Local Election Results 2008 - LGIU Page 1 of 11 LGIU Local Government Information Unit 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, http://www.lgiu.gov.uk/briefing-detail.jsp?&id=1831&md=0&section=briefing 04/06/2009 Local Election Results 2008 - LGIU Page 2 of 11 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 http://www.lgiu.gov.uk/briefing-detail.jsp?&id=1831&md=0&section=briefing 04/06/2009 Local Election Results 2008 - LGIU Page 3 of 11 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. http://www.lgiu.gov.uk/briefing-detail.jsp?&id=1831&md=0&section=briefing 04/06/2009 Local Election Results 2008 - LGIU Page 4 of 11 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 http://www.lgiu.gov.uk/briefing-detail.jsp?&id=1831&md=0&section=briefing 04/06/2009 Local Election Results 2008 - LGIU Page 5 of 11 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.