1996 Exeter City Council election

← 1995 2 May 1996 (1996-05-02) 1998 →
13 out of 36 seats to Exeter City Council 19 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party   Party Labour Liberal Democrats Last election 18 seats, 52.0% 6 seats, 21.2% Seats won 9 2 Seats after 24 7 Seat change 6 1 Popular vote 11,713 5,423 Percentage 45.9% 21.2 Swing 6.1% 0.0%   Third party Fourth party   Party Liberal Conservative Last election 2 seats, 4.4% 10 seats, 17.9% Seats won 1 0 Seats after 3 2 Seat change 1 8 Popular vote 1,717 6,036 Percentage 6.7% 23.6% Swing 2.3% 5.7%
Council control before election No overall control Council control after election Labour

The 1996 Exeter City Council election took place on 2 May 1996 to elect members of Exeter City Council in Devon, England.^[1] This was on the same day as other local elections.

At the election, the Labour Party gained an overall majority on the council, while the Conservatives suffered their biggest loss of seats in a single election since the local government re-organisation in 1974, with a net loss of eight seats.

Despite improvements in the popular vote (where they came second) and in marginal wards, the Conservatives fell to a record low of two seats and ended up in fourth place, behind the Liberal Party.

Both the Liberal Democrats and Liberal Party made minor gains, each winning an extra seat and obtaining a higher or similar share of the popular vote than the 1995 election. The Liberal Democrats became the official opposition for the first time.

1996 Exeter City Council election
Party		This election			Full council			This election
		Seats	Net	Seats %	Other	Total	Total %	Votes	Votes %	+/−
	Labour	9	6	69.2	15	24	66.7	11,713	45.9	–6.1
	Liberal Democrats	3	1	23.1	4	7	19.4	5,423	21.2	±0.0
	Liberal	1	1	7.7	2	3	8.3	1,717	6.7	+2.3
	Conservative	0	8	0.0	2	2	5.6	6,036	23.6	+5.7
	Green	0		0.0	0	0	0.0	610	2.4	+0.5
	Independent	0		0.0	0	0	0.0	31	0.1	N/A

Alphington

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	P. Smith	1,156	48.6	–12.7
	Labour	R. Mathers	702	29.5	+4.8
	Conservative	M. Jordan	469	19.7	+8.3
	Green	R. Gittens	54	2.3	+0.5
Majority			454	19.1	–17.5
Turnout			2,381	39.7	–7.7
Registered electors			6,033
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing	8.8

Countess Wear

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	G. Sheldon	886	50.0	+8.6
	Conservative	A. Stilliard	561	31.7	–5.1
	Liberal Democrats	S. Barrett	270	15.2	–2.2
	Liberal	M. Berry	54	3.0	+0.5
Majority			325	18.4	+13.7
Turnout			1,771	50.2	–9.3
Registered electors			3,566
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	6.9

Cowick

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	B. Robson	1,161	61.3	–5.3
	Conservative	E. Knapp*	513	27.1	+6.1
	Liberal Democrats	M. Pack	219	11.6	–0.8
Majority			648	34.2	–11.3
Turnout			1,893	44.3	–4.1
Registered electors			4,330
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	5.7

Exwick

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	H. Slack	1,473	71.9	+5.4
	Liberal Democrats	T. Thompson	270	13.2	–5.3
	Conservative	T. Porter	264	12.9	+1.4
	Green	B. Packer	43	2.1	–1.4
Majority			1,203	58.7	+10.7
Turnout			2,050	35.2	–6.0
Registered electors			5,915
	Labour hold		Swing	5.4

Pennsylvania

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	D. Treharne	871	42.2	–16.0
	Conservative	S. Syvret*	672	32.6	+10.1
	Labour	C. Boyle	440	21.3	+5.6
	Green	T. Brenan	80	3.9	+0.3
Majority			199	9.6	–26.1
Turnout			2,063	42.2	–7.0
Registered electors			4,937
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative		Swing	13.1

Pinhoe

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	V. Dixon	1,126	53.1	+3.7
	Conservative	J. Landers*	672	37.6	+7.8
	Liberal Democrats	A. Vokes	174	8.2	–10.9
	Green	S. Dunstan	23	1.1	–0.6
Majority			454	15.5	–11.3
Turnout			1,995	53.9	–3.5
Registered electors			3,967
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	2.1

Polsloe

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	M. Mills	709	43.0	–0.7
	Conservative	Y. Henson*	648	39.3	+19.1
	Liberal Democrats	A. Vokes	174	8.2	–17.5
	Green	T. Canning	69	4.2	–0.8
	Independent	K. Needs	31	1.9	N/A
Majority			61	3.7	–12.3
Turnout			1,631	39.7	–10.5
Registered electors			4,153
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	9.9

Rougemont

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	R. Slack*	1,124	64.3	+6.5
	Conservative	G. Williams	336	19.2	+2.9
	Liberal Democrats	J. Bahrij	176	10.1	–9.6
	Green	A. Thomas	111	6.4	+0.3
Majority			788	45.1	+7.0
Turnout			1,747	35.6	–12.3
Registered electors			4,927
	Labour hold		Swing	1.8

St. Davids

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	M. Griffiths	939	40.1	+3.9
	Liberal Democrats	A. Hoey	848	36.2	+0.8
	Conservative	G. Gooding	442	18.9	–4.6
	Green	P. Edwards	115	4.9	±0.0
Majority			91	3.9	+3.1
Turnout			2,344	36.9	–11.4
Registered electors			6,389
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	1.6

St. Leonards

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	P. Davies	679	34.0	–15.9
	Conservative	N. Shiel*	648	32.4	+11.3
	Labour	V. Vincent	587	29.4	+5.3
	Green	K. Morris	85	4.3	N/A
Majority			31	1.6	–24.3
Turnout			1,999	42.9	–10.7
Registered electors			4,700
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing	13.6