The 2011 Copeland Borough Council election took place on 5 May 2011 to elect members of Copeland Borough Council in Cumbria, England. The whole council was up for election and the Labour Party stayed in overall control of the council.[1]
Background
At the last election in 2007 Labour won 31 seats, compared to 19 Conservatives and 1 independent.[2] However between 2007 and 2011 Labour councillors Brian Dixon and Sam Meteer quit the party to sit as independents.[3][4]
A total of 95 candidates stood in the election for the 51 seats being contested.[2] These were 45 Labour, 37 Conservative, 4 independent, 4 British National Party, 3 Green Party and 2 Liberal Democrats.[2] Meanwhile, 12 sitting councillors stood down at the election.[2]
Election result
The results saw Labour hold control of the council after winning 34 of the 51 seats, up 5 on the situation before the election and 3 more than at the 2007 election.[5] The Conservatives dropped 4 seats to have 15 councillors, while 2 independents were elected in Arlecdon and Distington.[5] Overall turnout at the election was 40.98%.[6]
Labour's biggest gains came in Bransty ward in Whitehaven, where they gained all 3 seats from the Conservatives.[7] This included defeating the Conservative parliamentary candidate for Copeland at the 2010 general election, Chris Whiteside.[7] Labour also picked up one seat in Newtown from the Conservatives and defeated the independent, former Labour, councillor Sam Meteer in Egremont North.[5]
^"England council elections". BBC News Online. Retrieved 25 July 2011.
^ abcdClarke, Andrew (15 April 2011). "Major shake-up expected after elections". The Whitehaven News. Retrieved 26 July 2011.
^Whittle, Julian (10 September 2009). "Coupland councillor claims Labour party 'intimidation'". News and Star. Archived from the original on 4 October 2012. Retrieved 26 July 2011.
^"Labour councillor 'crosses the floor'". Cumbria Life. 15 April 2009. Archived from the original on 6 October 2011. Retrieved 26 July 2011.
^ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzaaabIrving, Alan (12 May 2011). "Labour keeps its hands on reins at Copeland council". The Whitehaven News. Retrieved 26 July 2011.
^"Copeland". North-West Evening Mail. 9 May 2011. Archived from the original on 8 October 2012. Retrieved 26 July 2011.
^ ab"Copeland council elections: Labour triumphs again". News and Star. 7 May 2011. Retrieved 26 July 2011.