West Somerset District Council in Somerset, England was elected every four years. The first elections to the council were held in 1973, ahead of it coming into being in 1974. The last election was held in 2015. The council was abolished in 2019 when the district merged with neighbouring Taunton Deane district to become Somerset West and Taunton. West Somerset had 28 councillors following its final boundary changes in 2011, 28 elected from 16 wards.
Political control From the first election to the council in 1973 until its abolition in 2019, political control of the council was held by the following parties: (Put "West Somerset" in search box to see specific results.) Party in controlYears 19731995 19952003 20032007 20072011 20112019
Leadership The leaders of the council from 1998 to 2019 were:
Councillor Party From ToSteven Pugsley 1998 2003 2003 2006 Christine Lawrence 2006 2007 Keith Ross 2007 2010 Tim Taylor 2010 May 2015 Anthony Trollope-Bellew 20 May 2015 31 Mar 2019
Council elections Summary of the council composition after each council election, click on the year for full details of each election.
YearConservativeIndependentUK Independence PartyLabourLiberal Democrats (including predecessor parties)Independent ConservativeResidentsVacantNotes 1973 3 27 0 1 1 0 0 0 1976 4 28 0 0 0 0 0 0 1979 3 25 0 0 1 0 3 0 New ward boundariesThe District of West Somerset (Electoral Arrangements) Order 1976 1983 4 27 0 0 1 0 0 0 1987 6 26 0 0 0 0 0 0 1991 5 22 0 3 1 0 0 1 1995 9 12 0 8 2 1 0 0 1999 15 8 0 5 1 0 0 2 New ward boundarieslegislation.gov.uk - The District of West Somerset (Electoral Changes) Order 1998. Retrieved on 4 October 2015. 2003 18 9 0 2 2 0 0 0 2007 13 16 0 1 1 0 0 0 2011 19 7 0 2 0 0 0 0 New ward boundarieslegislation.gov.uk - The West Somerset (Electoral Changes) Order 2011. Retrieved on 3 November 2015. 2015 21 3 3 1 0 0 0 0
District result maps
By-elections By-elections occur when seats become vacant between council elections. Below is a summary of recent by-elections; full by-election results can be found by clicking on the by-election name.
By-election Date Incumbent party Winning partyMinehead South by-election14 November 1996 Quantock Vale by-election17 July 1997 Minehead North by-election23 April 1998 Porlock and Oare by-election23 October 1998 Williton by-election8 December 1999 Aville Vale by-election13 July 2000 Old Cleeve by-election7 July 2005 Alcombe East by-election1 May 2008 Minehead South by-election16 April 2009 Dunster and Timberscombe by-election23 March 2017
References
External links West Somerset District Council