1896 – 30th March – Kenilworth Urban District Council – Annual Election

Elected

*Edmund BourneUnionist Party479
*Edward HodgesUnionist Party479
William MiddletonUnionist Party442
Colonel JoynsonUnionist Party408

Not Elected

*Joseph MurdockLiberal Party309
*Obediah WoodsLiberal Party303

*denotes retiring member

Electorate 990

Turnout 750 (75.8%)

CLEAN SWEEP FOR UNIONISTS

Under the rules of Urban District Councils, a third of councillors each year were required to stand down and seek re-election, if they chose to do so. In this election it was members, Bourne, Hodges, Murdock and Woods who stood down. This was the first annual election since the inaugural poll in 1894 and all these four members had finished in the bottom four positions of that election. All put themselves forward for re-election but only two retained their seats. By this time the ‘Separatist Party’ had split and two members, Jackson and James were now ‘Independents’, while the others stuck with the Liberals.

Independent candidate Job Satchwell, who stood in the 1894 election had his nomination papers rejected by the returning officer, so he could not stand. There was no reason given as to why it had been rejected.

The Unionists fielded new candidate Colonel Joynson and William Middleton who more than doubled his vote of 208 from the 1894 election.

KUDC Councillors

6 Conservatives/Unionists (E. Bourne, Liet-Colonel Joynson, E. Hodges, G. Church, J. Welsh, W. Middleton)

4 Liberals (H. Street, W. Riley, J. Knight, Rev. Field)

2 Independents (J. Jackson, W. James)

With no party having a majority, the Liberals just held the balance of power due to the casting vote being available to the chairman, Henry Street.

Council Clerk – Mr J. J. Willington Wilmshurst.

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