# 2004 Craven District Council election

The 2004 Craven District Council election took place on 10 June 2004 to elect members of Craven District Council in North Yorkshire, England. One third of the council was up for election and the council stayed under no overall control.
After the election, the composition of the council was as follows:
* Conservative 13
* Independent 11
* Liberal Democrats 6

## Background

After the last election in 2003, the Conservatives had 11 seats, compared to 10 for independents and 9 Liberal Democrats. However, in November 2003 an independent candidate gained a seat from the Liberal Democrats at a by-election in Bentham.
At the 2004 election two long serving councillors stood down, Beth Graham from Settle and Ribblesbanks ward, who had been a councillor since 1976, and Peter Walbank of Grassington ward. Candidates at the election included the first Labour Party candidate for a few years, James Black in Skipton South, while the Green Party also stood a candidate in Aire Valley with Lothersdale.

## Election result

The Conservatives gained 2 seats at the election to have 13 councillors, compared to 11 independents and 6 Liberal Democrats. Overall turnout at the election reached 50% after being held with all postal voting, only 9% below the turnout nationally at the 2001 general election, with the high turnout leading to a delay in the counting of the results.
Craven local election result 2004 :
| Party | Seats | Gains | Losses | Net gain/loss | Seats % | Votes % | Votes | +/− |
| Conservative | 6 | 2 | 0 | +2 | 54.5 | 41.6 | 5,549 | -4.1% |
| Liberal Democrats | 3 | 0 | 2 | -2 | 27.3 | 29.9 | 3,982 | +5.6% |
| Independent | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18.2 | 24.9 | 3,318 | -5.1% |
| Green | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.1 | 285 | +2.1% |
| Labour | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.5 | 204 | +1.5% |

## Ward results

Aire Valley with Lothersdale :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Patricia Fairbank | 725 | 52.7 | |
| | Liberal Democrats | John Manley | 365 | 26.5 | |
| | Green | John Akroyd | 285 | 20.7 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 360 | 26.2 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,375 | 51.7 | +14.5 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
Barden Fell :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Christopher Knowles-Fitton | 414 | 51.2 | −13.0 |
| | Independent | Cecil Hammond | 302 | 37.3 | +1.5 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Darren Moorby | 93 | 11.5 | +11.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 112 | 13.9 | −14.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 809 | 59.9 | +2.7 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
Cowling :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Independent | John Alderson | 374 | 45.1 |
| | Independent | Alan Perrow | 316 | 38.1 |
| | Conservative | Geoffrey Dunn | 140 | 16.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 58 | 7.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 830 | 50.1 |
| | Independent hold | Independent hold | Swing | |
Grassington :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | Richard Foster | 616 | 73.2 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Andrew Rankine | 225 | 26.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 391 | 46.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 841 | 65.4 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | |
Ingleton and Clapham :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Independent | David Ireton | 1,403 | 81.9 |
| | Conservative | Alex Bentley | 310 | 18.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,093 | 63.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,713 | 56.9 |
| | Independent hold | Independent hold | Swing | |
Settle and Ribblebanks :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Donald Whaites | 740 | 50.5 | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Ronald Graveson | 726 | 49.5 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 14 | 1.0 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,466 | 53.3 | +14.2 |
| | Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats | Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats | Swing | | |
Skipton East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Eric Jaquin | 728 | 51.1 | +24.3 |
| | Conservative | Christopher Harbron | 697 | 48.9 | +17.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 31 | 2.2 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,425 | 52.0 | |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | | |
Skipton North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Paul Whitaker | 679 | 41.7 | −14.7 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Michael Doyle | 549 | 33.7 | −9.9 |
| | Independent | John Kerwin-Davey | 399 | 24.5 | +24.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 130 | 8.0 | −4.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,627 | 59.7 | |
| | Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats | Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats | Swing | | |
Skipton South :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Andrew Solloway | 501 | 44.8 | +44.8 |
| | Conservative | Kenneth Creek | 224 | 20.0 | +4.7 |
| | Labour | James Black | 204 | 18.2 | +18.2 |
| | Independent | Dennis Hall | 190 | 17.0 | −40.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 277 | 24.8 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,119 | 41.5 | |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | | |
Skipton West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Paul English | 795 | 65.3 | −1.7 |
| | Conservative | Norman Spence | 423 | 34.7 | +1.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 372 | 30.5 | −3.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,218 | 43.0 | |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | | |
Upper Wharfedale :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | John Sayer | 581 | 63.5 | +5.1 |
| | Independent | Kenneth Luty | 334 | 36.5 | +8.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 247 | 27.0 | −3.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 915 | 61.1 | +7.9 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |

## By-elections between 2004 and 2006

Upper Wharfedale by-election 2 March 2006 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Julia Mulligan | 394 | 54.7 | −8.8 |
| | Independent | | 326 | 45.3 | +8.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 68 | 9.4 | −17.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 720 | 47.0 | −14.1 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |