The 2007 council elections in Guildford saw the Conservatives retain control over Guildford Borough Council. Full results for each ward can be found at Guildford Council election, full results, 2007.
Summary
Going into the 2007 council election the net position was as follows. (The net position shown includes the gain by the Liberal Democrats of one seat from the Conservatives during the 2003-07 term, in the Merrow by-election of July 2003.)
After the election the position was as follows.
A more detailed analysis can pick out the following features
voter turnout fell in every ward in Guildford compared to the 2003 council election; the 2007 council election saw a decline in the Labour vote in Guildford and the loss of the last two Labour councillors on Guildford BC; additionally the sole Independent councillor did not seek reelection, leaving only Conservatives and Liberal Democrats elected to Guildford BC; overall the Liberal Democrats increased their net number of seats by two, gaining four and losing two; overall the Conservatives gained one net seat, gaining three and losing two; going into the election 6 electoral wards were split (i.e. they were wards where there were 2 or 3 councillors, and those councillors didn’t all belong to the same political party). After the election only one ward was split - Holy Trinity; geographically the Conservatives hold most of the wards in the villages around Guildford, whereas the Liberal Democrats hold most of the wards in the town itself, in particular towards the north and west of Guildford town; geographically the 2007 election saw Conservatives pick up their seats towards the south east of Guildford. The Liberal Democrats picked up their seats towards the north and west of Guildford town.
Labour Vote Down
In the 2007 council election, the Labour vote slumped in Guildford. The party lost their last two remaining councillors. Only in two of the twenty two wards in Guildford (Stoke and Westborough) did any of the Labour candidates manage to get over 250 votes.
Stoke
Stoke is the north east part of Guildford town, including Bellfields. Stoke ward elects two councillors. In 2003, the Labour councillors for Stoke, Keith Chesterton and Angela Gunning, had majorities over the third place candidate of 343 and 338 votes respectively. In the 2007 election, the Liberal Democrats gained both these Stoke seats. Keith Chesterton did not stand for reelection. Angela Gunning lost 47.7% of her vote and was pushed into 3rd place, more than 400 votes behind the second place candidate, Alan Muhammed.
Westborough
Westborough ward is the name given to the west part of Guildford town including Park Barn. It is the other traditional Labour stronghold in Guildford. In 2003, the top placed Labour candidate had polled 1075 votes, 118 less than needed to be elected that year. By contrast, in 2007 the top Labour candidate managed only 308 votes, more than 1000 behind the number needed to get elected. As recently as early 2003, the Labour Party had held all three councillors for this ward, plus the county council electoral division for this area, called Guildford West.
Only Independent Councillor Does Not Stand in 2007
Tillingbourne
Tillingbourne is the name of the ward encompassing the surrounding countryside to the south east of Guildford borough, including Shere, Albury and St Martha’s. The only independent councillor on Guildford Borough Council between 2003 and 2007, Keith Childs, had been one of the two councillors for Tillingbourne. He did not seek reelection, in 2007. The Conservatives won the seat. The two Conservative candidates taking 67% and 63.9% of the vote respectively.
Net Gains for Conservatives and Liberal Democrats
The Conservatives gained one net seat compared to the position they had entering the election. The Liberal Democrats made a net gain of two seats.
The Conservatives gained one seat from an independent in Tillingbourne (discussed above). The Liberal Democrats gained two seats from Labour in the Stoke Ward (discussed above).
In straight fights between the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats, each party gained two seats and lost two seats, leaving the net position unchanged. The Conservatives gained one seat in each of the Christchurch and Merrow wards, from the Liberal Democrats. The Liberal Democrats gained one seat in each of the Burpham and Onslow wards, from the Conservatives.
The Conservative – Liberal Democrat Marginal Wards
Burpham
Nick Brougham (Conservative) defending a majority in 2003 of 39 votes, lost to the Liberal Democrat Ed Owen by 137 votes.