Elections 2015

The elections were held on Thursday 7 May.

Six candidates stood for the parliamentary election and the sitting MP, Nick Harvey, was ousted by the Conservative ‘blow-in’ from Swindon:

Name of Candidate Description Number of votes
Cann, Mark Michael Robert Labour Party  3,699
Crowther, Steve UK Independence Party (UKIP)  7,719
Harvey, Nick Liberal Democrats  15,405
Heaton-Jones, Peter The Conservative Party Candidate  22,341 ELECTED
Knight, Ricky Green Party Candidate  3,018
Sables, Gerrard Anthony Communist Party  138

Eleven candidates stood for the two South Molton District Council seats and the existing two councillors retained their seats:

Surname First Names Description Number of Votes
Abbott Emily Anne Green Party Candidate 318
Buckingham Michael Andrew Conservative Party Candidate 547
Bushell Matthew Thomas Liberal Democrats 585
Cornelius Marc Peter Independent 289
Elvidge John Robert Green Party Candidate 199
Lewis Tracey Independent 486
Herniman Ron Independent 98
Lock Stephen William Independent 295
Moore  John Independent 996 – ELECTED
Smith Mike Conservative Party Candidate 432
Worden David John Liberal Democrats 651 – ELECTED
Spoilt papers: 52 %Turnout: 66.22

Being present at the count it was very noticeable that people were frequently voting purely on party lines. In other words they were voting for the party and not the candidate. This was particularly marked in the case of the Conservatives

People who voted for Mike Smith virtually always voted for Michael Buckingham as well.  A similar pattern was seen with the Green Party candidates.  I strongly suspect that if there hadn’t been a general election at the same time the Lib Dem incumbent may well have lost his seat.

Last, but certainly not least, there were fifteen candidates standing for the twelve South Molton Town Council seats:

Surname First Names Description Number of Votes
Abbott Emily Anne Green Party Candidate 612
Buckingham Michael Andrew Independent 611
Bush Sally Liberal Democrats 758 – ELECTED
Bushell Matthew Thomas Liberal Democrats 923 – ELECTED
Cornelius Marc Peter Independent 765 – ELECTED
Foster Jean Helen Liberal Democrats 837 – ELECTED
Goodman David James Independent 1213 – ELECTED
Lewis Tracey Independent 936 – ELECTED
Herniman Ron Independent 524
Kingdon Martin James 836 – ELECTED
Lock Christine Elizabeth Independent 696 – ELECTED
Lock Stephen William Independent 842 – ELECTED
Moore John Independent 1432 – ELECTED
Way Mervyn Frederick Independent 1288 – ELECTED
Worden David John Liberal Democrats 1079 – ELECTED
Spoilt papers: 173 % Turnout 66.2

I think it’s fantastic that so many people stood for the District and Town Council elections.

At the last four full District elections there were just four candidates in 2011 and 2003  and only five in the other two elections (2007 and 1999).

In three of the last four full elections for the Town Council there were only twelve candidates for the twelve seats (2011, 2007 and 1999). The last full election where votes were actually cast was in 2003, when there were also fifteen candidates (four Lib Dem and eleven Independents).

 

 

The Truly Independent Councillor

This site uses cookies. Find out more about this site’s cookies.