2019 Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council election

The 2019 Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council election took place on 2 May 2019 to elect the inaugural members of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council in England, formed from the former unitary authorities of Bournemouth and Poole, and borough of Christchurch. At the same time an election for the new Christchurch Town Council was held.

A shadow authority comprising elected members of the three preceding councils and relevant members of Dorset County Council sat prior to the election. Elections for the two parish councils in the area were also held.

Background
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council held elections on 2 May 2019 along with councils across England as part of the 2019 local elections. The council elected all of its councillors for the first time under the auspices of the combined council. The merger of Bournemouth Borough Council, Christchurch Borough Council and Poole Borough Council's councils to form this new council was reported to save £500,000 per year. A shadow authority of councillors for the three preceding councils and relevant members of Dorset County Council sat as a shadow authority prior to the election, with the Conservative group controlling the council and a majority of councillors being members of the Conservative Party. Parish councils in the area also held elections, such as the newly formed Christchurch town council, replacing the former Borough Council, and the Highcliffe and Walkford Neighbourhood Council. Whilst the shadow authority had 125 members, the redrawn ward boundaries meant that the newly elected body has 76 members.

Representatives from all of the main UK political parties, the Conservatives, the Liberal Democrats, Labour, Green Party of England and Wales and UKIP, stood for election to the new council. Alongside the national parties, several localist groups also stood for election, such as the Poole People, Alliance for Local Living and the Engage parties, as well as the informal Christchurch Independents group.

Poole People is a localist group which had previously stood in and won seats in the former Poole borough. For the 2019 election, they stood eight candidates in wards corresponding to Poole, winning seven seats in total. The Alliance for Local Living also stood parties, after being set up in 2018, and cooperating with Poole People; ALL intended to stand four candidates in total, but due to the timing of the official registration of the party, only two were able to be listed on the ballot paper; all four candidates also stood in Poole seats, but with only one win.

In March 2019, seven Conservative candidates, including the leader of the council David Flagg, were suspended from the party following their opposition to the merger. Five of the suspended councillors (David Flagg, Margaret Phipps, Lesley Dedman, Nick Geary and Janet Abbott) alongside two existing independents (Colin Bungey and Fred Neale) stood as 'Christchurch Independents', in opposition to the Conservatives, with those holding seats forming a group in the council after the election.

Overall results
The composition of the shadow authority immediately ahead of this election was:

Following the election, the composition of the council was:

Aftermath


The election resulted in no overall control, with no party winning the thirty-nine seats required for an overall majority; whilst the Conservatives were the largest party on the council, they lacked a majority. The Conservatives held seats in Bournemouth, with other parties and independents performing well in both Christchurch and Poole. The newly formed Christchurch Independents group, who were the third largest group with seven seats, said that they would be open to working with all parties except the Conservatives, who had led the creation of the new authority. Conservative councillor John Beesley said that the Conservatives should run the council, and that he was prepared to run a minority administration if no other party would support him. The Liberal Democrats also announced their intention to form a coalition with other parties on the council. Subsequently, Liberal Democrat Vikki Slade was elected council leader of a "Unity Alliance" of all the parties except the Conservatives and UKIP, with 39 members in total.

Within the council, six party groups were formed: In 2022, councillors from the Conservatives and one from Poole People defected to form the Poole Local Group.

Ward results
The statement of persons nominated was posted by the authority on 5 April 2019, 299 candidates are standing. Asterisks (*) denote sitting councillors seeking re-election.

Changes of allegiance

 * Julie Bagwell and Daniel Butt, both elected for the Poole People Party, left the party in October 2019 to sit as independents. Daniel Butt also left the Unity Alliance coalition at the same time. Julie Bagwell remained an independent within the Unity Alliance until September 2020, when she also withdrew from the coalition.
 * Steve Baron, Daniel Butt, Toby Johnson and Nigel Brooks all joined the Conservatives in September 2021, giving the party a majority on the council.
 * The Conservatives lost their majority on the council in June 2022 when Steve Baron, Mohan Iyengar, Daniel Butt and Judy Butt left the party to form the Poole Local Group with independent councillor Julie Bagwell. The group was subsequently registered as a political party called the Poole Engage Party.
 * Jackie Edwards, elected as a Conservative, left the party on 1 October 2022 to sit as an independent.

Canford Heath
By-election triggered by death of Liberal Democrat councillor Pete Parrish in July 2020. By-election not allowed to be held earlier due to COVID-19 pandemic.

Commons
By-election triggered by death of Colin Bungey in April 2020. By-election not allowed to be held earlier due to COVID-19 pandemic.

Highcliffe and Walkford
By-election triggered by death of Nick Geary in July 2022. He had been elected as an independent in 2019 and sat in the Christchurch Independents group, which was formally registered as a political party in February 2021.