Rushmoor Council election, 2007
Encyclopedia
The 2007 Rushmoor Council election took place on 3 May 2007 to elect members of Rushmoor
Borough
Council in Hampshire
, England
. One third of the council was up for election and the Conservative party
stayed in overall control of the council.
After the election, the composition of the council was
5 and 1 independent
. 14 seats were being contested with candidates from the 3 main parties on the council, as well as 4 from the British National Party
, 1 Official Monster Raving Loony Party
and 1 independent.
Issues in the election included the recent introduction of alternate weekly collection of rubbish and recycling, town centre redevelopments, council tax
and anti-social behaviour
. The independent councillor
Peter Sandy collected 6,000 signatures on a petition
against the change in refuse collection, describing it as greed and predicting the Conservatives would lose control as a result. Another issue that arose during the campaign was the responsibility for a new play area in North Town, Aldershot
, with different parties claiming the credit.
Rushmoor saw a trial of internet voting with votes able to be cast this way in the week before the election. 6,600 voters had registered to vote online as well as 5,500 who had opted to vote by post. When the online voting opened however there was a problem with the Conservative candidate in Wellington ward
being placed against the Labour emblem, but this was quickly spotted and corrected.
The trial of internet voting failed to increase turnout
, which dropped to 35.2% from the 36% in the 2006 election
. In total 3,827 of the 6,686 people registered to vote online did so, 57.2%, with disagreement over whether the trial was a success.
Following the election the only independent councillor, Peter Sandy, resigned from the council causing a by-election
in Heron Wood ward.
Rushmoor
Rushmoor is a local government district and borough in Hampshire, England. It covers the towns of Aldershot and Farnborough.It was formed on 1 April 1974 by the merger of the borough of Aldershot and the Farnborough urban district....
Borough
Borough status in the United Kingdom
Borough status in the United Kingdom is granted by royal charter to local government districts in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The status is purely honorary, and does not give any additional powers to the council or inhabitants of the district...
Council in Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
, 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 Conservative party
Conservative 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...
stayed in overall control of the council.
After the election, the composition of the council was
- 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...
28 - Liberal Democrat 8
- 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...
5 - 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...
1
Campaign
Before the election the Conservatives held 26 seats, the Liberal Democrats 10, 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...
5 and 1 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...
. 14 seats were being contested with candidates from the 3 main parties on the council, as well as 4 from the British National Party
British National Party
The British National Party is a British far-right political party formed as a splinter group from the National Front by John Tyndall in 1982...
, 1 Official Monster Raving Loony Party
Official Monster Raving Loony Party
The Official Monster Raving Loony Party is a registered political party established in the United Kingdom in 1983 by musician and politician David Sutch , better known as Screaming Lord Sutch.-History:...
and 1 independent.
Issues in the election included the recent introduction of alternate weekly collection of rubbish and recycling, town centre redevelopments, 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...
and anti-social behaviour
Anti-social behaviour
Anti-social behaviour is behaviour that lacks consideration for others and that may cause damage to society, whether intentionally or through negligence, as opposed to pro-social behaviour, behaviour that helps or benefits society...
. The independent councillor
Councillor
A councillor or councilor is a member of a local government council, such as a city council.Often in the United States, the title is councilman or councilwoman.-United Kingdom:...
Peter Sandy collected 6,000 signatures on a petition
Petition
A petition is a request to do something, most commonly addressed to a government official or public entity. Petitions to a deity are a form of prayer....
against the change in refuse collection, describing it as greed and predicting the Conservatives would lose control as a result. Another issue that arose during the campaign was the responsibility for a new play area in North Town, Aldershot
Aldershot
Aldershot is a town in the English county of Hampshire, located on heathland about southwest of London. The town is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council...
, with different parties claiming the credit.
Rushmoor saw a trial of internet voting with votes able to be cast this way in the week before the election. 6,600 voters had registered to vote online as well as 5,500 who had opted to vote by post. When the online voting opened however there was a problem with the Conservative candidate in Wellington 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:...
being placed against the Labour emblem, but this was quickly spotted and corrected.
Election result
The results saw the Conservatives keep control of the council with an increased majority after gaining 2 seats from the Liberal Democrats. The Conservatives gained in Cove and Southwood by 226 votes and in West Heath by 144 votes to hold 28 of the 42 seats. The Liberal Democrats defended the other 2 seats they had held, after coming closest to gaining a seat in St Mark's ward where the Conservatives had a majority of 40. Labour held their 2 seats, while an independent who had campaigned against alternate week refuse collection was well beaten in Knellwood by Conservative Roland Dibbs who won 56% of the vote.The trial of internet voting failed to increase turnout
Voter turnout
Voter turnout is the percentage of eligible voters who cast a ballot in an election . After increasing for many decades, there has been a trend of decreasing voter turnout in most established democracies since the 1960s...
, which dropped to 35.2% from the 36% in the 2006 election
Rushmoor Council election, 2006
The 2006 Rushmoor Council election took place on 4 May 2006 to elect members of Rushmoor Borough Council in Hampshire, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Conservative party stayed in overall control of the council....
. In total 3,827 of the 6,686 people registered to vote online did so, 57.2%, with disagreement over whether the trial was a success.
Following the election the only independent councillor, Peter Sandy, resigned from the council causing a by-election
By-election
A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....
in Heron Wood ward.