Campaign
12 seats were being contested in the election with the Conservatives defending 6 seats, the Liberal Democrats 5 and the Community Campaign (Hart) 1 seat. [3] In total there were 30 candidates standing in the election with the Conservatives the only party to stand in all of the seats. [3] Other candidates included 10 from the Liberal Democrats, 5 from Labour, 2 Community Campaign (Hart) and 1 from the British National Party. [4] Before the election a coalition of the Liberal Democrats, Community Campaign (Hart) and the 2 Independents ran the council with the Conservatives forming the opposition. [4]
Issues in the election included facilities for teenagers, cleaner streets, recycling and reducing crime. [5] The Conservatives wanted to improve the value for money the council produced, develop the infrastructure for new housing and to keep roads in good condition. [5] However the Liberal Democrats pledged to improve recycling, get more affordable housing and keep crime levels low. [5]
During the campaign the national Conservative leader, David Cameron, visited the area to campaign for the party. [6]
Election result
The results saw the council remain with no party having a majority, but with the Conservatives gaining 2 seats to hold 17 of the 35 seats. [2] Both Conservative gains came from the Liberal Democrats, taking Fleet Courtmoor by 391 votes and Fleet Pondtail by 493 votes. [2] The Conservatives won 60% of the vote and claimed a mandate to take control of the council. [7] [8] However the 2 independents held the balance of power between the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrat/Community Campaign (Hart) alliance. [2] Overall turnout in the election was 36.9%. [9]
At the annual council meeting after the election the Conservatives took control of the council. [8] [10] Their leader Ken Crookes won 18 votes compared to 17 for Liberal Democrat leader David Neighbour, with 1 of the 2 independents, Susan Band, backing the Conservatives. [10] The other independent, Denis Gotel, and the Community Campaign (Hart) backed the Liberal Democrat leader. [10] As a result, the council cabinet was made up of all Conservatives, except for independent Susan Band who would continue to be responsible for housing and health. [8] [11]
Hart Local Election Result 2008 [2] [9] | Party | Seats | Gains | Losses | Net gain/loss | Seats % | Votes % | Votes | +/− |
|---|
| | Conservative | 8 | 2 | 0 | +2 | 66.7 | 60.1 | 10,021 | +9.3% |
| | Liberal Democrats | 3 | 0 | 2 | -2 | 25.0 | 28.7 | 4,795 | -4.3% |
| | CCH | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8.3 | 8.7 | 1,459 | -1.9% |
| | Labour | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 | 327 | -0.9% |
| | BNP | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 | 84 | -1.9% |
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