Morecambe Bay Independents
LeaderGeoff Knight
Founded1987
HeadquartersMorecambe
SloganPeople before politics
Lancaster City Council
4 / 60
Morecambe Town Council
21 / 26

The Morecambe Bay Independents (MBIs) is a local political party in Morecambe, Lancashire.[1] The group ran Lancaster City Council from 1999 to 2003, and successfully campaigned in 2005 for the creation of Morecambe Town Council.[2]

History

Early years (1987–1999)

After being founded in 1987,[3][4] the party won 13 seats on Lancaster City Council in May 1992.[5] They selected Mark Turner for the Morecambe and Lunesdale seat in the general election, receiving 916 votes (2.1%).[6] A former MBI councillor, Kathleen Egerton, was shot dead by her husband in a murder-suicide in 1995.[7] After a by-election victory and a defection by former mayor Shirley Burns from the Conservatives in May 1998, they became the official opposition on the council.[8]

MBIs in power (1999–2003)

They gained power on Lancaster City Council in 1999 when they more than doubled their seats to 22,[9] sitting as a minority administration,[4][10] with Conservative, Liberal Democrat and Green councillors in the cabinet.[3] The Labour Party refused to sit in cabinet.[11] In July 2001, Cllr John Fretwell, defected to the Conservatives. The then-leader of the MBI, Cllr Tricia Heath, was leader of Lancaster City Council for four years,[12] but in May 2003 she lost her council seat,[13] and the MBIs' total number of seats fell from 16 to 11.[14][15] Heath placed some of the blame for her loss on the District Auditor's report on "Blobbygate",[15] a scandal over a deal the council made with Noel Edmonds in the mid-90s about a theme park in Morecambe.[16] Another councillor, Shirley Reid, was expelled from the group in December 2003 for not attending meetings.[17]

Morecambe Town Council (2005–present)

The MBIs won 12 of the 60 seats on Lancaster City Council in the 2007 election (behind Labour on 14 and equal to the Greens and Conservatives),[18][19] but Heath failed in her bid to be re-elected.[20][21] They won twenty-five of the twenty-six councillors on Morecambe Town Council in 2009 with 64% of the vote,[22][23] despite facing opposition from a new group of independents called Residents First.[24] Evelyn Archer stood down as leader of the MBI group in January 2010, being replaced by David Kerr. Archer was first elected in 1991, lost her seat in 1995, then was re-elected in 2003.[25] In 2014, Kerr was replaced as group leader by Roger Dennison.[26]

Electoral performance

Lancaster City Council

Election Votes % Seats +/– Position Council control
2003 4,303 11.88%
11 / 60
 Increase 11 Increase 2nd NOC
2007 10,521 12.79%
11 / 60
 Steady 0 Decrease 4th NOC
2011 11,927 13.68%
8 / 60
 Decrease 3 Steady 4th NOC
2015 7%
2 / 60
 Decrease 6 Steady 4th NOC
2019 10,580 12.9%
14 / 60
 Increase 12 Increase 2nd NOC
2023
3 / 61
 Decrease 11 Decrease 5th NOC


Morecambe Town Council

Election Votes % Seats +/– Position Council control
2009[27]
25 / 26
 1st MBI majority
2011[28]
13 / 23
 Decrease 12 Steady 1st Steady MBI majority
2015[29]
6 / 23
 Decrease 7 Decrease 2nd Decrease Labour majority
2019[30]
21 / 26
 Increase 15 Increase 1st Increase MBI majority

See also

References

  1. ^ Party's entry on the Electoral Commission register
  2. ^ "Morecambe wants its own council". The Visitor. Morecambe. 18 October 2005. Retrieved 11 February 2010.
  3. ^ a b correspondent, Nazia Parveen North of England (2 May 2019). "How Morecambe's independents set a trend for local elections". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
  4. ^ a b "MBIs founder quits". The Visitor. Morecambe. 9 January 2002. Retrieved 11 February 2010.
  5. ^ Heathcote, Elizabeth (3 August 1992). "Boom and bust: a tale of two resorts: Blackpool and Morecambe may be neighbours, but economically they have drifted miles apart". The Independent. Retrieved 11 February 2010.
  6. ^ Morecambe and Lunesdale constituency. Guardian Politics
  7. ^ "Boy of 14 finds both his parents shot in the head". The Independent. 27 June 1995. Retrieved 11 February 2010.
  8. ^ "Henig resists leadership bid". Lancashire Evening Telegraph. 14 May 1998. Retrieved 11 February 2010.
  9. ^ "Ones to Watch – LGC Takes a Look at 10 Councillors Rising Through the Town Hall Ranks". Local Government Chronicle. 4 July 2000. Retrieved 11 February 2010.
  10. ^ "Movers and shakers jockey for position". Lancashire Evening Telegraph. 14 May 1999. Retrieved 11 February 2010.
  11. ^ "MBI to be swept from power?". Lancashire Evening Telegraph. 5 July 2001. Retrieved 11 February 2010.
  12. ^ "Leader's vision for resort's future". The Visitor. Morecambe. 5 September 2002. Retrieved 11 February 2010.
  13. ^ "Tories march on in Lancashire". BBC News. 2 May 2003. Retrieved 11 February 2010.
  14. ^ "Election Results 2003". Lancaster City Council. Archived from the original on 21 November 2008. Retrieved 11 February 2010.
  15. ^ a b "Heath out as Labour take control of council". Lancaster Guardian. 2 May 2003. Retrieved 11 February 2010.
  16. ^ "Group will not forget Blobbygate". Lancashire Evening Telegraph. 4 June 1999. Retrieved 11 February 2010.
  17. ^ "Independents kick out Shirley". The Visitor. Morecambe. 22 December 2003. Retrieved 11 February 2010.
  18. ^ "CITY COUNCIL RESULTS". The Visitor. Morecambe. 4 May 2007. Retrieved 11 February 2010.
  19. ^ "Lancaster City Council Elections – Thursday, 3rd May 2007". Lancaster City Council. 3 May 2007.
  20. ^ "Election results". Lancaster Guardian. 4 May 2007. Retrieved 11 February 2010.
  21. ^ "Henig and Heath to stand again". Lancaster Guardian. 12 April 2007. Retrieved 11 February 2010.
  22. ^ "Morecambe Parish Council Election – Thursday, 4th June 2009". Lancaster City Council. 4 June 2009.
  23. ^ Blade, Michelle (6 June 2009). "Members of new Morecambe Town Council elected". The Visitor. Morecambe. Retrieved 11 February 2010.
  24. ^ "Morecambe Parish Council hopefuls announced". The Garstang Courier. 8 May 2009. Retrieved 11 February 2010.
  25. ^ "Evelyn Archer resigns". The Visitor. Morecambe. 27 January 2010. Retrieved 11 February 2010.
  26. ^ "New leader for Morecambe Bay Independents", The Visitor, 14 May 2014
  27. ^ "Election results by party, 4 June 2009". 4 June 2009.
  28. ^ "Election results by Parishes,5 May 2011". 5 May 2011.
  29. ^ "Election results by Parishes,7 May 2015". 7 May 2015.
  30. ^ "Election results by Parishes,2 May 2019". 2 May 2019.

External links

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