Harrogate Borough Council election, 2007
![](../I/m/Harrogate_2006_election_map.png)
Map of the results of the 2007 Harrogate council election. Liberal Democrats in yellow,
Conservatives in blue and independents in white. Rural areas of the council, which did not have elections in 2007, are not shown on the map. The result in Marston Moor ward is also not shown as it was a by-election.
The 2007 Harrogate Council election took place on 3 May 2007 to elect members of Harrogate Borough Council in North Yorkshire, England. One third of the council was up for election and the council stayed under no overall control.[1]
After the election, the composition of the council was
Campaign
Before the election the Conservatives ran the council, but without a majority, with 27 seats, compared to 22 Liberal Democrats and 5 independents.[3] 20 seats were contested in the election, with 1 of the seats being a by-election in Marston Moor ward[4] after the resignation of the Conservative councillor.[5] Both the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats were defending 9 seats in the election, while independents held 2.[6]
The election saw the British National Party contest 15 of the 20 seats, more than Labour who only contested 9 seats, and up from only 1 in 2006.[6] The leader of the British National Party Nick Griffin visited Ripon during the campaign, with the party campaigning against migrant workers, such as those from Poland, who they said were "undercutting British workers" by working for low wages.[6] For the first time the United Kingdom Independence Party also contested 2 seats in the election.[7]
Election result
The results saw no party win a majority on the council after the Liberal Democrats gained 2 seats from the Conservatives.[8] The Liberal Democrats gained Bilton and Knaresborough King James from the Conservatives, but the Conservatives remained the largest party on the council with 25 seats compared to 23 for the Liberal Democrats.[8]
The balance on the council was held by 6 independents, after independents won all 3 seats contested in Ripon.[8] This included gaining Ripon Spa by 171 votes from Liberal Democrat Paul Freeman, who had held the seat for 16 years.[8] No other party won any seats, with the British National Party coming no better than third in every seat they contested, despite having 15 candidates.[8]
Harrogate local election result 2007[9][2] |
Party |
Seats |
Gains |
Losses |
Net gain/loss |
Seats % |
Votes % |
Votes |
+/− |
|
Liberal Democrat |
10 |
2 |
1 |
+1 |
50.0 |
45.9 |
14,904 |
+0.1% |
|
Conservative |
7 |
0 |
2 |
-2 |
35.0 |
38.0 |
12,331 |
-2.4% |
|
Independent |
3 |
1 |
0 |
+1 |
15.0 |
8.1 |
2,640 |
-1.6% |
|
BNP |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
4.3 |
1,386 |
+3.8% |
|
Labour |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3.3 |
1,055 |
-0.3% |
|
UKIP |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0.4 |
128 |
+0.4% |
Ward results
Bilton[9][10] |
Party |
Candidate |
Votes |
% |
±% |
|
Liberal Democrat |
Andrew Parkes |
974 |
49.4 |
-3.0 |
|
Conservative |
Robin Adderley |
877 |
44.5 |
+0.0 |
|
Labour |
Joel Banner |
122 |
6.2 |
+3.1 |
Majority |
97 |
4.9 |
-3.0 |
Turnout |
1,973 |
46.9 |
+5.8 |
|
Liberal Democrat gain from Conservative |
Swing |
|
|
Granby[9][10] |
Party |
Candidate |
Votes |
% |
±% |
|
Liberal Democrat |
Margaret-Ann De Courcey-Bayley |
923 |
66.0 |
-8.8 |
|
Conservative |
David Pearson |
296 |
21.2 |
+0.7 |
|
BNP |
Steven Gill |
103 |
7.4 |
+7.4 |
|
Labour |
Tom King |
76 |
5.4 |
+0.7 |
Majority |
627 |
44.8 |
-9.5 |
Turnout |
1,398 |
31.7 |
-0.2 |
|
Liberal Democrat hold |
Swing |
|
|
High Harrogate[9][10] |
Party |
Candidate |
Votes |
% |
±% |
|
Conservative |
Andrew Jones |
815 |
54.0 |
+2.1 |
|
Liberal Democrat |
Steve Macare |
522 |
34.6 |
-8.6 |
|
BNP |
John Bray |
104 |
6.9 |
+6.9 |
|
Labour |
Harry Mann |
69 |
4.6 |
-0.3 |
Majority |
293 |
19.4 |
+10.7 |
Turnout |
1,510 |
34.5 |
-3.3 |
|
Conservative hold |
Swing |
|
|
Hookstone[9][10] |
Party |
Candidate |
Votes |
% |
±% |
|
Liberal Democrat |
Reg Marsh |
1,202 |
65.4 |
+3.8 |
|
Conservative |
Richard Cain |
467 |
25.4 |
-9.9 |
|
BNP |
Frederick Johnson |
112 |
6.1 |
+6.1 |
|
Labour |
Patricia Foxall |
57 |
3.1 |
+0.0 |
Majority |
735 |
40.0 |
+13.7 |
Turnout |
1,838 |
41.9 |
-0.5 |
|
Liberal Democrat hold |
Swing |
|
|
Knaresborough East[9][10] |
Party |
Candidate |
Votes |
% |
±% |
|
Liberal Democrat |
Keith Rothwell |
621 |
45.1 |
-14.3 |
|
Conservative |
Chris Williams |
330 |
23.9 |
-6.7 |
|
Independent |
Andy Wright |
270 |
19.6 |
+19.6 |
|
Labour |
David Crosthwaite |
93 |
6.7 |
-3.3 |
|
BNP |
Belinda Holdsworth |
64 |
4.6 |
+4.6 |
Majority |
291 |
21.1 |
-7.7 |
Turnout |
1,378 |
35.4 |
+0.2 |
|
Liberal Democrat hold |
Swing |
|
|
Knaresborough King James[9][10] |
Party |
Candidate |
Votes |
% |
±% |
|
Liberal Democrat |
Jean Burdett |
1,031 |
55.5 |
+5.6 |
|
Conservative |
Tim Hunter |
716 |
38.6 |
-7.6 |
|
Labour |
Sam Clayton |
110 |
5.9 |
+2.0 |
Majority |
315 |
17.0 |
+13.2 |
Turnout |
1,857 |
47.4 |
-0.6 |
|
Liberal Democrat gain from Conservative |
Swing |
|
|
Knaresborough Scriven Park[9][10] |
Party |
Candidate |
Votes |
% |
±% |
|
Liberal Democrat |
Kevin Hawkins |
740 |
52.5 |
-0.5 |
|
Conservative |
Nathan Smith |
496 |
35.2 |
-3.1 |
|
Labour |
Alan Beatham |
95 |
6.7 |
-2.0 |
|
BNP |
Mark Strike |
78 |
5.5 |
+5.5 |
Majority |
244 |
17.3 |
+2.7 |
Turnout |
1,409 |
37.0 |
-1.7 |
|
Liberal Democrat hold |
Swing |
|
|
New Park[9][10] |
Party |
Candidate |
Votes |
% |
±% |
|
Liberal Democrat |
Trevor Chapman |
1,080 |
75.3 |
+3.7 |
|
Conservative |
Lorien Pilling |
211 |
14.7 |
-13.7 |
|
BNP |
Julie Brown |
92 |
6.4 |
+6.4 |
|
UKIP |
John Upex |
51 |
3.6 |
+3.6 |
Majority |
869 |
60.6 |
+17.4 |
Turnout |
1,434 |
35.4 |
+1.0 |
|
Liberal Democrat hold |
Swing |
|
|
Ripon Minster[9][10] |
Party |
Candidate |
Votes |
% |
±% |
|
Independent |
Sidney Hawke |
665 |
47.3 |
+0.1 |
|
Liberal Democrat |
Steve Jones |
245 |
17.4 |
+10.6 |
|
Conservative |
John Topping |
203 |
14.4 |
+1.9 |
|
Independent |
Stanley Mackintosh |
160 |
11.4 |
-17.1 |
|
BNP |
Tom Linden |
134 |
9.5 |
+9.5 |
Majority |
420 |
29.9 |
+11.3 |
Turnout |
1,407 |
36.1 |
+2.4 |
|
Independent hold |
Swing |
|
|
Ripon Moorside[9][10] |
Party |
Candidate |
Votes |
% |
±% |
|
Independent |
Charles Powell |
913 |
61.4 |
-27.1 |
|
Liberal Democrat |
John Stockdale |
255 |
17.2 |
+17.2 |
|
Conservative |
Tony Simpson |
204 |
13.7 |
+2.2 |
|
BNP |
Neil Smith |
114 |
7.7 |
+7.7 |
Majority |
658 |
44.3 |
-22.8 |
Turnout |
1,486 |
38.7 |
+1.1 |
|
Independent hold |
Swing |
|
|
Ripon Spa[9][10] |
Party |
Candidate |
Votes |
% |
±% |
|
Independent |
Peter Horton |
632 |
39.9 |
-5.3 |
|
Liberal Democrat |
Paul Freeman |
461 |
29.1 |
+4.6 |
|
Conservative |
Andrew Palmer |
366 |
23.1 |
-7.2 |
|
BNP |
Michelle Shrubb |
123 |
7.8 |
+7.8 |
Majority |
171 |
10.8 |
-4.2 |
Turnout |
1,582 |
39.4 |
+1.3 |
|
Independent gain from Liberal Democrat |
Swing |
|
|
Saltergate[9][10] |
Party |
Candidate |
Votes |
% |
±% |
|
Liberal Democrat |
Geoffrey Webber |
807 |
55.7 |
+2.9 |
|
Conservative |
Heather Adderley |
493 |
34.0 |
-8.4 |
|
UKIP |
Ray Kidd |
77 |
5.3 |
+5.3 |
|
BNP |
James Thackray |
71 |
4.9 |
+4.9 |
Majority |
314 |
21.7 |
+11.4 |
Turnout |
1,448 |
35.2 |
-3.4 |
|
Liberal Democrat hold |
Swing |
|
|
Starbeck[9][10] |
Party |
Candidate |
Votes |
% |
±% |
|
Liberal Democrat |
Granville Ward |
1,081 |
72.2 |
+7.7 |
|
Conservative |
Phillip Dixon |
195 |
13.0 |
-0.8 |
|
BNP |
Colin Banner |
146 |
9.7 |
-1.0 |
|
Labour |
Geoff Foxall |
76 |
5.1 |
+0.5 |
Majority |
886 |
59.1 |
+8.5 |
Turnout |
1,498 |
35.2 |
-0.8 |
|
Liberal Democrat hold |
Swing |
|
|
Woodfield[9][10] |
Party |
Candidate |
Votes |
% |
±% |
|
Liberal Democrat |
John Wren |
910 |
58.5 |
-7.3 |
|
Conservative |
Mary Dilworth |
231 |
14.9 |
-2.7 |
|
Labour |
Daniel Maguire |
220 |
14.1 |
-2.6 |
|
BNP |
Russell Taylor |
194 |
12.5 |
+12.5 |
Majority |
679 |
43.7 |
-4.5 |
Turnout |
1,555 |
37.7 |
+0.4 |
|
Liberal Democrat hold |
Swing |
|
|
References