Elections to

Hartlepool Hartlepool () is a seaside and port town in County Durham, England. It is the largest settlement and administrative centre of the Borough of Hartlepool. With an estimated population of 90,123, it is the second-largest settlement in County ...

Borough Council in the

ceremonial county The counties and areas for the purposes of the lieutenancies, also referred to as the lieutenancy areas of England and informally known as ceremonial counties, are areas of England to which lords-lieutenant are appointed. Legally, the areas i ...

of County Durham in

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were held on 4 May 2000. One third of the council was up for election and the Labour Party lost overall control of the council to no overall control. After the election, the composition of the council was: *

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

21 * Liberal Democrats 14 *

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

10 *

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Campaign

15 seats were up for election in 2000 with Labour defending 13 seats that they had won in the 1996 election. Before the election six of those seats were seen as being vulnerable including Dyke House, Grange, Park and Seaton

wards 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 priso ...

. The Labour Party however was seen as strongly favoured to maintain a majority on the council. A four per cent swing was required in order for the Labour Party to lose control of the council. The Liberal Democrats and

parties said that voters were unhappy with the Labour national government and that the election was a chance for voters to demonstrate this. Labour accused the other two parties of having done a deal to avoid opposing each other in some of the wards where Labour might be defeated. However the Conservatives said that this was "pure coincidence", and the Liberal Democrats said that there no deal between them before the election. The Conservative Party did not put up candidates in five wards, while the Liberal Democrats did not stand in Seaton and Throston wards. Opponents accused council leader Russell Hart of concentrating on building up his own importance and during the campaign they circulated fake

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s with Hart's face on instead of the Queen. Meanwhile, Labour brought in a series of national figures to campaign for the party in the election including

Members of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members oft ...

(MPs)

Hilary Armstrong Hilary Jane Armstrong, Baroness Armstrong of Hill Top, DL (born 30 November 1945) is a British Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for North West Durham from 1987 to 2010. Early life Armstrong was born on 30 Novem ...

Joyce Quin Joyce Gwendolen Quin, Baroness Quin, (born 26 November 1944) is a British Labour Party politician. She served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Gateshead East and Washington West and for its predecessor Gateshead East from 1987 to 2005. Ear ...

, Alan Howarth and

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Gordon Adam Gordon Johnston Adam (born 28 March 1934) is a British mining engineer and Labour Party politician. With one brief interruption, he served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for 25 years. Training and career Adam went to Carlisle Gr ...

Election result

The results saw Labour lose overall control of the council for the first time in 21 years. The nine gains made by the Liberal Democrats and Conservatives exceeded pre-election expectations. Defeated Labour

councillor A councillor is an elected representative for a local government council in some countries. Canada Due to the control that the provinces have over their municipal governments, terms that councillors serve vary from province to province. Unl ...

s included Stephen Wallace, the

election agent An election agent in elections in the United Kingdom, as well as some other similar political systems such as elections in India, is the person legally responsible for the conduct of a candidate's political campaign and to whom election material ...

for local MP

Peter Mandelson Peter Benjamin Mandelson, Baron Mandelson (born 21 October 1953) is a British Labour Party politician who served as First Secretary of State from 2009 to 2010. He was President of the Board of Trade in 1998 and from 2008 to 2010. He is the ...

, former election agent Bernard Carr,

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a 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 responsibilities of a mayor as well as ...

Ron Watts and longest serving councillor Bill Iseley, who had been a councillor for 39 years. Overall turnout in the election was 27%. Conservative national party leader

William Hague William is a masculine given name of Norman French origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conq ...

said that "The Hartlepool result shows that the Conservatives can fight and win in all areas of Britain", while the Liberal Democrats described the results as showing "that the people of Hartlepool have rejected Labour". However Labour blamed the results on an election deal between the Liberal Democrats and Conservatives.

Aftermath

Following the election the Liberal Democrats and Conservatives began talks on an agreement to run the council between themselves. A special council meeting took place on 25 May and the two parties took control with Liberal Democrat Arthur Preece becoming the new council leader.

References

{{United Kingdom local elections, 2000

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

2000s in County Durham