Community Campaign (Hart)

Community Campaign (Hart) (CCH) is a minor localist political party based in the district of Hart in the north east of Hampshire. Founded in 2003, it has contested both district and county elections within Hart, and has successfully gained representation in both the district council and county council. The first Community Campaign Hart councillors were elected in 2004, with numbers increasing over the next few years; as of 2020 there are now eleven. The party is currently in administration of the council in coalition with the Liberal Democrats, with 21 seats between them out of 33. Councillor James Radley is currently the Deputy Leader of the council, as well as holding portfolio for Finance & Corporate Services.

Community Campaign (Hart)
LeaderJames Radley
Founded2003
Political positionLocalism
ColoursPurple and White
SloganLocal Politics - It's about where you live
Hart District council seats
11 / 33
Hampshire county council (Hart seats)[note 1]
1 / 5
Website
http://www.cchart.org.uk/

Location of Hart District:

History

Community Campaign Hart was formed at a meeting in 2003 attended by several local councillors,[1] with an election strategy meeting taking place before the 2004 local elections.[2] In the subsequent 2004 district council election, CCH candidates stood in five seats, gaining two (Church Crookham East and Church Crookham West) from the Conservatives, achieving 15% of the overall vote. In the 2006 election 3 new councillors were elected in Church Crookham East and Crondall, with another councillor elected in 2007 to the Fleet Courtmoor ward, bringing the number of CCH Councillors to 6. James Radley successfully defended his Church Crookham East seat in 2008, but the CCH candidate for Crondall did not win the seat from the Conservative incumbent.

Whilst no candidate stood in the 2005 Hampshire County Council Election, in 2009 Jenny Radley gained the seat of Church Crookham and Ewshot from the Conservative Party, with 3,822 votes (66.54%). In the 2010 Hart District Council Election, despite the CCH vote share increasing by 5.2, CCH incumbent John Bennison lost his Crondall seat to the Conservative candidate, who received 1,144 votes (51.9%) against Bennison's 1,059 (48.1%), though two other CCH incumbents retained their seats. The vote share then fell by 2.8 in 2011, but with the two CCH seats being defended successfully.

In the 2012 election, two more councillors were elected with a vote increase of 5.3, gaining the Crondall and Fleet Courtmoor seats from the Conservative incumbents. Councillor John Bennison, who had formerly been the CCH councillor for Crondall, defended the Church Crookham and Ewshot Division ward of Hampshire County Council in 2013, as the party's soul county councillor. In 2014 the number of seats on the council was reduced by two to 33, with redefined ward boundaries; in the 2014 election, CCH won 9 seats, an increase of 2 and with a slightly increased vote share. However, in 2015, John Bennison lost his Fleet Central Seat to the Conservative candidate (whilst remaining on the County Council), but with the party subsequently successfully defending the three seats up for re-election in 2016.

In 2017 John Bennison defended his county council, with a slightly increased vote share. Alan Oliver of the party also stood in the Fleet Town Ward, coming second after the Conservatives with 2,227 votes (39.22%). This is out of five councillors from Hart itself, alongside two Conservatives, and two Liberal Democrats. In the 2018 District Council election, the Angela Delaney gained Fleet West from the Conservative party with three further seats successfully defended, bringing the total number of councillors up to nine.

In the 2019 district election, two seats were successfully defended, with a further two gained from the Conservatives; whilst the Conservative remained the largest party on the council, Community Campaign alongside the Liberal Democrats formed a majority administration of 21 seats (out of 33 total); Liberal Democrat Councillor David Neighbour became leader of the Council, with Community Campaign Hart Leader James Radley becoming the Deputy Leader, with several CCH councillors gaining portfolio positions.[3]

Whilst Hart District Council elections were originally scheduled to occur in 2020, due to the ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic, they were delayed and are due to be held in 2021, alongside the scheduled Hampshire County Council elections.

Currently sitting councillors

Hart District Council Composition after the 2019 election

Borough Councillors[4]

Name Ward First elected Most recent election Next election Notes[5]
Simon Ambler Crookham West & Ewshot 2005 2016 2021[note 2] Vice Chairman of Hart District Council; Digital Portfolio
Chris Axam Crookham East 2007 2019 2023 Chairman of the Council 2012/13
Gill Butler Crookham East 2006 2018 2022
Tony Clarke Crookham West & Ewshot 2012 2019 2023
Katie Davies Fleet Central 2019 2019 2023
Angela Delaney Fleet West 2018 2018 2022
Sarah Kinnell Fleet West 2005[note 3] 2019 2023 Regulatory Portfolio
Wendy Makepeace-Browne Fleet Central 2014 2016 2021[note 2]
Alan Oliver Fleet Central 2012 2018 2022 Environmental Portfolio; Chairman of the Council 2015/16
James Radley Crookham East 2004 2016 2021[note 2] Party Leader; Deputy Leader of Hart District Council; Portfolio holder for Finance & Corporate Services

County Councillors

Name Ward First elected Most recent election Next election
John Bennison Church Crookham and Ewshot 2013 2017 2021

Electoral performance

District Council Elections

Year Votes % +/- Seats Council Control
2004 2,821 15.0%
2 / 33
Conservative
2006 2,967 15.6% 0.6
5 / 33
No overall control
2007 1,791 10.6% 5.0
6 / 33
No overall control
2008 1,459 8.7% 1.9
6 / 33
No overall control
2010 4,773 13.9% 5.2
5 / 33
Conservative
2011 2,454 11.1% 2.8
5 / 33
Conservative
2012 2,457 16.4% 5.3
7 / 33
No overall control
2014[note 4] 5,358 16.9% 0.5
9 / 33
No overall control
2015 6,745 13.4% 3.5
8 / 33
No overall control
2016 4,647 19.0% 5.6
8 / 33
No overall control
2018 5,368 20.7% 1.7
9 / 33
No overall control
2019 6,341 22.9% 2.2
10 / 33
No overall control

County Council Elections

Since 2009, Community Campaign Hart has stood for council elections, standing in Church Crookham and Ewshot in all three elections since, and in Fleet Town in 2017, coming second with 2,227 votes (39.22%), behind the Conservatives with 2,735 votes (48.16%). There are five county council wards in Hart out of 78, compared to 32 district council seats.

2009

Church Crookham and Ewshot
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Community Campaign Hart Jenny Radley 3822 66.54
Conservative Pritpal Singh 1744 30.88
Labour Jim White 148 2.58
Majority 2048 35.66
Turnout 5744 44.66 -21.96
Community Campaign Hart gain from Conservative Swing

2013

Church Crookham and Ewshot
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Community Campaign Hart John Bennison 2367 54.48
Conservative Wallace Vincent 1167 26.86
UKIP Nigel Johnson 579 13.33
Labour Ruth Williams 232 5.34
Majority
Turnout 4345 32.54 12.12
Community Campaign Hart hold Swing

2017

Church Crookham & Ewshot
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Community Campaign Hart John Bennison 3055 55
Conservative Stephen Alexander Gorys 1787 32
Labour Clive Astin 324 6
Green Chas Spradbery 188 3
UKIP Dawn Moors 176 3
Majority 1268
Turnout 5530 39
Community Campaign Hart hold Swing
Fleet Town
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Steve Forster 2735 48
Community Campaign Hart Alan John Oliver 2227 39
Labour Sam Butler 483 9
UKIP Alan Harry Langridge 155 3
Monster Raving Loony Howling Laud Hope 78 1
Majority 508
Turnout 5678 40
Conservative gain from New Ward Swing

Notes

  1. There are 78 seats in Hampshire County Council, with five single-member wards in the Hart district
  2. Postphoned from 2020
  3. Elected as Conservative, defected 2016. Stood as Community Campaign Hart in 2019
  4. New Ward Boundaries
  1. "COMMUNITY CAMPAIGN GROUP". fm.cchart.org.uk. Retrieved 2020-04-12.
  2. "Minutes_050304". fm.cchart.org.uk. Retrieved 2020-04-12.
  3. "New Chairman and Cabinet Portfolios for Hart District Council | Hart District Council". www.hart.gov.uk. Retrieved 2020-09-06.
  4. "District Councillors | Hart District Council". www.hart.gov.uk. Retrieved 2020-04-12.
  5. "District Councillors | Hart District Council". www.hart.gov.uk. Retrieved 2020-09-06.
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