Poole Borough Council elections explained

Poole was a unitary authority in Dorset, England from 1997 to 2019. From 1974 until 1 April 1997 it was a non-metropolitan district. In 2019 it was abolished and subsumed into Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council.

Political control

The first election to the council was held in 1973, ahead of the local government reorganisation coming into effect the following year. From 1973 until the council's abolition in 2019 political control of the council was held by the following parties:^[1]

Non-metropolitan district

Party in control		Years
	1973–1991
	1991–1997

Unitary authority

Party in control		Years
	1997–1999
	1999–2003
	2003–2011
	2011–2015
	2015–2019

Leadership

The role of mayor was largely ceremonial at Poole Borough Council. Political leadership was instead provided by the leader of the council. The leaders from 2003 until the council's abolition in 2019 were:^[2]

Councillor	Party		From	To
Brian Leverett		20 May 2003	17 Sep 2010
Elaine Atkinson		26 Oct 2010	20 May 2015
Janet Walton		20 May 2015	31 Mar 2019

Council elections

Non-metropolitan district elections

• 1973 Poole Borough Council election
• 1976 Poole Borough Council election
• 1979 Poole Borough Council election
• 1983 Poole Borough Council election (New ward boundaries)^[3]
• 1987 Poole Borough Council election
• 1991 Poole Borough Council election

Unitary authority elections

• 1996 Poole Borough Council election
• 1999 Poole Borough Council election
• 2003 Poole Borough Council election (New ward boundaries increased the number of seats by three)^{[4] [5]}
• 2007 Poole Borough Council election
• 2011 Poole Borough Council election
• 2015 Poole Borough Council election (New ward boundaries)^[6]

Council composition

Year	Conservative	Liberal Democrats	Labour	Poole People	UKIP	Council control after election
1999	17	19	3	0	0	bgcolor=grey		No overall control
2003	26	16	0	0	0
2007	25	17	0	0	0
2011	21	18	0	3	0
2015	32	6	0	3	1

By-election results

1999-2003

Resignation of Cllr Andrew Muspratt and Cllr Marian Mackenzie^[7]

2003-2007

Resignation of Cllr Bob Dugdale^[8]

2007-2011

Death of Cllr Mary Hillman^[9]

Resignation of Cllr Daniel Martin^[10]

Resignation of Cllr Michael Plummer^[11]

Death of Cllr Brian Leverett^[12]

2011-2015

Resignation of Cllr Stephen Rollo-Smith.^[13]

2015-2019

Resignation of Cllr Joanne Tomlin.^[14]

External links

• Poole Council
• Poole election results
• By-election results

Notes and References

1. Web site: Council compositions. The Elections Centre. 3 May 2016.
2. Web site: Council minutes . Bournemouth Christchurch and Poole Council . 2 July 2022.
3. The Borough of Poole (Electoral Arrangements) Order 1979
4. legislation.gov.uk – The Borough of Poole (Electoral Changes) Order 2002. Retrieved on 4 October 2015.
5. News: Poole . 16 May 2008 . BBC Online.
6. legislation.gov.uk – The Poole (Electoral Changes) Order 2015. Retrieved on 3 November 2015.
7. Web site: Result of Canford Heath By-Election . 20 September 2010 . 20 September 2010. Borough of Poole.
8. Web site: Electoral hopefuls vying for your vote. 2021-05-07. Dorset Echo. en.
9. Web site: Result of Branksome East By-Election . 20 September 2010 . 20 September 2010. Borough of Poole.
10. Web site: Result of Broadstone By-Election . 20 September 2010 . 20 September 2010. Borough of Poole.
11. Web site: Result of Newtown By-Election . 20 September 2010 . 20 September 2010. Borough of Poole.
12. Web site: Results of Poole Town By-Election. 3 December 2010 . 3 December 2010. Borough of Poole.
13. Web site: Borough of Poole- Result of Branksome East by-election . 16 November 2012.
14. Web site: Borough of Poole- Result of Broadstone by-election. 15 October 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20161018232229/http://www.poole.gov.uk/newsroom/october-2016/result-of-the-broadstone-by-election/. 18 October 2016. dead.