The 1999 Stratford-on-Avon District Council election took place on 6 May 1999 to elect members of Stratford-on-Avon District Council in Warwickshire, 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:
Before the election the Liberal Democrats ran the council as a minority administration with the support of the independents.[3] The Liberal Democrats held 23 seats, compared to 18 for the Conservatives, 9 independents and 5 Labour seats.[4] 19 seats were contested in the election with both the Liberal Democrats and independents defending 7, compared to only 3 for the Conservatives and 2 for Labour.[4]
The Conservatives were hoping to gain the 10 seats they needed in to win a majority on the council and pledged to sort out the finances of the council, increase CCTV and improve the management of tourism.[4] However the Liberal Democrats defended their record in control of the council saying that they had eliminated the council's debts, while reducing council tax levels to the lowest yet.[4] Meanwhile, Labour were aiming to make a couple of gains and said they would try and ensure more of the council's money was spent outside of the town centre.[4]
The results saw the Conservatives become the largest party on the council with 24 seats after making 6 gains, but failed to win a majority.[5] This meant that the independents, despite losing 2 seats, held the balance of power on the council with 7 councillors.[6]