Hull Council election, 2004
Encyclopedia
The 2004 Hull Council election took place on 10 June 2004 to elect members of Hull City Council
in England
. One third of the council was up for election and the council stayed under no overall control
.
After the election, the composition of the council was
formed the administration after becoming the largest party in the 2003 election
. Their administration however was criticised by the Audit Commission
, which raised the hopes of the Liberal Democrats that could regain control of the council.
Labour campaigned saying that voters should choose "order and progress" under themselves rather than the chaos they said the Liberal Democrats had brought while they were in office. They hoped to expand their pilot program of free school meals for all children to all schools within the city. The Liberal Democrats however wanted to abolish the program and pledged to establish crime prevention funds for neighbourhoods, free off-peak bus travel for pensioners and expand recycling
. The Liberal Democrats also pledged to keep council tax
increases to the same level as rises in earnings for the 2 years after the election.
20 of the 59 seats on the council were contested in the election, which was conducted with all postal voting
in common with councils across 4 of the English regions
.
win their first local council seat after John Cornforth defeated the independent
councillor, John Considine, in Derringham ward
by 7 votes after 6 recounts. However the independents immediately said that they would mount a legal challenge to the result.
had said 3,540 ballot
papers had been returned but that when the results were declared 140 ballot papers were missing. The independents claimed that these missing papers had ended up in counting rooms for other wards. They also said that people in Derringham had received ballots in the post that were intended for Marfleet ward and that no one knew how many people this had affected and were thus unable to vote.
The court challenge was successful with the High Court
ruling that the result "may well have been affected". As a result a new vote was ordered to be held, with the election set for 13 January 2005. The by-election was won by Michael Rouse-Deane of the Liberal Democrats who had come fourth in the original election in Derringham.
No elections were held in Bransholme East, Bransholme West and University wards.
Hull City Council
Hull City Council is the governing body for the unitary authority and city of Kingston upon Hull. It was created in 1972 as the successor to the Corporation of Hull, which was also known as Hull Corporation....
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...
. One third of the 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...
.
After the election, the composition of the council was
- LabourLabour 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...
27 - Liberal Democrat 24
- IndependentIndependent (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...
5 - ConservativeConservative 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...
2 - United Kingdom Independence PartyUnited Kingdom Independence PartyThe United Kingdom Independence Party is a eurosceptic and right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. Whilst its primary goal is the UK's withdrawal from the European Union, the party has expanded beyond its single-issue image to develop a more comprehensive party platform.UKIP...
1
Campaign
Before the election the Labour partyLabour 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...
formed the administration after becoming the largest party in the 2003 election
Hull Council election, 2003
The 2003 Hull Council election took place on 1 May 2003 to elect members of Hull City Council in England. One third of the council was up for election and the council stayed under no overall control....
. Their administration however was criticised by the Audit Commission
Audit Commission
The Audit Commission is a public corporation in the United Kingdom.The Commission’s primary objective is to improve economy, efficiency and effectiveness in local government, housing and the health service, directly through the audit and inspection process and also through value for money...
, which raised the hopes of the Liberal Democrats that could regain control of the council.
Labour campaigned saying that voters should choose "order and progress" under themselves rather than the chaos they said the Liberal Democrats had brought while they were in office. They hoped to expand their pilot program of free school meals for all children to all schools within the city. The Liberal Democrats however wanted to abolish the program and pledged to establish crime prevention funds for neighbourhoods, free off-peak bus travel for pensioners and expand recycling
Recycling
Recycling is processing used materials into new products to prevent waste of potentially useful materials, reduce the consumption of fresh raw materials, reduce energy usage, reduce air pollution and water pollution by reducing the need for "conventional" waste disposal, and lower greenhouse...
. The Liberal Democrats also pledged to keep council tax
Council tax
Council Tax is the system of local taxation used in England, Scotland and Wales to part fund the services provided by local government in each country. It was introduced in 1993 by the Local Government Finance Act 1992, as a successor to the unpopular Community Charge...
increases to the same level as rises in earnings for the 2 years after the election.
20 of the 59 seats on the council were contested in the election, which was conducted with all postal voting
Postal voting
Postal voting describes the method of voting in an election whereby ballot papers are distributed or returned by post to electors, in contrast to electors voting in person at a polling station or electronically via an electronic voting system....
in common with councils across 4 of the English regions
Regions of England
In England, the region is the highest tier of sub-national division used by central Government. Between 1994 and 2011, the nine regions had an administrative role in the implementation of UK Government policy, and as the areas covered by elected bodies...
.
Election result
The results saw the Labour party remain the largest party on the council with 27 seats but with the Liberal Democrats gaining 2 seats to hold 24 after the election. As a result the council remained hung with no party having a majority on the council. The most high profile result saw the United Kingdom Independence PartyUnited Kingdom Independence Party
The United Kingdom Independence Party is a eurosceptic and right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. Whilst its primary goal is the UK's withdrawal from the European Union, the party has expanded beyond its single-issue image to develop a more comprehensive party platform.UKIP...
win their first local council seat after John Cornforth defeated the independent
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...
councillor, John Considine, in Derringham ward
Wards of the United Kingdom
A ward in the United Kingdom is an electoral district at sub-national level represented by one or more councillors. It is the primary unit of British administrative and electoral geography .-England:...
by 7 votes after 6 recounts. However the independents immediately said that they would mount a legal challenge to the result.
Legal challenge
The independent candidate in Derringham said he would make a legal challenge to the result as the Returning OfficerReturning Officer
In various parliamentary systems, a returning officer is responsible for overseeing elections in one or more constituencies.-Australia:In Australia a returning officer is an employee of the Australian Electoral Commission or a State Electoral Commission who heads the local divisional office...
had said 3,540 ballot
Ballot
A ballot is a device used to record choices made by voters. Each voter uses one ballot, and ballots are not shared. In the simplest elections, a ballot may be a simple scrap of paper on which each voter writes in the name of a candidate, but governmental elections use pre-printed to protect the...
papers had been returned but that when the results were declared 140 ballot papers were missing. The independents claimed that these missing papers had ended up in counting rooms for other wards. They also said that people in Derringham had received ballots in the post that were intended for Marfleet ward and that no one knew how many people this had affected and were thus unable to vote.
The court challenge was successful with the High Court
High Court of Justice
The High Court of Justice is, together with the Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, one of the Senior Courts of England and Wales...
ruling that the result "may well have been affected". As a result a new vote was ordered to be held, with the election set for 13 January 2005. The by-election was won by Michael Rouse-Deane of the Liberal Democrats who had come fourth in the original election in Derringham.
Ward results
No elections were held in Bransholme East, Bransholme West and University wards.