Elections to Town, Parish and Councils in and , 1998-2000

User Guide

Dataset created as part of the ‘Participation, Power and Rural Community Governance in England and Wales’ project, funded by the ESRC Democracy and Participation Programme, award number L215252052.

Principal Investigator: Dr Michael Woods Co-Investigator: Dr Bill Edwards Research Assistants: Dr Jon Anderson, Dr Eldin Fahmy, Dr Graham Gardner

Institute of Geography and Earth Sciences, University of Wales, Aberystwyth Aberystwyth, SY23 3DB.

E-mail: [email protected]

Introduction The dataset was created as part of a project exploring ‘participation, power and rural community governance in England and Wales’, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council as part of its Democracy and Participation Programme. The project aimed to develop understanding of what participation is occurring in rural community governance in England and Wales, paying particular attention to the factors influencing the nature, type and level of participation, and the implications of the pattern of participation for issues of democracy and accountability in rural governance.

The construction of a database of parish, town and community council election statistics was one of five stated objectives of the project and was intended to provide a national picture of participation in elective community governance across rural England and Wales. Prior to the study no comprehensive survey of parish, town and community council elections across both England and Wales had been conducted, although a survey of elections to parish councils in England had been conducted for the Royal Commission on Local Government in the late 1960s, and a survey of a 10% sample of parish and town councils in England had been conducted by the Aston Business School in 1991.

Data Collection The dataset has been constructed from the election returns (or summaries of election returns) for elections to parish, town and community councils obtained directly from the Electoral Officers in district and unitary councils. The data relate to elections held in May 1998 (England), May 1999 (England), June 1999 (Wales) and May 2000. Elections to parish, town and community councils are generally held on the same day as the elections for the local district council ward, and thus are staggered over a four year cycle with no elections in the fourth year (the year of the English county council elections, in this case 2001). Where the district council is elected in thirds, elections to different parish councils in that district may be held in different

1 years. Useable data were supplied by 219 principal councils, or 77% of those authorities containing parish, town or community councils. A full list of those districts supplying data, with the number of local councils and wards, is appended to the end of this guide. There are no parish or town councils in Greater London, or in 38 other, mainly urban, districts. Additionally, there is only partial coverage by parish, town and community councils in a number of other, largely urban, districts. Incomplete data were returned by a small number of districts in which parish council elections take place over a four year cycle, for which data on only those elections held in May 2000 was submitted. Incomplete data was also received from some authorities where the number of seats for election in wards without contested ballots was not confirmed, or where turnout figures were not available.

The election return for a ward (or council, if unwarded) typically includes the name, address and description of candidates, number of votes cast, and notice of those candidates elected. If not included on the returns, data on the number of seats available, total electorate and total numbers of votes cast or turnout was obtained directly from the Electoral Officer. From this information the following data was transcribed for each ward (or unwarded council): • Number of seats available • Number of candidates • Number of candidates with party description (and the party description) • Number of male and female candidates • Total electorate • Turnout

This data was combined with the following contextual data included in the dataset: • Rurality index of district (Source: Harrington. V. & O'Donoghue, D. (1998) Rurality in England and Wales 1991: A Replication and Extension of the 1981 Rurality Index. Sociologia Ruralis, 38(2), pp.178-203) • Postcode district of parish • District population data • Classification of promotional activity undertaken by local authority • Classification of delegation of functions to town, parish and community councils by local authority.

The Dataset The dataset exists as a single SPSS file. It contains records for 9,677 local councils or local council wards. Approximately 19% of parish and town councils in England and 62% of community and town councils in Wales are divided into wards; the remainder are elected as a whole and are entered in this dataset as a single unit. Accordingly the dataset contains data pertaining to approximately 7,000 parish, town and community councils, or 78% of all such councils.

Each line of data contains details for a council/ward relating to 40 variables. These variables are listed overleaf.

2 LIST OF VARIABLES IN DATASET (READING LEFT TO RIGHT)

Variable Variable Variable descriptor Variable values Name type Parish String Parish name None District String District name None postcode String Parish postcode None County String County name None Rural Numeric 1991 Rurality Index score 1 = ‘Urban’; 2 = ‘Extreme non- [consistent with Harrington. V. & rural’; 3 = Intermediate non-rural’; O'Donoghue, D. (1998) Rurality in 4 = ‘Intermediate rural’; 5 = England and Wales 1991: A ‘Extreme rural’ Replication and Extension of the 1981 Rurality Index. Sociologia Ruralis, 38(2), pp.178-203] dc_pop Numeric District population (1997) None Area Numeric District area in hectares None Density Numeric Population density per square None hectare p_size Numeric Size of electorate (absolute) None p_size2 Numeric Size of electorate (hierarchic) 1 = <200; 2 = 200-499; 3 = 500- 999; 4 = 1000-1999; 5 = >2000 p_size3 Numeric Parish size, hierarchic [consistent None with 1991 'Aston Survey': DoE (1992) Parish and Town Councils in England: A survey. HMSO, London] r_elec Numeric No. of electors per seat None r_elec3 Numeric Electors per seat, hierarchic 1 = <50; 2 = 50-100; 3 = 100-250; 4 = >250 r_elec2 Numeric Electors per candidate None r_elec4 Numeric Candidates per 1000 electors None p_cllrs Numeric No. of seats (absolute) 99 = no data supplied p_cllr_2 Numeric No. of seats (hierarchic) 1 = <4; 2 = 4-6; 3 = 7-9; 4 = >10 p_stand Numeric No. standing for election None r_cont Numeric Ratio: candidates/seats None Contest Numeric Comparison of candidates to 0 = insufficient candidates for seats seats; 1 = sufficient candidates for seats; 2 = more than sufficient candidates for seats; 3 = not known contest2 Numeric Whether or not seat is contested 0 = no; 1 = yes n_male Numeric No. of male candidates (N) 99 = not applicable n_female Numeric No. of female candidates (N) None Gender Numeric % of candidates women None p_none Numeric No. of candidates with no political 98 = not known affiliation p_camp Numeric No. of candidates distributing 98 = not known political campaign literature

3 p_pty Numeric No of candidates standing for 98 = not known formal political party other than as 'independent' p_indpty Numeric No. of candidates standing as 98 = not known independent for formal political party (e.g. 'independent labour' p_indep Numeric No. of candidates standing as 98 = not known independent (i.e. no formal political affiliation) any_paff Numeric % of candidates with ANY political 98 = not known affiliation (including 'independent') pty_paff Numeric % of candidates with party 98 = not known political affiliation (p_pty) turnout Numeric % electoral turnout (absolute) None turn_2 Numeric % electoral turnout (categorised) 1 = <30%; 2 = 30-45%; 3 = >45% n_vote Numeric No. of voters where seat is . = not known; 0 = no; 1 = yes contested dc_init1 Numeric Notice of elections publicised on . = not known; 0 = no; 1 = yes noticeboards only dc_init2 Numeric Notice of elections publicised in . = not known; 0 = no; 1 = yes local media dc_init3 Numeric Notice of elections publicised in . = not known; 0 = no; 1 = yes circulars dc_init4 Numeric Notice of elections publicised . = not known; 0 = no; 1 = yes in/on form(s) other than noticeboards, local media, circulars dc_deleg Numeric District council delegation of 0 = no; 1 = yes powers to parishes? deleg_is Type of responsibility delegated 1 = recreational facilities; 2 = by district council street naming; 3 = litter picking; 4 = maintenance of district council open space(s); 5 = other responsibility; 98 = not applicable or not specified

4

GEOGRAPHICAL COVERAGE OF DATABASE

All unshaded districts are included in the dataset. Shaded districts contain town, parish and community councils but did not provide data. The total number of town, parish and community councils in each district is indicated, and the total number of wards included in the database. Where a partial return is indicated, only data for elections held in May 2000 is included in the database.

Parish,Town or District Community Councils Parish Wards Adur 2 7 Allerdale 58 73 Alnwick 36 . Amber Valley 31 47 Arun 26 . Ashfield 3 4 Ashford 37 48 79 83 Babergh 64 69 Barnsley 17 20 Barrow-in-Furness 3 . Basildon (partial return) 52 9 Basingstoke and Deane (partial) 40 14 Bassetlaw 47 61 Bath and North East Somerset 45 51 Bedford 43 48 Berwick-upon-Tweed 28 . Blaby 19 29 Blackburn with Darwen 6 . Bolsover 14 27 Bolton 3 . Boston 18 . Bracknell Forest 6 . Bradford 9 18 Breckland 95 101 Brentwood 7 8 Bridgnorth 34 . and 1 1 Broadland 19 . Bromsgrove 19 26 Broxtowe 9 13 Burnley 7 . Calderdale 8 20 Cannock Chase (partial return) 17 10 Canterbury 26 30 35 51 Carlisle 33 33 Carrick 25 . 28 54 Charnwood 26 43

5 Chelmsford 26 . Cheltenham 5 6 Cherwell 64 . -le-Street 10 13 Chester (partial return) 119 20 Chesterfield 2 10 Chichester 58 67 Chiltern 16 . Chorley (partial return) 22 6 Christchurch 2 . Colchester (partial return) 28 7 23 34 Copeland 27 . Corby 7 . Cotswold 86 95 Coventry 2 2 Craven 40 49 (partial) 71 7 Dacorum 16 22 Darlington 7 . Dartford 8 25 Daventry (partial return) 52 22 Derbyshire Dales 70 93 8 13 Doncaster 36 52 Dover 35 49 Durham 13 27 Easington 18 33 East Cambridgeshire 34 37 East Devon 61 . 17 39 East Hampshire 35 47 East Hertfordshire 46 . East Lindsey 102 . East Northamptonshire 39 49 East Riding of Yorkshire 158 182 East Staffordshire 28 31 Eastleigh 8 13 Eden 53 77 Ellesmere Port and Neston (p) 3 1 Epping Forest 24 . Erewash 12 15 Fenland 16 33 Forest Heath 18 27 Forest of Dean 39 43 Fylde 14 17 Gateshead 2 7 Gedling 10 . Gloucester 1 5 Gravesham 5 . Guildford 23 33 Halton (partial return) 6 4

6 Hambleton 78 121 Harborough 47 . Harrogate 81 135 Hart (partial return) 17 6 Hartlepool 4 . Herefordshire 121 249 Hertsmere 4 9 High Peak 17 30 Hinckley and Bosworth 22 . Horsham 32 37 Huntingdonshire (partial return) 73 21 Hyndburn 1 1 Isle of Wight 27 47 Kennet 68 . 31 35 Kettering 22 30 King's Lynn and West Norfolk 85 89 Kirklees 5 34 Knowsley 6 17 Lancaster 31 . Leeds 25 47 Lewes 22 35 Lichfield 24 47 (partial return) 54 34 Maidstone (partial return) 54 37 Maldon 30 37 Malvern Hills (partial return) 69 41 Mansfield 1 2 Melton 25 48 Mendip 52 64 Mid 49 58 Mid Devon 53 61 Mid Suffolk 94 . Mid Sussex 23 37 Middlesbrough 2 2 Milton Keynes (partial return) 58 15 Mole Valley 13 17 New Forest 36 58 Newark and Sherwood 58 83 Newcastle-under-Lyme 9 9 Newcastle upon Tyne 5 19 North 58 64 North Devon 53 67 46 72 North East Derbyshire 24 35 North East Lincolnshire 12 15 North Hertfordshire 27 . North Kesteven 56 71 North Lincolnshire 52 57 North Norfolk 118 123 North 34 . North Somerset 37 85

7 North Warwickshire 28 . North West Leicestershire 22 32 North 54 83 Oldham 2 10 Oswestry 13 24 Oxford 4 4 Pendle 16 24 19 26 Peterborough 26 . Portsmouth 1 5 Preston 8 11 Purbeck 21 24 Redcar and Cleveland 5 12 Redditch 1 1 Reigate and Banstead 2 . 23 31 Ribble Valley 35 48 Richmondshire 55 65 Rochford 14 . Rossendale 1 4 Rother 30 40 Rotherham 25 33 Rugby 32 34 Rushcliffe 38 48 Rutland 28 30 Ryedale 71 85 Salisbury 68 69 Scarborough 39 61 11 37 Sedgemoor 48 62 Sefton 8 12 Selby 57 65 Sevenoaks 29 . Sheffield 3 14 Shepway 22 25 31 53 Slough 3 3 Solihull 12 . 21 33 12 . South Cambridgeshire 89 . South Derbyshire 32 . South Gloucestershire 42 85 South Hams 59 71 South Holland 21 34 South Kesteven 66 73 South Lakeland 62 . South Norfolk 100 111 South Northamptonshire 62 71 South Oxfordshire 73 82 South Ribble 7 15 41 62

8 South Somerset 96 . South Staffordshire 27 54 Southend-on-Sea 1 7 St. Albans 9 . St. Edmundsbury 58 76 St. Helens 7 16 Stafford 33 55 Staffordshire Moorlands 41 54 Stockton-on-Tees 15 . Stratford-on-Avon 82 106 Stroud 50 . 91 . Sunderland 2 . Surrey Heath 4 6 Swale 34 44 Swindon 14 . Tandridge 13 . 41 53 21 . Teignbridge 41 53 24 44 Tendring 27 36 Test Valley 48 54 Tewkesbury 42 52 Thanet 7 14 Three Rivers 5 . Tonbridge and Malling 26 . Torridge 54 64 Trafford 4 7 Tunbridge Wells 15 19 50 63 Uttlesford 52 62 Vale of White Horse 52 . 45 59 Wakefield 24 40 18 . Warwick 21 41 Waveney (partial return) 36 17 Waverley 19 38 Wealden 39 62 4 13 Wellingborough 14 16 Welwyn Hatfield 5 . West Berkshire 54 72 West Devon 55 60 70 130 West Lancashire 19 41 West Lindsey 70 88 West Oxfordshire 54 67 36 . 43 59 1 3

9 Wigan 2 4 Winchester 42 45 Windsor and Maidenhead 14 . Woking 1 . Wokingham 17 . Worcester 2 . Wychavon 67 98 Wycombe 27 . Wyre 21 . Wyre Forest 11 22 York 31 35 Blaenau Gwent 4 12 Bridgend 19 45 Caerphilly 16 58 6 10 Carmarthenshire 73 138 Ceredigion 51 Conwy 33 72 Denbighshire 37 56 Flintshire 34 82 Gwynedd 64 153 Isle of Anglesey / Ynys Mon 40 85 Merthyr Tydfil 1 Monmouth 33 123 Neath Port Talbot 19 46 Newport 14 21 Pembrokeshire 79 143 Powys 112 221 Rhondda Cynon Taff 12 Swansea 24 59 Torfaen 6 36 Vale of Glamorgan 26 63 Wrexham 34 83

10 File name: PARISH ELECTORALDATA

File type: SPSS (Statistics Package for Social Scientists) Database (Version 11)

File description: Electoral data for parish council elections (England) 2000, disaggregated to scale, containing nominal, ordinal, interval ratio and absolute numeric data; 9677 cases; 40 variables.

Variable Variable Variable descriptor Variable values Name type Parish String Parish name None District String District name None postcode String Parish postcode None County String County name None Rural Numeric 1991 Rurality Index score 1 = ‘Urban’; 2 = ‘Extreme non-rural’; [consistent with Harrington. V. & 3 = Intermediate non-rural’; 4 = O'Donoghue, D. (1998) Rurality in ‘Intermediate rural’; 5 = ‘Extreme England and Wales 1991: A rural’ Replication and Extension of the 1981 Rurality Index. Sociologia Ruralis, 38(2), pp.178-203] dc_pop Numeric District population (1997) None Area Numeric District area in hectares None Density Numeric Population density per square None hectare p_size Numeric Size of electorate (absolute) None p_size2 Numeric Size of electorate (hierarchic) 1 = <200; 2 = 200-499; 3 = 500- 999; 4 = 1000-1999; 5 = >2000 p_size3 Numeric Parish size, hierarchic [consistent None with 1991 'Aston Survey': DoE (1992) Parish and Town Councils in England: A survey. HMSO, London] r_elec Numeric No. of electors per seat None r_elec3 Numeric Electors per seat, hierarchic 1 = <50; 2 = 50-100; 3 = 100-250; 4 = >250 r_elec2 Numeric Electors per candidate None r_elec4 Numeric Candidates per 1000 electors None p_cllrs Numeric No. of seats (absolute) 99 = no data supplied p_cllr_2 Numeric No. of seats (hierarchic) 1 = <4; 2 = 4-6; 3 = 7-9; 4 = >10 p_stand Numeric No. standing for election None r_cont Numeric Ratio: candidates/seats None Contest Numeric Comparison of candidates to seats 0 = insufficient candidates for seats; 1 = sufficient candidates for seats; 2 = more than sufficient candidates for seats; 3 = not known contest2 Numeric Whether or not seat is contested 0 = no; 1 = yes n_male Numeric No. of male candidates (N) 99 = not applicable n_female Numeric No. of female candidates (N) None Gender Numeric % of candidates women None p_none Numeric No. of candidates with no political 98 = not known affiliation p_camp Numeric No. of candidates distributing 98 = not known political campaign literature p_pty Numeric No of candidates standing for 98 = not known formal political party other than as 'independent' p_indpty Numeric No. of candidates standing as 98 = not known independent for formal political party (e.g. 'independent labour' p_indep Numeric No. of candidates standing as 98 = not known independent (i.e. no formal political affiliation) any_paff Numeric % of candidates with ANY political 98 = not known affiliation (including 'independent') pty_paff Numeric % of candidates with party political 98 = not known affiliation (p_pty) turnout Numeric % electoral turnout (absolute) None turn_2 Numeric % electoral turnout (categorised) 1 = <30%; 2 = 30-45%; 3 = >45% n_vote Numeric No. of voters where seat is . = not known; 0 = no; 1 = yes contested dc_init1 Numeric Notice of elections publicised on . = not known; 0 = no; 1 = yes noticeboards only dc_init2 Numeric Notice of elections publicised in . = not known; 0 = no; 1 = yes local media dc_init3 Numeric Notice of elections publicised in . = not known; 0 = no; 1 = yes circulars dc_init4 Numeric Notice of elections publicised in/on . = not known; 0 = no; 1 = yes form(s) other than noticeboards, local media, circulars dc_deleg Numeric District council delegation of 0 = no; 1 = yes powers to parishes? deleg_is Type of responsibility delegated by 1 = recreational facilities; 2 = street district council naming; 3 = litter picking; 4 = maintenance of district council open space(s); 5 = other responsibility; 98 = not applicable or not specified