The Party for Poole People (known simply as Poole People) is a movement and local political party in Poole, Dorset, England.[4] Defining itself as neither left or right wing, the party has stood in elections for the former Poole Borough Council and the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council 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 (ALL) Councillor and one independent Councillor. It was previously part of the "Unity Alliance" administration on Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council from 2019[5] until a vote of no confidence in 2020,[6] 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.
Poole People | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Leader | Mark Howell[1] |
| Founded | 2010[2] |
| Headquarters | Poole |
| Ideology | Localism Non-partisan politics[3] |
| BCP Council | 5 / 76 |
| Website | |
| www | |
History
editPoole Borough Council
editMark 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.[7] 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 councillor in 2012 to the party brought its number up to four in total.[8] 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 Poole, where he received 1,776 votes (3.7%), coming sixth out of seven.
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council
editIn 2019, Poole Borough Council was combined with those of Bournemouth and Christchurch to form a new unitary authority; In the inaugural 2019 council elections for the new Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council, 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.[9] The election saw the Conservatives as the largest party but without a majority, which lead to the creation of the majority Unity Alliance Administration,[5] 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 Alliance for Local Living, 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.[10][11] As such, Poole People currently has five sitting councillors. A vote of no confidence was passed in September 2020,[12] with Conservatives taking minority administration of the council after a meeting on 1 October,[13] 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.[14] In June 2022, Julie Bagwell joined the Poole Local Group.[15]
In the 2023 Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council election, Poole People elected five councillors.[16]
Sitting councillors
editSince 2023
edit| Name | Ward | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Mark Howell | Poole Town | Leader of Poole People |
| Andy Hadley | Poole Town | |
| Brian Hitchcock | Hamworthy | |
| Felicity Rice | Oakdale | Elected in 2019 for the Alliance for Local Living |
| Peter Francis Miles | Oakdale |
Until 2023
edit| Name | Ward | First elected | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mark Howell | Poole Town | 2010[note 1] | Leader of Poole People; Former Deputy Leader of BCP Council and Portfolio Holder for Regeneration and Culture during Unity Alliance |
| Andy Hadley | Poole Town | 2015[note 1] | Portfolio Holder for Transport and Infrastructure during Unity Alliance |
| L-J Evans | Poole Town | 2019 | Chair of Unity Alliance group[6] |
Election results
editDistrict council elections
edit| Year | Votes | % | +/- | Seats | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poole Borough Council | |||||
| 2011 | 9,603 | 8.8% |  8.8%
|
3 / 42
|
3
|
| 2015[17] | 13,269 | 7.7% |  1.1%
|
3 / 42
|
|
| Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council | |||||
| 2019[18] | 11,243 | 5.4% | N/A | 7 / 76
|
N/A |
| 2023 | 5,995 | 3.0% | 2.4%
|
5 / 76
|
2
|
General elections
editThe party leader and councillor Mark Howell stood for the party in the Poole constituency in the 2015 election, receiving 1,766 votes (3.7%). The party did not contest the seat in the 2017, 2019 or 2024 general elections.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Robert Syms | 23,745 | 50.1 | 2.6
| |
| UKIP | David Young | 7,956 | 16.8 | 11.5
| |
| Labour | Helen Rosser | 6,102 | 12.9 | 0.1
| |
| Liberal Democrats | Philip Eades | 5,572 | 11.8 | 19.8
| |
| Green | Adrian Oliver | 2,198 | 4.6 | 4.6
| |
| Poole People | Mark Howell | 1,766 | 3.7 | 3.7
| |
| Independent | Ian Northover | 54 | 0.1 | 0.3
| |
| Majority | 15,789 | 33.3 | 17.4
| ||
| Turnout | 47,393 | 65.3 | 8.1
| ||
| Conservative hold | Swing | ||||
References
edit- ^ "Mark Howell (Leader of Poole People and Poole Town Councillor)". Poole People.
- ^ "Registration". Electoral Commission.
- ^ "'If it aint broke, don't fix it': backlash against council plans to abolish social housing operator". Bournemouth Echo.
- ^ "Introduction". Poole People.
- ^ a b "Alliance takes control of new council". BBC News. 21 May 2019. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
- ^ a b "Unity Alliance sticking together in opposition after BCP Council leadership change". Bournemouth Echo. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
- ^ "New party wins ex-leader's seat". BBC News. 3 December 2010. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
- ^ "Poole Conservative defects to Poole People". Bournemouth Echo.
- "Poole Conservative Sally Carpenter defects in party whip row". BBC News. - ^ Find your Councillors Government of the United Kingdom
- ^ "Two councillors leave Poole People Party to shake off the 'binds of the political whip'". Bournemouth Echo. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
- ^ ""A catalogue of catastrophic policy decisions": Why this councillor left the coalition running BCP Council". Bournemouth Echo. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
- ^ "BCP Council leader ousted from role after vote of no confidence succeeds". Bournemouth Echo. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
- ^ "Tories back in control of BCP conurbation after leadership vote". Bournemouth Echo. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
- ^ ""It's lost its way": Poole People Party loses more than half its councillors in 13 months". Bournemouth Echo. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
- ^ "'Trust completely broken': Conservatives resign due to association 'disagreement'". uk.news.yahoo.com. Retrieved 28 June 2022.
- ^ "Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole result - Local Elections 2023". BBC News. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
- ^ Local elections 2015 archive.poole.gov.uk
- ^ "2019 local election results". Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council. Archived from the original on 2 June 2021.
- ^ "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
- ^ "General Elections Results 2015 and Candidate Expense". Government of the United Kingdom.