Thanet District Council elections

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Thanet District Council elections are held every four years to elect Thanet District Council in Kent, England. Since the last boundary changes in 2003 the council has comprised 56 councillors representing 23 wards.^[1]

Council elections

Thanet District Council election, 1973
Thanet District Council election, 1976
Thanet District Council election, 1979 (New ward boundaries)^[2]
Thanet District Council election, 1983
Thanet District Council election, 1987
Thanet District Council election, 1991
Thanet District Council election, 1995
Thanet District Council election, 1999
Thanet District Council election, 2003 (New ward boundaries increased the number of seats by 2)^[3]^[4]
Thanet District Council election, 2007
2011 Thanet District Council election
2015 Thanet District Council election
2019 Thanet District Council election
2023 Thanet District Council election

May 2023 election results

The Labour Party became the largest party on the council, winning the council from no overall control.

May 2019 election results

The Conservative Party became the largest party on the council, with the incumbent UK Independence Party losing every seat.
The council fell into no overall control.

May 2015 election results

The UK Independence Party won control of the council with 33 seats. The Conservative Party won 18 seats, the Labour Party won 4 seats, and one Independent was elected.^[5]
Five UKIP councillors defected to a Democratic Independent Group over September and October 2015 over allegations that the leader of the council prevented the reopening of Manston Airport. This led to UKIP losing a majority on the council.^[6] On 5 November, it was reported that a Councillor had defected from UKIP to the Conservatives.^[7] In January 2016 UKIP remain the largest group but now with 26 members; there are 19 Conservatives, 5 Democratic Independent Group councillors, 5 Labour and 1 Independent councillor.
UKIP regained control of the council in 2016, after some independents rejoined the party and following a by-election gain by UKIP from Labour.
On 21 July 2017, a UKIP councillor defected to the Conservatives, meaning UKIP lost its majority on the council.^[8]

May 2011 election results

Overall turnout: 42%
The council went to no overall control, the Conservative Party leading a minority administration with 27 seats, the Labour Party taking 26 seats and the Independents 3 seats.^[9]
A Conservative councillor defected to the Independents in December 2011, subsequently the Labour Party led a minority administration.^[10]

May 2007 election results

Overall turnout: 35%.
The Conservative Party held control of Thanet District Council with 33 seats, the Labour Party took 19 seats. There were 3 independents and 1 candidate from Ramsgate First also elected.^[11]
The Ramsgate First candidate defected to the Conservatives shortly after the election.

May 2003 election results

Overall turnout: 33%
The Conservative Party won control of Thanet District Council with a total of 31 seats, the Labour Party taking 23 seats. One Liberal Democrat candidate and one Independent candidate were elected.
After the 30 October 2003 by-election the composition was: Conservative Party 30 seats, Labour Party 24 seats.

May 1999 election results

Overall turnout: 28.9%
Labour maintained control of Thanet District Council with a total of 35 seats, the Conservatives recovered to 16 seats, the Liberal Democrat candidates were wiped out and 3 Independent candidate were elected.

May 1995 election results

Overall turnout: 40.2%
The Labour Party won control of Thanet District Council with a total of 45 seats, the Conservatives were reduced to 3 seats and 4 Liberal Democrat candidates and 2 Independent candidate were elected.

May 1991 election results

Overall turnout: 41.5%
The Conservative Party retook control of Thanet District Council with a total of 29 seats, the Labour Party taking 14 seats, 2 Liberal Democrat candidate and 9 Independent candidate were elected.

May 1987 election results

Overall turnout: 44.8%
The Conservative Party lost enough seats to lose the council to No Overall Control (NOC). Conservatives had 25 seats, the Labour Party took 7 seats, 10 Liberal/SDP and 12 Independent candidates were elected.

May 1983 election results

Overall turnout: 44.1%
The Conservative Party lost seats but continued in control of Thanet District Council with a total of 28 seats, the Labour Party took 8 seats, 2 Liberal/SDP candidate and 16 Independent candidates elected.

May 1979 election results

Overall turnout: 71.1% (the election coincided with the General Election.
The Conservative Party continued to control the Council with a total of 32 seats, the Labour Party reduced to 5 seats, one Liberal candidate and 16 Independent candidates were elected.

May 1976 election results

Overall turnout: 47.7%
The Conservative Party kept control of Thanet District Council with a total of 39 seats, the Labour Party taking 11 seats and 13 Independent candidate were elected.

May 1973 election results

The council was created from Margate Municipal Borough, Ramsgate Municipal Borough, Broadstairs & St Peters Urban District and parts of Eatry Rural District.
Overall turnout: 44.2%
The Conservative Party won control of Thanet District Council with a total of 33 seats, the Labour Party taking 14 seats, Liberals 5 seats, and there was eleven Independent candidates elected.

County result maps

2003 results map
2007 results map
2011 results map
2015 results map
2019 results map
2023 results map

By-election results

1995–1999

Northdown Park By-Election 20 March 1997
Party		Votes	%
	Labour	548	43.2
	Conservative	338	26.6
	Independent	187	14.7
	Thanet Socialists	133	10.4
	Liberal Democrats	62	4.9
Majority		210	16.6
Turnout		1,268
	Labour hold	Swing

Pier By-Election 1 October 1998
Party		Votes	%	±%
	Labour	164	51.3	-14.6
	Conservative	137	42.8	+27.2
	Liberal Democrats	19	5.9	+0.8
Majority		27	8.5
Turnout		320	15.2
	Labour hold	Swing	-20.9

1999–2003

Margate West By-Election 18 November 1999
Party		Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	565	72.9	+34.1
	Labour	210	27.1	-10.0
Majority		355	45.8
Turnout		775	15.5
	Conservative gain from Labour	Swing	+22.1

Central Westcliffe By-Election 22 June 2000
Party		Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	858	68.9	+68.9
	Labour	388	31.1	-20.4
Majority		470	37.8
Turnout		1,246	23.1
	Conservative gain from Labour	Swing	+44.7

Cliftonville By-Election 22 February 2001
Party		Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	1,026	60.4	-0.5
	Labour	544	32.0	-7.1
	Independent	130	7.6	+7.6
Majority		482	28.4
Turnout		1,700	27.4
	Conservative hold	Swing	+3.3

2003–2007

Margate Central By-Election 30 October 2003^[12]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	John Watkins	370	41.0	-4.8
	Conservative	Ramesh Chhabra	201	22.3	-23.2
	BNP	Robert Parker	172	19.1	+19.1
	Liberal Democrats	Guy Voizey	85	9.4	+9.4
	UKIP	Timothy Stocks	37	4.1	+4.1
	Socialist Alliance	Karen Cardwell	19	2.1	+2.1
	Independent	Francis Foy	18	2.0	-10.7
Majority			169	18.7
Turnout			902	25.9
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	+9.2

Sir Moses Montefiore By-Election 15 July 2004^[13]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Alan Poole	378	33.2	-13.3
	Conservative	Robert Burgess	342	30.1	-6.1
	UKIP	Michael Taylor	288	25.3	+25.3
	Liberal Democrats	Vincent Knight	130	11.4	-5.9
Majority			36	3.1
Turnout			1,138	31.1
	Labour hold		Swing	+3.6

2007–2011

Thanet Villages By-Election 4 June 2009^[14]^[15]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Bob Grove	937	47.3	+4.0
	Conservative	Peter Landi	596	30.1	-6.5
	Liberal Democrats	Louisa Latham	316	15.9	+15.9
	Labour	Rebecca Scobie	133	6.7	-13.4
Majority			341	17.2
Turnout			1,982	41.0
	Independent hold		Swing	+5.3

Dane Valley By-Election 3 December 2009^[16]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Sandra Hart	318	34.2	-3.9
	Liberal Democrats	Bill Furness	260	28.0	+28.0
	Conservative	Ingrid Spencer	222	23.9	-19.7
	Independent	Wendy Allan	130	14.0	-4.4
Majority			58	6.2
Turnout			930	17.0
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing

2015-2019

Newington by-election 21 January 2016^[17]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Karen Constantine	288	37.7	+1.3
	UKIP	Duncan Smithson	229	30.0	-14.2
	Conservative	Adam Dark	156	20.4	+0.5
	Independent	Alan Hodder	49	6.4	+6.4
	Green	Ian Driver	20	2.6	+2.6
	Liberal Democrats	Jordan Williams	12	1.6	+1.6
	Independent	Grahame Birchall	10	1.3	+1.3
Majority			59	7.7
Turnout			764
	Labour gain from UKIP		Swing

Newington by-election 30 June 2016^[18]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	UKIP	Roy Potts	295	40.2	-4.0
	Labour	David Green	281	38.3	+1.9
	Conservative	Adam Dark	125	17.0	-2.5
	Liberal Democrats	Matthew Brown	33	4.5	+4.5
Majority			14	1.9
Turnout			734
	UKIP hold		Swing

Northwood by-election 18 August 2016 (2 seats)^[19]
	Candidate	Votes
UKIP	Lynda Piper	488
UKIP	George Rusiecki	394
Labour	Helen CrittendenKaz Peet	356
Labour	Kaz Peet	325
Conservative	Charlie Leys	282
Conservative	Marc Rattigan	246
Independent	Colin Grostate	136
Liberal Democrats	Jordan Williams	64
Liberal Democrats	John Finnegan	48
Party for a United Thanet	Grahame Birchall	44
UKIP hold		Swing
UKIP hold		Swing

Margate Central by-election 3 August 2017^[20]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Ian Venables	454	57.5	+23.7
	Conservative	Reece Pugh	190	24.1	+3.6
	UKIP	Liz Plewis	52	6.6	-25.2
	Liberal Democrats	John Finnegan	33	4.2	+4.2
	No description	Dean McCastree	24	3.0	+3.0
	Green	Bernard Kirkham	23	2.9	-8.6
	Independent	Pip Rees	13	1.6	+1.6
Majority			264	33.4
Turnout			790	21.3
	Labour gain from UKIP		Swing

Thanet Villages by-election 11 January 2018^[21]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Reece Pugh	620	49.3	+23.4
	Liberal Democrats	Angie Curwen	313	24.9	+24.9
	Labour	Pauline Farrance	206	16.4	+5.9
	Green	Natasha Ransom	66	5.3	-6.9
	Independent	Sonia Smyth	52	4.1	+4.1
Majority			307	24.4
Turnout			1,257
	Conservative hold		Swing

Birchington South by-election 26 July 2018^[22]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Linda Wright	651	63.0	+35.4
	Labour	Helen Whitehead	265	25.7	+12.5
	Liberal Democrats	Hannah Lloyd-Bowyer	117	11.3	+5.7
Majority			386	37.4
Turnout			1,033
	Conservative gain from UKIP		Swing

2019-2023

Cliffsend and Pegwell by-election 13 February 2020^[23]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Marc Rattigan	516	50.8	+14.1
	Green	Charlotte Barton	290	28.5	+10.4
	Labour	David Green	109	10.7	-4.4
	Independent	Grahame Birchall	101	9.9	-5.8
Majority			226	22.2
Turnout			1,016
	Conservative hold		Swing

Central Harbour by-election 6 May 2021^[24]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Green	Tricia Austin	776	41.1	+11.3
	Labour	David Green	631	33.4	-2.0
	Conservative	John Davis	480	25.4	+11.9
Majority			145	7.7
Turnout			1,887
	Green gain from Labour		Swing

Dane Valley by-election 6 May 2021^[25]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	David Wallin	491	39.4	+15.7
	Labour	Martin Boyd	461	37.0	+11.4
	Thanet Ind.	Mark Websper	294	23.6	+11.3
Majority			30	2.4
Turnout			1,246
	Conservative gain from Thanet Ind.		Swing

Newington by-election 6 May 2021^[26]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Trevor Shonk	265	37.2	+14.0
	Labour	Mary King	260	36.5	-14.4
	Green	Katie Gerrard	144	20.2	-5.6
	Independent	Grahame Birchall	43	6.0	+6.0
Majority			5	0.7
Turnout			712
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing

Cliftonville East by-election 22 July 2021^[27]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Charlie Leys	723	74.5	+14.8
	Labour	Don Challinger	211	21.7	-1.0
	Women's Equality	Kanndiss Riley	37	3.8	-13.8
Majority			512	52.7
Turnout			971
	Conservative hold		Swing

Thanet Villages by-election 11 November 2021^[28]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Green	Abi Smith	638	60.0	+36.8
	Conservative	Guy Wilson	358	33.7	+9.0
	Liberal Democrats	Jeremy de Rose	67	6.3	-15.7
Majority			280	26.3
Turnout			1,063
	Green hold		Swing

Nethercourt by-election 24 March 2022^[29]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Anne-Marie Nixey	505	55.5	+16.8
	Conservative	John Davis	230	25.3	-1.7
	Thanet Ind.	Claire Tilbrook	175	19.2	+19.2
Majority			275	30.2
Turnout			910
	Labour hold		Swing

References

^ "The Statutory Instruments Regulations 1947", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 2001/3556, retrieved 1 October 2023
^ The District of Thanet (Electoral Arrangements) Order 1978
^ "Local elections". BBC News Online. Retrieved 4 December 2009.
^ legislation.gov.uk - The District of Thanet (Electoral Changes) Order 2001. Retrieved on 4 October 2015.
^ "Election 2015: UKIP takes control of its first council, in Thanet". BBC News. 9 May 2015. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
^ "UKIP loses control of Thanet council over Manston issue". BBC News. 13 October 2015. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
^ Phibbs, Harry (5 November 2015). "Thanet councillor defects from UKIP to the Conservatives". ConservativeHome. Archived from the original on 7 June 2021. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
^ "UKIP has lost its majority on Thanet District Council". Kent Live. 21 July 2017. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
^ "District Council Election - Thursday, 5th May, 2011". Thanet District Council. Retrieved 15 December 2011.
^ "Clive Hart elected as Labour leader for Thanet council". BBC News Online. 9 December 2011. Retrieved 15 December 2011.
^ "English local elections 2007: Thanet". BBC News Online. 4 May 2007. Retrieved 15 December 2011.
^ "Declaration of result of poll" (PDF). Thanet District Council. Retrieved 4 December 2009.
^ "Declaration of result of poll" (PDF). Thanet District Council. Retrieved 4 December 2009.
^ "Local elections round-up". Local Government Association. Retrieved 4 December 2009.
^ "Thanet District Council - Thanet Villages Ward - By-election - Thursday, 4th June, 2009". Thanet District Council. 4 June 2009. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
^ "Labour wins Dane Valley election". this is kent.co.uk. 4 December 2009. Retrieved 4 December 2009.
^ "Local Elections Archive Project — Newington Ward". www.andrewteale.me.uk. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
^ "Local Elections Archive Project — Newington Ward". www.andrewteale.me.uk. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
^ "Local Elections Archive Project — Northwood Ward". www.andrewteale.me.uk. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
^ Homer, Madeline. "Election of a District Councillor for Margate Central on Thursday 3 August 2017" (PDF). Thanet District Council. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
^ "Local Elections Archive Project — Thanet Villages Ward". www.andrewteale.me.uk. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
^ "Local Elections Archive Project — Birchington South Ward". www.andrewteale.me.uk. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
^ "Local Elections Archive Project — Cliffsend and Pegwell Ward". www.andrewteale.me.uk. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
^ "Local Elections Archive Project — Central Harbour Ward". www.andrewteale.me.uk. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
^ "Local Elections Archive Project — Dane Valley Ward". www.andrewteale.me.uk. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
^ "Local Elections Archive Project — Newington Ward". www.andrewteale.me.uk. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
^ "Local Elections Archive Project — Cliftonville East Ward". www.andrewteale.me.uk. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
^ "Local Elections Archive Project — Thanet Villages Ward". www.andrewteale.me.uk. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
^ "Local Elections Archive Project — Nethercourt Ward". www.andrewteale.me.uk. Retrieved 13 February 2023.