Elected
*Edmund Bourne | Unionist Party | 479 |
*Edward Hodges | Unionist Party | 479 |
William Middleton | Unionist Party | 442 |
Colonel Joynson | Unionist Party | 408 |
Not Elected
*Joseph Murdock | Liberal Party | 309 |
*Obediah Woods | Liberal Party | 303 |
*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.