The Party for Poole People (known simply as Poole People) is a movement and local political party 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 ...

, Dorset, England. Defining itself as neither left or right wing, the party has stood in elections for the former

Poole Borough Council Poole Borough Council was the unitary authority responsible for local government in the Borough of Poole, Dorset, England. It was created on 1 April 1997 following a review by the Local Government Commission for England (1992), becoming administ ...

and the

Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council, which styles itself BCP Council, is the Local government in England, local authority for Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, a local government district in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. Th ...

which replaced it. On the council it is part of the Poole Independents Group, which includes all three Poole People Councillors, one

Alliance for Local Living The Alliance for Local Living (ALL) was a minor Localism (politics), localist party and political group based in Dorset, with separate branches in the two authorities, ALL for Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and ALL for Dorset County Council ...

(ALL) Councillor and one independent Councillor. It was previously part of the "Unity Alliance" administration on Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council from 2019 until a vote of no confidence in 2020, after which the party has been in opposition. It was founded in 2010 by Mark Howell, and has contested three local elections, as well as the Poole constituency in the 2015 UK general election.

History

Poole Borough Council

Mark Howell, the party leader, was the first elected member of the party, standing in the 2010 Poole Town by-election after former Council Leader Cllr Leverett died, gaining the seat from the Conservatives. He was re-elected to his seat in the subsequent 2011 council election, with the party making two more gains from the Conservatives, in Hamworthy East and a further seat in Poole Town, bringing the number of councillors up to three. The subsequent defection by a

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 ...

councillor in 2012 to the party brought its number up to four in total. In the 2015 council election, the Conservatives gained a Hamworthy East seat whilst Poole People gained a Conservative seat in Hamworthy West, meaning that the party remained on three seats in total. In the 2017 General Election, party leader Mark Howell stood for the parliamentary seat of

, where he received 1,776 votes (3.7%), coming sixth out of seven.

Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council

In 2019,

was combined with those 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

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 ...

to form a new

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 ...

; In the inaugural 2019 council elections for the new

, Poole People stood eight councillors in five wards out of the twelve wards entirely within the former Poole Borough ( Talbot and Branksome Woods had a small area in the former borough), with seven councillors elected. The election saw the Conservatives as the largest party but without a majority, which lead to the creation of the majority Unity Alliance Administration, a coalition of parties in which Poole People joined led by the Liberal Democrats, the second largest party on the council. As well as joining the administration, Poole People also formed a grouping with the

, called Poole People and ALL. The Alliance for Local Living's leader and single councillor, Felicity Rice won alongside one of two seats in the Oakdale ward, alongside Poole People Councillor Pete Miles. The Hamworthy ward elected two councillors from Poole People. However, in October of that year two councillors resigned from the party and group to sit as independents, citing concerns about the leader and “the binds of the political whip”. Councillor Butt left the Unity Alliance administration at the time, with Councillor Bagwell subsequently leaving the administration in September 2020. As such, Poole People currently has five sitting councillors. A vote of no confidence was passed in September 2020, with Conservatives taking minority administration of the council after a meeting on 1 October, meaning that Poole People is currently in opposition. Two further Poole People councillors (Steve Baron and Peter Miles) subsequently left the group in November 2020, stating that the party had "lost its way" and that they would be more "free to speak out" as independents, thus leaving the party with just three councillors, and the Poole People and ALL BCP group with four. In June 2022, Julie Bagwell joined the

Poole Local Group The Poole Engage Party is a local political party on Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council. Until December 2022, the party was known as the Poole Local Group. History The group was formed in June 2022 as the Poole Local Group, by five c ...

. 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 ...

, Poole People elected five councillors.

Sitting councillors

Since 2023

Until 2023

Election results

District council elections

General elections

The party leader and councillor Mark Howell stood for the party in the Poole constituency in the

2015 election Africa * 2015 Beninese parliamentary election 26 April 2015 * 2015 Burkinabé general election 29 November 2015 * 2015 Burundian legislative election 29 June 2015 * 2015 Burundian presidential election 21 July 2015 * 2015-16 Central African g ...

, receiving 1,766 votes (3.7%). The party did not contest the seat in the

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

general elections.

References

{{Reflist

Notes

Locally based political parties in England Political parties established in 2010 2010 establishments in England Politics of Poole