Poole People Party

The Poole People Party (known simply as Poole People) is a movement and local political party in Poole, Dorset, England.[4] Defining itself as neither left or right wing, the party has stood in elections for the former Poole Borough Council and the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council which replaced it. On the council it is part of the Poole People and ALL Group, which includes all three Poole People Councilors and one Alliance for Local Living (ALL) Councilor. It was previously part of the "Unity Alliance" administration on Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council from 2019[5] until a vote of no confidence in 2020,[6] after which the party has been in opposition. It was founded in 2010 by Mark Howell, and has contested three local elections, as well as the Poole constituency in the 2015 General Election.

Poole People
LeaderMark Howell[1]
Founded2010[2]
HeadquartersPoole
IdeologyLocalism
Non-partisan politics[3]
BCP Council
3 / 76
Website
www.poolepeople.org.uk

History

Poole Borough Council
See also: Poole Borough Council elections

Mark Howell, the party leader, was the first elected member of the party, standing in the 2010 Poole Town by-election after former Council Leader Cllr Leverett died, gaining the seat from the Conservatives.[7] He was reelected to his seat in the subsequent 2011 council election, with the party making two more gains from the Conservatives, in Hamworthy East and a further seat in Poole Town, bringing the number of councillors up to three. The subsequent defection by a Conservative councillor in 2012 to the party brought its number up to four in total.[8] In the 2015 council election, the Conservatives gained a Hamworthy East seat whilst Poole People gained a Conservative seat in Hamworthy West, meaning that the party remained on 3 seats in total. In the 2017 General Election party leader Mark Howell stood for the parliamentary seat of Poole, where he received 1,776 votes (3.7%), coming sixth out of seven.

Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council
See also: Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council

In 2019 Poole Borough Council was combined with those of Bournemouth and Christchurch to form a new unitary authority; In the inaugural 2019 council elections for the new Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council, Poole People stood eight councillors in five wards out of the twelve wards entirely within the former Poole Borough (Talbot and Branksome Woods had a small area in the former borough), with seven councillors elected.[9] The election saw the Liberal Democrats as the largest party but without a majority, which lead to the creation of the Unity Alliance Administration,[5] a coalition of parties in which Poole People joined. As well as joining the administration, Poole People also formed a grouping with the Alliance for Local Living, called Poole People and ALL. The Alliance for Local Living's leader and single councillor, Felicity Rice won alongside one of two seats in the Oakdale ward, alongside Poole People Councillor Pete Miles.

However, in October of that year two councillors resigned from the party and group to sit as independents, citing concerns about the leader and “the binds of the political whip”. Councillor Butt left the Unity Alliance administration at the time, with Councillor Bagwell subsequently leaving the administration in September 2020.[10][11] As such, Poole People currently has five sitting councillors. A vote of no confidence was passed in September 2020,[12] with Conservatives taking minority administration of the council after a meeting on October 1st,[13] meaning that Poole People is currently in opposition.

Two further Poole People councillors (Steve Baron and Peter Miles) subsequently left the group in November 2020, stating that the party had "lost its way" and that they would be more "free to speak out" as independents, thus leaving the party with just three councillors, and the Poole People and ALL BCP group with four. [14]

Currently sitting councillors
Name Ward First elected Notes
Mark Howell Poole Town 2010[note 1] Leader of Poole People; Former Deputy Leader of BCP Council and Portfolio Holder for Regeneration and Culture during Unity Alliance
Andy Hadley Poole Town 2015[note 1] Portfolio Holder for Transport and Infrastructure during Unity Alliance
L-J Evans Poole Town 2019 Chair of Unity Alliance group[6]

Election results

Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council
Year Votes % +/- Seats +/-
2019[15] 11,243 11.5% 3.8%
7 / 76
 4

Poole Borough Council
Year Votes % +/- Seats +/-
2011 9,603 8.8% 8.8%
3 / 42
 3
2015[16] 13,269 7.7% 1.1%
3 / 42

General election

The party leader and councillor Mark Howell stood for the party in the Poole constituency in the 2015 election, receiving 1,766 votes (3.7%). The party did not contest the seat in the 2017 or 2019 general elections.

General election 2015: Poole[17]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Robert Syms 23,745 50.1 2.6
UKIP David Young 7,956 16.8 11.5
Labour Helen Rosser 6,102 12.9 0.1
Liberal Democrats Philip Eades 5,572 11.8 19.8
Green Adrian Oliver 2,198 4.6 4.6
Poole People Mark Howel 1,766 3.7 3.7
Independent Ian Northover 54 0.1 0.3
Majority 15,789 33.3 17.4
Turnout 47,393 65.3 8.1
Conservative hold Swing

[17]

References
  1. "Mark Howell (Leader of Poole People and Poole Town Councillor)". Poole People.
  2. "Registration". Electoral Commission.
  3. "'If it aint broke, don't fix it': backlash against council plans to abolish social housing operator". Bournemouth Echo.
  4. "Introduction". Poole People.
  5. "Alliance takes control of new council". BBC News. 21 May 2019. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  6. "Unity Alliance sticking together in opposition after BCP Council leadership change". Bournemouth Echo. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
  7. "New party wins ex-leader's seat". BBC News. 3 December 2010. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
  8. "Poole Conservative defects to Poole People". Bournemouth Echo.
    - "Poole Conservative Sally Carpenter defects in party whip row". BBC News.
  9. Find your Councillors Government of the United Kingdom
  10. "Two councillors leave Poole People Party to shake off the 'binds of the political whip'". Bournemouth Echo. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  11. ""A catalogue of catastrophic policy decisions": Why this councillor left the coalition running BCP Council". Bournemouth Echo. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
  12. "BCP Council leader ousted from role after vote of no confidence succeeds". Bournemouth Echo. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
  13. "Tories back in control of BCP conurbation after leadership vote". Bournemouth Echo. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
  14. ""It's lost its way": Poole People Party loses more than half its councillors in 13 months". Bournemouth Echo. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
  16. Local elections 2015 archive.poole.gov.uk
  17. "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.

Notes
  1. Poole Borough Council
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