Shaftesbury residents went to the polls on 2nd May to elect town councillors (8 seats on East Ward), representatives to Dorset Council (2 seats), and Dorset Police and Crime Commissioner. There was not a contested election for town councillors for the West Ward as there were 7 nominated candidates for 7 seats.
Votes for Dorset Council were counted in Weymouth on Friday 3rd May, and votes for the town and parish councils and the Police and Crime Commissioner were counted and announced on Saturday 4th May.
shaftesbury Town Council results
Shaftesbury Town Council – Shaftesbury East Ward (8 seats)
Number of votes received per candidate (if elected, the word “ELECTED” appear against the number of votes:
| Candidate | Description (if any) | Number of votes |
| BROWN Piers Alexander David(commonly known as Piers Brown) | 322 ELECTED | |
| CHASE Alexander Edward | 442 ELECTED | |
| DIBBEN Lester Mark | 281 ELECTED | |
| MILES Stephen John | 215 | |
| SALKELD Jade | Independent | 386 ELECTED |
| SMITH Conor James(commonly known as Conor Smith) | Independent | 517 ELECTED |
| WILD Lorah | 325 ELECTED | |
| WILD-BRIDGES Joanna Dawn(commonly known as Jo Wild-Bridges) | 274 | |
| WILLIAMS Greg Andrew | 448 ELECTED | |
| YEO Peter David | Justice for Shaftesbury | 369 ELECTED |
Results for the Shaftesbury Town Council – Shaftesbury East Ward
| Reason | Number rejected |
| Want of an official mark | 0 |
| Voting for more candidates than voter was entitled to | 0 |
| Writing or mark by which voter could be identified | 0 |
| Being unmarked or wholly void for uncertainty | 24 |
| Rejected in part | 0 |
| Total | 24 |
Number of ballot papers rejected:
Number of vacant seats, electorate, ballot papers issued and turnout:
- vacant seats: 8
- electorate: 3608
- ballot papers issued: 986
- turnout: 27.33%
Shaftesbury Town Council – Shaftesbury West Ward (7 seats)
Results for the uncontested election for Shaftesbury West Ward. The validly nominated candidates automatically become councillors on 7th May 2024 without a contest.
| Candidate | Description (if any) |
| BARRATT Elaine Cheryl | |
| EDWYN-JONES Virginia | |
| ELMENDORFF Justine Andrea | |
| HERITAGE Nigel Trevor Roblou | Independent |
| HOLLINGSHEAD Andrew Reginald | Independent |
| LOADER Jeanne Rose | |
| PHILPOTT Anne Jane |
Dorset Council Results
The overall turn-out across Dorset was 33.25%. The Liberal Democrats took the majority of the votes, with 42 elected councillors and now have control of Dorset Council.
There will be 82 councillors representing four political parties and in addition there are 4 independent councillors on Dorset Council. The numbers are as follows:
- 42 Liberal Democrats
- 30 Conservatives
- 2 Labour
- 4 Greens
- 4 Independent for Dorset/Independent other
Out of the 82 seats, 28 are new councillors. 54 seats have been retained by members who have previously served as a councillor for Dorset Council.
Shaftesbury Town Ward for Dorset Council – 2 seats
The results for Dorset Councillors for Shaftesbury Town Ward are as follows.
Number of votes received per candidate (if elected, the word “ELECTED” appear against the number of votes:
| Candidate | Description (if any) | Number of votes |
| BAVISTER Daniel(commonly known as Dan Bavister) | Labour Party | 233 |
| BEER Derek Leslie | Liberal Democrats | 1403 ELECTED |
| DIBBEN Lester Mark | 187 | |
| EDWYN-JONES Virginia Rhiannon(commonly known as Virginia Edwyn-Jones) | Local Conservatives | 558 |
| HOLLINGSHEAD Andrew Reginald | Independent | 529 |
| JEANES Jack David John | Liberal Democrats | 1008 ELECTED |
| TAYLOR Lester Geoffrey(commonly known as Lester Taylor) | Patriots Alliance – English Democrats and UKIP | 86 |
| UNWIN Steven James (commonly known as Steve Unwin) | Patriots Alliance – English Democrats and UKIP | 118 |
| VON CLEMENS Barry William(commonly known as Barry Von Clemens) | Local Conservatives | 269 |
Results for the Shaftesbury Town Ward
| Reason | Number rejected |
| Want of an official mark | 0 |
| Voting for more candidates than voter was entitled to | 0 |
| Writing or mark by which voter could be identified | 0 |
| Being unmarked or wholly void for uncertainty | 16 |
| Rejected in part | 0 |
| Total | 16 |
Number of ballot papers rejected:
Number of vacant seats, electorate, ballot papers issued and turnout:
- vacant seats: 2
- electorate: 6835
- ballot papers issued: 2351
- turnout: 34.40%
Police and Crime Commissioner election for the Dorset Police area
An election for the Police and Crime Commissioner for the Dorset Police area took place on Thursday 2 May 2024.
Overall combined result (for the Dorset Council and Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council areas)
The total number of votes given for each of the candidates are as follows (if elected, the word “ELECTED” appear against the number of votes:):
| Candidate | Description (if any) | Number of votes |
| LEGG Howard Richard | Liberal Democrats | 34774 |
| SIDWICK David John | Conservative Candidate –More Police, Safer Streets | 57994 ELECTED |
| STOKES David | Labour and Co-operative Party | 26884 |
| STOREY Marianne | Independent | 32237 |
Overall combined result for the Police and Crime Commissioner for the Dorset Police area election
The total number of ballot papers rejected was: 2550
| Number of ballot papers | Reason |
| 0 | ballot papers were rejected because they did not bear the official mark |
| 254 | ballot papers were rejected because there was more than one vote given |
| 13 | ballot papers were rejected because there was something written or marked on the ballot paper by which the voter could be identified |
| 1270 | ballot papers were rejected because they were unmarked |
| 1013 | ballot papers were rejected because they were void for uncertainty |
The ballot papers were rejected for the following reasons:
- The total number of ballot papers verified: 154436
- The turnout in this police area at this election: 25.96%
Dorset Council area result
The total number of valid votes cast for each of the candidates is as follows:
| Candidate | Description (if any) | Number of votes |
| LEGG Howard Richard | Liberal Democrats | 28020 |
| SIDWICK David John | Conservative Candidate –More Police, Safer Streets | 37212 |
| STOKES David | Labour and Co-operative Party | 12559 |
| STOREY Marianne | Independent | 18613 |
Dorset Council area result for the Police and Crime Commissioner for the Dorset Police area election
- Total number of ballot papers verified: 98534
- Total number of rejected ballot papers: 2131
- Total number of valid votes: 96404
