St Edmundsbury Borough Council elections
St Edmundsbury Borough Council in Suffolk, England, was elected every four years. After the last boundary changes in 2003, 45 councillors were elected from 31 wards. The council was abolished in 2019, with the area becoming part of West Suffolk.
Political control
[edit]From the first election to the council in 1973 until its abolition in 2019, political control of the council was held by the following parties:[1][2]
| Party in control | Years | |
|---|---|---|
| Conservative | 1973–1991 | |
| No overall control | 1991–1995 | |
| Labour | 1995–1999 | |
| Conservative | 1999–2001 | |
| No overall control | 2001–2003 | |
| Conservative | 2003–2019 | |
Leadership
[edit]The leaders of the council from 1995 until 2019 were:[3]
| Councillor | Party | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gerry Kiernan[4] | Labour | 1995 | May 1999 | |
| Mike Brundle[5] | Conservative | May 1999 | 2000 | |
| Derek Redhead[6] | Conservative | 2000 | Apr 2002 | |
| Ray Nowak[7][8] | Labour | May 2002 | 2003 | |
| John Griffiths[9] | Conservative | May 2003 | 31 Mar 2019 | |
John Griffiths served as leader of the West Suffolk shadow authority for part of the year prior to the new council coming into effect in 2019.[10] He subsequently became the first leader of West Suffolk District Council after the first elections to the new council in May 2019.[11]
Council elections
[edit]| Year | Conservative | Labour | Liberal Democrats[a] | UKIP | Green | Independents & Others |
Council control after election | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Local government reorganisation; council established (44 seats) | ||||||||
| 1973 | 26 | 11 | 0 | – | – | 7 | Conservative | |
| 1976 | 30 | 9 | 0 | – | 0 | 5 | Conservative | |
| New ward boundaries (44 seats) | ||||||||
| 1979 | 32 | 8 | 1 | – | 0 | 3 | Conservative | |
| 1983 | 30 | 9 | 3 | – | 0 | 2 | Conservative | |
| 1987 | 31 | 8 | 4 | – | 0 | 1 | Conservative | |
| 1991[13] | 20 | 11 | 5 | – | 0 | 8 | No overall control | |
| 1995 | 14 | 23 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | Labour | |
| 1999 | 23 | 16 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | Conservative | |
| New ward boundaries (45 seats)[14] | ||||||||
| 2003 | 28 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | Conservative | |
| 2007 | 36 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | Conservative | |
| 2011 | 38 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | Conservative | |
| 2015 | 36 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 2 | Conservative | |
| Council abolished; merged into West Suffolk District Council | ||||||||
Results maps
[edit]-
1979 results map -
1983 results map -
1987 results map -
1991 results map -
1995 results map -
1999 results map -
2003 results map -
2007 results map -
2011 results map -
2015 results map
By-election results
[edit]A by-election occurs when seats become vacant between council elections. Below is a summary of by-elections from 1983 onwards.[15] Full by-election results are listed under the last regular election preceeding the by-election and can be found by clicking on the ward name.
1983-1994
[edit]| Ward | Date | Incumbent party | Winning party | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Horringer | 10 September 1987 | Conservative | Conservative | ||
| Westgate | 19 May 1988 | Conservative | Conservative | ||
| Great Barton | 30 March 1989 | Conservative | Conservative | ||
| Withersfield | 15 June 1989 | Conservative | Conservative | ||
| Sextons | 30 July 1992 | Conservative | Conservative | ||
1995-2006
[edit]| Ward | Date | Incumbent party | Winning party | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eastgate | 7 December 1995 | Labour | Labour | ||
| Clements | 5 September 1996 | Labour | Labour | ||
| Ixworth | 21 November 1996 | Conservative | Conservative | ||
| Ixworth | 6 March 1997 | Conservative | Conservative | ||
| Kedington | 23 April 1998 | Labour | Labour | ||
| Stanton | 10 September 1998 | Labour | Conservative | ||
| St Olaves | 7 June 2001 | Labour | Labour | ||
| Westgate | 25 April 2002 | Conservative | Conservative | ||
| Honington | 31 October 2002 | Conservative | Conservative | ||
| Risbygate | 20 May 2004 | Conservative | Independent | ||
| Haverhill East | 10 June 2004 | Labour | Conservative | ||
| Barningham | 9 September 2004 | Conservative | Conservative | ||
| Risby | 31 March 2005 | Labour | Conservative | ||
| Haverhill South | 5 May 2005 | Labour | Labour | ||
| Westgate | 16 February 2006 | Conservative | Conservative | ||
| Kedington | 15 June 2006 | Conservative | Conservative | ||
2007-2019
[edit]| Ward | Date | Incumbent party | Winning party | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Haverhill North | 20 March 2008 | Conservative | Conservative | ||
| Risbygate | 15 November 2012 | Conservative | Green | ||
| Abbeygate | 2 May 2013 | Conservative | Conservative | ||
| Bardwell | 5 September 2013 | Conservative | Conservative | ||
| Abbeygate | 3 October 2013 | Conservative | Conservative | ||
| Haverhill East | 9 January 2014 | Conservative | UKIP | ||
| Haverhill North | 5 May 2016 | Conservative | UKIP | ||
| Moreton Hall | 15 December 2016 | Conservative | Independent | ||
| Chedburgh | 28 September 2017 | Conservative | Conservative | ||
| Hundon | 28 September 2017 | Conservative | Conservative | ||
| St Olaves | 12 April 2018 | Labour | Labour | ||
| Haverhill East | 3 May 2018 | Conservative | Conservative | ||
| Haverhill North | 3 May 2018 | Conservative | Conservative | ||
Notes
[edit]- ^ Includes totals for the predecessors of the Liberal Democrats, the Liberal Party and SDP (both of which participated in the Alliance).
References
[edit]- ^ "St Edmundsbury". BBC News Online. Retrieved 17 March 2010.
- ^ "Compositions Calculator". The Elections Centre. University of Exeter. Retrieved 21 May 2025. (Put "St Edmundsbury" in search box to see specific results.)
- ^ "Council minutes". West Suffolk Council. Retrieved 22 June 2022.
- ^ "Single vote sways council majority". Haverhill Echo. 13 May 1999. p. 3. Retrieved 4 June 2025.
- ^ Deex, John (14 May 1999). "Controversial first step by the Tories". Bury Free Press. p. 7. Retrieved 4 June 2025.
- ^ "Leader of council insulted by the need for a 'younger face'". Haverhill Weekly News. 25 April 2002. Retrieved 22 June 2022.
- ^ "Council elects mayor and new leader". Haverhill Weekly News. 23 May 2002. Retrieved 22 June 2022.
- ^ Derrick, Paul (24 May 2019). "Tributes paid to 'giant' of Bury St Edmunds politics Ray Nowak who fought for social justice and change". Suffolk News. Retrieved 4 June 2025.
- ^ Carter, Dolly (5 April 2023). "John Griffiths to step down as West Suffolk Council leader". East Anglian Daily Times. Retrieved 3 June 2025.
- ^ "Shadow Council minutes, 18 December 2018". West Suffolk Council. Retrieved 4 June 2025.
- ^ Steward, Michael (22 May 2019). "History is made as newly-formed West Suffolk Council meets for the first time". East Anglian Daily Times. Retrieved 3 June 2025.
- ^ "Composition calculator". Colin Rallings & Michael Thrasher. The Elections Centre, Plymouth University. Retrieved 14 May 2025.
- ^ legislation.gov.uk - The Essex and Suffolk (County Boundaries) Order 1989. Retrieved on 5 November 2015.
- ^ legislation.gov.uk - The Borough of St Edmundsbury (Electoral Changes) Order 2001. Retrieved on 4 October 2015.
- ^ "By-elections". Colin Rallings & Michael Thrasher. The Elections Centre, Plymouth University. Archived from the original on 18 January 2026. Retrieved 18 January 2026.
