# 2011 Eastbourne Borough Council election

The 2011 Eastbourne Borough Council election took place on 5 May 2011 to elect members of Eastbourne Borough Council in East Sussex, England. The whole council was up for election and the Liberal Democrats stayed in overall control of the council.

## Background

Before the election the Liberal Democrats controlled the council with 20 seats, compared to 7 for the Conservatives, after taking control at the 2007 election. A total of 94 candidates stood for the 27 seats on the council being contested, while 10 sitting councillors stood down at the election, 8 Liberal Democrats and 2 Conservatives. Important seats for control of the council were expected to be Old Town and Sovereign, as well as Hampden Park and Upperton.
Local issues at the election included plans for the redevelopment of the town centre, which was supported across parties, and calls to improve Eastbourne's transport links. However, with the Liberal Democrats in government nationally together with the Conservatives, national government decisions, such as the increase in tuition fees, were also an issue during the election.

## Election result

The Liberal Democrats remained in control of the council with 15 seats, but lost 5 seats to the Conservatives. The Conservatives gained all 3 seats in Sovereign ward and also took the 2 seats the Liberal Democrats had been defending in Upperton. This took the Conservatives to 12 councillors, but the Liberal Democrats held on to all 3 seats in Old Town ward after a recount, to keep a 3-seat council majority. Overall turnout at the election was 44.17%, compared to 42.26% in 2007.
Eastbourne local election result 2011 :
| Party | Seats | Gains | Losses | Net gain/loss | Seats % | Votes % | Votes | +/− |
| Liberal Democrats | 15 | 0 | 5 | -5 | 55.6 | 39.4 | 13,341 | -5.6 |
| Conservative | 12 | 5 | 0 | +5 | 44.4 | 38.0 | 12,893 | -0.5 |
| Green | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 10.6 | 3,590 | +1.7 |
| Labour | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 10.4 | 3,515 | +5.2 |
| UKIP | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 1.2 | 404 | -1.2 |
| Independent | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 160 | N/A |

## Ward results

Devonshire (3 seats) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Margaret Bannister | 1,529 | | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Neil Stanley | 1,304 | | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Steve Wallis | 1,273 | | |
| | Conservative | Margaret Parker | 672 | | |
| | Conservative | Sandra Elkin | 666 | | |
| | Conservative | Grant Sanders | 580 | | |
| | Labour | Steven Clark | 412 | | |
| | Labour | Richard Goude | 345 | | |
| | Labour | Jean Winstone | 337 | | |
| | Green | Linda Wintle | 295 | | |
| | Green | Bill Palethorpe | 256 | | |
| | Independent | Keith Gell | 160 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 7,829 | 34.5 | +0.0 |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | | |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | | |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | | |
Hampden Park (3 seats) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Pat Hearn | 1,394 | | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Jim Murray | 1,266 | | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Mike Thompson | 1,225 | | |
| | Conservative | Caroline Ansell | 692 | | |
| | Conservative | Kate Glover | 672 | | |
| | Conservative | Sam Chapman | 643 | | |
| | Labour | Dave Brinson | 470 | | |
| | Labour | Jake Lambert | 418 | | |
| | Labour | Gerry Stonestreet | 344 | | |
| | Green | Leslie Dalton | 255 | | |
| | Green | Ivor Hueting | 220 | | |
| | Green | Rob Sier | 166 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 7,765 | 40.1 | +8.2 |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | | |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | | |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | | |
Langney (3 seats) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Alan Shuttleworth | 1,434 | | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Harun Miah | 1,328 | | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Troy Tester | 1,282 | | |
| | Conservative | Tony Freebody | 726 | | |
| | Conservative | John Glover | 720 | | |
| | Conservative | Jan Jenkins | 705 | | |
| | Labour | Lee Comfort | 278 | | |
| | Green | Christine Quarrington | 270 | | |
| | Labour | Sean Meekings | 258 | | |
| | Labour | Roy Noble | 218 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 7,219 | 34.4 | +0.4 |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | | |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | | |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | | |
Meads (3 seats) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Barry Taylor | 2,239 | | |
| | Conservative | David Elkin | 2,232 | | |
| | Conservative | Nigel Goodyear | 2,126 | | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Tom Banner | 797 | | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Jean Fisher | 766 | | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Margaret Ticehurst | 734 | | |
| | Green | Harry Boys | 414 | | |
| | Labour | Jean Couture | 411 | | |
| | UKIP | Ian Cameron | 404 | | |
| | Labour | Dennis Scard | 373 | | |
| | Green | Dorothy Forsyth | 361 | | |
| | Labour | Manek Jaffer | 349 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 11,206 | 51.4 | +3.5 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
Old Town (3 seats) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Carolyn Heaps | 2,432 | | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Janet Coles | 1,934 | | |
| | Liberal Democrats | John Ungar | 1,738 | | |
| | Conservative | Anne Angel | 1,726 | | |
| | Conservative | Vivienne De Havilland-Geraghty | 1,350 | | |
| | Conservative | Danielle Perry | 1,193 | | |
| | Green | Pippa Oliphant | 631 | | |
| | Labour | Helen Key | 418 | | |
| | Labour | Paul Richards | 374 | | |
| | Labour | Sarah Richards | 340 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 12,136 | 53.4 | −1.4 |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | | |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | | |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | | |
Ratton (3 seats) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Colin Belsey | 2,357 | | |
| | Conservative | Sandie Howlett | 2,076 | | |
| | Conservative | Colin Murdoch | 1,991 | | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Linda Beckmann | 999 | | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Roger Howarth | 984 | | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Barbara Rodohan | 908 | | |
| | Green | Nancy Dalton | 523 | | |
| | Labour | Christopher Hall | 471 | | |
| | Labour | James Nolan | 394 | | |
| | Labour | Helen Sedgwick | 360 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 11,063 | 53.1 | +4.8 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
St Anthony's (3 seats) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | David Tutt | 2,169 | | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Jon Harris | 1,929 | | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Gill Mattock | 1,913 | | |
| | Conservative | Nick Ansell | 846 | | |
| | Conservative | Simon Herbert | 759 | | |
| | Conservative | Robert Borland | 752 | | |
| | Labour | Jackie Ferguson | 383 | | |
| | Labour | David Salmon | 348 | | |
| | Labour | Ian Culshaw | 332 | | |
| | Green | Hugh Norris | 287 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 9,718 | 43.8 | +2.5 |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | | |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | | |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | | |
Sovereign (3 seats) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Philip Ede | 1,904 | | |
| | Conservative | Patrick Warner | 1,767 | | |
| | Conservative | Gordon Jenkins | 1,745 | | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Margaret Salsbury | 1,193 | | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Stephen Holt | 1,169 | | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Grace Loseby | 1,106 | | |
| | Green | Jocelyn McCarthy | 488 | | |
| | Labour | Sharon Wentworth | 359 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 9,731 | 40.6 | +1.6 |
| | Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats | Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats | Swing | | |
| | Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats | Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats | Swing | | |
| | Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats | Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats | Swing | | |
Upperton (3 seats) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Tom Liddiard | 1,731 | | |
| | Conservative | Annabelle West | 1,707 | | |
| | Conservative | Alun Cooke | 1,694 | | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Alex Hough | 1,394 | | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Pat Rodohan | 1,378 | | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Hilary Lewis | 1,324 | | |
| | Green | Kenneth Webb | 427 | | |
| | Labour | Margaret Barr | 313 | | |
| | Labour | Lucette Davies | 305 | | |
| | Labour | Elizabeth Goude | 304 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 10,577 | 46.4 | +0.1 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
| | Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats | Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats | Swing | | |
| | Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats | Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats | Swing | | |

## By-elections between 2011 and 2015

A by-election was held in Meads on 31 May 2012 after the resignation of Conservative councillor Nigel Goodyear. The seat was held for the Conservatives by Caroline Ansell with a majority of 1,318 votes over Liberal Democrat Gerard Thompson.
Meads by-election 31 May 2012 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Caroline Ansell | 1,783 | 59.6 | +7.1 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Gerard Thompson | 465 | 15.5 | −3.2 |
| | Labour | Dennis Scard | 323 | 10.8 | +1.2 |
| | UKIP | Ian Cameron | 322 | 10.8 | +1.3 |
| | Independent | Keith Gell | 100 | 3.3 | +3.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,318 | 44.1 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,993 | 39 | −12 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |