# 2010 Great Yarmouth Borough Council election

The 2010 Great Yarmouth Borough Council election took place on 6 May 2010 to elect members of Great Yarmouth Borough Council in Norfolk, 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 24
* Labour 15

## Background

Before the election the Conservatives held control of the council with 24 seats, compared to 15 for Labour. 14 seats were contested at the election with both the Conservative and Labour parties defending 7 seats. Claydon ward had 2 seats up for election after Labour councillor Dick Barker died in February 2010. Both the Conservative and Labour parties contested all 14 seats, while there were also 5 Liberal Democrats and 2 independent candidates.
With the council election being held at the same time as the general election, local issues including the outer harbour, an additional river crossing and local regeneration, were mixed with national issues during the campaign.

## Election result

The Conservatives remained in control of the council, with the political balance on the council staying the same. The Conservatives gained a seat in Caister South from Labour, but lost one back to Labour in Yarmouth North.
In Yarmouth North both candidates tied on 1,034 votes each after four recounts. As a result, a pack of playing cards was used to determine the result. The Conservative candidate, Bob Peck, drew a three and Labour's Charlie Marsden then drew a seven. Therefore, Labour were allocated one more vote and gained the seat from the Conservatives.
Great Yarmouth Local Election Result 2010 :
| Party | Seats | Gains | Losses | Net gain/loss | Seats % | Votes % | Votes | +/− |
| Conservative | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 50.0 | 49.4 | 18,085 | -5.3% |
| Labour | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 50.0 | 42.5 | 15,544 | +8.2% |
| Liberal Democrats | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6.2 | 2,276 | +0.1% |
| Independent | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.9 | 691 | +1.9% |

## Ward results

Bradwell North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Graham Plant | 1,801 | 55.8 | +8.8 |
| | Labour | Hilary Wainwright | 1,427 | 44.2 | +0.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 374 | 11.6 | +8.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,228 | 65.3 | +32.6 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
Bradwell South & Hopton :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Mike Butcher | 1,925 | 58.9 | +10.9 |
| | Labour | Barbara Wright | 1,344 | 41.1 | +21.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 581 | 17.8 | −7.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,269 | 65.4 | +21.6 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
Caister North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Tony Smith | 1,212 | 51.0 | −4.3 |
| | Labour | Nick Dack | 739 | 31.1 | +1.0 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Nicholas Dyer | 427 | 18.0 | +3.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 473 | 19.9 | −5.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,378 | 65.4 | +33.4 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
Caister South :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Ronald Hanton | 1,049 | 44.6 | −5.0 |
| | Labour | Patrick Hacon | 905 | 38.5 | −11.9 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Rod Cole | 399 | 17.0 | +17.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 144 | 6.1 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,353 | 68.1 | +31.3 |
| | Conservative gain from Labour | Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | | |
Central & Northgate :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Mike Castle | 1,256 | 44.4 | +1.3 |
| | Conservative | Tom Garrod | 1,089 | 38.5 | +0.5 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Gordon Dean | 484 | 17.1 | +7.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 167 | 5.9 | +0.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,829 | 50.6 | +23.9 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
Claydon (2) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Coleen Walker | 1,512 | | |
| | Labour | Bernard Williamson | 1,429 | | |
| | Conservative | Bob Scott | 1,259 | | |
| | Conservative | Matthew Smith | 1,222 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 5,422 | 54.8 | +26.4 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
East Flegg :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Shirley Weymouth | 1,549 | 57.6 | −9.3 |
| | Labour | Caroline Mynett | 589 | 21.9 | +4.5 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Pam Mayhew | 550 | 20.5 | +4.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 960 | 35.7 | −13.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,688 | 70.1 | +33.7 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
Gorleston :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | John Burroughs | 1,687 | 63.9 | −12.7 |
| | Labour | Katie James | 954 | 36.1 | +12.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 733 | 27.8 | −25.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,641 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
Lothingland :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Barry Stone | 1,750 | 64.2 | −8.3 |
| | Labour | Chris Williamson | 974 | 35.8 | +8.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 776 | 28.5 | −16.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,724 | 64.6 | +34.2 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
Magdalen :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Trevor Wainwright | 1,535 | 50.7 | +2.7 |
| | Conservative | Carl Smith | 1,127 | 37.3 | −14.7 |
| | Independent | Margaret McMahon-Morris | 363 | 12.0 | +12.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 408 | 13.4 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,025 | 59.2 | +28.6 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
Nelson :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Val Pettit | 1,120 | 48.2 | +2.9 |
| | Conservative | Malcolm Bird | 875 | 37.7 | +2.6 |
| | Independent | Alan Sowle | 328 | 14.1 | +14.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 245 | 10.5 | +0.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,323 | 41.3 | +22.0 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
Southtown & Cobholm :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | John Holmes | 725 | 44.0 | −2.1 |
| | Conservative | Victor Ling | 506 | 30.7 | +8.2 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Tony Harris | 416 | 25.3 | +14.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 219 | 13.3 | −10.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,647 | 44.4 | +23.9 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
Yarmouth North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Charlie Marsden | 1,035 | 50.0 | +8.2 |
| | Conservative | Bob Peck | 1,034 | 50.0 | −8.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1 | 0 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,068 | 60.8 | +26.2 |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | | |