Wiltshire Council election, 2013

Elections to the Wiltshire Council unitary authority took place on 2 May 2013. All ninety-eight seats were up for election, with each councillor being elected in a single-member electoral division, although in six of the divisions only one candidate was nominated and was thus declared the winner without elections taking place.

The previous elections were held in June 2009 and resulted in the Conservatives taking overall control of the newly formed council, the successor to Wiltshire County Council and four recently abolished district councils, with the Liberal Democrats forming the largest of four opposition political groups. At the 2013 election, the Conservatives were the only political party to contest every division. They needed to avoid a net loss of thirteen seats to maintain overall control, while the Liberal Democrats needed a net gain of twenty-six to take control. In the event, the Conservatives gained five seats and lost nine, a net loss of four, retaining control of the council with fifty-eight members. The Liberal Democrats remained the largest other group, with twenty-seven councillors, followed by eight Independents, four from the Labour Party, and one from the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP), the first time a seat in Wiltshire Council had been won by UKIP.

For the subsequent by-elections, see Wiltshire Council elections.

At the close of nominations on 5 April 2013, in six electoral divisions only one candidate had come forward, so these were uncontested: they were Fovant & Chalke Valley (Josephine Green), Ludgershall & Perham (Christopher Williams), the Collingbournes & Netheravon (Charles Howard), Tidworth (Mark Connolly), Warminster West (Pippa Ridout), and Winterslow (Christopher Devine). These six candidates were all Conservatives and were elected unopposed.

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