2019 Bournemouth, Christchurch And Poole Council Election
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The 2019 Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council election took place on 2 May 2019 to elect the inaugural members of
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council, which styles itself BCP Council, is the Local government in England, local authority for Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, a local government district in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. Th ...
in England, formed from the former unitary authorities of
Bournemouth Bournemouth ( ) is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority area, in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. At the 2021 census, the built-up area had a population of 196,455, making it the largest ...
and
Poole Poole () is a coastal town and seaport on the south coast of England in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority area in Dorset, England. The town is east of Dorchester, Dorset, Dorchester and adjoins Bournemouth to the east ...
, and borough of Christchurch. At the same time an election for the new Christchurch
Town Council A town council, city council or municipal council is a form of local government for small municipalities. Usage of the term varies under different jurisdictions. Republic of Ireland In 2002, 49 urban district councils and 26 town commissi ...
was held. A shadow authority comprising elected members of the three preceding councils and relevant members of
Dorset County Council Dorset County Council was the county council of Dorset in England. It was created in 1889 and abolished in 2019. Throughout its existence, the council was based in Dorchester. Bournemouth and Poole were made independent from the county counci ...
sat prior to the election. Elections for the two parish councils in the area were also held.


Background

Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council held elections on 2 May 2019 along with councils across England as part of the 2019 local elections. The council elected all of its councillors for the first time under the auspices of the combined council. The merger of
Bournemouth Borough Council Bournemouth Borough Council was the local authority of Bournemouth in Dorset, England and ceased to exist on 1 April 2019. It was a unitary authorities in England, unitary authority, although between 1974 and 1997 it was an administrative non-m ...
, Christchurch Borough Council and
Poole Borough Council Poole Borough Council was the unitary authority responsible for local government in the Borough of Poole, Dorset, England. It was created on 1 April 1997 following a review by the Local Government Commission for England (1992), becoming administ ...
's councils to form this new council was reported to save £500,000 per year. A shadow authority of councillors for the three preceding councils and relevant members of Dorset County Council sat as a shadow authority prior to the election, with the Conservative group controlling the council and a majority of councillors being members of the Conservative Party. Parish councils in the area also held elections, such as the newly formed Christchurch town council, replacing the former
Borough Council A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle Ag ...
, and the Highcliffe and Walkford Neighbourhood Council. Whilst the shadow authority had 125 members, the redrawn ward boundaries meant that the newly elected body has 76 members. Representatives from all of the main UK political parties, the
Conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilizati ...
, the Liberal Democrats, Labour,
Green Party of England and Wales The Green Party of England and Wales (GPEW; ), often known simply as the Green Party or the Greens, is a Green politics, green, Left-wing politics, left-wing political party in England and Wales. Since October 2021, Carla Denyer and Adrian Ram ...
and
UKIP The UK Independence Party (UKIP, ) is a Eurosceptic, right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. The party reached its greatest level of success in the mid-2010s, when it gained two Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), member ...
, stood for election to the new council. Alongside the national parties, several localist groups also stood for election, such as the Poole People,
Alliance for Local Living The Alliance for Local Living (ALL) was a minor Localism (politics), localist party and political group based in Dorset, with separate branches in the two authorities, ALL for Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and ALL for Dorset County Council ...
and the Engage parties, as well as the informal
Christchurch Independents The Christchurch Independents (CI) are a political party and group in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council, Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council, formed by journalist Andy Martin and (former) Conservative Party (UK), Co ...
group. Poole People is a localist group which had previously stood in and won seats in the former Poole borough. For the 2019 election, they stood eight candidates in wards corresponding to Poole, winning seven seats in total. The Alliance for Local Living also stood parties, after being set up in 2018, and cooperating with Poole People; ALL intended to stand four candidates in total, but due to the timing of the official registration of the party, only two were able to be listed on the ballot paper; all four candidates also stood in Poole seats, but with only one win. In March 2019, seven Conservative candidates, including the leader of the council David Flagg, were suspended from the party following their opposition to the merger. Five of the suspended councillors (David Flagg, Margaret Phipps, Lesley Dedman, Nick Geary and Janet Abbott) alongside two existing independents (Colin Bungey and Fred Neale) stood as '
Christchurch Independents The Christchurch Independents (CI) are a political party and group in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council, Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council, formed by journalist Andy Martin and (former) Conservative Party (UK), Co ...
', in opposition to the Conservatives, with those holding seats forming a group in the council after the election.


Overall results

The composition of the shadow authority immediately ahead of this election was: Following the election, the composition of the council was:


Summary


Election result

, -


Aftermath

The election resulted in
no overall control In the context of local authorities in the United Kingdom no overall control (NOC; ) is a situation in which no single political group achieves a majority of seats, comparable to a hung parliament. Of the 248 councils who had members up for elec ...
, with no party winning the thirty-nine seats required for an overall majority; whilst the Conservatives were the largest party on the council, they lacked a majority. The Conservatives held seats in Bournemouth, with other parties and independents performing well in both Christchurch and Poole. The newly formed Christchurch Independents group, who were the third largest group with seven seats, said that they would be open to working with all parties except the Conservatives, who had led the creation of the new authority. Conservative councillor John Beesley said that the Conservatives should run the council, and that he was prepared to run a minority administration if no other party would support him. The Liberal Democrats also announced their intention to form a coalition with other parties on the council. Subsequently, Liberal Democrat
Vikki Slade Vikki Slade (born 17 December 1972) is a British Liberal Democrat politician who has served as the Member of Parliament for Mid Dorset and North Poole since 2024. She unsuccessfully contested the same seat in 2015, 2017 and 2019. Political car ...
was elected council leader of a "Unity Alliance" of all the parties except the Conservatives and UKIP, with 39 members in total. Within the council, six party groups were formed: In 2022, councillors from the Conservatives and one from Poole People defected to form the
Poole Local Group The Poole Engage Party is a local political party on Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council. Until December 2022, the party was known as the Poole Local Group. History The group was formed in June 2022 as the Poole Local Group, by five c ...
.


Ward results

The statement of persons nominated was posted by the authority on 5 April 2019, 299 candidates are standing. Asterisks (*) denote sitting councillors seeking re-election.


Alderney and Bourne Valley


Bearwood and Merley


Boscombe East and Pokesdown


Boscombe West


Bournemouth Central


Broadstone


Burton and Grange


Canford Cliffs Canford Cliffs is a suburb of Poole in Dorset, England. The neighbourhood lies on the English Channel coast midway between Poole and Bournemouth. To the southwest is Sandbanks which has some of the highest property values in the world; with C ...


Canford Heath


Christchurch Town


Commons The commons is the cultural and natural resources accessible to all members of a society, including natural materials such as air, water, and a habitable Earth. These resources are held in common even when owned privately or publicly. Commons ...


Creekmoor


East Cliff and Springbourne


East Southbourne and Tuckton


Hamworthy Hamworthy is a suburb of Poole, in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole district, in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. It is sited on a peninsula of approximately that is bordered by the town of Upton to the north, Poole Harbour to ...


Highcliffe and Walkford


Kinson Kinson is a former village which has been absorbed by the town of Bournemouth, in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole district, in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. The area became part of Bournemouth on 1 April 1931. There were two ...


Littledown and Iford


Moordown Moordown is a suburb of Bournemouth, situated in the northern part of the borough. It was incorporated into the Bournemouth Borough Council, borough of Bournemouth in 1901, having previously been part of the Christchurch Rural District. Antiqui ...


Mudeford, Stanpit and West Highcliffe


Muscliff and Strouden Park


Newtown and Heatherlands


Oakdale


Parkstone Parkstone is an area of Poole, in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole district, in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. It is divided into 'Lower' and 'Upper' Parkstone. Upper Parkstone – "Up-on-'ill" as it used to be known in ...


Penn Hill Penn Hill is a suburb and electoral ward of Poole in Dorset, England, bordering on Branksome Park, Canford Cliffs, Sandbanks, Lilliput and Parkstone. It is effectively part of Parkstone. Demographics At the 2011 census: * 11,355 people li ...


Poole Town


Queen's Park


Redhill and Northbourne


Talbot and Branksome Woods


Wallisdown and Winton West


West Southbourne


Westbourne and West Cliff


Winton East


Changes 2019–2023


Changes of allegiance

*Julie Bagwell and Daniel Butt, both elected for the Poole People Party, left the party in October 2019 to sit as independents. Daniel Butt also left the Unity Alliance coalition at the same time. Julie Bagwell remained an independent within the Unity Alliance until September 2020, when she also withdrew from the coalition. *Steve Baron, Daniel Butt, Toby Johnson and Nigel Brooks all joined the Conservatives in September 2021, giving the party a majority on the council. *The Conservatives lost their majority on the council in June 2022 when Steve Baron, Mohan Iyengar, Daniel Butt and Judy Butt left the party to form the Poole Local Group with independent councillor Julie Bagwell. The group was subsequently registered as a political party called the
Poole Engage Party The Poole Engage Party is a local political party on Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council. Until December 2022, the party was known as the Poole Local Group. History The group was formed in June 2022 as the Poole Local Group, by five c ...
. *Jackie Edwards, elected as a Conservative, left the party on 1 October 2022 to sit as an independent.


Canford Heath

By-election triggered by death of Liberal Democrat councillor Pete Parrish in July 2020. By-election not allowed to be held earlier due to
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
.


Commons The commons is the cultural and natural resources accessible to all members of a society, including natural materials such as air, water, and a habitable Earth. These resources are held in common even when owned privately or publicly. Commons ...

By-election triggered by death of Colin Bungey in April 2020. By-election not allowed to be held earlier due to
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
.


Highcliffe and Walkford

By-election triggered by death of Nick Geary in July 2022. He had been elected as an independent in 2019 and sat in the Christchurch Independents group, which was formally registered as a political party in February 2021.


References

;Notes ;Citations {{Dorset elections
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) is a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Dorset, England. It was created in 2019 and covers much of the area of the South Ea ...
2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...
2010s in Dorset May 2019 in the United Kingdom