The Kent County Council election, 2013 was an election to all 84 seats on

Kent County Council Kent County Council is a county council that governs the non-metropolitan county of Kent in England. The non-metropolitan county is smaller than the ceremonial county, which additionally includes the Unitary authorities of England, unitary auth ...

held on Thursday 2 May as part of the

2013 United Kingdom local elections The 2013 United Kingdom local elections took place on Thursday 2 May 2013. Elections were held in 35 English councils: all 27 non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan county councils and eight Unitary authorities of England, unitary authorities ...

. 84 councillors were elected from 72 electoral divisions, which returned either one or two county councillors each by

first-past-the-post voting First-past-the-post (FPTP)—also called choose-one, first-preference plurality (FPP), or simply plurality—is a single-winner voting rule. Voters mark one candidate as their favorite, or first-preference, and the candidate with more first- ...

for a four-year term of office. The electoral divisions were the same as those used at the previous election in 2009. No elections were held in

Medway Medway is a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in the ceremonial county of Kent in South East England. It was formed in 1998 by merging the boroughs of City of Roche ...

, which is a

unitary authority A unitary authority is a type of local government, local authority in New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Unitary authorities are responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are ...

outside the area covered by the County Council. The election saw the Conservative Party narrowly retain overall control of the council. All locally

registered electors In electoral systems, voter registration (or enrollment) is the requirement that a person otherwise eligible to vote must register (or enroll) on an electoral roll, which is usually a prerequisite for being entitled or permitted to vote. The ru ...

(

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

, Irish,

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...

and

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

citizens) who were aged 18 or over on Thursday 2 May 2013 were entitled to vote in the local elections. Those who were temporarily away from their ordinary address (for example, away working, on holiday, in student accommodation or in hospital) were also entitled to vote in the local elections, although those who had moved abroad and registered as overseas electors cannot vote in the local elections. It is possible to register to vote at more than one address (such as a university student who had a term-time address and lives at home during holidays) at the discretion of the local Electoral Register Office, but it remains an offence to vote more than once in the same local government election.

Summary

The Conservative Party retained overall control of the council, winning 44 of the 84 seats on the council. This was a reduction of 30 seats from the party's

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

performance, where the local party held all but 10 of the 84 seats.

UKIP The UK Independence Party (UKIP, ) is a Eurosceptic, right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. The party reached its greatest level of success in the mid-2010s, when it gained two Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), member ...

came second with 17 seats (including one defection from the Conservatives prior to the election), becoming the official opposition with Roger Latchford as their leader. UKIP capitalised on their strong national popularity and Parliamentary by-election results, winning their first representation on the council. Labour Party candidates made substantial gains, rising from 3 to 13 seats and finishing in third place in the election. Despite local Liberal Democrats winning the same number of seats as in 2009, they are no longer the official opposition, having slipped to become the fourth-largest party in the

Maidstone Maidstone is the largest Town status in the United Kingdom, town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town, l ...

County Hall chamber. The Green Party won their first seat on the council, for the Hythe division. The Swanscombe and Greenhithe division was held by the incumbent

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, who gained the seat in 2009.

Results

Council Composition

Prior to the election the composition of the council was: After the election the composition of the council was: LD - Liberal Democrats
G - Green Party
R - Residents Association

Results by district

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

is divided into 12 regions: Ashford,

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...

Dartford Dartford is the principal town in the Borough of Dartford, Kent, England. It is located south-east of Central London and is situated adjacent to the London Borough of Bexley to its west. To its north, across the Thames Estuary, is Thurrock in ...

Dover Dover ( ) is a town and major ferry port in Kent, southeast England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies southeast of Canterbury and east of Maidstone. ...

Gravesham Gravesham ( ) is a local government district with borough status in north-west Kent, England. The council is based in its largest town of Gravesend. The borough is indirectly named after Gravesend, using the form of the town's name as it appear ...

Sevenoaks Sevenoaks is a town in Kent with a population of 29,506, situated south-east of London, England. Also classified as a civil parishes in England, civil parish, Sevenoaks is served by a commuter South Eastern Main Line, main line railway into Lo ...

, Folkestone and Hythe, Swale,

Thanet Thanet may refer to: * Isle of Thanet, a former island, now a peninsula, at the most easterly point of Kent, England * Thanet District, a local government district containing the island *Thanet College, former name of East Kent College * Thanet Ca ...

Tonbridge and Malling Tonbridge and Malling is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Kent, England. The council is based at Kings Hill. The borough also includes the towns of Tonbridge an ...

, and

Tunbridge Wells Royal Tunbridge Wells (formerly, until 1909, and still commonly Tunbridge Wells) is a town in Kent, England, southeast of Central London. It lies close to the border with East Sussex on the northern edge of the High Weald, whose sandstone ...

Ashford

There are seven single-member constituencies within the borough of Ashford. Below are the results:

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...

There are five single-member and two multi-member constituencies within the City of Canterbury, which elect a total of nine councilors to Kent County Council. Below are the results:

Dartford Dartford is the principal town in the Borough of Dartford, Kent, England. It is located south-east of Central London and is situated adjacent to the London Borough of Bexley to its west. To its north, across the Thames Estuary, is Thurrock in ...

There are six single-member constituencies within the borough of Dartford. Below are the results:

Dover Dover ( ) is a town and major ferry port in Kent, southeast England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies southeast of Canterbury and east of Maidstone. ...

There are three single-member and two multi-member constituencies within the District of Dover, which elect a total of seven councillors to Kent County Council. Below are the results:

Gravesham Gravesham ( ) is a local government district with borough status in north-west Kent, England. The council is based in its largest town of Gravesend. The borough is indirectly named after Gravesend, using the form of the town's name as it appear ...

There is a single-member and two multi-member constituencies within the Borough of Gravesham, which elect a total of five councillors to Kent County Council. Below are the results:

Maidstone Maidstone is the largest Town status in the United Kingdom, town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town, l ...

There are seven single-member and one multi-member constituencies within the Borough of Maidstone, which elect a total of nine councillors to Kent County Council. Below are the results:

Sevenoaks Sevenoaks is a town in Kent with a population of 29,506, situated south-east of London, England. Also classified as a civil parishes in England, civil parish, Sevenoaks is served by a commuter South Eastern Main Line, main line railway into Lo ...

There are seven single-member constituencies within the District of Sevenoaks which elect to Kent County Council. Below are the results:

Shepway

There are six single-member constituencies within the District of Shepway, that elect councillors to Kent County Council. The results are:

Swale

There are six single-member constituencies and one multi-member constituencies within the Borough of Swale, which elect a total of eight councillors to Kent County Council. Below are the results:

Thanet Thanet may refer to: * Isle of Thanet, a former island, now a peninsula, at the most easterly point of Kent, England * Thanet District, a local government district containing the island Thanet College, former name of East Kent College Thanet Ca ...

There are two single-member and three multi-member constituencies within the District of Thanet, which elect a total of eight councillors to Kent County Council. Below are the results:

Tonbridge and Malling Tonbridge and Malling is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Kent, England. The council is based at Kings Hill. The borough also includes the towns of Tonbridge an ...

There are five single-member constituencies and one multi-member constituency within the District of Tonbridge and Malling, which elect a total of seven councillors to Kent County Council. Below are the results:

Tunbridge Wells Royal Tunbridge Wells (formerly, until 1909, and still commonly Tunbridge Wells) is a town in Kent, England, southeast of Central London. It lies close to the border with East Sussex on the northern edge of the High Weald, whose sandstone ...

There are six single-member constituencies within the Borough of Tunbridge Wells. Below are the results:https://shareweb.kent.gov.uk/Documents/council-and-democracy/elections/persons%20nominated/nominations-twells.pdf

References

External links

Kent County Council
{{United Kingdom local elections, 2013

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

2010s in Kent