2008 Worcester City Council election

The 2008 Worcester City Council election took place on 1 May 2008 to elect members of Worcester City Council in Worcestershire, England. One third of the council was up for election and the council stayed under no overall control.[1]

After the election, the composition of the council was:

Campaign

Before the election the Conservatives ran the council as a minority administration,[3] and required one extra seat in order to win a majority.[4] They had lost their majority after Labour gained a seat from them in a by-election in 2007.[5] 12 seats were up for election with 5 Conservative, 4 Labour, 2 independent and 1 Liberal Democrat seats being contested.[6] The Conservatives only contested 10 of the 12 seats after they decided not to oppose the two independents who were up for re-election in Nunnery and St John wards, however both they and the independent councillors denied that any deal had been done.[7]

Three members of the Shadow Cabinet, including the Shadow Chancellor George Osborne, visited Worcester to campaign for the Conservatives.[8]

Election result

The results saw the council remain without any party having a majority with the Conservatives continuing to run the administration.[9] They had come within 28 votes of winning in Arboretum ward but Labour's Joy Squires held the seat.[10]

The Green Party contested ten of the twelve seats, falling back slightly overall from 9.2 to 8.5% of the vote. Its claim of 10% related to the seats it contested. While it failed to win a seat, its best results were in the Rainbow Hill and Cathedral wards, where it scored 23.3 and 18.6% respectively.[11]

Worcester Local Election Result 2008[12]
Party Seats Gains Losses Net gain/loss Seats % Votes % Votes +/−
  Conservative 5 0 0 0 41.7 37.4 7,868 -5.5%
  Labour 4 0 0 0 33.3 28.4 5,982 +3.1%
  Independent 2 0 0 0 16.7 10.3 2,164 +5.5%
  Liberal Democrats 1 0 0 0 8.3 10.5 2,215 -2.5%
  Green 0 0 0 0 0 8.5 1,790 -1.2%
  BNP 0 0 0 0 0 4.3 899 +0.6%
  UKIP 0 0 0 0 0 0.7 146 +0.1%

Ward results

Arboretum[12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Joy Squires 728 39.2 −4.0
Conservative David Wilkinson 700 37.7 +8.3
Liberal Democrats Ken Carpenter 157 8.5 −4.5
Green Martin Sullivan 138 7.4 −0.2
BNP Jack Amos 134 7.2 +7.2
Majority 28 1.5 −12.3
Turnout 1,857 41.0 −1.0
Labour hold Swing
Battenhall[12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Robert Rowden 1,021 64.9 +7.9
Labour Lian Rees 341 21.7 +0.7
Green Jan Dyer 211 13.4 +3.8
Majority 680 43.2 +7.2
Turnout 1,573 38.4 −4.7
Conservative hold Swing
Bedwardine[12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Derek Prodger 1,369 63.5 +7.1
Labour Christopher Winwood 350 16.2 −4.4
Liberal Democrats Vaughan Hencher 240 11.1 −2.7
Green Clive Matthews 198 9.2 +0.1
Majority 1,019 47.3 +11.5
Turnout 2,157 34.5 −2.8
Conservative hold Swing
Cathedral[12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Francis Lankester 1,154 56.0 +5.0
Labour Rachel Hall 521 25.3 +3.7
Green Louis Stephen 384 18.6 +4.5
Majority 633 30.7 +1.3
Turnout 2,059 30.3 −4.9
Conservative hold Swing
Claines[12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats Sue Askin 1,551 53.1 −1.6
Conservative Nicholas Turner 1,005 34.4 +3.4
Green Peter Robinson 195 6.7 +0.1
Labour Jane McCann 171 5.9 −1.8
Majority 546 18.7 −5.0
Turnout 2,922 45.0 −4.0
Liberal Democrats hold Swing
Gorse Hill[12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Roger Berry 515 45.3 +1.3
BNP Lee Hancock 282 24.8 +0.3
Conservative David Nolan 243 21.4 +6.6
Green Linda Smith 98 8.6 +3.0
Majority 233 20.5 +1.0
Turnout 1,138 27.0 −6.0
Labour hold Swing
Nunnery[12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Independent Michael Layland 1,115 48.1 +17.4
Labour Vanessa Mann 707 30.5 −4.7
BNP Tom Amos 353 15.2 +2.5
Green Alexander Gwinn 141 6.1 +0.2
Majority 408 17.6
Turnout 2,316 39.0 +0.6
Independent hold Swing
Rainbow Hill[12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Adrian Gregson 443 44.1 −4.6
Conservative Lesley Auden 327 32.6 +12.7
Green Ruth Stafford 234 23.3 −8.1
Majority 116 11.5 −5.8
Turnout 1,004 24.2 −0.9
Labour hold Swing
St Clement[12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Simon Geraghty 876 51.9 +2.5
Labour Richard Bird 451 26.7 +3.7
UKIP John Butterfield 146 8.7 +8.7
BNP Peter Beechey 130 7.7 −8.1
Green Olaf Twiehaus 84 5.0 −6.8
Majority 425 25.2 −1.2
Turnout 1,687 37.7 −1.8
Conservative hold Swing
St John[12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Independent Margaret Layland 1,049 53.7 +37.8
Labour Richard Udall 905 46.3 +4.0
Majority 144 7.4
Turnout 1,954 33.9 −0.6
Independent hold Swing
St Stephen[12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Keith Burton 802 57.7 −2.3
Liberal Democrats Eddie Hartley 267 19.2 +6.6
Labour George Squires 215 15.5 −3.8
Green Penelope Asquith 107 7.7 −0.5
Majority 535 38.5 −2.2
Turnout 1,391 34.3 −3.1
Conservative hold Swing
Warndon[12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Alan Amos 635 63.1 +10.0
Conservative Robert Campbell 371 36.9 +8.1
Majority 264 26.2 +1.9
Turnout 1,006 25.6 +0.8
Labour hold Swing

References

  1. ^ "Worcester". BBC News. 19 April 2008. Retrieved 8 January 2010.
  2. ^ "Local elections: Results: Voters in the cities and the shires have their say in the ballot box". The Guardian. 2 May 2008. p. 7.
  3. ^ Watt, Nicholas (2 May 2008). "Local elections: From south to north, seats fall to Cameron: Prediction that Tories will claim 44% of council vote, with Labour down to 24%". The Guardian. p. 6.
  4. ^ "Cameron to claim a Tory renaissance". Financial Times. 2 May 2008. p. 2.
  5. ^ "Key battles for local councils". BBC News. 25 April 2008. Retrieved 8 January 2010.
  6. ^ "Politicians wait for the verdict from the voters". Stourbridge News. 1 May 2008. Retrieved 8 January 2010.
  7. ^ "Tories deny 'dirty deals' to hang on to council seats". Malvern Gazette. 8 April 2008. Retrieved 8 January 2010.
  8. ^ "Conservative top gun visits city". Stourbridge News. 18 April 2008. Retrieved 8 January 2010.
  9. ^ Walker, Jonathan (2 May 2008). "My blue Brum". Birmingham Post. p. 1.
  10. ^ "Tories stay in control". Stourbridge News. 2 May 2008. Retrieved 8 January 2010.
  11. ^ "Worcester City Council results May 2008". Worcestershire Green Party. Archived from the original on 9 November 2009. Retrieved 9 January 2010.
  12. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Election Results May 1st 2008". Worcester City Council. Archived from the original on 2 October 2011. Retrieved 8 January 2010.
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