Map of the results of the 2010 Great Yarmouth council election. Conservatives in blue and Labour in red. Wards in grey were not contested in 2010.

The 2010 Great Yarmouth Borough Council election took place on 6 May 2010 to elect members of Great Yarmouth Borough Council in Norfolk, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Conservative Party stayed in overall control of the council.[1]

After the election, the composition of the council was:

Background

Before the election the Conservatives held control of the council with 24 seats, compared to 15 for Labour.[3] 14 seats were contested at the election with both the Conservative and Labour parties defending 7 seats.[4] Claydon ward had 2 seats up for election after Labour councillor Dick Barker died in February 2010.[4][5] Both the Conservative and Labour parties contested all 14 seats, while there were also 5 Liberal Democrats and 2 independent candidates.[5]

With the council election being held at the same time as the general election, local issues including the outer harbour, an additional river crossing and local regeneration, were mixed with national issues during the campaign.[5]

Election result

The Conservatives remained in control of the council, with the political balance on the council staying the same.[4] The Conservatives gained a seat in Caister South from Labour, but lost one back to Labour in Yarmouth North.[4]

In Yarmouth North both candidates tied on 1,034 votes each after four recounts.[4] As a result, a pack of playing cards was used to determine the result.[6] The Conservative candidate, Bob Peck, drew a three and Labour's Charlie Marsden then drew a seven.[6][7] Therefore, Labour were allocated one more vote and gained the seat from the Conservatives.[4]

Great Yarmouth Local Election Result 2010[2][8]
Party Seats Gains Losses Net gain/loss Seats % Votes % Votes +/−
  Conservative 7 1 1 0 50.0 49.4 18,085 -5.3%
  Labour 7 1 1 0 50.0 42.5 15,544 +8.2%
  Liberal Democrats 0 0 0 0 0 6.2 2,276 +0.1%
  Independent 0 0 0 0 0 1.9 691 +1.9%

Ward results

Bradwell North[8][9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Graham Plant 1,801 55.8 +8.8
Labour Hilary Wainwright 1,427 44.2 +0.2
Majority 374 11.6 +8.6
Turnout 3,228 65.3 +32.6
Conservative hold Swing
Bradwell South & Hopton[8][9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Mike Butcher 1,925 58.9 +10.9
Labour Barbara Wright 1,344 41.1 +21.9
Majority 581 17.8 -7.7
Turnout 3,269 65.4 +21.6
Conservative hold Swing
Caister North[8][9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Tony Smith 1,212 51.0 -4.3
Labour Nick Dack 739 31.1 +1.0
Liberal Democrats Nicholas Dyer 427 18.0 +3.4
Majority 473 19.9 -5.4
Turnout 2,378 65.4 +33.4
Conservative hold Swing
Caister South[8][9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Ronald Hanton 1,049 44.6 -5.0
Labour Patrick Hacon 905 38.5 -11.9
Liberal Democrats Rod Cole 399 17.0 +17.0
Majority 144 6.1
Turnout 2,353 68.1 +31.3
Conservative gain from Labour Swing
Central & Northgate[8][9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Mike Castle 1,256 44.4 +1.3
Conservative Tom Garrod 1,089 38.5 +0.5
Liberal Democrats Gordon Dean 484 17.1 +7.9
Majority 167 5.9 +0.7
Turnout 2,829 50.6 +23.9
Labour hold Swing
Claydon (2)[8][9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Coleen Walker 1,512
Labour Bernard Williamson 1,429
Conservative Bob Scott 1,259
Conservative Matthew Smith 1,222
Turnout 5,422 54.8 +26.4
Labour hold Swing
Labour hold Swing
East Flegg[8][9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Shirley Weymouth 1,549 57.6 -9.3
Labour Caroline Mynett 589 21.9 +4.5
Liberal Democrats Pam Mayhew 550 20.5 +4.8
Majority 960 35.7 -13.8
Turnout 2,688 70.1 +33.7
Conservative hold Swing
Gorleston[8][9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative John Burroughs 1,687 63.9 -12.7
Labour Katie James 954 36.1 +12.7
Majority 733 27.8 -25.4
Turnout 2,641
Conservative hold Swing
Lothingland[8][9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Barry Stone 1,750 64.2 -8.3
Labour Chris Williamson 974 35.8 +8.3
Majority 776 28.5 -16.5
Turnout 2,724 64.6 +34.2
Conservative hold Swing
Magdalen[8][9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Trevor Wainwright 1,535 50.7 +2.7
Conservative Carl Smith 1,127 37.3 -14.7
Independent Margaret McMahon-Morris 363 12.0 +12.0
Majority 408 13.4
Turnout 3,025 59.2 +28.6
Labour hold Swing
Nelson[8][9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Val Pettit 1,120 48.2 +2.9
Conservative Malcolm Bird 875 37.7 +2.6
Independent Alan Sowle 328 14.1 +14.1
Majority 245 10.5 +0.3
Turnout 2,323 41.3 +22.0
Labour hold Swing
Southtown & Cobholm[8][9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour John Holmes 725 44.0 -2.1
Conservative Victor Ling 506 30.7 +8.2
Liberal Democrats Tony Harris 416 25.3 +14.3
Majority 219 13.3 -10.3
Turnout 1,647 44.4 +23.9
Labour hold Swing
Yarmouth North[8][9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Charlie Marsden 1,035 50.0 +8.2
Conservative Bob Peck 1,034 50.0 -8.2
Majority 1 0
Turnout 2,068 60.8 +26.2
Labour gain from Conservative Swing

References

  1. ^ "Great Yarmouth". BBC News Online. Retrieved 9 September 2011.
  2. ^ a b "Local elections 2010". guardian.co.uk. 7 May 2010. Retrieved 10 September 2011.
  3. ^ "Countdown on to elections". Great Yarmouth Mercury. 8 April 2010. Retrieved 10 September 2011.
  4. ^ a b c d e f "Playing card decides Yarmouth council seat". BBC News Online. 7 May 2010. Retrieved 10 September 2011.
  5. ^ a b c "Local election candidates announced". Great Yarmouth Mercury. 14 April 2010. Retrieved 10 September 2011.
  6. ^ a b Bingham, John (8 May 2010). "General Election 2010: councillor loses seat on draw of a card". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 10 September 2011.
  7. ^ "Luck of the draw for Labour candidate". express.co.uk. Retrieved 9 May 2010.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "Elections - Results". Great Yarmouth Borough Council. Archived from the original on 4 November 2010. Retrieved 9 September 2011.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Yarmouth council elections". Great Yarmouth Mercury. 7 May 2010. Retrieved 10 September 2011.
Categories