The 2011 West Somerset Council election took place on 5 May 2011 to elect members of West Somerset

West Somerset

West Somerset is a local government district in the English county of Somerset. The council covers a largely rural area, with a population of 35,075 in an area of ....

 District

Non-metropolitan district

Non-metropolitan districts, or colloquially shire districts, are a type of local government district in England. As created, they are sub-divisions of non-metropolitan counties in a so-called "two-tier" arrangement...

 Council in Somerset

Somerset

The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...

, 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...

. The whole council was up for election with boundary changes since the last election in 2007

West Somerset Council election, 2007

The 2007 West Somerset Council election took place on 3 May 2007 to elect members of West Somerset District Council in Somerset, England. The whole council was up for election and independents gained overall control of the council from the Conservative party....

 reducing the number of seats by 3. 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...

 gained overall control of the council from independents

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...

.

Background

Before the election Conservative Tim Taylor was the leader of the council in an alliance with independents. Since the 2007 election boundary changes reduced the number of seats on the council from 31 to 28.

A total of 63 candidates stood at the election for the 28 seats on the council. These included 15 sitting 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:...

s and a record 12 Green Party

Green Party of England and Wales

The Green Party of England and Wales is a political party in England and Wales which follows the traditions of Green politics and maintains a strong commitment to social progressivism. It is the largest Green party in the United Kingdom, containing within it various regional divisions including...

 candidates, a party that had not contested any seats in West Somerset in 2007. This was compared to only 4 Labour party

Labour 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...

 and 2 Liberal Democrat

Liberal Democrats

The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...

 candidates, with the number of Green candidates being put down to the proposal for a new nuclear power plant

Nuclear power plant

A nuclear power plant is a thermal power station in which the heat source is one or more nuclear reactors. As in a conventional thermal power station the heat is used to generate steam which drives a steam turbine connected to a generator which produces electricity.Nuclear power plants are usually...

 at Hinkley Point

Hinkley Point

Hinkley Point is a headland on the Bristol Channel coast of Somerset, England, five miles north of Bridgwater and five miles west of Burnham-on-Sea, close to the mouth of the River Parrett....

. One seat, Greater Exmoor, only had one candidate, Conservative Steven Pugsley, so he was elected without opposition.

Election result

The Conservatives took control of the council with 19 councillors after gaining 6 seats. This was mainly at the expense of independents who dropped 9 seats, with only 7 independents being elected. The independent losses included the defeat of councillors Sandra Slade and Paul Tipney in Minehead

Minehead

Minehead is a coastal town and civil parish in Somerset, England. It lies on the south bank of the Bristol Channel, north-west of the county town of Taunton, from the border with the county of Devon and in proximity of the Exmoor National Park...

 South and Quantock

Quantock Hills

The Quantock Hills is a range of hills west of Bridgwater in Somerset, England. The Quantock Hills were England’s first Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty being designated in 1956 and consists of large amounts of heathland, oak woodlands, ancient parklands and agricultural land.The hills run from...

Vale respectively.

The Labour party gained a seat to move to 2 councillors, while the Liberal Democrats lost their only seat on the council and the Greens failed to win any seats.

Ward results