The Alliance for Local Living (ALL) was a minor

localist Localism is a range of political philosophies which prioritize the local. Generally, localism supports local production and Local purchasing, consumption of goods, local control of government, and promotion of local history, local culture and lo ...

party and political group based in

Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...

, with separate branches in the two authorities, ALL for

Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) is a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Dorset, England. It was created in 2019 and covers much of the area of the South Ea ...

and ALL for

. The BCP office was based in

Poole Poole () is a coastal town and seaport on the south coast of England in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority area in Dorset, England. The town is east of Dorchester, Dorset, Dorchester and adjoins Bournemouth to the east ...

, whilst the Dorset office was based in Weymouth. The party was deregistered in November 2023, at which point it had four councillors on Dorset Council, who continued to sit together as an informal grouping. The group became Independents for Dorset in 2024.

History

Background

Prior to 2019, Dorset was divided into three authorities, with Bournemouth and Poole each constituting

unitary authorities 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 ...

, with the remainder of the county as a

two-tier system A two-tier system is a type of payroll system in which one group of workers receives lower wages and/or employee benefits than another.Sherman, Arthur W.; Bohlander, George W.; and Snell, Scott. ''Managing Human Sesources.'' Cincinnati, Ohio: South ...

, under

Dorset County Council Dorset County Council was the county council of Dorset in England. It was created in 1889 and abolished in 2019. Throughout its existence, the council was based in Dorchester. Bournemouth and Poole were made independent from the county counci ...

. However, in 2017 the government supported plans to reorganise Dorset into two unitary authorities, with the existing unitary authorities of

Bournemouth Bournemouth ( ) is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority area, in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. At the 2021 census, the built-up area had a population of 196,455, making it the largest ...

and

to merge with the district of

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

, and the remaining districts to form a new Dorset Council. Legislation for this was passed in 2018 by Parliament. Two separate groups, Independents for Dorset and Three Towns Together subsequently formed in the two unitary authorities, with the intention of supporting localist

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 ...

candidates. In November 2018, the two groups joined to form the Alliance for Local Living, with the former group ultimately changing its name to ALL for Dorset within ALL.

Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole

In October 2018 founders Felicity Rice and Michael Hancock launched the group as the Alliance for Local Living in preparation of the 2019 Bournemouth Christchurch and Poole Council election; whilst organising under the banner of ALL, it was planned for candidates to stand as independents, and be free of political whips if elected. Early liaisons were made with the

Poole People Party The Party for Poole People (known simply as Poole People) is a movement and local political party in Poole, Dorset, England. Defining itself as neither left or right wing, the party has stood in elections for the former Poole Borough Council an ...

, a similarly localist group founded in 2010 which had councillors as part of Poole district council. On 1 April 2019, ALL was registered with the electoral commission, with fourteen names and three emblems filed for ballot papers. Four candidates were due to stand for ALL in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, but due to the timing of the election and the registration of the party just a month before, two candidates (Michael Hancock for the Parkstone Ward and Martin Smalley for the Alderney & Bourne Valley Ward) stood as independents, with the remaining two (Felicity Rice for the Oakdale Ward and Claire Crescent for the Alderney & Bourne Valley Ward) standing as "Alliance for Local Living Independent Candidate". In the 2019 inaugural election for Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole only party leader Felicity Rice won a seat in Oakdale ward. Within the BCP Council, ALL Councillor Felicity Rice joined with the then seven Poole People Candidates to form the Poole People and ALL Political Group; this group of eight was joint third-largest, alongside the Christchurch Independents. Subsequently, on 21 May, a Unity Alliance administration took control of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council, with a coalition led by the Liberal Democrats comprising the Christchurch Independents group, Poole People, Labour, the Greens, ALL and independents. However, in 2020, two Poole People councillors left both the party and one left the administration, alongside one Christchurch Independent dying and another leaving the group. As such the Unity Alliance was left without a majority, leading to a vote of no confidence which resulted in a tie due to one abstention. However, subsequently a Liberal Democrat councillor died, and the remaining former-Poole People councillor also left the alliance, leaving it with a minority; a second vote of no confidence was held in September, which passed and thus removed Vikki Slade as leader. A meeting of the council was scheduled for 1 October in order to elect a new leader of the council; Conservative leader on the council Drew Mellor was nominated by his deputy Phillip Broadhead, stating that the council "needed a reset", whilst Christchurch Independent Lesley Dedman nominated Vikki Slade. with Conservative Group Leader Drew Mellor subsequently elected leader of the council, forming a new minority administration. In a secret ballot, Mellor received 40 votes for leader, whilst Slade received 33 votes, with a single abstention, with Mellor duly elected leader of the council. As such, the Alliance for Local Living currently is opposition in BCP Council. In October 2022, leader Felicity Rice was charged with wilful obstruction of a highway in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

while protesting alongside

Just Stop Oil Just Stop Oil (JSO) was a British environmental activist group primarily focused on the issue of Climate change, human-caused climate change. The group aimed to force the British government to commit to ending new Energy in the United Kingdom, f ...

. She was re-elected in the

2023 Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council election The 2023 Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council election took place on 4 May 2023, to elect all 76 members of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council in Dorset, England. The council stayed with no overall control but the Liberal Dem ...

as part of the

Dorset Council

In January 2019 a meeting was held in Dorchester to launch the group, which included as a speaker Peter MacFayden, who helped launch

Independents for Frome Independents for Frome (ifF) is a local political grouping based in Frome, Somerset, UK. It is known for its independent and non party-political approach and for its espousal of a series of ideas that have become known as "flatpack democracy" ...

, a similar localist group in

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

, alongside representatives from the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole ALL and other localist groups. Whilst no candidates stood in Dorset council as ALL Candidates, ALL for Dorset encouraged residents to stand as independent candidates under the joint banner. Sixteen candidates stood for either or both Dorset Council and local Parish elections. Four independents were ultimately elected to Dorset Council in the

2019 Dorset Council election The 2019 Dorset Council election was held on Thursday 2 May 2019 to elect councillors to the new Dorset Council in England. It took place on the same day as other district council elections in the United Kingdom. These were the first election ...

, subsequently sitting as the Alliance for Local Living Group. Aside from the ALL Councillors, the Conservatives won 43 of the 42 seats required for a majority, with the Liberal Democrats winning 29, the Greens 4, and Labour 2; as such, alongside the Green Party, the Alliance for Local Living Group is the joint third biggest group on the council. In 2024, the group was succeeded by the Independents for Dorset.

Former Councillors

At the time of its deregistration in November 2023, the party had four councillors on Dorset Council. {, class="wikitable" !Name !Ward !Notes , - ! colspan="3" , Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council , - , Felicity Rice , Alderney & Bourne Valley , Left party for Poole People, who she stood for in

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

, - ! colspan="3" , Dorset Council , - , Susan Cocking ,

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...

, Contested in 2024 as IfD candidate but did not retain seat , - , Les Fry , Dorchester West , Held seat for IfD in 2024 , - , Rob Hughes ,

, Held seat for IfD in 2024 , - , John Worth ,

Chickerell Chickerell is a town and parish in Dorset, England. In the 2011 census the parish and the electoral ward had a population of 5,515. History Although Roman remains have been found, indicating that there has been settlement in the area for m ...

, Did not contest 2024

References