Biography

The 2015 South Somerset District Council election took place on 7 May 2015 to elect members of South Somerset District Council in Somerset, England.^[1] This is on the same day as the general election, and other local elections. This election saw 29 Liberal Democrats, 28 Conservatives, and 3 Independents elected to the Council.

The Liberal Democrats have had control of the council since 1987 and won the previous election in 2011 with a 2-seat majority.^[2]

Candidates by Ward

South Somerset District Council continued to be made up of 60 councillors elected across 39 wards. The Conservative Party and the Liberal Democrats both fielded 58 candidates, Labour fielded 31 candidates, the Green Party 11, the UK Independence Party 8 and there were 5 independents.^[3]

Incumbent candidates are denoted *.

Blackdown Ward

Seats contested: 1

Blackdown Ward^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Martin John Wale	923	59
	Liberal Democrats	Nigel John Petrie Mermagen	388	25
	UKIP	Neil Arnold	246	16
Turnout			1,557
	Conservative hold		Swing

Blackmoor Vale Ward

Seats contested: 2

Blackmoor Vale Ward^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	William Wallace*	1,738	32
	Conservative	Tim Inglefield*	1,477	27
	Liberal Democrats	Sue Place	1,245	23
	Liberal Democrats	Jack Dyke-Bracher	756	14
	Labour	Joanna Susan Penberthy	275	5
Turnout			5,491
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

Bruton Ward

Seats contested: 1

Bruton Ward^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Anna Mary Groskop*	843	56
	Liberal Democrats	Abi Baker	310	20
	Green	Ewan Jones	246	16
	Labour	Matthew Hooberman	114	8
Turnout			1,513
	Conservative hold		Swing

Brympton Ward

Seats contested: 2

Brympton Ward^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Sarah Helena Lindsay	1,426	25
	Liberal Democrats	Peter Jeremy Seib*	1,421	25
	Liberal Democrats	Emma Louise Dunn	1,257	22
	Conservative	Josh Williams	1,202	21
	Labour	Glen James Graham	459	8
Turnout			5,765
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing
	Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats		Swing

Burrow Hill Ward

Seats contested: 1

Burrow Hill Ward^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Derek Yeomans*	878	62
	Liberal Democrats	Pippa Mestraud	399	28
	Labour	Sam Foulder-Hughes	148	10
Turnout			1,425
	Conservative hold		Swing

Camelot Ward

Seats contested: 1

Camelot Ward^[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Mike Lewis*	1,121	68
	Liberal Democrats	Penny Ashton	251	15
	UKIP	Christopher Hill	181	11
	Labour	Ann Margaret Reeder	106	6
Turnout			1,121
	Conservative hold		Swing

Cary Ward

Seats contested: 2

Cary Ward^[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Nick Weeks*	1,627	27
	Liberal Democrats	Henry Hobhouse*	1,432	24
	Conservative	Barry Moorhouse	1,298	22
	Liberal Democrats	Richard John Arnold	971	16
	Green	Richard Tabor	482	8
	Labour	Megan Sarah Rose Summerville	207	3
Turnout			6,017
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Chard Avishayes Ward

Seats contested: 1

Chard Avishayes Ward^[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Garry Frederick Shortland	440	36
	Conservative	Peter Amey	402	33
	Independent	Cath Morrison	223	18
	Labour	Graham Forsyth	148	12
Turnout			1,213
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Chard Combe Ward

Seats contested: 1

Chard Combe Ward^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Amanda Jane Broom	514	46
	Liberal Democrats	Steve Warwick	450	40
	Green	Jon Lewes	148	13
Turnout			1,112
	Conservative hold		Swing

Chard Crimchard Ward

Seats contested: 1

Chard Crimchard Ward^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Jenny Kenton*	863	66
	Conservative	Paul Bradly	445	34
Turnout			1,308
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Chard Holyrood Ward

Seats contested: 1

}

Chard Holyrood Ward^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Jason Paul Baker	699	51
	Conservative	Brennie Halse*	670	49
Turnout			1,369
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative		Swing

Chard Jocelyn Ward

Seats contested: 1

Chard Jocelyn Ward^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Dave Bulmer*	596	50
	Conservative	Irene Glynn	360	30
	Liberal Democrats	Melanie Ann Cherry Hudson	237	20
Turnout			1,193
	Independent hold		Swing

Coker Ward

Seats contested: 2

Coker Ward^[16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Gina Seaton*	1,755	29
	Liberal Democrats	Cathy Bakewell*	1,529	26
	Conservative	Rod Jones	1,464	25
	Liberal Democrats	Mick Clark	1,216	20
Turnout			5,964
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Crewkerne Ward

Seats contested: 3

Crewkerne Ward^[17]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Mike Best*	2,050	17
	Conservative	Marcus Morton Barrett	1,827	15
	Liberal Democrats	Angie Singleton*	1,555	13
	Liberal Democrats	Robin Christopher Pailthorpe	1,498	12
	Conservative	Adam Keen	1,369	11
	Conservative	Andrew John Newman Simkins	1,286	10
	Labour	Martin John Bailey	797	6
	Green	Katy Limmer	696	6
	Green	Ben Keiron Hartshorn	672	5
	Green	Nathan Harmer-Taylor	626	5
Turnout			12,376
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing
	Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats		Swing

Curry Rivel Ward

Seats contested: 1

Curry Rivel Ward^[18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Tiffany Ann Martha Osborne	826	52
	Independent	Terry Mounter*	601	38
	Labour	Alan John Martin	148	9
Turnout			1,575
	Conservative gain from Independent		Swing

Eggwood Ward

Seats contested: 1

Eggwood Ward^[19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Paul Michael Maxwell*	787	53
	Conservative	Jonathan Edward Edgington	687	47
Turnout			1,474
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Hamdon Ward

Seats contested: 1

Hamdon Ward^[20]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Sylvia Seal*	905	57
	Conservative	Christopher Edward Price	681	43
Turnout			1,586
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Ilminster Ward

Seats contested: 2

Ilminster Ward^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Carol Ann Goodall*	1,253	21
	Liberal Democrats	Val Keitch	1,108	19
	Conservative	Sean Clarke	1,037	18
	Conservative	Stuart Richard Shepherd	1,011	17
	UKIP	Don Kinder	689	12
	Green	Henry Peter Lansdown	460	8
	Labour	Paul John Sellers	306	5
Turnout			5,864
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Islemoor Ward

Seats contested: 1

Islemoor Ward^[22]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Sue Steele*	1,129	66
	Liberal Democrats	Oliver Pearce	417	25
	Labour	Geoff Mchugh	155	9
Turnout			1,701
	Conservative hold		Swing

Ivelchester Ward

Seats contested: 1

Ivelchester Ward^[23]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Tony Capozzoli*	922	53
	Conservative	Richard Foley Dale	600	35
	Liberal Democrats	Theo Whitaker	206	12
Turnout			1,728
	Independent hold		Swing

Langport and Huish Ward

Seats contested: 1

Langport and Huish Ward^[24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Clare Aparicio Paul	1,652	41
	Liberal Democrats	Julia Mary Frances Gadd	473	29
	Green	Cara Ann Naden	295	18
	Labour	Sean Adam Dromgoole	199	12
Turnout			1,652
	Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats		Swing

Martock Ward

Seats contested: 2

Martock Ward^[25]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Neil Brian Bloomfield	1,610	29
	Conservative	Graham Harold Middleton*	1,513	27
	Liberal Democrats	Patrick John Palmer*	1,126	20
	Liberal Democrats	Ben Ingram	809	15
	Labour	Chris Bragg	469	8
Turnout			5,527
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats		Swing

Milborne Port Ward

Seats contested: 1

Milborne Port Ward^[26]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Sarah Joanne Dyke-Bracher	766	45
	Conservative	Lucy Wallace*	765	45
	Labour	David Harry Lowe	184	11
Turnout			1,715
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative		Swing

Neroche Ward

Seats contested: 1

Neroche Ward^[27]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Linda Patricia Vijeh*	893	57
	Liberal Democrats	Jo Dawson	371	24
	UKIP	Clive Mark Rust	313	20
Turnout			1,577
	Conservative hold		Swing

Northstone Ward

Seats contested: 1

Northstone Ward^[28]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	David John Norris	1,200	62
	Liberal Democrats	Grahame Sydney Baker	527	27
	Labour	Keith Laurence O'Boyle	200	10
Turnout			1,927
	Conservative hold		Swing

Parrett Ward

Seats contested: 1

Parrett Ward^[29]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Ric Pallister*	785	52
	Conservative	Mark Alexander Keating	728	48
Turnout			1,513
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

South Petherton Ward

Seats contested: 2

South Petherton Ward^[30]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Adam James Dance	1,688	37
	Liberal Democrats	Crispin Kenneth Raikes	1,564	34
	Conservative	Barry Walker*	1,347	29
Turnout			4,599
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative		Swing
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative		Swing

St. Michael's Ward

Seats contested: 1

St. Michael's Ward^[31]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Jo Roundell-Greene*	699	52
	Conservative	Alexander Priest	653	48
Turnout			1,352
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Tatworth and Forton Ward

Seats contested: 1

Tatworth and Forton Ward^[32]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Andrew Turpin*	608	38
	Conservative	Russ Wardell	552	35
	Liberal Democrats	Robin Munday	435	27
Turnout			1,595
	Independent hold		Swing

Tower Ward

Seats contested: 1

Tower Ward^[33]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Mike Beech*	947	62
	Green	Oliver Hugh Arnold Dowding	274	18
	Liberal Democrats	Dave Nye	241	16
	Labour	Adrian Carter	73	5
Turnout			1,535
	Conservative hold		Swing

Turn Hill Ward

Seats contested: 1

Turn Hill Ward^[34]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Shane Pledger*	1,071	58
	Liberal Democrats	Pamela Diane Jukes	635	34
	Labour	Alan Peter Rose	142	8
Turnout			1,848
	Conservative hold		Swing

Wessex Ward

Seats contested: 2

Wessex Ward^[35]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Dean Ruddle	2,114	52
	Liberal Democrats	Stephen Richard John Page	1,326	33
	Labour	Frankie Ashton	589	15
Turnout			4,029
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Wincanton Ward

Seats contested: 2

Wincanton Ward^[36]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Colin Winder*	1,235	25
	Conservative	Nick Colbert*	1,231	25
	Liberal Democrats	Tim Carroll	821	17
	UKIP	Mark Anthony Vallance	531	11
	Liberal Democrats	Sarah Elizabeth Denton	512	11
	Green	John Frederick Holman	307	6
	Labour	Tim Daniel	223	5
Turnout			4,860
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

Windwhistle Ward

Seats contested: 1

Windwhistle Ward^[37]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Sue Osborne*	818	55
	Liberal Democrats	John Dyke	469	32
	UKIP	George Bernard Munro Elliott	196	13
Turnout			1,483
	Conservative hold		Swing

Yeovil Central Ward

Seats contested: 3

Yeovil Central Ward^[38]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Peter Arnold Gubbins*	1,329	17
	Liberal Democrats	Andy Kendall*	1,308	17
	Liberal Democrats	Kaysar Mahmud Hussain	1,132	15
	Conservative	David John Byrne	1,013	13
	Conservative	Linda Jane Gage	872	11
	Conservative	Bridget Mary Philomena Spender	777	10
	Labour	Mark Gordon Lambden	626	8
	Labour	Terry Lavin	581	8
Turnout			7,638
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Yeovil East Ward

Seats contested: 3

Yeovil East Ward^[39]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Tony Lock*	1,349	19
	Liberal Democrats	David Charles Recardo*	1,097	16
	Liberal Democrats	Rob Stickland	981	14
	UKIP	Godfrey Davey	706	10
	Conservative	Nick Rousell	571	8
	Conservative	Ann Needle	538	8
	Labour	Bill Byrd	534	8
	Conservative	Morley Keith Waddleton	528	7
	Labour	Sharon Anne Stafford	442	6
	Labour	Murray William Shepstone	330	5
Turnout			7,076
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Yeovil South Ward

Seats contested: 3

Yeovil South Ward^[40]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Charles Marshall Field	2,036	17
	Conservative	Nigel James Gage*	2,008	16
	Conservative	Sam McAllister	1,776	15
	Liberal Democrats	Kris Castle	1,691	14
	Liberal Democrats	Nagaraja Akkisetty	1,376	11
	Liberal Democrats	Gordon Dugald Thomson Czapiewski	1,227	10
	Labour	Joe Conway	866	7
	Labour	Terry Ledlie	622	5
	Labour	Martin Ronald Bailey	615	5
Turnout			12,217
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats		Swing

Yeovil West Ward

Seats contested: 3

Yeovil West Ward^[41]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	John Ernle Clark	1,364	16
	Liberal Democrats	Wes Read*	1,347	16
	Liberal Democrats	Alan Barry Smith	1,072	13
	Conservative	Mick Beales	1,049	13
	Conservative	Ash Strelling	954	11
	Conservative	David Keith Tolley	851	10
	UKIP	Tony Turner	844	10
	Labour	Dan Marks	462	6
	Labour	Colin John Rose	431	5
Turnout			8,374
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Yeovil Without Ward

Seats contested: 3

Yeovil Without Ward^[42]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Mike Lock	1,655	16
	Conservative	Gye Charles Bower Dibben	1,610	15
	Liberal Democrats	Graham John Oakes*	1,603	15
	Conservative	Teresa Anne Bond	1,588	15
	Liberal Democrats	Pauline Annette Lock	1,476	14
	Conservative	Teresa Sienkiewicz	1,187	11
	Green	Gary Young	747	7
	Labour	Sue Pitman	661	6
Turnout			10,527
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing
	Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats		Swing

References