City of York Council elections

History

City of York Council is the unitary authority for the City of York, Yorkshire. It is responsible for all local government services within the City of York, except for services provided by York's town and parish councils.

City of York Council was formed on 1 April 1996, as a result of local government reform, covering the former areas of:

Former council area	Area incorporated
City of York	The former City of York
Borough of Harrogate	The parishes of Hessay, Nether Poppleton, Rufforth, and Upper Poppleton
District of Ryedale	The parishes of Clifton Without, Earswick, Haxby, Heworth Without, Holtby, Huntington, Murton, New Earswick, Osbaldwick, Rawcliffe, Skelton, Stockton-on-the-Forest, Strensall, Towthorpe, and Wigginton
District of Selby	The parishes of Acaster Malbis, Askham Bryan, Askham Richard, Bishopthorpe, Copmanthorpe, Deighton, Dunnington, Elvington, Fulford, Heslington, Kexby, Naburn and Wheldrake

As a unitary authority, City of York Council also took over the powers of North Yorkshire County Council within the City of York.

Political control

Since the first election to the council in 1973 political control of the council has been held by the following parties:[1][2]

Non-metropolitan district

Party in control		Years
	No overall control	1973–1976
	Conservative	1976–1980
	No overall control	1980–1986
	Labour	1986–1996

Unitary authority

Party in control		Years
	Labour	1995–2000
	No overall control	2000–2003
	Liberal Democrats	2003–2007
	No overall control	2007–2011
	Labour	2011–2015
	No overall control	2015–present

Non-metropolitan district elections

• 1973 York City Council election
• 1976 York City Council election
• 1979 York City Council election (New ward boundaries)[3]
• 1980 York City Council election
• 1982 York City Council election
• 1983 York City Council election
• 1984 York City Council election
• 1986 York City Council election
• 1987 York City Council election
• 1988 York City Council election
• 1990 York City Council election
• 1991 York City Council election

1992–1994

A local election was held in May 1992 to elect members of York City Council. Fifteen seats, previously contested in 1988, were up for election: eleven were won by the Labour Party, three by the Conservative Party and one by the Liberal Democrats.[4][5] The Labour Party retained overall control of the council; the composition of the council after the election was: Labour Party 34 seats, Conservative Party seven seats and Liberal Democrats four seats.[4]

Local election

York local election results 1992[4][5]

Party		Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
	Labour	11	0	1	1	-	45.1	-	-
	Conservative	3	1	0	1	-	38.1	-	-
	Liberal Democrats	1	0	0	0	-	13.3	-	-
	Green	0	0	0	0	-	3.5	-	-

Local election

A local election took place in May 1994 to elect members of York City Council. Fifteen seats, previously contested in 1990, were up for election: twelve were won by the Labour Party, two by the Liberal Democrats and one by the Conservative Party.[6][7]

York local election results 1991[6][7]

Party		Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
	Labour	12	0	1	1	-	53.2	-	-
	Liberal Democrats	2	1	0	1	-	21.6	-	-
	Conservative	1	0	0	0	-	23.5	-	-
	Green	0	0	0	0	-	1.7	-	-

Unitary authority elections

Summary of local election results

Year	Labour	Liberal Democrats	Conservatives	Green	Independent
1995	30	18	3	0	2
1999	27	22	3	0	1
2003	15	29	0	2	1
2007	18	19	8	2	0
2011	26	8	10	2	1
2015	15	12	14	4	2

Local election

Elections to the new City of York unitary authority were held on 4 May 1995. Following the creation of the expanded authority, 22 councillors were returned to parished areas that were part of district council areas previously outside the boundaries of the former York City Council and 31 councillors were returned to the former York City Council wards.[8] All 53 council seats were up for election. Labour won thirty seats, the Liberal Democrats won 18 seats, the Conservatives won three seats and two Independent councillors were also elected. The Labour Party won overall control of the council.

York local election result 1995

Party		Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
	Labour	30				56.6
	Liberal Democrats	18				34
	Conservative	3				5.7
	Independent	2				3.8

By-elections

Strensall and Stockton Ward By-Election 30 May 1996

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Madeleine Kirk	767	46.1
	Conservative		580	34.9
	Labour		317	19.1
Majority			187	11.2
Turnout			1,664	33.2
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Osbaldwick Ward By-Election 20 February 1997

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats		661	55.5
	Labour		347	29.1
	Conservative		183	15.4
Majority			314	26.4
Turnout			1,191	50.6
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Micklegate Ward By-Election 30 October 1997

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour		847	53.0	+2.2
	Conservative		529	32.1	-6.1
	Liberal Democrats		244	14.8	+3.8
Majority			345	20.9
Turnout			1,647	33.6
	Labour hold		Swing

Local election

Elections to City of York Council were held on 6 May 1999. All 53 council seats in the city were up for election and the Labour party kept overall control of the council.

York local election result 1999

Party		Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
	Labour	27	0	3	-3	50.9
	Liberal Democrats	22	4	0	+4	41.5
	Conservative	3	1	1	0	5.7
	Independent	1	1	2	-1	1.9

By-elections

A by-election was held in Bootham Ward following the resignation through ill-health of sitting Labour councillor Ken Cooper. The seat was won by the Liberal Democrat candidate, Kim Tarry.[9]

Bootham Ward By-Election 11 May 2000[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Kim Tarry	813	47.6	+25.1
	Labour	Alexander Fraser	635	37.2	-23.8
	Conservative	William Bennett	184	10.8	-5.8
	Green	Andrea Black	59	3.5	+3.5
	Monster Raving Loony	Graham Cambridge	18	1.1	+1.1
Majority			178
Turnout			1710	35.3
	Liberal Democrats gain from Labour		Swing

Labour councillor Peter Dodd resigned his Monk Ward seat in 2000 due to ill health.[10] The seat was won in the by-election by the Liberal Democrat candidate, Nick Blitz.[11]

Monk Ward By-Election 18 May 2000[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Nick Blitz	1,180	46.9	+17.7
	Labour	Alistair MacDonald	708	28.2	-15.8
	Conservative	Kenneth Creek	545	21.7	-5.2
	Green	Gillian Cossham	81	3.2	+3.2
Majority			472
Turnout			2519	42.0
	Liberal Democrats gain from Labour		Swing

A by-election was held following the death of Labour councillor Carol Wallace in 2000.[12] David Evans retained the seat for the Labour Party.[13]

Bishophill Ward By-Election 22 February 2001[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	David Evans	686	36.9	-9.3
	Liberal Democrats	Martin Bartlett	556	29.9	+12.7
	Green	Andy Chase	370	19.9	+1.0
	Conservative	Bill Bennett	246	13.2	-4.5
Majority			130	7.0
Turnout			1,858	36.2
	Labour hold		Swing

Local election

Local elections for City of York Council took place on 1 May 2003. Boundary changes reduced the number of seats from 53 to 47.[14][15] The Liberal Democrats won 29 seats, Labour won 15 seats, the Green Party won two seats and an independent candidate won one seat.[16] The Liberal Democrats won overall control of the Council.

York local election result 2003

Party		Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
	Liberal Democrats	29	7	0	+7	61.7	42.5	25,142
	Labour	15	0	12	-12	31.9	22.6	13,361
	Conservative	0	0	3	-3	0	18.0	10,643
	Green	2	2	0	+2	4.3	8.8	5,192
	Independent	1	0	0	0

Local election

Local elections for City of York Council took place on 3 May 2007. Of the 47 seats contested, the Liberal Democrats won 19 seats, Labour won 18 seats, Conservatives won eight seats and the Green Party won two seats.[17] The Liberal Democrats lose ten seats and overall control of the Council.

York Local Election Result 2007[17]

Party		Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
	Liberal Democrats	19	0	10	-10	40.43
	Labour	18	3	0	3	38.30
	Conservative	8	8	0	8	17.02
	Green	2	0	0	0	4.26

By-elections

Following the death of Conservative councillor Bill Bennett in 2007, the Heworth Without seat was won by Liberal Democrat, Nigel Ayre.[18][19]

Heworth Without Ward By-Election 6 September 2007[19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Nigel Ayre	914	46.7	+11.0
	Conservative	Adam Sinclair	703	35.9	-1.8
	Labour	Margaret Wells	219	11.2	-5.8
	BNP	Michaela Knight	63	3.2	+3.2
	Green	Charles Everett	58	3.0	-1.4
Majority			211	10.8
Turnout			1,957	61.8
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative		Swing

Labour councillor Paul Blanchard resigned for personal reasons in 2009.[20] His Heworth seat was retained for Labour by Barbara Boyce.[21]

Heworth Ward By-Election 10 September 2009[22]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Barbara Boyce	876	34.0	-2.7
	Liberal Democrats	Jennifer Ayre	608	23.6	+11.5
	Conservative	Andrew Whitney	591	23.0	+2.3
	Green	Denise Craghill	302	11.7	-6.2
	BNP	Jeff Kelly	172	6.7	-5.9
	Monster Raving Loony	Eddie Vee	25	1.0	+1.0
Majority			268	10.4
Turnout			2,581	26.6
	Labour hold		Swing

Labour Councillor Dr. Roger Pierce resigned in 2010 due to ill health.[23] His Hull Road seat was retained for Labour by Mick Hoban.[24]

Hull Road Ward By-Election 14 October 2010[24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Mick Hoban	860	58.7	+24.5
	Conservative	Robin Dickson	296	20.2	-4.8
	Liberal Democrats	Rachael Williams	183	12.5	-3.3
	Green	John Cossham	84	5.7	-8.3
	BNP	Trevor Brown	42	2.9	-8.1
Majority			564	38.4
Turnout			1,468	18.3
	Labour hold		Swing

Local election

Local elections for City of York Council took place on 5 May 2011. Of the 47 seats contested, Labour won 26 seats, Conservatives won ten seats, the Liberal Democrats won eight seats, the Green Party won two seats and an independent candidate won one seat.[25] The Labour Party gained overall control of the council from no overall control.

York Local Election Result 2011

Party		Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
	Labour	26	8	0	+8	55.3	31.6	20,297	+9.2%
	Conservative	10	3	0	+3	24.1	21.9	15,472	-2.7%
	Liberal Democrats	8	0	12	-12	17	26.4	16,888	-3.8%
	Green	2	0	0	0	4.3	14.6	9,349	-0.4%
	Independent	1	1	0	+1	2.1	0.4	630	+0.4%

By-elections

A by-election was held in October 2014 following the death of Councillor Lynn Jefferies. The seat was won by the Liberal Democrat candidate and former Council Leader Andrew Waller.[26]

Westfield Ward By-Election 16 October 2014[27]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Andrew Waller	1,804	60.2	+25.8
	Labour	Louise Corson	588	19.6	-23.8
	UKIP	Judith Morris	398	13.3	N/A
	Conservative	Jason Brown	113	3.8	-10.0
	Green	Alison Webb	87	2.9	-5.5
	English Democrat	Sam Kelly	5	0.2	N/A
Majority			1,216	40.6
Turnout			2995	28.5	-9.5
	Liberal Democrats gain from Labour		Swing	24.8

Local election

Local elections for City of York Council took place on 7 May 2015. New ward boundaries came into effect.[28] Of the 47 seats contested, Labour won 15 seats to form the largest group on the Council, Conservatives won 14 seat, the Liberal Democrats won 12 seats, the Green Party won four seats and two independent candidates won seats.[29] Following talks between the political groups after the election, the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats agreed to run the Council as a joint administration.[29]

York Local Election Result 2015

Party		Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
	Labour	15	0	11	-11	31.9	23.1	25,311	-8.5
	Conservative	14	4	0	+4	29.8	27.9	30,572	+8
	Liberal Democrats	12	5	1	+4	25.5	21.4	23,444	-5
	Green	4	2	0	+2	8.5	14.9	16,286	+0.3
	Independent	2	1	0	+1	4.3	6.1	6,715	+5.7

NB For wards with multiple seats, the total shown is for each party's highest-polling candidate.

By-elections

Labour Councillors Julie Gunnell and David Levene resigned in 2017 for personal reasons,[30][31] their seats were retained by Labour candidates Jonny Crawshaw and Michael Pavlovic.[32]

Hull Road Ward By-Election 8 June 2017[33][34]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Michael Pavlovic	3,408
	Conservative	Matt Freckelton	1,199
	Green	John Scobell Cossham	826
	Liberal Democrats	Alex Nowis	407
Majority			2,209
Turnout			5,876	56.8
	Labour hold		Swing

Micklegate Ward By-Election 8 June 2017[33][34]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Jonny Crawshaw	3,772
	Green	Rosie Baker	1,581
	Conservative	Paul Healey	1,460
	Liberal Democrats	Aileen Alison Hingston	634
Majority			2,191
Turnout			7,468	75.5
	Labour hold		Swing

Labour councillor and former Lord Mayor Sonja Crisp stepped down in 2018 due to ill health, her seat was retained by Labour candidate Kallum Taylor.[35][36]

Holgate Ward By-Election 15 February 2018[37][36]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Kallum Mark Taylor	1,521	50.0	+22.6
	Liberal Democrats	Emma Claire Keef	982	32.3	+19.5
	Conservative	Joe Pattinson	334	11.0	-8.0
	Green	Andreas Heinemeyer	203	6.7	-9.3
Majority			2,209
Turnout			539	34
	Labour hold		Swing

References

1. "Council compositions". The Elections Centre. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
2. "English local elections 2007 : York". BBC News Online. Retrieved 23 September 2009.
3. The City of York (Electoral Arrangements) Order 1976
4. "Local election results 1992". The Times (London). NewsBank. 22 May 1992.
5. Rallings, Colin; Thrasher, Michael (1992). Local Elections Handbook 1992 (PDF). Plymouth: Local Government Chronicle Elections Centre. p. 7. ISBN 0948858141. Retrieved 26 July 2017.
6. Rallings, Colin; Thrasher, Michael (1994). Local Elections Handbook 1994 (PDF). Plymouth: Local Government Chronicle Elections Centre, University of Plymouth. p. 7. ISBN 0 948858 16 8. Retrieved 30 July 2017.
7. Rallings, Colin; Thrasher, Michael (1994), p. 131
8. legislation.gov.uk - The North Yorkshire (District of York) (Structural and Boundary Changes) Order 1995. Retrieved on 6 November 2015.
9. "NOC as Liberal Democrats takes Labour seat" (Press release). City of York Council. 12 May 2000. Archived from the original on 29 June 2001.
10. "Lord Mayor shock as councillor quits". York Press. 5 April 2000. Retrieved 17 February 2018.
11. "Lib Dems take second by-election seat" (Press release). City of York Council. 19 May 2000. Archived from the original on 29 June 2001.
12. "Council leader's partner dead". York Press. 19 December 2001. Retrieved 17 February 2018.
13. "Labour claim Bishophill seat". Evening Press. 23 February 2001. Retrieved 23 September 2009.
14. "Local elections". BBC News. Retrieved 23 September 2009.
15. legislation.gov.uk - The City of York (Electoral Changes) Order 2001. Retrieved on 4 October 2015.
16. Edwards, Richard (2 May 2003). "Landslide". North Yorkshire County Publications (England) – via (online NewsBank.
17. "Election results May 2007". City of York Council. 2007. Archived from the original on 14 October 2007.
18. Lewis, Haydn (3 September 2007). "Power struggle". York Press. Retrieved 17 February 2018.
19. "Lib Dems win Heworth Without By Election". City of York Council. 7 September 2007. Archived from the original on 20 November 2008. Retrieved 23 September 2009.
20. Aitchison, Gavin (2 July 2009). "York Labour councillor Paul Blanchard declared bankrupt and resigns triggering by-election for Heworth". York Press. Retrieved 17 February 2018.
21. Aitchison, Gavin (10 September 2009). "Triumph for Labour' Barbara Boyce in Heworth by-election". York Press. Retrieved 17 February 2018.
22. "Heworth by-election 10 September 2009". City of York Council. Archived from the original on 11 May 2010. Retrieved 23 September 2009.
23. Stead, Mark (27 August 2010). "York councillor Roger Pierce quits post due to ill health". York Press. Retrieved 17 February 2018.
24. Stead, Mark (14 October 2010). "Labour triumph in Hull Road by-election". Retrieved 17 February 2018.
25. Stead, Mark; Aitchison, Gavin (6 May 2011). "YORK ELECTION: Labour seizes power in York". York Press. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
26. Aitchison, Gavin (17 October 2014). "Andrew Waller wins York by-election". York Press. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
27. "'Thumping' Lib Dem win in by-election". www.yorkmix.com. 17 October 2014. Retrieved 20 July 2015.
28. legislation.gov.uk - The York (Electoral Changes) Order 2014. Retrieved on 3 November 2015.
29. Aitchison, Gavin (18 May 2015). "Tories & Lib Dems to run York - Chris Steward to be leader - Labour ousted - First policies revealed". York Press. Archived from the original on 22 July 2015. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
30. Prest, Victoria (25 February 2017). "Julie Gunnell resigns from City of York Council". York Press. Retrieved 20 June 2017.
31. Laycock, Mike (27 April 2017). "Senior Labour councillor stands down". York Press. Retrieved 20 June 2017.
32. "Labour wins in two York council by-elections - Jonny Crawshaw and Michael Pavlovic elected". York Press. 9 June 2017. Retrieved 20 June 2017.
33. "By-election results June 2017". City of York Council. 9 June 2017. Retrieved 20 June 2017.
34. "Labour wins in two York council by-elections - Jonny Crawshaw and Michael Pavlovic elected". York Press. 9 June 2017. Retrieved 20 June 2017.
35. Bean, Dan (9 January 2018). "Former mayor Sonja Crisp reveals reasons for her resignation". York Press. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
36. Prest, Victoria (16 February 2018). "Kallum Taylor elected as Labour hold seat in Holgate by-election". York Press. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
37. "By-election results February 2018". City of York Council. 15 February 2018. Retrieved 16 February 2018.

External links

• City of York Council