotton (3)^[12]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	Brian Hogg	858
	Labour	Richard Rudland	728
	Labour	Peter Scott	647
	Liberal Democrats	Valerie Miller	637
	Liberal Democrats	Kay Walker	581
	Conservative	Andrew Morgan	422
	Liberal Democrats	Norma Morris	405
	Conservative	George Bolton	365
	Independent	Christine Swales	280
Turnout			4,923	36.1
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour gain from Liberal Democrats		Swing
	Labour gain from Liberal Democrats		Swing

Coatham (2)^[12]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal Democrats	Josie Crawford	415
	Liberal Democrats	Irene Curr	372
	Labour	Theresa Cave	305
	Independent	Edward Dolan	289
	Independent	Jimmy Willis	285
	Labour	Peter Todd	260
	BNP	Paul Harrison	137
	Conservative	David Taylerson	113
Turnout			2,176	33.8
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Dormanstown (3)^[12]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	Vilma Collins	858
	Labour	Cliff Houlding	805
	Labour	Ray Goddard	758
	Liberal Democrats	Derek Grimshaw	414
	Liberal Democrats	John Curr	412
	Liberal Democrats	Marjorie Paskin	386
	Conservative	Stuart Bell	374
Turnout			4,007	33.2
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing

Eston (3)^[12]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independent	Ann Higgins	890
	Labour	Olwyn Peters	857
	Independent	Liz Beadle	841
	Labour	John Simms	812
	Independent	Vincent Smith	781
	Labour	Beryl Dunning	780
	BNP	Wayne Burdett	174
	Liberal Democrats	Carol Smith	120
	Conservative	Russell Hutchinson	113
	Liberal Democrats	Colin Crawford	86
	Liberal Democrats	Patricia Todd	67
Turnout			5,521	37.6
	Independent hold		Swing
	Labour gain from Independent		Swing
	Independent hold		Swing

Grangetown (2)^[12]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	Lynn Pallister	557
	Labour	Peter Dunlop	476
	Liberal Democrats	Angela Draper	154
	Liberal Democrats	Arthur Clarke	132
Turnout			1,319	24.4
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing

Guisborough (3)^[12]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	Denise Bunn	1,058
	Conservative	Anne Franklin	999
	Labour	Joe Keenan	999
	Conservative	Bill Clarke	997
	Labour	Bill Suthers	915
	Conservative	Brian Gent	884
	Liberal Democrats	Judith Carter	299
Turnout			6,151	38.4
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Labour gain from Liberal Democrats		Swing

Hutton (3)^[12]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Graham Jeffery	1,646
	Conservative	Valerie Halton	1,620
	Conservative	Peter Spencer	1,478
	Labour	Shelagh Holyoake	681
Turnout			5,425	40.8
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

Kirkleatham (3)^[12]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	Norman Davies	698
	Labour	Brenda Forster	691
	Labour	Mark Hannon	660
	Liberal Democrats	Carol Johnson	508
	Liberal Democrats	Alan Langner	503
	Liberal Democrats	Ann Plummer	502
	Conservative	Joy Bishop	438
Turnout			4,000	33.5
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing

Lockwood^[12]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	East Cleveland Independent	Stephen Kay	559	63.5
	Labour	Peter Briggs	239	27.1
	Conservative	Joan Bolton	83	9.4
Majority			320	36.3
Turnout			881	55.9
	Independent hold		Swing

Loftus (3)^[12]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independent	Mary Lanigan	1,068
	Labour	Eric Jackson	808
	Loftus Ward Independent	David Fitzpatrick	585
	Independent	Linda Bell	547
	Labour	Allan Greening	529
	Labour	Gerry Dickinson	416
	Independent	Wayne Davies	335
	Loftus Ward Independent	Stephanie Aplin-Wakefield	289
	Loftus Ward Independent	Roger Lings	263
	Conservative	Jennifer Bell	186
	Conservative	Mary Dadd	157
Turnout			4,713	41.4
	Independent hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing
	Independent hold		Swing

Longbeck (3)^[12]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independent	Mike Findley	1,143
	Conservative	Norah Cooney	738
	Conservative	Vera Moody	697
	Independent	Norman Brown	495
	Conservative	Vera Rider	486
	Independent	John Wilkinson	427
	Labour	Vic Jeffries	422
	Labour	Denis Sewell	375
	Labour	Susan Cleary	334
	Liberal Democrats	Norman Brown	180
	Liberal Democrats	Victoria Reyer	171
	Liberal Democrats	Patricia Swales	158
Turnout			5,626	38.2
	Independent hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

Newcomen (2)^[12]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal Democrats	Christopher Abbott	725
	Liberal Democrats	Glynis Abbott	637
	Independent	Chris McGlade	346
	Independent	Rachel Woolley	249
	Labour	Anthony Senior	204
	Conservative	Judith Petite	111
Turnout			2,272	38.5
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Normanby (3)^[12]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	Billy Ayre	913
	Labour	Wendy Wall	848
	Labour	Carole Simms	825
	Liberal Democrats	Amanda Proud	733
	Liberal Democrats	Ann Wilson	661
	Liberal Democrats	Steven Abbott	658
	Conservative	Paul Jackson	443
	Conservative	Gillian Dadd	389
Turnout			5,470	37.8
	Labour gain from Independent		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing

Ormesby (3)^[12]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal Democrats	Glyn Nightingale	1,140
	Liberal Democrats	Eric Empson	1,082
	Liberal Democrats	Irene Nightingale	1,038
	Conservative	Jacqueline Watson	366
	Labour	Marian Fairley	360
Turnout			3,986	36.8
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Saltburn (3)^[12]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Philip Thomson	1,080
	Conservative	Joan Sands	1,018
	Conservative	John Robinson	947
	Labour	Joan Guy	857
	Labour	Tom Blenkinsop	791
	Labour	Cyril Hammond	724
Turnout			5,417	41.8
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

Skelton (3)^[12]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	Brian Briggs	1,225
	Labour	Dave McLuckie	1,080
	Labour	Helen McLuckie	1,004
	Conservative	James Carrolle	672
	Conservative	Michael King	667
	Conservative	Stephanie Hinson	642
	Independent	Colin Harbinson	354
	Independent	Debbie Harbinson	342
	BNP	Kevin Broughton	171
Turnout			6,157	43.0
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing

South Bank (3)^[12]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	Ian Jeffrey	874
	Labour	Pearl Hall	852
	Labour	Sylvia Szintai	751
	Independent	Alan Green	260
	BNP	Dawn Castle	249
	Conservative	Dorothy Hutton	179
	Liberal Democrats	Gail Leggett	169
	Liberal Democrats	Richard Ovens	138
	Liberal Democrats	Alexandra Stamp	45
Turnout			3,517	30.1
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing

St. Germains (3)^[12]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal Democrats	Marjorie Moses	1,218
	Liberal Democrats	Margaret Wilson	1,107
	Liberal Democrats	Deborah Dowson	1,088
	Labour	Ray Hensby	546
	Conservative	Joan Moody	541
	Labour	Craig Laskey	503
	Conservative	John Rider	498
Turnout			5,501	43.4
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Teesville (3)^[12]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	Sheelagh Clarke	1,269
	Labour	George Dunning	1,157
	Labour	Norman Pickthall	999
	Independent	Jim Higgins	630
	Conservative	Stewart Dadd	402
	Liberal Democrats	Sheila Clarke	287
	Liberal Democrats	Branda Dale	263
	Liberal Democrats	Helen Hadfield	240
Turnout			5,247	40.3
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing

West Dyke (3)^[12]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal Democrats	Joyce Benbow	1,313
	Liberal Democrats	Michael Carling	1,122
	Liberal Democrats	Mary Ovens	1,054
	Independent	Malcolm Burton	744
	Conservative	Andrew Gilbey	520
	Labour	Andrew Scott	435
Turnout			5,188	37.6
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Westworth (2)^[12]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	East Cleveland and Guisborough Independent	David Williams	544
	Conservative	Carole Jeffery	541
	Conservative	Derrick Langley	528
	East Cleveland and Guisborough Independent	Tressa Cooper	440
	Labour	Jim Marvell	415
Turnout			2,468	39.4
	Independent gain from Labour		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

Zetland (2)^[12]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	Norma Hensby	438
	Conservative	Robert Stanway	422
	Liberal Democrats	John Hannon	413
	Conservative	Jean White	390
	Labour	Marilyn Norton	384
	Liberal Democrats	Paul Smith	381
	Independent	Roy Myers	297
	Independent	Hazel Willis	212
Turnout				42.6
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

References

^ "Redcar & Cleveland". BBC News Online. 4 May 2007. Retrieved 30 October 2011.
^ "Local elections". BBC News Online. Retrieved 24 November 2011.
^ "Labour loses its grip on council". The Northern Echo. 12 May 2003. Retrieved 24 November 2011.
^ "May 2003 Election Results". Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council. Archived from the original on 22 October 2011. Retrieved 26 November 2011.
^ "Duo quit Labour for the LibDems". Evening Gazette. The Free Library. 11 April 2005. Retrieved 26 November 2011.
^ "May 2005 Election Results". Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council. Archived from the original on 9 November 2011. Retrieved 26 November 2011.
^ Haworth, Simon (15 February 2007). "Shamed". Evening Gazette. Retrieved 26 November 2011.
^ ^a ^b ^c "160 candidates for Borough Council election". Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council. 3 May 2007. Archived from the original on 5 October 2013. Retrieved 26 November 2011.
^ ^a ^b ^c Robson, Dave (25 April 2007). "The state of independents". Evening Gazette. Retrieved 26 November 2011.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Negotiation will start to work out coalition". The Northern Echo. 5 May 2007. Retrieved 26 November 2011.
^ "Leader promises council services will be improved". The Northern Echo. 18 May 2007. Retrieved 26 November 2011.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w "May 2007 Election Results". Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council. Archived from the original on 9 November 2011. Retrieved 30 October 2011.

[hold-1] "Redcar & Cleveland". BBC News Online. 4 May 2007. Retrieved 30 October 2011.

[lose-2] "Local elections". BBC News Online. Retrieved 24 November 2011.

[grip-3] "Labour loses its grip on council". The Northern Echo. 12 May 2003. Retrieved 24 November 2011.

[may-4] "May 2003 Election Results". Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council. Archived from the original on 22 October 2011. Retrieved 26 November 2011.

[duo-5] "Duo quit Labour for the LibDems". Evening Gazette. The Free Library. 11 April 2005. Retrieved 26 November 2011.

[westworth-6] "May 2005 Election Results". Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council. Archived from the original on 9 November 2011. Retrieved 26 November 2011.

[shamed-7] Haworth, Simon (15 February 2007). "Shamed". Evening Gazette. Retrieved 26 November 2011.

[candidates-8] "160 candidates for Borough Council election". Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council. 3 May 2007. Archived from the original on 5 October 2013. Retrieved 26 November 2011.

[state-9] Robson, Dave (25 April 2007). "The state of independents". Evening Gazette. Retrieved 26 November 2011.

[negotiation-10] "Negotiation will start to work out coalition". The Northern Echo. 5 May 2007. Retrieved 26 November 2011.

[services-11] "Leader promises council services will be improved". The Northern Echo. 18 May 2007. Retrieved 26 November 2011.

[results-12] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w "May 2007 Election Results". Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council. Archived from the original on 9 November 2011. Retrieved 30 October 2011.

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