# Tower Division, Suffolk

Tower Division is an electoral division in Suffolk which returns two county councillors to Suffolk County Council.

## Geography

It is made up of the central and North West Bury St Edmunds and consists of the West Suffolk council wards of Miden, St Olaves, Tollgate, and Abbeygate along with a small part of Westgate ward between the River Linnet, Hospital Road, and Petticoat lane.

## History

The first elections for this division were held as part of the 2005 United Kingdom local elections, after the division was created through The County of Suffolk (Electoral Changes) Order 2004
Both seats of the division are currently held by Conservative party after David Nettleton defected to the Conservatives in December 2019 having been elected as an independent.

## Members for Tower

| Member | Party | Term | Member | Party | Term |
| David Lockwood | Labour | 2005–2009 | Paul Hopfensperger | Conservative | 2005–2008 |
| David Lockwood | Labour | 2005–2009 | Paul Hopfensperger | Independent | 2008–2009 |
| Paul Farmer | Conservative | 2009–2010 | Mark Ereira-Guyer | Green | 2009–2017 |
| Stefan Oliver | Conservative | 2010–2013 | Mark Ereira-Guyer | Green | 2009–2017 |
| David Nettleton | Independent | 2013–2019 | Mark Ereira-Guyer | Green | 2009–2017 |
| David Nettleton | Conservative | 2019–present | Robert Everitt | Conservative | 2017–present |

## Election results
### Elections in the 2020s

2021 Suffolk County Council election: Tower :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Robert Everitt * | 2,277 | 33.7 | +4.9 |
| | Conservative | David Nettleton * | 2,104 | | |
| | Green | Steph Holland | 1,993 | 29.5 | +7.4 |
| | Green | Matthew Rowe | 1,489 | | |
| | Labour | Donna Higgins | 1,409 | 20.8 | +5.2 |
| | Labour | Marilyn Sayer | 830 | | |
| | Independent | Frank Stennett | 691 | 10.2 | N/A |
| | Liberal Democrats | David Poulson | 269 | 4.0 | –2.3 |
| | Communist | Darren Turner | 120 | 1.8 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 284 | 4.2 | +1.0 |
| Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | 932 | 15.3 | 15.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 6,090 | 36.9 | 3.8 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 16,494 | | 928 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | –1.2 | |
| | Conservative gain from Independent | Conservative gain from Independent | Swing | | |

### Elections in the 2010s

2017 Suffolk County Council election: Tower :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Robert Everitt | 1,833 | 22.9 | +0.2 |
| | Independent | David Nettleton * | 1,628 | 20.4 | –5.4 |
| | Independent | Paul Hopfensperger | 1,623 | 20.3 | N/A |
| | Green | Mark Ereira-Guyer * | 1,406 | 17.6 | –9.9 |
| | Labour | Quentin Cornish | 998 | 12.5 | –4.1 |
| | Labour | Alex Griffin | 907 | | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Julia Lale | 507 | 6.3 | –1.1 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Sheena Rawlings | 173 | | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 205 | 2.6 | +7.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 5,147 | 33.1 | |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 15,566 | | |
| | Conservative gain from Green | Conservative gain from Green | Swing | 2.8 | |
| | Independent hold | Independent hold | Swing | | |
2013 Suffolk County Council election: Tower :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Green | Mark Ereira-Guyer * | 1,481 | 23.2 | –3.9 |
| | Independent | David Nettleton | 1,389 | 21.8 | –4.2 |
| | Conservative | Robert Everitt | 1,227 | 19.3 | –9.5 |
| | Conservative | Patsy Warby | 1,008 | | |
| | UKIP | Luke Levene | 983 | 15.4 | +15.4 |
| | Labour | Diane Hind | 895 | 14.0 | +5.0 |
| | Labour | Nicola Ridgeway | 840 | | |
| | UKIP | James Lumley | 823 | | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Judy Roadway | 399 | 6.3 | –2.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 162 | 1.4 | –0.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 6,374 | 29.6 | –5.5 |
| | Green hold | Green hold | Swing | +0.2 | |
| | Independent gain from Conservative | Independent gain from Conservative | Swing | +2.7 | |
Tower By-Election 11 November 2010 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Stefan Oliver | 1,005 | 28.8 | 0.0 |
| | Independent | David Nettleton | 950 | 27.2 | +1.2 |
| | Labour | Kevin Hind | 759 | 21.7 | +12.6 |
| | Green | Pippa Judd | 479 | 13.7 | −13.4 |
| | Liberal Democrats | David Chappell | 300 | 8.6 | −0.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 55 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,505 | 20.9 | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | −0.6 | |

### Elections in the 2000s

2009 Suffolk County Council election: Tower :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | Paul Farmer | 2,042 | 28.8 |
| | Green | Mark Ereira-Guyer | 1,924 | 27.1 |
| | Independent | David Nettleton | 1,846 | 26.0 |
| | Conservative | Richard Rout | 1,726 | |
| | Labour | Keith Waterson | 645 | 9.1 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Daniel Warren | 641 | 9.9 |
| | Labour | Kevin Hind | 624 | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Allan Jones | 605 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 118 & 78 | 1.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 10,053 | 32.7 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 15,576 | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | |
| | Green gain from Labour | Green gain from Labour | Swing | |
2005 Suffolk County Council election: Tower :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | David Lockwood * | 3,181 | 32.7 |
| | Conservative | Paul Hopfensperger | 2,747 | 28.3 |
| | Labour | Ray Nowak * | 2,720 | - |
| | Conservative | Robert Everitt | 2,663 | - |
| | Liberal Democrats | David Chappell | 1,738 | 17.9 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Daniel Warren | 1,266 | - |
| | UKIP | Brian Lockwood | 801 | 8.2 |
| | Independent | David Nettleton | 799 | 8.2 |
| | UKIP | Ivan Cook | 509 | - |
| | Independent | Melinda Nettleton | 498 | - |
| | Green | Adam Stacey | 455 | 4.7 |
| | Green | Samantha Hunt Stacey | 432 | - |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 27 | 4.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | | 68.6 |
| | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) |
| | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) |