# 2007 South Lakeland District Council election

The 2007 South Lakeland District Council election took place on 3 May 2007 to elect members of South Lakeland District Council in Cumbria, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Liberal Democrats stayed in overall control of the council.
After the election, the composition of the council was:
* Liberal Democrat 34
* Conservative 15
* Labour 2
* Independent 1

## Background

At the last election in 2006 the Liberal Democrats gained a majority on the council for the first time. Both they and the Conservatives stood in all of the 17, mainly rural, seats that were being contested in 2007. A Save Our NHS Group stood in 5 seats to campaign against local health cuts, along with 2 candidates from the Labour Party and 1 from the Green Party. Councillors who stood down at the election included 4 Conservatives and 1 Liberal Democrat, Gill Cranwell, vice chair of the council.
Issues in the election included cuts in services, hospital closures and secrecy in local government.

## Election result

The results saw the Liberal Democrats remain in control with an increased majority, gaining 3 seats to have 34 councillors. They took the seats of Arnside and Beetham, Crooklands and Windermere Applethwaite from the Conservatives, to leave the Conservatives with 15 councillors. 2 of the gains came in seats where the Conservative councillors had stood down at the election, while in Windermere Applethwaite Jennifer Borer was defeated by 333 votes to 488. Overall turnout in the election was 53.74%.
South Lakeland Local Election Result 2007 :
| Party | Seats | Gains | Losses | Net gain/loss | Seats % | Votes % | Votes | +/− |
| Liberal Democrats | 11 | 3 | 0 | +3 | 64.7 | 57.0 | 11,009 | -9.4% |
| Conservative | 6 | 0 | 3 | -3 | 35.3 | 40.8 | 7,874 | +18.0% |
| Save Our NHS Group | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.3 | 257 | +0.3% |
| Green | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.6 | 114 | +0.4% |
| Labour | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.3 | 60 | -7.7% |

## Ward results

Arnside and Beetham :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Prudence Jupe | 1,516 | 69.6 | +27.2 |
| | Conservative | David Clark | 661 | 30.4 | −16.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 855 | 39.2 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,177 | 61.6 | +7.5 |
| | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Swing | | |
Broughton :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Joss Curwen* | 662 | 63.7 | −12.0 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Barry Rabone | 378 | 36.3 | +12.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 284 | 27.4 | −24.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,040 | 55.7 | +6.8 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
Burneside :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Frank Hodson* | 532 | 64.6 | +4.0 |
| | Conservative | James Alexander | 275 | 33.4 | −6.0 |
| | Save Our NHS Group | Leonard Edgar | 17 | 2.1 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 257 | 31.2 | +10.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 824 | 53.5 | +12.8 |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | | |
Cartmel :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Howard Martin* | 556 | 69.7 | +15.5 |
| | Conservative | Ted Walsh | 242 | 30.3 | −15.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 314 | 39.4 | +31.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 798 | 53.6 | +9.0 |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | | |
Crake Valley :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Betty Spendlove | 482 | 60.4 | −5.5 |
| | Conservative | Wendy Barry | 316 | 39.6 | +5.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 166 | 20.8 | −11.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 798 | 54.3 | +16.4 |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | | |
Crooklands :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Sheila Eccles | 664 | 58.8 | +9.8 |
| | Conservative | James Airey | 465 | 41.2 | −9.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 199 | 17.6 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,129 | 63.0 | +14.0 |
| | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Swing | | |
Grange :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Tom Harvey | 916 | 46.6 | −6.4 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Robert Leach | 891 | 45.3 | −1.7 |
| | Save Our NHS Group | Andrew Billson-Page | 158 | 8.0 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 25 | 1.4 | −4.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,965 | 54.5 | +7.8 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
Holker :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Jack Manning* | 408 | 54.8 | −13.0 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Maureen Nicholson | 337 | 45.2 | +13.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 71 | 9.5 | −26.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 745 | 50.5 | −1.4 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
Kirkby Lonsdale :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Rodger Read* | 520 | 53.3 | −7.9 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Maria Radice | 455 | 46.7 | +40.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 65 | 6.6 | −21.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 975 | 52.3 | −1.9 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
Lakes Ambleside :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | David Vatcher* | 987 | 73.8 | +28.7 |
| | Conservative | Alan Piper | 303 | 22.6 | −20.8 |
| | Save Our NHS Group | Jane Wilkinson | 48 | 3.6 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 684 | 51.2 | +49.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,338 | 46.1 | +9.9 |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | | |
Low Furness & Swarthmoor :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Sonjie Marshall* | 866 | 52.3 | −0.3 |
| | Conservative | Jim Webster | 677 | 40.9 | −6.5 |
| | Green | Jo-Anna Duncalf | 114 | 6.9 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 189 | 11.4 | +6.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,657 | 48.3 | +8.6 |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | | |
Sedbergh :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Kevin Lancaster* | 867 | 52.3 | −19.1 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Peter Woof | 791 | 47.7 | +19.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 76 | 4.6 | −38.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,658 | 59.9 | +25.4 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
Whinfell :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Peter Thornton* | 669 | 63.5 | +7.8 |
| | Conservative | Pat Bell | 385 | 36.5 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 284 | 27.0 | +15.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,054 | 56.7 | +8.5 |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | | |
Windermere Applethwaite :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Maggie Bridge | 488 | 59.4 | +20.1 |
| | Conservative | Jennifer Borer* | 333 | 40.6 | −20.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 155 | 18.8 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 821 | 50.8 | +16.9 |
| | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Swing | | |
Windermere Bowness North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Hilary Stephenson | 625 | 59.9 | +2.8 |
| | Conservative | Johnnie Curwen | 377 | 36.1 | −6.8 |
| | Labour | Helen Sowerby | 28 | 2.7 | N/A |
| | Save Our NHS Group | Anna Billson-Page | 13 | 1.2 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 248 | 23.8 | +9.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,043 | 63.1 | +10.4 |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | | |
Windermere Bowness South :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | David Williams | 366 | 61.5 | −14.4 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Dyan Jones | 229 | 38.5 | +14.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 137 | 23.0 | −28.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 595 | 42.1 | +3.6 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
Windermere Town :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Kathleen Atkinson | 543 | 76.8 | +0.5 |
| | Conservative | Yvonne Stewart-Taylor | 101 | 14.3 | −9.4 |
| | Labour | Stephen Thomas | 32 | 4.5 | N/A |
| | Save Our NHS Group | Charles Batteson | 31 | 4.4 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 442 | 62.5 | +9.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 707 | 42.1 | +4.7 |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | | |