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= Alliance for Local Living = The Alliance of Local Living (ALL) is a minor 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. The BCP office is based in Poole, whilst the Dorset office is based in Weymouth. The party has five councillors in total, one on BCP Council and the remaining four on Dorset Council.

Background
Prior to 2019, Dorset was divided into three authorities, with Bournemouth and Poole each constituting unitary authorities, with the remainder of the county as a two-tier system, under Dorset County Council. However, in 2017 the government supported plans to reorganise Dorset into two unitary authorities, with the existing unitary authorities of Bournemouth and Poole to merge with the district of Christchurch, 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 candidates. In November 2018, the two groups joined together 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, a similarly localist group founded in 2010 which had councillors as part of Poole district council.

On the first 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. 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 the 21st May, a Unity Alliance administration took control of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council, with a coalition lead 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 October 1 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.

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, a similar localist group in Somerset, 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, 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.

Currently sitting councillors
The party currently has five councillors, one in BCP Council, and four in Dorset Council. In Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council, the councillor Felicity Rice sits as Alliance for Local Living Independent Candidate as part of the Poole People and ALL Group, and in Dorset Council the four members sit as the Alliance for Local Living Group

= Christchurch Independents = The Christchurch Independents (CI) are a political group in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council, formed by existing (former) Conservative and Independent Councillors after the reorganisation of local government in Dorset, with new candidates joining to stand in Christchurch wards for the inaugural 2019 Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council Election. Not forming an registered political party, CI constitutes a political grouping within the council, of which they are the joint-third largest alongside the Poole People and ALL group. The Christchurch Independents have a group Leader and Deputy Leader who were elected from and by their councillors after the 2019 election. Christchurch Independents LTD was registered as a company in June 2020.., with Councillor Simon McCormack serving as secretary, and joint director alongside journalist Andrew Martin.

Background
In 2018 Christchurch Borough Council unsuccessfully attempted to appeal against the planned reorganisation of Dorset into two unitary authorities, which would see Christchurch cease to be a borough as part of Dorset County Council, and instead become part of the new unitary Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole authority, albeit with a town council remaining for Christchurch itself and several other parish councils in the former authority. In March 2018, independent Christchurch Councillor Colin Bungey wrote an email to Conservative Councillors in the borough, urging them resign from the party in response to government support for the merger.

At the first meeting of the BCP Shadow Authority, comprising all councillors of the districts of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole alongside the county councillors for Christchurch, Christchurch Council Leader David Flagg declared a conflict of interest due to Christchurch Council's legal challenge to the merger and that they would not be able to attend meetings until the legal challenge was resolved, before walking out alongside several Conservative and independent Christchurch Councillors, though with several remaining, including former council leader Ray Nottage. Colin Bungey reiterated his call in October of that year, arguing that Christchurch Councillors would be "under the control of the Bournemouth whip", with Christchurch having 10 councillors compared to Bournemouth and Poole having 66.

Subsequently, five Conservative Councillors in Christchurch, alongside two existing independent councillors, announced their plan to stand as independents. In March 2019, councillors David Flagg, Paul Hilliard, Nick Geary, David Jones, Lesley Dedman and Margaret Phipps were suspended from the Conservative party, alongside the deputy president of the Christchurch Conservative association, Simon McCormack. Six of the Councillors (not including David Jones) alongside McCormack announced their intention to stand as independents, with new candidates joining the existing councillors. Ultimately ten candidates stood for the BCP council election as part of the Christchurch Independents group, also calling for taxes across the new district to be equal.

2019 Election and Unity Alliance
Under the new ward arrangements, there were five two-member wards in the former Christchurch Borough; the Christchurch Independents ultimately stood two candidates in each. The Christchurch Independent candidates won eight out of ten seats, with the Liberal Democrats and Conservatives winning one seat each in the Christchurch Town Ward, with the CI candidates coming fifth and sixth after two more Liberal Democrat and Conservative candidates. The 2019 election as a whole resulted in the council coming under no overall control, with no single party holding a majority. Whilst the Conservatives won the largest number of seats, 36, this was three short of the 39 required for a majority. The Liberal Democrats were the second largest party, and Independent Councillors (11 total) as a whole and the Christchurch Independents by themselves constituted the third largest group on the council, with the Christchurch Independents and Poole People and ALL groups both on 8 members.

The elected councillors met after the election, with Councillor Margaret Phillips elected as the group leader with Councillor David Flagg as Deputy, with the group stating that they would be open to working with any groups in the Council other than the Conservatives, having pledged to oppose the Conservatives prior to the election; ultimately a "Unity Alliance" administration was formed by all parties other than the Conservatives and UKIP, with the Liberal Democrats leader Vikki Slade becoming leader of the council and Christchurch Independent David Flagg becoming Chair.

Elections were also held for the new Highcliffe & Walkford Neighbourhood Council and Christchurch Town Council, with uncontested appointments made for the Burton and Winkton and Hurn Parish Councils.

Opposition
In September 2019, Councillor Nigel Brooks left the group to sit as a "wholly independent" councillor, and in April 2020 Councillor Colin Bungey died, leaving the group with 6 councillors. Due to these developments, alongside the departure of two Poole People councillors from both their party and one from the Unity Alliance (meaning that the Poole People and ALL group was still joint-third largest group alongside CI), a vote of no confidence in Vikki Slade was held in June 2020, which resulted in a tie of 37 votes each way alongside one abstention, with Council Chairman Cllr David Flagg casting the deciding vote against the motion, meaning that the Unity Alliance continued. 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 October 1 in order to elect a new leader of the council; Conservative leader on the council Drew Mellor was nominated by his deputy Phill 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; Mellor appealed to the Christchurch Independents to join the administration with potential offers of cabinet position, but the offer was rejected, with a statement reading "We stood on a platform in the elections last year that the Tories cannot be trusted to protect Christchurch and we won eight of the ten seats". The statement also reiterated the group's plans to contest the eventual by-election for Colin Bungey's Commons ward seat, with Vanessa Ricketts as the prospective candidate. As such, the Conservatives remained as a minority administration.

Parishes
Several Christchurch Independents were also elected to parishes in the Christchurch area as independents: Janet Abbott, one of the former-Christchurch Conservatives to leave the party, was elected to the Grange Ward of Christchurch Town Council, alongside Simon McCormack. Lesley Dedman and Paul Hilliard were elected to the Friars Cliff Ward of the Town Council. Colin Bungey was elected to the Jumpers & St Catherine's Ward, but died in April 2020. The (unsuccessful) CI Candidate for the BCP Christchurch Town Ward, Fred Neale, was also elected to the Jumpers & St Catherine's Ward of Christchurch Town Council

Nigel Brooks was also elected to Highcliffe and Walkford Parish Council, but left the group in September 2019.

Electoral results
All below results ''tally the votes of the highest polling candidate for each party within each ward. This is known as the top candidate method and is often used for multi-member plurality elections. Christchurch Independents are counted as separately from other independents for the purpose of these results.''

2019
= 2021 Winchester City Council Elections = Elections to Winchester City Council will take place on Thursday 6 May 2021, alongside other local elections across the country. Originally scheduled for 2020, the elections were delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, meaning that they will occur at the same time as the Hampshire County Council Elections. Prior to the election, the Liberal Democrats held a majority and were in control of the council.

Background
In the previous election in 2019, the Liberal Democrats took control of the council from the Conservative administration, who had been in control since 2012 (apart from a brief period of no overall control 2014-15), with the Liberal Democrats last having been in control between 1995-2004, and 2010-2011. The Liberal Democrats gained five seats from the Conservatives, with the Liberal Democrats holding 27 seats and the Conservatives 18. Subsequent to the election, the Conservatives lost two councillors: Central Meon Valley Councillor Victoria Weston resigned from the party prior to the 2019 General Election, citing "inconsistencies of party policy now emerging across the nation and lack of support when needed", and that she "could represent the interests of my constituents more fairly as an independent". In 2020 Denmead Councillor Judith Clementson was suspended from the party after being accused of making Islamophobic posts on social media.

= Proposed Combined Authorities = Some of these should be in the "failed" table, or added at the end of existing entries

= Yorkshire Devolution =

Yorkshire Devolution refers to the movement to devolve power from the British Government to the county of Yorkshire, a historic county in Northern England, and the largest in the United Kingdom. Due both to its size and regional identity, there has existed a Yorkshire Devolution movement, promoting a regionalist form of government for Yorkshire. With the establishment of devolved institutions in Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, with a Campaign for Yorkshire set up. In 2014, the Yorkshire First Party, later rebranded as the Yorkshire Party was founded. In recent years, some devolved institutions have been set up in parts of Yorkshire, but none exist across the whole region.

Local Government
As well as the four ceremonial counties, Yorkshire is further divided into districts. The counties of South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, and the East Riding of Yorkshire are made up of unitary authorities, whilst North Yorkshire is a two-tier county, with district councils as well as North Yorkshire County Council, other than the City of York which is unitary. Below is a table showing the official subdivisions of the Yorkshire and the Humber statistical region. Note that this does not include the entirity of Yorkshire, and also includes parts of North Lincolnshire, part of the former Humberside county. Key: †shire county | *metropolitan county

Combined Authorities
Alongside existing local government, two combined authorities exist in Yorkshire. Combined authorities are a type of local government institution established in areas likely to improve transport, economic development and regeneration. Combined authorities are created voluntarily and allow a group of local authorities to pool appropriate responsibility and receive certain delegated functions from central government in order to deliver transport and economic policy more effectively over a wider area. Their board members are the respective council leaders of the constituent districts, often as well as leaders of Local Enterprise Partnerships. They are generally chaired by a directly-elected mayor.

In Yorkshire there are two combined authorities, the Sheffield City Region Combined Authority and West Yorkshire Combined Authority. The Sheffield City Region Combined Authority is made up of the four metropolitan boroughs of South Yorkshire, as well as five non-constituent members in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire. The Combined Authority is chaired by a directly-elected mayor, Dan Jarvis, who was elected in 2018. The West Yorkshire Combined Authority similarly has the membership of the five metropolitan boroughs of West Yorkshire, alongside the City of York as a non-constituent member. The authority originally did not have a mayor, as it supported the One Yorkshire devolution deal (see below), but is due to elect a mayor in 2021, who will subsequently chair meetings.

One Yorkshire
One Yorkshire refers to a proposed Combined Authority covering the entirety of Yorkshire, including the existing two combined authorities. This was supported eighteen of the twenty two Yorkshire local authorities, as well as Dan Jarvis, Mayor of the Sheffield City Region; Sheffield and Rotherham councils favoured the South Yorkshire alternative, whilst several North Yorkshire councils were already part of the Tees Valley Combined Authority. It proposed the creation of a single directly-elected Mayor of Yorkshire, with a proposal submitted to the government in 2018. Despite the widespread support, it was rejected by the government in 2019. Support has continued, however, despite new authorities being considered for the remainder of Yorkshire.

North Yorkshire and East Riding
Subsequent to the rejection of the One Yorkshire Combined Authority, despite support continuing for it, new proposals have been made for an East Yorkshire and North Yorkshire Combined Authority. North Yorkshire has eleven districts, of which seven are part of North Yorkshire County Council, with the remaining being unitary authorities. Stockton-on-Tees (which is partially in County Durham), Middlesbrough, and Redcar and Cleveland (all unitary authorities) are part of the existing Tees Valley Combined Authority, and thus are unlikely to be included in the city deal. The unitary authority of the City of York is a non-constituent member of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, but membership of a North Yorkshire Combined Authority has been floated.

The East Riding of Yorkshire is divided between the unitary authorities of the East Riding of Yorkshire and Hull.

= Metro Mayors in the United Kingdom =

Context
Whilst mayors are a long-established office in England, they have become a more ceremonial role over time, generally being a honorific given to an elected councillor, usually on a one-year basis. During the Major Ministry directly-elected mayors were first proposed (particularly supported by Michael Heseltine), and legislation was passed by the Blair Ministry, with the first directly-elected mayor being introduced in London, as the executive of (and accountable to) the Greater London Authority. Subsequent legislation introduced the ability for local councils to establish a directly-elected mayor by means of a referendum, although most of these returned a "no" vote. The establishment of Combined Authorities however renewed interest in the position; Combined Authorities are a grouping of local authorities given some devolved powers and finances, with an indirectly-elected board made up of the leaders of the constituent councils; in order to provide further accountability, most of these have included a directly-elected "metro" mayor in order to provide a single point of accountability; all but one combined authority (the North East) have established metro mayors, with West Yorkshire due to elect one in 2021. A metro mayor therefore refers to the mayors of the combined authorities alongside that of London, as opposed to City Mayors (covering a single authority) and Lord Mayors (a ceremonial role)

Membership
Alongside the eight mayoral combined authorities (West Yorkshire has yet to elect a mayor, and the North East opted not to have one), the Mayor of London is also a member of the group. Out of 24 directly-elected mayors, these are those who cover more than one local authority area (i.e. a Combined Authority as well as Greater London).

M9 Group
The M9 Group is the term informally used to refer to eight directly-elected mayors in England, who act together as a group to coordinate activities and lobby central government. Weekly calls are taken between the mayors, alongside some meetings.

Devolution
One of the main activities of the group has been calling for further devolution of powers and responsibilities to local authorities.

In October 2019 the M9 met in Manchester, where they welcomed plans for a White Paper on further devolution in England announced by Chancellor Sajid Javid.

COVID-19
During the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom, the group corresponded regularly with the central British government. This included correspondence and meetings with the Prime Minister (Boris Johnson), Local Government Secretary (Robert Jenrick), and Minister for Regional Growth and Local Government (Simon Clarke).

= Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council elections = Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council is a unitary authority in Dorset, England. It was formed in April 2019, with the inaugural elections held in May of that year. The Council is made up of 76 councillors from 33 wards, elected for a four year term, with the next elections due take place in 2024.

Political control
After the 2019 Election no party was in overall control, with the Conservatives 3 seats short of a majority, with a "Unity Alliance" lead by the Liberal Democrats instead forming a majority administration. In 2020, a vote of no confidence lead to the Conservatives forming a minority administration.

Council elections

 * 2019 Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council election

2021
Two by-elections are due to take place in May 2021 alongside national local elections after the death of a Liberal Democrat and an Independent councillor in the wards of Canford Heath and Commons.