1999 Wyre Forest District Council election

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Tim! (talk | contribs) at 19:05, 30 April 2015 (→‎References: add category using AWB). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

The 1999 Wyre Forest District Council election took place on 6 May 1999 to elect members of Wyre Forest District Council in Worcestershire, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Labour party lost overall control of the council to no overall control.[1]

After the election, the composition of the council was

Campaign

Before the election the council was composed of 24 Labour, 5 Liberal Democrats, 5 independent Labour, 4 Conservatives, 3 Liberals and 1 independent councillors.[3] The election saw the Independent Kidderminster Hospital and Health Concern contest seats for the first time in protest against attempts to downgrade Kidderminster General Hospital.[4] They put up candidates for 11 of the 14 seats which were up for election claiming that they had the backing of 100,000 people.[5][6] As well as the Health Concern candidates, one independent and three Liberal party candidates also stood on the issue.[3] However sitting councillors, including the Labour party who controlled the council, said that they had done everything they could to preserve services at the hospital but that the council could have no effect on decisions over the hospital made by the National Health Service.[6] Labour said that other issues in the election included a redevelopment of Kidderminster town centre and a proposed transfer of council housing to a non-profit organisation.[3]

Election result

Labour lost their majority on the council after Health Concern won 7 of the seats contested, gaining 6 of them from Labour.[7] The local Labour MP David Lock accused the Health Concern campaigners of having gained support by scaremongering over the closure of Kidderminster Hospital, which he said had never been an option.[8]

Wyre Forest local election result 1999[9][10]
Party Seats Gains Losses Net gain/loss Seats % Votes % Votes +/−
  Health Concern 7 +7 50.0
  Labour 3 -6 21.4
  Conservative 2 +1 14.3
  Liberal Democrats 1 -1 7.1
  Liberal 1 0 7.1
  Independent 0 -1 0

References

  1. ^ "Wyre Forest". BBC News Online. Retrieved 2009-12-29. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  2. ^ "Britain votes: Local Council Election Results". The Independent. 1999-05-07. p. 12. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  3. ^ a b c Smith, Sue (1999-05-05). "Local election countdown: Kidderminster". Birmingham Mail. p. 6. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  4. ^ Summers, Deborah (1999-04-02). "Hospital campaigners vote to fight at the ballot box". Birmingham Post. p. 4. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  5. ^ Worrall, Boris (1999-04-13). "Labour fearing the worst as town hall battles loom". Birmingham Post. p. 4. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  6. ^ a b Summers, Deborah (1999-04-27). "Fight for hospital goes to polls". Birmingham Post. p. 4. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  7. ^ "After 70 years, a Sheffield steal". Daily Mail. 1999-05-08. p. 6. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  8. ^ "MP hits out over hospital scaremongering: Wyre Forest". Birmingham Post. 1999-05-08. p. 3. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  9. ^ "Local Councils: Results round-up". The Times. 1999-05-07. p. 4. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  10. ^ "Tories make substantial gains in locals". BBC News Online. 1999-05-07. Retrieved 2009-12-29. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1999_Wyre_Forest_District_Council_election&oldid=660105567"