# Bearwood and Merley

Bearwood and Merley is a ward in Poole, Dorset. Since 2019, the ward has elected 3 councillors to Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council.

## Demographics

Bearwood and Merley :
| Population | 2001 | 2011 | 2021 |
| Population | 13,532 | 13,516 | 14,028 |
| Geography ||||
| Population Density | 799.1/km² | 799.1/km² | 799.1/km² |
| Population Growth | (2011 to 2021) | (2011 to 2021) | 0.37% |
| Area | 17.55 km² | 17.55 km² | 17.55 km² |
| Ethnicity ||||
| White | White | 95.7% | 95.7% |
| Asian | Asian | 1.6% | 1.6% |
| Mixed/Other | Mixed/Other | 1.5% | 1.5% |
| Black | Black | 0.7% | 0.7% |
| Country of Birth ||||
| United Kingdom | United Kingdom | 92.3 | 92.3 |
| European Union | European Union | 3.5 | 3.5 |
| Africa | Africa | 1.6 | 1.6 |
| Middle East and Asia | Middle East and Asia | 1.4 | 1.4 |
| Other | Other | 0.9 | 0.9 |
| Europe (Other) | Europe (Other) | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Religion ||||
| Christianity | Christianity | 53.5% | 53.5% |
| No Religion | No Religion | 44.1% | 44.1% |

## Geography

The ward contains the suburbs of Bearwood and Merley. It primarily covers the area of the similarly named former Poole Borough Council ward of Merley and Bearwood. The ward is divided between the Parliamentary Constituencies of Bournemouth West and Mid Dorset and North Poole.

## Councillors

The ward is currently represented by three Liberal Democrat councillors.
| Election | Councillors | Councillors | Councillors |
| 2003 | Catherine Hives (Conservative Party) | Jane James (Liberal Democrats) | Leo Belcham (Conservative Party) |
| 2007 | Peter Maiden (Liberal Democrats) | David Brown (Liberal Democrats) | Daphne Long (Liberal Democrats) |
| 2011 | David Brown (Liberal Democrats) | Sandra Cox (Liberal Democrats) | Peter Maiden (Liberal Democrats) |
| 2015 | David Brown (Liberal Democrats) | Jane Newell (Conservative Party) | Marion Pope (Conservative Party) |
| BCP | David Brown (Liberal Democrats) | Marcus Andrews (Liberal Democrats) | Richard Burton (Liberal Democrats) |
| 2019 | David Brown (Liberal Democrats) | Marcus Andrews (Liberal Democrats) | Richard Burton (Liberal Democrats) |
| 2023 | David Brown (Liberal Democrats) | Marcus Andrews (Liberal Democrats) | Richard Burton (Liberal Democrats) |

## Election results
### 2023

Bearwood and Merley :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | David Anthony Brown‡ | 2,502 | 67.5 | +17.7 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Marcus Julian Charles Andrews‡ | 2,482 | 67.0 | +23.4 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Richard Glyn Burton‡ | 2,414 | 65.1 | +24.0 |
| | Conservative | Leona Jayne Allen | 744 | 20.1 | −6.9 |
| | Conservative | Debbie Ferguson | 698 | 18.8 | −3.6 |
| | Conservative | Roger Ashton Gregory | 691 | 18.6 | −3.6 |
| | Green | Alison Randall | 403 | 10.9 | +0.5 |
| | Labour | Siobhan Helen Bardsley | 350 | 9.4 | +4.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,706 | 33.48 | |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | | |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | | |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | | |

### 2019

Bearwood and Merley (3 seats) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | David Brown | 2,115 | 49.8 | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Marcus Andrews | 1,850 | 43.6 | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Richard Burton | 1,746 | 41.1 | |
| | Independent | Marion Pope | 1,456 | 34.3 | |
| | Conservative | Jane Newell | 1,148 | 27.0 | |
| | Conservative | Ashley Fraser | 949 | 22.4 | |
| | Conservative | Stephen Baker | 942 | 22.2 | |
| | Green | Simon Riggs | 443 | 10.4 | |
| | Labour | Siobhan Bardsley | 213 | 5.0 | |
| | Labour | Gigi Sismaet | 193 | 4.5 | |
| | Labour | Moe Phillips | 180 | 4.2 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 4,246 | 39.70% | |
| | Liberal Democrats win (new seat) | Liberal Democrats win (new seat) | Liberal Democrats win (new seat) | Liberal Democrats win (new seat) | Liberal Democrats win (new seat) |
| | Liberal Democrats win (new seat) | Liberal Democrats win (new seat) | Liberal Democrats win (new seat) | Liberal Democrats win (new seat) | Liberal Democrats win (new seat) |
| | Liberal Democrats win (new seat) | Liberal Democrats win (new seat) | Liberal Democrats win (new seat) | Liberal Democrats win (new seat) | Liberal Democrats win (new seat) |

### 2015

Merley and Bearwood (3 seats) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes |
| | Liberal Democrats | David Brown* | 2,579 |
| | Conservative | Jane Newell | 2,389 |
| | Conservative | Marion Pope | 2,332 |
| | Conservative | Roger Gregory | 2284 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Ken Swash | 1910 |
| | Liberal Democrats | May Newman | 1661 |
| | UKIP | John Butler | 1102 |
| | Green | Wayland Goodliffe | 458 |
| | Green | Gigi Sismaet | 454 |
| | Independent | Peter Kazmierczak | 377 |
| | Green | Emmajay Walsh | 312 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing |
| | Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats | Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats | Swing |
| | Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats | Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats | Swing |

### 2011

Merley and Bearwood (3 seats) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes |
| | Liberal Democrats | David Brown | 2,054 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Sandra Cox | 2,026 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Peter Maiden | 1,976 |
| | Conservative | Bernard Broderick | 1,936 |
| | Conservative | Jane Thomas | 1,639 |
| | Conservative | Andrew Chard | 1,593 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing |

### 2007

Merley and Bearwood (3 seats) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Liberal Democrats | Peter Maiden | 2,238 | |
| | Liberal Democrats | David Brown | 2,227 | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Daphne Long | 2,036 | |
| | Conservative | Katie Hives | 1,676 | |
| | Conservative | Jonathan Pethen | 1,492 | |
| | Conservative | Karen Rampton | 1,475 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,901 | 46.81 |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | |
| | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Swing | |
| | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Swing | |

### 2003

Merley and Bearwood (3 seats) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Catherine Hives | 1,689 | 51.7 | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Jane James | 1,581 | 48.3 | |
| | Conservative | Leo Belcham | 1,542 | | |
| | Conservative | Philip Jones | 1,519 | | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Leslie Legg | 1,493 | | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Philip James | 1,476 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | | | |
| | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) |
| | Liberal Democrats win (new seat) | Liberal Democrats win (new seat) | Liberal Democrats win (new seat) | Liberal Democrats win (new seat) | Liberal Democrats win (new seat) |
| | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) | Conservative win (new seat) |