# 2011 Amber Valley Borough Council election

The 2011 Amber Valley Borough Council election took place on 5 May 2011 to elect members of Amber Valley Borough Council in Derbyshire, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Conservative Party stayed in overall control of the council.
After the election, the composition of the council was:
* Conservative 28
* Labour 15
* British National Party 2

## Campaign

15 seats were contested in the election, mainly from Conservative leaning areas of the council. 1 seat was sure to remain in Conservative hands in South West Parishes after only a Conservative candidate stood for the seat.
The Conservatives pointed to their record in control of the council, Labour pledged to reduce car parking charges, while the Liberal Democrats focused on plans to regenerate Heanor. The parties also disagreed over how to make cuts as a result of a reduction in central government funding, such as over plans to close local offices of the council and to sell the main council headquarters.

## Election result

The results saw the Conservative majority remain strong after losing only 1 seat to Labour, leaving the Conservatives with 28 seats compared to 15 for Labour. Labour gained the seat in Heage and Ambergate from the Conservatives, while the closest result came in Ripley where the Conservative held on by 14 votes. Both the Conservative and Labour parties said they were pleased with the results, while neither the Liberal Democrats or the British National Party won any seats. Overall turnout in the election was 45.83%, almost 12% up on when these seats were last contested in 2007.
Amber Valley Local Election Result 2011 :
| Party | Seats | Gains | Losses | Net gain/loss | Seats % | Votes % | Votes | +/− |
| Conservative | 14 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 82.4 | 47.6 | 14,728 | +7.4% |
| Labour | 3 | 1 | 0 | +1 | 17.6 | 38.6 | 11,922 | +2.8% |
| Liberal Democrats | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.5 | 1,708 | -12.0% |
| Independent | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.1 | 961 | +2.8% |
| BNP | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.6 | 813 | -3.1% |
| Green | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.6 | 793 | +2.6% |

## Ward results

Alfreton :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Gail Dolman | 1,372 | 58.1 | +10.4 |
| | Conservative | David Cantrill | 747 | 31.6 | +2.7 |
| | BNP | Emma Roper | 155 | 6.6 | −1.8 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Peter Jelf | 87 | 3.7 | −11.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 625 | 26.5 | +7.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,361 | 37.6 | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
Alport :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | David Taylor | 850 | 70.3 | −7.9 |
| | Labour | Robert Johnston | 359 | 29.7 | +7.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 491 | 40.6 | −15.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,209 | 57.2 | +11.9 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
Belper Central :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Peter Makin | 950 | 47.8 | −12.9 |
| | Labour | Michael Wilson | 609 | 30.6 | +11.2 |
| | Green | Dave Wells | 428 | 21.5 | +1.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 341 | 17.2 | −23.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,987 | 46.1 | +10.9 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
Belper East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Jacqueline Cox | 845 | 45.7 | −2.2 |
| | Labour | Alan Broughton | 635 | 34.4 | +8.8 |
| | Independent | Les Dorey | 368 | 19.9 | +19.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 210 | 11.4 | −10.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,848 | 40.7 | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
Belper North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Mark Robertson | 838 | 45.1 | −5.9 |
| | Labour | Stephen Holden | 568 | 30.6 | +12.3 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Pamela Bain | 310 | 16.7 | −1.1 |
| | Green | Mike Whittall | 141 | 7.6 | −5.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 270 | 14.5 | −18.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,857 | 46.2 | +7.3 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
Belper South :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Peter Arnold | 722 | 39.8 | −3.2 |
| | Labour | Erik Johnsen | 698 | 38.5 | +10.4 |
| | Green | Colin Grimley | 224 | 12.4 | +12.4 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Richard Salmon | 169 | 9.3 | −19.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 24 | 1.3 | −12.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,813 | 41.1 | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
Crich :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Gareth Gee | 531 | 50.6 | −10.5 |
| | Labour | Steve Marshall-Clarke | 290 | 27.6 | +13.0 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Christopher Bown | 229 | 21.8 | −2.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 241 | 23.0 | −13.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,050 | 53.0 | +10.1 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
Duffield :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Stuart Bradford | 1,279 | 60.2 | +0.0 |
| | Labour | Patrick Mountain | 568 | 26.8 | +26.8 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Colin Thompson | 276 | 13.0 | −26.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 711 | 33.5 | +13.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,123 | 54.3 | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
Heage and Ambergate (2) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Maurice Gent | 1,017 | | |
| | Conservative | Angela Ward | 933 | | |
| | Labour | Christine Worth | 763 | | |
| | Conservative | Matthew Joyes | 716 | | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Keith Falconbridge | 114 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,543 | 50.6 | +13.8 |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
Kilburn, Denby and Holbrook :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Mel Hall | 1,504 | 53.0 | +4.4 |
| | Labour | John Banks | 1,120 | 39.5 | +8.2 |
| | BNP | Amy Purdy | 215 | 7.6 | +7.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 384 | 13.5 | −3.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,839 | 45.9 | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
Ripley :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Stuart Joynes | 1,248 | 43.8 | +4.4 |
| | Labour | Tony Holmes | 1,234 | 43.3 | +6.5 |
| | BNP | Alan Edwards | 210 | 7.4 | −2.3 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Paul Gibbons | 158 | 5.5 | −8.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 14 | 0.5 | −2.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,850 | 40.5 | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
Ripley and Marehay :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Lyndsay Cox | 946 | 47.3 | +18.6 |
| | Conservative | Liam Rhodes | 757 | 37.8 | −11.5 |
| | BNP | Kenneth Cooper | 170 | 8.5 | −13.5 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Michael Bedford | 128 | 6.4 | +6.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 189 | 9.5 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,001 | 43.2 | +7.1 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
Shipley Park, Horsley and Horsley Woodhouse :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Alex Stevenson | 1,144 | 50.2 | +5.5 |
| | Labour | Eric Lancashire | 959 | 42.1 | +8.7 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Kate Smith | 176 | 7.7 | −14.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 185 | 8.1 | −3.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,279 | 49.4 | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
South West Parishes :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Jane Orton | unopposed | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
Swanwick :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Steve Hayes | 903 | 43.4 | −7.0 |
| | Independent | George Soudah | 593 | 28.5 | +28.5 |
| | Labour | Emma Sowter | 523 | 25.1 | −5.7 |
| | BNP | Maria Riley-Ward | 63 | 3.0 | +3.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 310 | 14.9 | −4.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,082 | 48.8 | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
Wingfield :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Valerie Thorpe | 761 | 70.3 | −9.5 |
| | Labour | Geoffrey Johnston | 261 | 24.1 | +10.9 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Ollie Smith | 61 | 5.6 | −1.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 500 | 46.2 | −20.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,083 | 58.4 | +8.9 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |