Map showing the results of the 2019 Bath and North East Somerset Council elections. Blue showing Conservative, Red showing Labour, Yellow showing Liberal Democrats and Grey showing Independents. Striped wards have mixed representation.
Council control before election
Conservative
Council control after election
Liberal Democrats
The 2019 Bath and North East Somerset Council election was held on 2 May 2019 to elect members of Bath and North East Somerset Council in England.
The Liberal Democrats took control of the council in 2019, winning thirty-seven seats with a working majority of seven.
Background
Bath and North East Somerset Council held local elections on 2 May 2019 along with councils across England as part of the 2019 local elections. The council elects its members in all-out elections, with all its councillors up for election every four years.[1][2] Councillors defending their seats in this election were previously elected in 2015. In that election, thirty-seven Conservative councillors, fifteen Liberal Democrat councillors, six Labour councillors, five independent councillors and two Green councillors were elected. In subsequent by-elections, the Liberal Democrats gained one seat from the Conservatives and one seat from the Green Party.[3][4] Conservative councillor Martin Veal resigned from his party in March 2019 to run as an independent after his party did not select him as a candidate.[5]
Following the 2015 election, the council was controlled by the Conservative Party, although previously the council had been under no overall control since its creation in 1996. In the New Statesman, the journalist Stephen Bush wrote that if the Conservatives maintained control of Bath and North East Somerset in 2019, it would represent a strong national performance for the party.[6] Conservative peer Robert Hayward predicted that the Liberal Democrats would gain several seats on the council from the Conservatives due to a "Brexit penalty".[7][8]
A boundary change in 2018 meant that the number of councillors fell to 59 from the 65 under previous boundaries, and the number of electoral wards reduced from 37 to 33.[9] Most retained electoral wards have their boundaries adjusted so the number of electors per councillor is roughly similar.[10][11]
The election was contested by full slates of Conservatives and Liberal Democrats, with 49 Labour candidates, 29 Green Party candidates, 12 independent candidates (including one candidate with no description), 11 candidates for the Bath North East Somerset Independent Group, and five UK Independence Party candidates.[12] Two of the independent councillors re-elected in 2019 identified as "No politics, just Peasedown" when elected in 2015.[13]
As the wards were newly created, comparisons with previous elections are not possible. All percentages are calculated as the proportion of valid votes won by each councillor.
Sitting councillors are marked with an asterisk (*).
^Sumner, Stephen (5 April 2019). "The candidates you can vote for in the upcoming BANES election". somersetlive. Retrieved 10 April 2019.
^"Election results for Peasedown". Bath and North East Somerset Council. 8 May 2015. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
^ abcdefghijklmnopqrstSumner, Stepehen (11 April 2019). "Meet the 20 Bath and North East Somerset councillors who are stepping down from public duty". Somerset Live. Reach plc. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
^"Meet the candidates hoping to win a seat at the Guildhall with your votes". Keynsham Voice. No. 86. Keynsham, Somerset. May 2019. p. 15. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
^"Bath & North East Somerset (All Wards) - Thursday, 2nd May, 2019". Bath and North East Somerset Council. 3 May 2019. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
^"Election results for Bathavon North". Bath and North East Somerset Council. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
^"Election results for Bathavon South". Bath and North East Somerset Council. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
^"Election results for Bathwick". Bath and North East Somerset Council. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
^"Election results for Chew Valley". Bath and North East Somerset Council. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
^"Election results for Clutton & Farmborough". Bath and North East Somerset Council. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
^"Election results for Combe Down". Bath and North East Somerset Council. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
^"Election results for High Littleton". Bath and North East Somerset Council. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
^"Election results for Keynsham East". Bath and North East Somerset Council. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
^"Election results for Keynsham North". Bath and North East Somerset Council. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
^"Election results for Keynsham South". Bath and North East Somerset Council. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
^"Election results for Kingsmead". Bath and North East Somerset Council. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
^"Election results for Lambridge". Bath and North East Somerset Council. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
^"Election results for Lansdown". Bath and North East Somerset Council. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
^"Election results for Mendip". Bath and North East Somerset Council. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
^"Election results for Midsomer Norton North". Bath and North East Somerset Council. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
^"Election results for Midsomer Norton Redfield". Bath and North East Somerset Council. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
^"Election results for Moorlands". Bath and North East Somerset Council. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
^"Election results for Newbridge". Bath and North East Somerset Council. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
^"Election results for Odd Down". Bath and North East Somerset Council. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
^"Election results for Oldfield Park". Bath and North East Somerset Council. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
^"Election results for Paulton". Bath and North East Somerset Council. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
^"Election results for Peasedown". Bath and North East Somerset Council. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
^"Election results for Publow with Whitchurch". Bath and North East Somerset Council. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
^"Election results for Radstock". Bath and North East Somerset Council. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
^"Election results for Saltford". Bath and North East Somerset Council. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
^"Election results for Southdown". Bath and North East Somerset Council. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
^"Election results for Timsbury". Bath and North East Somerset Council. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
^"Election results for Twerton". Bath and North East Somerset Council. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
^"Election results for Walcot". Bath and North East Somerset Council. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
^"Election results for Westfield". Bath and North East Somerset Council. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
^"Election results for Westmoreland". Bath and North East Somerset Council. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
^"Election results for Weston". Bath and North East Somerset Council. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
^"Election results for Widcombe & Lyncombe". Bath and North East Somerset Council. Retrieved 20 April 2020.