2007 Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council election

Map of the results of the 2007 Solihull election. Conservatives in blue, Liberal Democrats in yellow and the Labour in red.

The 2007 Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council election took place on 4 May 2007 to elect members of Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council in the West Midlands, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Conservative Party lost overall control of the council to no overall control. ^[1]

Campaign

Before the election there were 25 Conservative, 15 Liberal Democrat, 7 Labour, 1 British National Party and 2 independent councillors. ^[2] 1 seat was vacant after Conservative councillor of Knowle ward, Les Kyles, died in January 2007. ^[2] Five councillors stood down at the election, Liberal Democrats Olive Hogg, Barbara Harber and Susan Reeve and Conservatives Theresa Tedd and David Elsmore. ^{[2] [3]} In total 72 candidates stood in the election for 17 seats, including candidates from the 3 leading parties and 5 candidates from the British National Party, after the British National Party won a seat at the 2006 election for the first time. ^{[4] [5]} The Green Party stood in all 17 wards and there were 3 candidates from the United Kingdom Independence Party and 2 independents. ^[2]

The Conservatives pledged to build on their record on recycling which had gone up 26% from 7% over 3 years. ^[6] They also were confident of their record on education and wanted to get a fairer financial settlement from the national government. ^[6] The Liberal Democrats said improving transport links in Solihull was a priority, along with better services for the elderly and improving recycling. ^[7] Meanwhile, Labour wanted to ensure the regeneration programme for the north of Solihull worked and to deliver cost effective services. ^[8] All 3 parties pledged to address anti-social behaviour as a priority. ^{[6] [7] [8]}

Before the campaign began, as in 2006, the leaders of the Conservative, Liberal Democrat and Labour parties on the council signed a charter to promote good race relations. ^[9]

Election result

The results saw the Conservative party lose 2 seats to the Liberal Democrats, meaning that no party had a majority on the council, but the Conservatives remained the largest party with 24 seats. ^[10] The Liberal Democrats gained Shirley South and Silhill wards from the Conservatives to hold 17 seats, with the winner in Silhill, Tim Hodgson, becoming the youngest councillor in Solihull at the age of 21. ^[10] Labour held onto the seats they were defending, including Chelmsley Wood where they defeated the British National Party by 192 votes in a ward the British National Party had won in 2006. ^[11] This meant Labour remained on 7 seats, compared to 1 for the British National Party and 2 independents. ^[11] Overall turnout was 36.5%, down from 38.4% in 2006. ^[11]

Following the election the leader of the council for the past 8 years, Ted Richards, resigned as leader of the council and Conservative group, after what he described as "disappointing" election results. ^[12] However the Conservatives continued to run the council as a minority administration. ^[13]

Solihull Local Election Result 2007 ^{[14] [15]}

Party		Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
	Liberal Democrats	8	2	0	+2	47.1	33.6	19,494	-0.5%
	Conservative	6	0	2	-2	35.3	45.3	26,266	-1.0%
	Labour	3	0	0	0	17.6	9.8	5,688	-1.2%
	Green	0	0	0	0	0	5.1	2,976	+2.2%
	BNP	0	0	0	0	0	4.3	2,473	+0.6%
	UKIP	0	0	0	0	0	1.1	638	+1.1%
	Independent	0	0	0	0	0	0.8	473	-1.2%

This result had the following consequences for the total number of seats on the council after the elections : ^[15]

Party		Previous council	New council
	Conservatives	26	24
	Liberal Democrat	15	17
	Labour	7	7
	Independent	2	2
	BNP	1	1
Total		51	51
Working majority		1	-3

Ward results

Bickenhill ^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Bob Sleigh	1,967	65.7	+1.2
	Labour	Ian McDonald	479	16.0	-3.3
	Liberal Democrats	Steve Green	306	10.2	-5.0
	Green	Alexander Hawkeswood	242	8.1	+8.1
Majority			1,488	49.7	+4.5
Turnout			2,994	33.8	-0.3
	Conservative hold		Swing	+2.2

Blythe ^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Len Cresswell	1,832	50.1	+7.9
	Conservative	Martin McCarthy	1,522	41.7	-4.8
	Labour	Margaret Brittin	158	4.3	-0.8
	Green	Pauline Smith	142	3.9	-2.4
Majority			310	8.5	+4.2
Turnout			3,654	38.9	+0.1
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing	+6.3

Castle Bromwich ^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Ian Hillas	2,000	63.2	-4.9
	Liberal Democrats	Andrew Bull	908	28.7	+8.2
	Green	Kirsten Henly	259	8.2	+8.2
Majority			1,092	34.5	-13.2
Turnout			3,167	35.3	-1.9
	Conservative hold		Swing	-6.5

Chelmsley Wood ^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Mick Corser	913	38.9	+6.8
	BNP	Andrew Terry	721	30.7	-2.3
	Conservative	Sheila Courts	410	17.4	-3.7
	Liberal Democrats	Bernard Wright	174	7.4	-6.4
	Green	Ronnie Cashmore	132	5.6	+5.6
Majority			192	8.2	+7.3
Turnout			2,350	27.4	+1.2
	Labour hold		Swing	+4.5

Dorridge and Hockley Heath ^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Andy Mackiewicz	2,629	70.6	+6.8
	Liberal Democrats	Brenda Davies	587	15.8	-8.1
	Green	Pam Archer	345	9.3	+1.7
	Labour	Irma Shaw	165	4.4	-0.2
Majority			2,042	54.8	+14.9
Turnout			3,726	44.3	-1.1
	Conservative hold		Swing	+7.4

Elmdon ^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Jean Hamilton	1,960	48.3	+6.2
	Conservative	Shay Parekh	1,375	33.9	-15.4
	BNP	Neil Munnerley	331	8.2	+8.2
	Labour	Lorraine Essex	290	7.1	-1.5
	Green	Elaine Williams	105	2.6	+2.6
Majority			585	14.4	+7.3
Turnout			4,061	43.5	+0.0
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing	+10.8

Kingshurst and Fordbridge ^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Frederick Nash	732	32.3	-5.3
	Conservative	Pauline Hislop	675	29.8	-9.6
	BNP	Graham Pringle	654	28.8	+28.8
	Liberal Democrats	Jennifer Wright	132	5.8	-17.2
	Green	Clair Garbett	75	3.3	+3.3
Majority			57	2.5	+0.7
Turnout			2,268	25.2	+0.3
	Labour hold		Swing	+2.1

Knowle ^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Alan Rebeiro	2,487	69.5	+11.2
	Liberal Democrats	Geoffrey Berry	688	19.2	-13.0
	Green	Jane Holt	280	7.8	+1.8
	Labour	Catherine Connan	122	3.4	-0.2
Majority			1,799	50.3	+24.2
Turnout			3,577	44.1	-3.3
	Conservative hold		Swing	+12.1

Lyndon ^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Ken Rushen	1,889	53.2	-6.1
	Conservative	Greg Goldingay	949	26.7	+5.3
	Labour	Raj Singh	262	7.4	-3.1
	UKIP	Raymond Mabbott	236	6.7	+6.7
	Green	Frances Grice	212	6.0	-2.8
Majority			940	26.5	-11.3
Turnout			3,548	36.2	+0.1
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing	-5.7

Meriden ^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	David Bell	2,472	70.4	+2.6
	Liberal Democrats	Alan Berry	437	12.5	-7.3
	Labour	Jonathan Maltman	389	11.1	-1.3
	Green	Roger King	212	6.0	+6.0
Majority			2,035	58.0	+10.1
Turnout			3,510	38.6	-0.6
	Conservative hold		Swing	+4.9

Olton ^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Norman Davies	2,346	60.2	+8.0
	Conservative	Richard Williams	1,206	31.0	-5.6
	Labour	Alan Jacques	181	4.6	-0.6
	Green	Nilesh Chauhan	161	4.1	-1.9
Majority			1,140	29.3	+13.7
Turnout			3,894	41.3	-1.9
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing	+6.8

Shirley East ^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	John Reeve	1,588	46.8	+8.0
	Conservative	Sally Bell	1,086	32.0	+1.0
	Independent	Neil Watts	403	11.9	-12.5
	Labour	Kevin Raven	200	5.9	+0.2
	Green	Sara Stevens	118	3.5	+3.5
Majority			502	14.8	+7.0
Turnout			3,395	40.3	-2.7
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing	+3.5

Shirley South ^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Tim Hodgson	1,926	47.1	+8.9
	Conservative	Peter Groom	1,364	33.3	+2.3
	BNP	Charles Shipman	376	9.2	-7.2
	Labour	Shirley Young	212	5.2	-2.0
	UKIP	Lydia Simpson	72	1.8	+1.8
	Green	Claire Henly	71	1.7	+1.7
	Independent	Rosemary Worsley	70	1.7	-5.5
Majority			562	13.7	+6.5
Turnout			4,091	43.3	+0.8
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative		Swing	+3.3

Shirley West ^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Brynn Tudor	1,679	50.0	+7.9
	Conservative	Mark Parker	979	29.2	+5.0
	UKIP	Nikki Sinclaire	330	9.8	+9.8
	Labour	Arthur Harper	212	6.3	-0.5
	Green	Trevor Barker	157	4.7	-1.1
Majority			700	20.9	+3.0
Turnout			3,357	37.2	-3.8
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing	+1.4

Silhill ^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Leela Widger	1,828	43.4	+10.3
	Conservative	Peter Hogarth	1,713	40.7	-17.1
	BNP	Alan Ashmore	391	9.3	+9.3
	Labour	Janet Marsh	223	5.3	-3.8
	Green	Olga Farooqui	56	1.3	+1.3
Majority			115	2.7	+22.0
Turnout			4,211	47.7	+6.0
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative		Swing	+13.7

Smith's Wood ^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Graham Craig	924	48.0	+1.2
	Conservative	Jim Williams	613	31.9	-2.6
	Liberal Democrats	Tony Ludlow	220	11.4	-7.3
	Green	Michael Sheridan	166	8.6	+8.6
Majority			311	16.2	+4.0
Turnout			1,923	21.9	+0.0
	Labour hold		Swing	+1.9

St. Alphege ^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Joe Tildesley	2,819	65.8	+10.4
	Liberal Democrats	Mamdooh Jalil	994	23.2	-13.3
	Green	James Hepton	243	5.7	+1.8
	Labour	Paul Tuxworth	226	5.3	+1.2
Majority			1,825	42.6	+23.7
Turnout			4,282	43.1	-2.4
	Conservative hold		Swing	+11.8

References

1. "Solihull". BBC News Online . Retrieved 17 December 2010.
2. Jeys, Anna (13 April 2007). "No majority as the polls open; May 3 elections: Veteran's death leaves hung council up for grabs". Birmingham Mail . p. 6.
3. "Women vote to step down; Council". Birmingham Mail . 2 April 2007. p. 17.
4. Morris, Nigel (13 April 2007). "BNP goes bourgeois as party aims to take its message to rural seats". The Independent . p. 1.
5. Jeys, Anna (16 April 2007). "Solihull News: BNP stepping up votes campaign; Solihull: Increase in Far Right candidates standing at elections". Birmingham Mail . p. 17.
6. "Recycling is top of the Tory agenda". Birmingham Mail . 2 May 2007. p. 24.
7. "Transport a Lib Dem priority". Birmingham Mail . 2 May 2007. p. 24.
8. "Yobs are one target for Labour". Birmingham Mail . 2 May 2007. p. 24.
9. "United front on race relations". Birmingham Mail . 11 April 2007. p. 19.
10. Connor, Neil (5 May 2007). "Lib Dems waiting in the wings; Solihull local elections". Birmingham Post . p. 2.
11. Reynolds, Leda (5 May 2007). "Tory misery as Lib Dems gain; Election results round-up Solihull: Loss of two seats results in hung council". Birmingham Mail . p. 16.
12. Reynolds, Leda (9 May 2007). "Veteran leader: I'm quitting job; Local politics: Group chief steps down after 'disappointing' results". Birmingham Mail . p. 7.
13. "Solihull has us to thank for its quality of life, says Tory leader". Birmingham Post . 19 April 2008. p. 4.
14. "Borough Council election" (PDF). Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 May 2011. Retrieved 17 December 2010.
15. "Results". The Times . 5 May 2007. p. 83.