Wokingham Council election, 2004
Encyclopedia
The 2004 Wokingham Council election took place on 10 June 2004 to elect members of Wokingham Unitary
Council in Berkshire
, England
. The whole council was up for election with boundary changes since the last election in 2003
. The Conservative party
stayed in overall control of the council.
was changed from the previous election with the only ones that remained the same being Charvil
, Norreys and Winnersh
. The number of wards was also increased from 24 to 25, but the number of seats on the council remaining the same. The boundary changes meant the whole council was up for election for the first time since the unitary authority was founded in 1997. Before the election the Conservatives had 33 seats and had controlled the council since the 2002 election
.
lost their only seat on the council. The leader of the Liberal Democrats on the council, Coling Lawley, only survived the election by 4 votes in Coronation ward after 3 recounts. Overall turnout
was 40.3% a rise of over 10% from the 2003 election.
Unitary authority
A unitary authority is a type of local authority that has a single tier and is responsible for all local government functions within its area or performs additional functions which elsewhere in the relevant country are usually performed by national government or a higher level of sub-national...
Council in Berkshire
Berkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
, 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 2003
Wokingham Council election, 2003
The 2003 Wokingham Council election took place on 1 May 2003 to elect members of Wokingham Unitary Council in Berkshire, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Conservative party stayed in overall control of the council....
. 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.
Background
Since 2003 boundary changes meant that almost every wardWards 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:...
was changed from the previous election with the only ones that remained the same being Charvil
Charvil
Charvil is a village and civil parish in Berkshire, England a few miles east of Reading on the A4 road to Maidenhead, between Sonning and Twyford. The village is home to around 2,000 residents....
, Norreys and Winnersh
Winnersh
Winnersh is a village and civil parish, a part of the Borough of Wokingham, in the English county of Berkshire. The parish is roughly bounded on the north-east by the A329, to the north-west by the river Loddon, Old Forest Road and Simons Lane on the south east and Bearwood Road on the south west...
. The number of wards was also increased from 24 to 25, but the number of seats on the council remaining the same. The boundary changes meant the whole council was up for election for the first time since the unitary authority was founded in 1997. Before the election the Conservatives had 33 seats and had controlled the council since the 2002 election
Wokingham Council election, 2002
The 2002 Wokingham Council election took place on 2 May 2002 to elect members of Wokingham Unitary Council in Berkshire, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Conservative party gained overall control of the council from no overall control.After the election, the composition...
.
Election result
The results saw the Conservatives strengthen their control of the council after gaining 6 seats to hold 39 of the 54 seats. The Liberal Democrats fell back to 15 seats, while 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...
lost their only seat on the council. The leader of the Liberal Democrats on the council, Coling Lawley, only survived the election by 4 votes in Coronation ward after 3 recounts. Overall 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...
was 40.3% a rise of over 10% from the 2003 election.