Pendle Borough Council


Pendle Borough Council is a district council in England, that has authority covering the borough of Pendle in Lancashire.
Elections to the council are held in three out of every four years, with one third of the 49 seats on the council being elected at each election. The Conservative, Labour, and Liberal Democrat parties have each controlled the council at different times, as well as periods when no party has had a majority.

History

On 9 March 2017, The Labour and Liberal Democrat group were accused of "racism" after allegedly asking the solitary BNP councilor to form a coalition with them to avoid the Conservatives taking control of the council. The alleged deal between the BNP, Labour and Liberal Democrats was strenuously denied by the three parties. However, Leader of the Conservative opposition, Cllr Joe Cooney wrote to current Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and the then Lib Dem leader Tim Farron in asking them to condemn the situation.
In June 2017, a Conservative councilor, Rosemary Carroll, was suspended after sending a racist post on social media comparing Asians to dogs. This controversy expanded after the local elections in 2018, when the councilor was readmitted into the Conservative Party, allowing the Conservative party to gain a majority on the council. The Pendle Labour party accused the Pendle Conservative Party of condoning racism after the reinstatement. The Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities, Dawn Butler, called upon the Conservative Party Chairman, Brandon Lewis, to issue a statement saying that the councilor in question would not be part of the Conservative group on the council. This followed a statement from Lewis congratulating the Pendle Conservatives on winning a majority on the council.

Councillors

Council elections

2006 local elections

In 2006, Pendle Borough Council gained an Asian Liberal Democrat councillor, a BNP councillor and two councillors for the nationalist England First party.

2010 local elections

In the 2010 election the council was composed of the following councillors:-
YearConservativeLiberal DemocratLabourBritish National PartyIndependent
201017161321