Craven District Council elections

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Map showing the composition of Craven District Council as of the 2019 election. Conservatives in blue, independents in grey, Liberal Democrats in yellow, Green Party in green, and Labour in red.

Craven District Council in North Yorkshire, England was established in 1974 and abolished in 2023. One third of councillors were elected each year, followed by one year when there was an election to North Yorkshire County Council instead. After the last boundary changes in 2002, 30 councillors were elected from 19 wards.[1]

Political control

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The first election to the council was held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until it came into its powers on 1 April 1974. Political control from 1974 until its abolition in 2023 was as follows:[2][3]

Party in control Years
No overall control 1974–1976
Conservative 1976–1986
No overall control 1986–1996
Liberal Democrats 1996–1998
No overall control 1998–1999
Conservative 1999–2001
No overall control 2001–2010
Conservative 2010–2023

Leadership

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The leaders of the council from 2000 until the council's abolition in 2023 were:

Councillor Party From To
Chris Knowles-Fitton[4] Conservative 2000 2002
Carl Lis[5][6] Independent 2002 20 May 2008
Chris Knowles-Fitton[7] Conservative 20 May 2008 30 Oct 2014
Richard Foster[7][8] Conservative Dec 2014 31 Mar 2023

Council elections

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Summary of the council composition after recent council elections, click on the year for full details of each election. Boundary changes took place for the 2002 election, leading to the whole council being elected in that year and reducing the number of seats by four.[9]

Year Conservative Independent Liberal Democrats Labour UKIP Green Vacant Notes
1988[12] 12 6 13 3 0 0 0
1990[13] 12 7 12 3 0 0 0
1991[14] 12 7 12 3 0 0 0
1992[15] 13 6 12 3 0 0 0 District boundary changes took place but the number of seats remained the same[16]
1994[17] 11 6 14 3 0 0 0
1995[18] 6 6 17 5 0 0 0
1996[19] 6 4 18 6 0 0 0
1998[20] 13 4 13 4 0 0 0
1999[21] 19 10 4 1 0 0 0
2000[22] 18 12 4 0 0 0 0
2002[9] 13 8 9 0 0 0 0 New ward boundaries[23][24]
2003[25] 11 10 9 0 0 0 0
2004[26] 13 11 6 0 0 0 0
2006[27] 13 11 6 0 0 0 0
2007[28] 13 11 6 0 0 0 0
2008[29] 15 10 5 0 0 0 0
2010[30] 18 8 4 0 0 0 0
2011[31] 18 8 4 0 0 0 0
2012[32] 16 10 4 0 0 0 0
2014[3] 18 9 2 0 0 0 1
2015 20 6 2 1 1 0 0 Some new ward boundaries[33][34]
2016 18 7 1 3 1 0 0
2018 18 7 1 3 1 0 0
2019 15 9 1 3 0 2 0

District result maps

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  • 2002 results map
    2002 results map
  • 2003 results map
    2003 results map
  • 2004 results map
    2004 results map
  • 2006 results map
    2006 results map
  • 2007 results map
    2007 results map
  • 2008 results map
    2008 results map
  • 2010 results map
    2010 results map
  • 2011 results map
    2011 results map
  • 2012 results map
    2012 results map
  • 2014 results map
    2014 results map
  • 2015 results map
    2015 results map
  • 2016 results map
    2016 results map
  • 2018 results map
    2018 results map
  • 2019 results map
    2019 results map

By-election results

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By-elections occur when seats become vacant between council elections. Below is a summary of recent by-elections;[35] full by-election results can be found by clicking on the by-election name.

By-election Date Incumbent party Winning party
Helifield 20 March 1997 Liberal Democrats Conservative
Sutton 20 March 1997 Conservative Liberal Democrats
Skipton South West 1 May 1997 Independent Labour
Skipton West 30 October 1997 Liberal Democrats Conservative
Skipton East by-election 9 March 2000 Independent Independent
Skipton South by-election 7 June 2001 Conservative Liberal Democrats
Bentham by-election 13 November 2003 Liberal Democrats Independent
Upper Wharfedale by-election 2 March 2006 Conservative Conservative
Cowling by-election 12 July 2007 Independent Conservative
Skipton West by-election 2 July 2014 Liberal Democrats Labour
Embsay-with-Eastby by-election 31 March 2016 Conservative Independent
Aire Valley with Lothersdale by-election 4 May 2017 Conservative Green
Barden Fell by-election 6 May 2021 Independent Independent
Penyghent by-election 6 May 2021 Conservative Conservative

References

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  1. ^ "Your Council". Craven District Council. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  2. ^ "Compositions Calculator". The Elections Centre. University of Exeter. Retrieved 21 May 2025. (Put "Craven" in search box to see specific results.)
  3. ^ a b "Craven". BBC News Online. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  4. ^ "Departing council leader looks back on occasionally turbulent years". Craven Herald and Pioneer. 9 October 2014. Retrieved 18 June 2022.
  5. ^ "Tenants say yes to stock transfer". Telegraph and Argus. 4 October 2002. Retrieved 28 June 2025.
  6. ^ Tate, Lesley (23 May 2008). "Tories take over leadership of council". Craven Herald and Pioneer. Retrieved 18 June 2022.
  7. ^ a b Tate, Lesley (9 October 2014). "Tributes to departing council leader - but none from opposition councillors". Craven Herald and Pioneer. Retrieved 28 June 2025.
  8. ^ Barrett, Thomas (28 March 2023). "Council leader reflects on his time as Craven Council to be abolished to make way for North Yorkshire Council". Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 28 June 2025.
  9. ^ a b "Craven". BBC News Online. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  10. ^ The District of Craven (Electoral Arrangements) Order 1977
  11. ^ The North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire (Areas) Order 1982
  12. ^ "The gains and losses: Council election results in full". The Times. NewsBank. 7 May 1988. ISSN 0140-0460.
  13. ^ "Local election results". The Times. NewsBank. 5 May 1990. ISSN 0140-0460.
  14. ^ "Complete round-up of results from Thursday's local council elections". The Times. NewsBank. 4 May 1991. ISSN 0140-0460.
  15. ^ "Local election results 1992". The Times. NewsBank. 9 May 1992. ISSN 0140-0460.
  16. ^ legislation.gov.uk - The North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire (County and District Boundaries) Order 1991. Retrieved on 5 November 2015.
  17. ^ "Non Metropolitan Districts - Local elections". The Times. NewsBank. 7 May 1994. p. 9. ISSN 0140-0460.
  18. ^ "Complete list of results from thursday's council elections". The Times. NewsBank. 6 May 1995. ISSN 0140-0460.
  19. ^ "Complete list of results". The Times. NewsBank. 4 May 1996. p. 8. ISSN 0140-0460.
  20. ^ "Local Elections results". The Times. NewsBank. 9 May 1998. p. 46. ISSN 0140-0460.
  21. ^ "How the nations voted". The Times. NewsBank. 8 May 1999. p. 48. ISSN 0140-0460.
  22. ^ "Craven". BBC News Online. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  23. ^ legislation.gov.uk - The District of Craven (Electoral Changes) Order 2000. Retrieved on 4 October 2015.
  24. ^ legislation.gov.uk - The District of Craven (Electoral Changes) (Amendment) Order 2005. Retrieved on 3 November 2015.
  25. ^ "Local elections". BBC News Online. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  26. ^ "Craven council". BBC News Online. 11 June 2004. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  27. ^ "Local elections: Craven". BBC News Online. 4 May 2006. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  28. ^ "Craven". BBC News Online. 4 May 2007. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  29. ^ "Craven". BBC News Online. 2 May 2008. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  30. ^ "Craven". BBC News Online. 7 May 2010. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  31. ^ "England council elections". BBC News Online. 10 May 2011. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  32. ^ "Vote 2012". BBC News Online. 4 May 2012. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  33. ^ legislation.gov.uk - The District of Craven (Electoral Changes) Order 2012. Retrieved on 3 November 2015.
  34. ^ legislation.gov.uk - The District of Craven (Electoral Changes) (Amendment) Order 2013. Retrieved on 3 November 2015.
  35. ^ "Local Authority Byelection Results". Archived from the original on 29 March 2010. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
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