Sedgemoor District Council was a local government district in

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

, England covering the

Sedgemoor Sedgemoor is a low-lying area of land in Somerset, England. It lies close to sea level south of the Polden Hills, historically largely marsh (or "moor" in its older sense). The eastern part is known as King's Sedgemoor, and the western part Wes ...

district. It was established in 1974 by the merger of Bridgwater and Burnham-On-Sea Urban District Councils. It was replaced on 1 April 2023 by

Somerset Council Somerset Council is the unitary authority that will replace Somerset County Council and four district councils (Somerset West and Taunton, South Somerset, Mendip, and Sedgemoor) on 1 April 2023. History The Conservative governments of Ther ...

Political control

Past voting trends have placed strong cores of

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

voters in Bridgwater Town, with Conservative support coming from the Villages such as

Pawlett Pawlett is a small village north of Bridgwater, in the Sedgemoor district of the English county of Somerset. The village has Roman or Saxon origins. It has a Norman church and expanded in the 17th and 18th centuries with the draining of the ...

Wedmore Wedmore is a large village and civil parish in the county of Somerset, England. It is situated on raised ground, in the Somerset Levels between the River Axe and River Brue, often called the Isle of Wedmore. It forms part of Sedgemoor district. ...

and

Shipham Shipham () is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England. It is on the western edge of the Mendip Hills near the A38, approximately south of Bristol. It is in the local government district of Sedgemoor. The parish includes the village of ...

. Liberal Democrats fared well in Burnham and Highbridge areas. In 1995, the Liberal Democrats and Labour took 26 seats together, out-numbering the Conservatives 24 seats, and they formed a coalition. This continued until 1999, when the Conservatives re-took Sedgemoor, crushing the Liberal Democrats from 12 seats, to just 2. The Liberal Democrats lost even their safe seat of Highbridge to Labour. In 2000, a Conservative councillor died, and a by-election was called in his seat of Huntpsill and Pawlett. Previous Liberal Democrat councillor Marilyn Wallace fought the seat, and re-took it with 56% of the vote, bringing the Liberal Democrats back up to three seats. In 2003, the Conservatives extended their majority to 35 seats of 50, leaving the Liberal Democrats on just one seat, which was held by Liberal Democrat, Mike Mansfield, who actually took the seat from the Conservatives in Burnham South, a previously Liberal Democrat safe seat. Labour remained on 14. In 2007, the Conservatives held a status quo of 35 seats, however the Liberal Democrats gained three up to four total, all of which were in their traditional safe seat of Highbridge. Mike Mansfield was elected Leader of the Liberal Democrat group, until the untimely death of his wife. Newly elected Danny Titcombe then was elected leader of the Group. on 14 April 2008, Danny Titcombe announced his defection to the Conservative Party, effectively boosting their majority to 36 seats. Despite calls of resignation from all sides, Titcombe continued in his role. The Labour Party dropped to 11 seats, losing two in highbridge to the Liberal Democrats, and one in Bridgwater Bower to the Conservatives. The Conservatives lost 1 in Highbridge to the Liberal Democrats (before defection). In 2010, Woolavington councillor Roger Lavers, who was the Labour Group Leader, died suddenly of a brain haemorrhage, triggering a by-election in the 1 Member ward, which saw Labour drop from holding the seat, to third behind the Liberal Democrats who hadn't stood in the seat since 1991, and the Conservatives gain the seat, boosting their total number to 37 of 50 councillors. Labour dropped to 10. Kathy Pearce, Labour member for Bridgwater Hamp, was elected as the new Labour group leader. In the 2011 Local Council elections, the Conservatives held the council with a reduced number of seats. Labour took back all Bridgwater seats except the Windham ward, and the Independents gained 2 seats at the expense of the Liberal Democrats, who held their leader's seat in Highbridge & Burnham Marine, and Burnham Central. The last leader of Sedgemoor District Council was Duncan McGinty, who had held the position since 1999.

Abolition

On 1 April 2023 the council was abolished and replaced by

, a

unitary authority A unitary authority is a local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed by a higher level of sub-national government or the national governmen ...

for the area previously served by

Somerset County Council Somerset County Council is the county council of Somerset in the South West of England, an elected local government authority responsible for the most significant local government services in most of the county. On 1 April 2023 the county counc ...

. Elections for the new council took place in May 2022. Is was run alongside Sedgemoor and the other councils until their abolition.

References

{{reflist Local authorities in Somerset Non-metropolitan district councils of England Sedgemoor 2023 disestablishments in England