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Independent Intelligent Information Local Election Results 2008 (LGiU)

6/5/2008 Author: Tracy Gardiner Reference No: PB 1831/08L This covers: England Overview

An analysis of the local government elections in England and Wales shows that Labour has lost control of nine councils mainly in Wales, but also in England. Net gains were made by the Conservatives to take 12 councils. Turnout remains an issue for local government elections. Briefing in full

Voters in 159 local authorities went to the polls on Thursday 1 May 2008 to cast their democratic choice in 137 English and 22 Welsh local authorities, as well as across London for both Mayor and the city's Assembly. These elections included votes at:

z 19 English unitary councils: all elected by thirds

Blackburn with Darwen, Derby, Halton, Hartlepool, Kingston upon Hull, Milton Keynes, North East Lincolnshire, Peterborough, Plymouth, Portsmouth, Reading, Slough, Southampton, Southend-on-Sea, Stoke-on-Trent, Swindon, Thurrock, Warrington, Wokingham

z Elections were held in three of the current non-metropolitan counties of Cheshire, County Durham and Northumberland for four new unitary authorities to be established in 2009. These councils will be "shadow councils" until then: full council elections

Chester City & Cheshire West, Durham, East Cheshire, Northumberland

z 36 English metropolitan councils: all elected by thirds

Barnsley, Birmingham, Bolton, Bradford, Bury, Calderdale, Coventry, Doncaster, Dudley, Gateshead, Kirklees, Knowsley, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle upon Tyne, North Tyneside, Oldham, Rochdale, Rotherham, Salford, Sandwell, Sefton, Sheffield, Solihull, South Tyneside, St Helens, Stockport, Sunderland, Tameside, Trafford, Wakefield, Walsall, Wigan, Wirral, Wolverhampton

z 78 English non-metropolitan councils: 67 elected by thirds, 7 elected by halves, 4 full council

Adur, Amber Valley, Barrow-in-Furness, Basildon, Basingstoke and Deane, Bassetlaw, Brentwood, Broxbourne, Burnley, Cambridge, Cannock Chase, Carlisle, Castle Point, Cheltenham, Cherwell, Chorley, Colchester, Craven, Crawley, Daventry, Eastleigh,

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Elmbridge, Epping Forest, Exeter, Fareham, Gloucester, Gosport, Great Yarmouth, Harlow, Harrogate, Hart, Hastings, Havant, Hertsmere, Huntingdonshire, Hyndburn, Ipswich, Lincoln, Maidstone, Mole Valley, Newcastle-under-Lyme, North Hertfordshire, Norwich, Nuneaton and Bedworth, Oxford, Pendle, Preston, Purbeck, Redditch, Reigate and Banstead, Rochford, Rossendale, Rugby, Runnymede, Rushmoor, South Cambridgeshire, South Lakeland, St Albans, Stevenage, Stratford-on-Avon, Stroud, Swale, Tamworth, Tandridge, Three Rivers, Tunbridge Wells, Watford, Waveney, Welwyn Hatfield, West Lancashire, West Lindsey, West Oxfordshire, Weymouth and Portland, Winchester, Woking, Worcester, Worthing, Wyre Forest

z 22 Welsh councils: all full council

Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council, Bridgend County Borough Council, Caerphilly County Borough Council, Cardiff County Council, Carmarthenshire County Council, Ceredigion County Council, Conwy County Borough Council, Denbighshire County Council, Flintshire County Council, Gwynedd County Council, Isle of Anglesey County Council, Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council, Monmouthshire County Council, Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council, Newport City Council, Pembrokeshire County Council, Powys County Council, Rhondda Cynon Taff County Borough Council, Swansea City and County Council, Torfaen County Borough Council, Vale of Glamorgan Council, Wrexham County Borough Council

There were boundary changes at Barrow-in-Furness, Basingstoke & Deane, South Lakeland and Welwyn Hatfield. Scheduled elections for Penwith in Cornwall, Shrewsbury & Atcham in Shropshire, Bedford and South Bedfordshire in Bedfordshire and five district councils in Cheshire were cancelled, due to the up-coming unitary authorities being established in those counties

Local Election results

Of the 159 declared results, the Conservative Party gained control of 12 councils, Labour lost control of nine, Plaid Cymru lost one council and the Liberal Democrats retained their position.

Councillors Councils Party +/- Total +/- Total CON 256 3154 12 65 LAB -331 2368 -9 18 LD 34 1805 1 12 PC 33 207 -1 0 OTH 5 893 0 0 NOC - - -3 64

Source: BBC news elections coverage

Welsh Local Election results

In Wales, of the 22 councils declared the Labour Party lost six of its councils, Plaid Cymru also lost one, while the Conservative Party gained one and the remainder have no overall

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control.

Party +/- Total +/- Total LAB -122 344 -6 2 CON 62 173 1 2 PC 33 207 -1 0 LD 21 162 0 0 OTH 6 378 0 0 NOC - - 6 18

Source: BBC news elections coverage

London election results

London voters use a form of proportional representation that balances constituency results with each party's overall tally in the capital and elected 14 of the London Assembly members directly, with the remaining 11 divided between the parties in proportion to London-wide votes.

London Mayoral results

Overall results

Name Party Votes Johnson CON 1,168,738 Livingstone LAB 1,028,966 Paddick LD 878,097 Berry GRN 409,101

London Assembly results

Overall results

Party Constituency Top-up Total seats CON 8 3 11 LAB 6 2 8 LD 0 3 3 GRN 0 2 2 BNP 0 1 1

For a more detailed analysis of the changes in each authority click here.

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Turnout

General turnout for the local elections appears to be about 35%, similar to last year. However, turnout in London was up from previous years at 45% compared to 34% in 2000, and 37% in 2004. This 45% turnout was far less than the 61% of Londoners registered to vote and who told Ipsos MORI's interviewers last week that they were "absolutely certain to vote". Of the 2.4m Londoners voted who voted, taking both first and second preference votes into account, the winner only won the active support of 21.5% of the total electorate.

Comment

Analysis has shown that the Labour Party suffered its worst electoral performance for at least 40 years in the English and Welsh local elections. Labour had a net loss of 331 seats and their share of the vote at 24% was the lowest recorded and left them in third place.

The Liberal Democrats were in second place with 25% of the vote and made a net gain of 34 councillors, but their share of the vote was down 1% on 2007, when Sir Menzies Campbell was leader, and 4% down on when these seats were fought in 2004.

The Conservatives increased their share of the vote at 44% and they gained 256 more councillors.

The smaller parties also recorded some gains and losses. The Greens became the second largest party in Norwich. However, the Greens are performing less well nationally than they did in 2004, their average vote is 8% and is down by a half point on average where they also fought the ward last year.

Among the other small parties, the BNP also performed roughly the same as it did in 2007 - averaging 11% in contested wards - but again performed less well than in 2004. Richard Barnbrook, who is BNP leader on Barking and Dagenham Council and who came fifth in the mayoral contest, will take up one of the 25 assembly seats because he passed the critical 5% mark required for a seat from the city-wide list, with 5.3% (representing 69,000 votes). The party's tally of councillors has reached a psychological barrier of 100 - but those councillors represent less than 1% of all those elected in the UK and gains on the night, beyond the headline-grabbing result in London, were short of some expectations.

Meanwhile, votes for UKIP are well down on 2004, but up slightly on 2007. The party averaged 7% in wards they fought.

In Wales Labour lost control of six Welsh councils. All other big parties made gains, and the Conservatives now have majorities on two Welsh councils - the same number as Labour. Other councils are likely to be run by coalitions of the other parties. In Gwynedd Plaid Cymru lost control as rival party Llais Gwynedd (Gwynedd Voice) - set up as a result of disputed plans to reorganise primary education in the county - won 12 seats.

Turnout in local elections has been consistently low over recent years and despite the high profile London mayoral election played out in the local and national media the result reaching 45% does little to restore confidence in a change in this trend.

Turnout remains a live issue. Returning real power to local authorities is vital to authorities encouraging significant public engagement. Increasing public participation is related to the return of powers and responsibility for policing, healthcare and local sustainability to elected local councillors. Next month's draft Queen's speech will be an opportunity for the government to set out fresh policies to reform public services, welfare and the constitution

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and local authorities will be looking to see if the government will pay heed to this call.

Local authority officers involved in the planning and preparation for elections need to be prepared to adapt not only to any political change but also to the change that results in new councillors or councillors taking up new posts. The change can be time-consuming and can be a steep learning curve for both members and officers requiring significant development of the core relationship between officers and members. Getting the balance right between continuity and change and ensuring there is adequate support for both new and retiring members to support this core relationship is essential in developing strong relationships, especially in a times of change of control.

England Results

Adur District Council Conservative HOLD Amber Valley Borough Council Conservative HOLD Barnsley MBC Labour HOLD Barrow-in-Furness Borough Council No Overall Control No Change Basildon District Council Conservative HOLD Basingstoke & Deane Borough Council Conservative GAIN Bassetlaw District Council Conservative HOLD Birmingham City Council No Overall Control No Change Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council No Overall Control No Change Bolton MBC No Overall Control No Change Bradford Metroplitan District Council No Overall Control No Change Brentwood Borough Council Conservative HOLD Broxbourne Borough Council Conservative HOLD Burnley Borough Council Liberal Democrat GAIN Bury MBC Conservative GAIN Calderdale MBC No Overall Control No Change Cambridge City Council Liberal Democrat HOLD Cannock Chase District Council No Overall Control No Change Carlisle City Council No Overall Control No Change Castle Point Borough Council Conservative HOLD Cheltenham Borough Council No Overall Control No Change Cherwell District Council Conservative HOLD Chester City & Cheshire West Conservative Chorley BC Conservative HOLD Colchester Borough Council No Overall Control No Change

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Coventry City Council No Overall Control Conservative Loss Craven District Council No Overall Control No Change Crawley Borough Council Conservative HOLD Daventry District Council Conservative HOLD Derby City Council No Overall Control No Change Doncaster MBC No Overall Control No Change Dudley MBC Conservative HOLD Durham Labour GAIN East Cheshire Conservative Eastleigh Borough Council Liberal Democrat HOLD Elmbridge Borough Council Conservative GAIN Epping Forest District Council Conservative HOLD Exeter City Council No Overall Control No Change Fareham Borough Council Conservative HOLD Gateshead Council Labour HOLD Gloucester City Council No Overall Control No Change Gosport Borough Council No Overall Control No Change Great Yarmouth Borough Council Conservative HOLD Halton BC Labour HOLD Harlow District Council Conservative GAIN Harrogate No Overall Control No Change Hart District Council No Overall Control No Change Hartlepool Borough Council No Overall Control Labour Loss Hastings Borough Council No Overall Control No Change Havant Borough Council Conservative HOLD Hertsmere Borough Council Conservative HOLD Huntingdonshire District Council Conservative HOLD Hyndburn Borough Council Conservative HOLD Ipswich Borough Council No Overall Control No Change Kingston upon Hull City Council Liberal Democrat GAIN Kirklees Meropolitan Council No Overall Control No Change Knowsley MBC Labour HOLD Leeds City Council No Overall Control No Change

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City of Lincoln Council Conservative HOLD Liverpool City Council No Overall Control Liberal Democrat Loss Maidstone Borough Council Conservative GAIN Manchester City Council Labour HOLD Milton Keynes Council No Overall Control No Change Mole Valley District Council Conservative HOLD Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council No Overall Control No Change Newcastle-upon-Tyne City Council Liberal Democrat HOLD North East Lincolnshire Council No Overall Control No Change North Hertfordshire District Council Conservative HOLD North Tyneside Council Conservative GAIN Northumberland No Overall Control Labour Loss Norwich City Council No Overall Control No Change Nuneaton & Bedworth Borough Council Conservative GAIN Oldham MBC No Overall Control No Change Oxford City council No Overall Control No Change Pendle No Overall Control Liberal Democrat Loss Peterborough City Council Conservative HOLD Plymouth City Council Conservative HOLD Portsmouth City Council No Overall Control No Change Preston City Council No Overall Control No Change Purbeck District Council No Overall Control No Change Reading Borough Council No Overall Control Labour Loss Redditch Borough Council Conservative GAIN Reigate & Banstead Borough Council Conservative HOLD Rochdale MBC Liberal Democrat HOLD Rochford District Council Conservative HOLD Rossendale Borough Council Conservative GAIN Rotherham MBC Labour HOLD Rugby Borough Council Conservative HOLD Runnymede Borough Council Conservative HOLD Rushmoor Borough Council No Overall Control No Change Salford City Council Labour HOLD

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Sandwell MBC Labour HOLD Sefton MBC No Overall Control No Change Sheffield City Council Liberal Democrat GAIN Slough Borough Council Labour GAIN Solihull MBC Conservative GAIN South Cambridgeshire District Council Conservative HOLD South Lakeland District Council Liberal Democrat HOLD South Tyneside Council Labour HOLD Southampton City Council Conservative GAIN Southend Borough Council Conservative HOLD St. Albans District Council Liberal Democrat GAIN St. Helens MBC No Overall Control No Change Stevenage Borough Council Labour HOLD Stockport MBC Liberal Democrat HOLD Stoke On Trent City Council No Overall Control No Change Stratford-on-Avon District Council Conservative HOLD Stroud District Council Conservative HOLD Sunderland City Council Labour HOLD Swale Borough Council Conservative HOLD Swindon Borough Council Conservative HOLD Tameside MBC Labour HOLD Tamworth Borough Council Conservative HOLD Tandridge District Council Conservative HOLD Three Rivers District Council Liberal Democrat HOLD Thurrock Borough Council No Overall Control No Change Trafford MBC Conservative HOLD Tunbridge Wells Borough Council Conservative HOLD Wakefield City Council LABOUR HOLD Walsall MBC Conservative HOLD Warrington No Overall Control No Change Watford Borough Council Liberal Democrat HOLD Waveney District Council Conservative HOLD Welwwyn Hatfield Council Conservative HOLD

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West Lancashire District Council Conservative HOLD West Lindsey District Council Conservative GAIN West Oxfordshire District Council Conservative HOLD Weymouth & Portland Borough Council No Overall Control No Change Wigan MBC Labour HOLD Winchester City Council Conservative HOLD Wirral MBC No Overall Control No Change Woking Borough Council Conservative HOLD Wokingham District Council Conservative HOLD Wolverhampton City Council No Overall Control Labour loss Worthing Borough Council Conservative HOLD City of Worcester No Overall Control No Change Wyre Forest District Council Conservative GAIN

Wales Results

Blaenau Gwent County Borough No Overall Labour Loss Council Control Bridgend County Borough Council No Overall No Change Control Caerphilly County Borough No Overall Labour Loss Council Control Cardiff County Council No Overall No Change Control Carmarthenshire County Council No Overall No Change Control Ceredigion County Council No Overall No Change Control Conwy County Borough Council No Overall No Change Control Denbighshire County Council No Overall No Change Control Flintshire County Council No Overall Labour Loss Control Gwynedd County Council No Overall Plaid Cymru Control Loss Isle of Anglesey County Council Independent HOLD Merthyr Tydfil County Borough No Overall Labour Loss

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Council Control Monmouthshire County Council Conservative HOLD Neath Port Talbot County Labour HOLD Borough Council Newport City Council No Overall Labour Loss Control Pembrokeshire County Council No Overall No Change Control Powys County Council No Overall No Change Control Rhondda Cynon Taff County Labour HOLD Borough Council Swansea City and County Council No Overall No Change Control Torfaen County Borough Council No Overall Labour Loss Control Vale of Glamorgan Council Conservative GAIN Wrexham County Borough No Overall No Change Council Control

Additional Information

Important notice: Power to the People: Will the White Paper Deliver?

Sir Ronnie Flanagan, author of the Independent Review of Policing, has agreed to join Rt Hon. Hazel Blears and an excellent line up of speakers at the LGiU national conference, to take place on Thursday 15th May.

To see the full programme and to take advantage of our extended early bird offer, please click here: Covers

z Wales z Democracy, Governance, Councillor issues, Standards board, Neighbourhood governance, Regional governance, Local government information z Community involvement, Partnerships and LSPs, Voluntary sector Question

Send Feedback for this briefing

Related briefings

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z Audit of Political Engagement 2008

z Election Time 2008: Issues for Local Authorities

z Electoral law - new causes for concern

http://www.lgiu.gov.uk/briefing-detail.jsp?&id=1831&md=0§ion=briefing 04/06/2009