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West Dorset District Council elections

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

South Walks House in Dorchester, headquarters of West Dorset District Council

West Dorset District Council in Dorset, England existed from 1974 to 2019. The council was abolished and subsumed into Dorset Council in 2019.

Political control

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The first elections to the council were held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority prior to the district coming into effect the following year. From 1973 until its abolition in 2019 political control of the council was held by the following parties:[1]

Party Tenure
Independent 1973–1987
No overall control 1987–2003
Conservative 2003–2019

Leadership

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The leaders of the council from 2001 until the council's abolition in 2019 were:[2]

Councillor Party From To
Gwyn Pritchard[3] Conservative May 2001 May 2004
Robert Gould[4] Conservative May 2004 8 Jan 2015
Tony Alford Conservative 8 Jan 2015 31 Mar 2019

Council elections

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Year Conservative Liberal Democrats Independent Notes
2003[7] 25 12 11 (New ward boundaries)[8]
2007[9] 26 16 6
2011[1] 32 11 5
2015[10] 30 12 0 (New ward boundaries)[11]

District result maps

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By-election results

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By-elections occur when seats become vacant between council elections. Below is a summary of by-elections from 1997 to 2019;[12] full by-election results can be found by clicking on the by-election name.

By-election Date Incumbent party Winning party
Thorncombe by-election 17 April 1997 Conservative Conservative
Bridport South by-election (2 seats) 1 May 1997 Labour Labour
Independent Conservative
Yetminster by-election 1 May 1997 Liberal Democrats Conservative
Chickerell by-election 10 July 1997 Conservative Liberal Democrats
Cam Vale by-election 2 May 2013 Conservative Conservative
Piddle Valley by-election 13 April 2017 Conservative Conservative
Lyme Regis & Charmouth by-election 14 September 2017 Conservative Independent
Bridport North by-election 22 February 2018 Liberal Democrats Conservative

References

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  1. ^ a b "England council elections". BBC News. British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
  2. ^ "Council minutes". Dorset Council. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
  3. ^ "Gwyn voted leader of council". Dorset Echo. 14 May 2001. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
  4. ^ "Admiral's parting shot". Dorset Echo. 14 May 2004. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
  5. ^ The District of West Dorset (Electoral Arrangements) Order 1980
  6. ^ legislation.gov.uk - The Dorset and Somerset (County Boundaries) Order 1991. Retrieved on 5 November 2015.
  7. ^ "West Dorset". BBC News. British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
  8. ^ legislation.gov.uk - The District of West Dorset (Electoral Changes) Order 2002. Retrieved on 4 October 2015.
  9. ^ "West Dorset". BBC News. British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
  10. ^ "Results of the election to West Dorset District Council 2015". dorsetforyou.com. West Dorset District Council. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
  11. ^ legislation.gov.uk - The West Dorset (Electoral Changes) Order 2015. Retrieved on 3 November 2015.
  12. ^ "Local Authority Byelection Results". Retrieved 8 May 2016.
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