The 2011 Pendle Borough Council election took place on 5 May 2011 to elect members of Pendle

Borough A borough is an administrative division in various English language, English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History ...

Council in

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. One third of the council was up for election and the council stayed under

no overall control In the context of local authorities in the United Kingdom no overall control (NOC; ) is a situation in which no single political group achieves a majority of seats, comparable to a hung parliament. Of the 248 councils who had members up for elec ...

. After the election, the composition of the council was *

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

18 * Labour 16 * Liberal Democrats 12 *

British National Party The British National Party (BNP) is a Far-right politics, far-right, British fascism, fascist list of political parties in the United Kingdom, political party in the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in Wigton, Cumbria, and is led by Adam ...

2 *

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

Background

Before the election there were 17

Conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilizati ...

, 16 Liberal Democrats, 13 Labour, 2

and 1

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

councillor A councillor, alternatively councilman, councilwoman, councilperson, or council member, is someone who sits on, votes in, or is a member of, a council. This is typically an elected representative of an electoral district in a municipal or re ...

s. At the last election in 2010 the Liberal Democrats lost the leadership of the council and an agreement between the Conservative and Labour parties took control of the council, with Conservative Mike Blomeley becoming leader of the council, after attempts at forming an all party cabinet failed. However Labour withdrew from the agreement with the Conservatives in February 2011. 17 seats were contested at the election, with 6 sitting councillors standing down, Martin Bell from Craven

ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

, Carol Belshaw from

Foulridge Foulridge (pronounced ) is a village and civil parish in Pendle, Lancashire, close to the border with North Yorkshire in England. It is situated just beyond Colne, on the route from the M65 to Skipton, and is an important stopping point on s ...

ward, Gary Bird from Clover Hill ward, Allan Buck from Coates ward, Sonia Robinson from Southfield ward and Violet Vaughan from Boulsworth ward.

Election result

After having run the council until the 2010 election, the Liberal Democrats fell to third on the council with 12 seats, behind the Conservatives on 18 seats and Labour on 16 seats. The Liberal Democrats lost 4 seats, Craven and Vivary Bridge to the Conservatives, and Clover Hill and Southfield to Labour, with the Liberal Democrat leader on the council John David holding his seat in

Old Laund Booth Old Laund Booth is a civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Borough of Pendle, Pendle district of Lancashire, England. It has a population of 1,459, and contains the villages of Fence, Lancashire, Fence and Wheatley Lane. Old Laund Boo ...

by only 10 votes. Labour picked up 3 seats, taking Reedley from the Conservatives, in addition to the party's 2 gains from the Liberal Democrats, while the Conservatives ended up with 1 extra seat on the council. Overall turnout at the election was 43.7%. Following the election, Conservative Mike Blomeley remained as leader of the council with an all Conservative cabinet, meanwhile Liberal Democrat Nadeem Ahmed became the youngest

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

of Pendle at the age of 32.

Ward results

References

{{United Kingdom local elections, 2011 Pendle

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

2010s in Lancashire