# 2000 Harrogate Borough Council election

The 2000 Harrogate Council election took place on 4 May 2000 to elect members of Harrogate Borough Council in North Yorkshire, 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 40
* Conservative 18
* Labour 1

## Campaign

19 of the 59 seats were contested in the election with the Liberal Democrats defending 14, the Conservatives 4 and Labour 1 seat. Close contests were expected in Killinghall and the 2 wards in Ripon, with the Liberal Democrats hoping to make gains despite criticism over the handling of the redevelopment of the area around a bus station.

## Election result

The results saw the Liberal Democrats remain in control of the council, despite the Conservative party gaining seats. The Liberal Democrats finished the election with 40 seats, with the seats held by the party including the two in Ripon, which were narrowly won over the Conservatives. The Conservatives finished with 18 seats, while Labour was reduced to only one seat after losing a seat.
Harrogate local election result 2000 :
| Party | Seats | Net gain/loss | Seats % | Votes % | Votes | +/− |
| Liberal Democrats | 12 | -2 | 63.2 | 44.1 | 12,241 | -6.4% |
| Conservative | 7 | +3 | 36.8 | 46.7 | 12,969 | +7.7% |
| Labour | 0 | -1 | 0 | 9.1 | 2,535 | -1.3% |

## Ward results

Almscliffe :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | Ian Galloway | 707 | 81.4 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Gillian Ford | 123 | 14.2 |
| | Labour | Deborah Havercroft | 39 | 4.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 584 | 67.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 869 | 41.4 |
Bilton :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Andrew Goss | 669 | 39.4 | |
| | Conservative | Heather Adderley | 571 | 33.6 | |
| | Labour | Peter Caunt | 457 | 26.9 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 98 | 5.8 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,697 | 29.8 | +2.0 |
Claro :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | William Brewis | 614 | 76.3 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Helen Lyon | 146 | 18.1 |
| | Labour | Harold Ede | 45 | 5.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 468 | 58.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 805 | 39.7 |
Duchy :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | James Clarke | 955 | 57.3 | +0.9 |
| | Conservative | Brian Coucher | 627 | 37.6 | +0.9 |
| | Labour | Roger Newby | 84 | 5.0 | −1.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 328 | 19.7 | 0.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,666 | 25.1 | −2.0 |
East Central :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | David Jacobs | 687 | 53.8 | −8.0 |
| | Conservative | William Hartmann | 442 | 34.6 | +10.6 |
| | Labour | Simon Hutchings | 149 | 11.7 | −2.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 245 | 19.2 | −18.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,278 | 25.5 | −0.9 |
Granby :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Diane Stokes | 767 | 62.1 | −8.3 |
| | Conservative | James Wood-Mitchell | 349 | 28.2 | +12.1 |
| | Labour | David King | 120 | 9.7 | −3.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 418 | 33.8 | −20.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,236 | 23.1 | −0.4 |
Harlow :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | James Clark | 1,450 | 58.0 | +3.5 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Michael Stallard | 951 | 38.0 | −2.9 |
| | Labour | Harry Sutcliffe | 101 | 4.0 | −0.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 499 | 19.9 | +6.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,502 | 40.7 | +0.2 |
Killinghall :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | Michael Bury | 776 | 69.7 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Christopher Ryan | 274 | 24.6 |
| | Labour | Malcolm Hayton | 64 | 5.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 502 | 45.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,114 | 33.6 |
Knaresborough East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | David Goode | 959 | 45.9 | +2.9 |
| | Conservative | John Smith | 851 | 40.7 | +2.8 |
| | Labour | Alan Beatham | 279 | 13.4 | −5.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 108 | 5.2 | 0.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,089 | 35.2 | +1.9 |
Knaresborough West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Kevin Hawkins | 734 | 40.8 | −3.6 |
| | Conservative | Malcolm Jackson | 587 | 32.6 | +8.1 |
| | Labour | Althea Farmer | 477 | 26.5 | −4.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 147 | 8.2 | −5.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,798 | 31.1 | −3.8 |
Lower Nidderdale :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Liberal Democrats | Thomas Watson | 519 | 57.7 |
| | Conservative | Jacqueline Hughes | 370 | 41.2 |
| | Labour | Colin Gurkin | 10 | 1.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 149 | 16.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 899 | 48.2 |
Nether Poppleton :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | Geoffrey Fenwicke-Clennell | 214 | 62.2 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Donald Prosser-Higdon | 109 | 31.7 |
| | Labour | Norman Dobell | 21 | 6.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 105 | 30.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 344 | 49.9 |
New Park :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Wendy Richards | 463 | 63.3 | −8.9 |
| | Conservative | Robin Adderley | 228 | 31.2 | +14.8 |
| | Labour | Bryan Robinson | 40 | 5.5 | −5.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 235 | 32.1 | −23.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 731 | 24.4 | +2.8 |
Pannal :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Clifford Trotter | 1,550 | 60.5 | +4.0 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Joan Newby | 952 | 37.2 | −3.3 |
| | Labour | Cynthia Coltman | 59 | 2.3 | −0.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 598 | 23.4 | +7.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,561 | 50.4 | −2.0 |
Ripon East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Stuart Martin | 571 | 49.8 | −6.4 |
| | Conservative | David Briscombe | 468 | 40.8 | −3.0 |
| | Labour | Jonathan Lewis | 108 | 9.4 | +9.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 103 | 9.0 | −3.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,147 | 20.0 | −4.8 |
Ripon West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Stephen Jones | 672 | 50.3 | −16.4 |
| | Conservative | Paul Richardson | 592 | 44.3 | +11.0 |
| | Labour | Patricia Foxall | 72 | 5.4 | +5.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 80 | 6.0 | −27.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,336 | 23.8 | −4.4 |
Starbeck :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Granville Ward | 792 | 63.5 | −8.4 |
| | Conservative | Philip Dixon | 328 | 26.3 | +10.0 |
| | Labour | Geoffrey Foxall | 127 | 10.2 | −1.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 464 | 37.2 | −18.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,247 | 24.0 | −0.9 |
Wedderburn :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Claire Kelley | 1,207 | 49.2 | +0.2 |
| | Conservative | Nigel Middlemass | 1,156 | 47.1 | +1.6 |
| | Labour | Robert Swithinbank | 89 | 3.6 | −1.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 51 | 2.1 | −1.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,452 | 40.6 | +4.8 |
West Central :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Jean Butterfield | 1,089 | 55.2 | +4.5 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Timothy Hurren | 691 | 35.0 | −6.3 |
| | Labour | Christine Colman | 194 | 9.8 | +2.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 398 | 20.2 | +9.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,974 | 33.9 | +4.6 |