Wear Valley District Council elections

Wear Valley District Council elections were generally held every four years between the council's creation in 1974 and its abolition in 2009. Wear Valley was a non-metropolitan district in County Durham, England. On 1 April 2009 the council's functions passed to Durham County Council, which became a unitary authority.

Political control

The first election to the council was held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority before coming into its powers on 1 April 1974. Political control of the council from 1973 until its abolition in 2009 was held by the following parties:^[1]

Party in control		Years
	Labour	1973–1976
	No overall control	1976–1979
	Labour	1979–1991
	Liberal Democrats	1991–1995
	Labour	1995–2007
	No overall control	2007–2009

Leadership

The leaders of the council from 1995 until its abolition in 2009 were:^[2]

Councillor		From	To
Olive Brown	Labour	1995	4 May 2005
Neil Stonehouse	Labour	4 May 2005	7 May 2008
Tommy Taylor	Liberal Democrats	7 May 2008	7 Jul 2008
Neil Harrison	Liberal Democrats	7 Jul 2008	31 Mar 2009

Council elections

Election	Labour	Liberal Democrat^[a]	Conservative	Independent	Total	Notes
Election					Total	Notes
1973^[3]	21	9	0	11^[b]	41
1976^[4]	17	11	2	11^[c]	41
1979^[5]	25	5	3	8	41
1983^[6]	28	2^[d]	3	7^[e]	40	New ward boundaries^[7]
1987^[8]	26	3^[f]	3	8	40
1991^[9]	8	28	0	4	40
1995^[10]	35	2	0	3	40
1999^[11]	30	5	0	5	40
2003^[12]	25	9	0	6	40	New ward boundaries^[13]
2007^[14]	19	16	0	5	40

By-election results

The following is an incomplete list of by-elections to Wear Valley District Council.

1999-2003

Bishop Auckland Town By-Election 30 March 2000
Party		Votes	%	±%
	Labour	359	49.0	+4.0
	Liberal Democrats	249	34.0	-14.0
	Conservative	125	17.1	+10.0
Majority		110	15.0
Turnout		733	22.9
	Labour hold	Swing

Howden Le Wear By-Election 30 March 2000
Party		Votes	%	±%
	Labour	208	52.1	-1.8
	Liberal Democrats	191	47.9	+1.8
Majority		17	4.2
Turnout		399	23.1
	Labour hold	Swing

2003-2007

Woodhouse Close By-Election 26 February 2004
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour		713	56.0	-2.5
	Liberal Democrats	Kenneth Bowser	287	22.5	-11.7
	Independent		273	21.4	+21.4
Majority			426	33.5
Turnout			1,273	36.5
	Labour hold		Swing

Wheatbottom & Helmington Row By-Election 20 January 2005
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Rose Seabury	328	59.6	-10.0
	Liberal Democrats	John Bailey	180	32.7	+2.3
	BNP	Stuart Neil	42	0.7	+0.7
Majority			148	26.9
Turnout			550	21.8
	Labour hold		Swing

Bishop Auckland Town By-Election 3 March 2005
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Samuel Zair	181	36.7	+11.6
	Labour	Robert Yorke	161	32.7	-4.9
	Conservative	James Tague	135	27.3	+27.3
	UKIP	Margaret Hopson	16	3.2	+3.2
Majority			20	4.0
Turnout			493	21.0
	Liberal Democrats gain from Independent		Swing

Howden By-Election 27 October 2005
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	John Bailey	157	50.5	+6.0
	Labour	Jay Smith	154	49.5	-6.0
Majority			3	1.0
Turnout			311	24.0
	Liberal Democrats gain from Labour		Swing

Coundon By-Election 3 September 2006
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Norman Strongman	360	52.1	-2.1
	Liberal Democrats	Diane Hardaker	331	47.9	+2.1
Majority			29	4.2
Turnout			691	21.6
	Labour hold		Swing

Notes

^ Liberal Party prior to 1983, SDP-Liberal Alliance in 1983 and 1987.
^ Includes one People's Rep.
^ Includes five of other parties.
^ 2 Liberal, 0 SDP
^ Includes 1 People's Rep. and 1 People before pol.
^ 3 Liberal, 0 SDP

References

^ "Compositions calculator". The Elections Centre. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
^ "Council minutes". Durham County Council. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
^ "Liberals capture Eastbourne and exceed ambition to win 1,000 local government seats". The Times. 9 June 1973.
^ "Heavy Labour losses in district polls". The Times. 8 May 1976.
^ Local elections in Britain: a statistical digest, edited by Colin Rallings and Michael Thrasher. 1993
^ "How votes were cast in local government elections". The Times. 7 May 1983. p. 4.
^ The District of Wear Valley (Electoral Arrangements) Order 1979
^ "Results in Thursday's local elections". The Times. 9 May 1987.
^ "Complete round-up of results from Thursday's local council elections". The Times. 4 May 1991.
^ "Complete list of results from Thursday's council elections". The Times. 6 May 1995. p. 10.
^ "Wear Valley". BBC News. Retrieved 13 April 2013.
^ "Wear Valley". BBC News. Retrieved 13 April 2013.
^ legislation.gov.uk - The District of Wear Valley (Electoral Changes) Order 1999. Retrieved on 4 October 2015.
^ "Wear Valley". BBC News. 4 May 2007. Retrieved 13 April 2013.

[3] Liberal Party prior to 1983, SDP-Liberal Alliance in 1983 and 1987.

[5] Includes one People's Rep.

[7] Includes five of other parties.

[10] 2 Liberal, 0 SDP

[11] Includes 1 People's Rep. and 1 People before pol.

[14] 3 Liberal, 0 SDP

[1] "Compositions calculator". The Elections Centre. Retrieved 10 August 2022.

[2] "Council minutes". Durham County Council. Retrieved 14 August 2022.

[4] "Liberals capture Eastbourne and exceed ambition to win 1,000 local government seats". The Times. 9 June 1973.

[6] "Heavy Labour losses in district polls". The Times. 8 May 1976.

[8] Local elections in Britain: a statistical digest, edited by Colin Rallings and Michael Thrasher. 1993

[9] "How votes were cast in local government elections". The Times. 7 May 1983. p. 4.

[12] The District of Wear Valley (Electoral Arrangements) Order 1979

[13] "Results in Thursday's local elections". The Times. 9 May 1987.

[15] "Complete round-up of results from Thursday's local council elections". The Times. 4 May 1991.

[16] "Complete list of results from Thursday's council elections". The Times. 6 May 1995. p. 10.

[17] "Wear Valley". BBC News. Retrieved 13 April 2013.

[18] "Wear Valley". BBC News. Retrieved 13 April 2013.

[19] slation.gov.uk - The District of Wear Valley (Electoral Changes) Order 1999. Retrieved on 4 October 2015.

[20] "Wear Valley". BBC News. 4 May 2007. Retrieved 13 April 2013.

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Teesdale District Council	1973 1976 1979 1983 1987 1991 1995 1999 2003 2007 Abolished
Wear Valley District Council	1973 1976 1979 1983 1987 1991 1995 1999 2003 2007 Abolished
Tees Valley Mayor	2017 2021 2024
See also: Wards Boundary changes