2008 Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council election

Main article: 2008 United Kingdom local elections

2008 Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council election

←  2007 1 May 2008 (2008-05-01) 2010  →
22 of 66 seats (One Third) to Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council 34 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	36.0% (0.1%)
First party Second party Third party   Leader Jeff Green Steve Foulkes Simon Holbrook Party Conservative Labour Liberal Democrats Leader's seat West Kirby and Thurstaston Claughton Prenton Last election 7 seats, 38.6% 8 seats, 28.7% 7 seats, 25.2% Seats before 20 25 19 Seats won 11 5 6 Seats after 24 21 20 Seat change 4 4 1 Popular vote 37,925 22,277 19,624 Percentage 43.6% 25.6% 22.6% Swing 5.0% 3.1% 2.6%
Map of results of 2008 election
Leader of the Council before election Steve Foulkes (Labour) No Overall Control Leader of the Council after election Steve Foulkes (Labour) No Overall Control

The 2008 Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council election took place on 1 May 2008 to elect members of Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council in England. ^[1] This election was held on the same day as other local elections.

After the election, the composition of the council was:

Party		Seats	±
	Conservative	24	4
	Labour	21	4
	Liberal Democrat	20	1
	Ind. Conservative	1
	Ind. Liberal Democrat	0	1

^[1]

Election results

Overall election result

Overall result compared with 2007.

Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council election result, 2008
Party		Candidates						Votes
		Stood	Elected	Gained	Unseated	Net	% of total	%	No.	Net %
	Conservative	22	11	5	1	4	50.0	43.6	37,925	5.0
	Labour	22	5	0	4	4	22.7	25.6	22,277	3.1
	Liberal Democrats	22	6	1	0	1	27.3	22.6	19,624	2.6
	Green	22	0	0	0		0.0	4.9	4,267	0.5
	UKIP	11	0	0	0		0.0	2.4	2,127	0.7
	BNP	2	0	0	0		0.0	0.6	489	N/A
	Independent	1	0	0	0		0.0	0.2	147	0.2
	Liberal	1	0	0	0		0.0	0.1	96	N/A
	Ind. Liberal Democrat	0	0	0	1	1	0.0	0.0	0	N/A

^{[1] [2]}

Ward results

Results compared directly with the last local election in 2007.

Bebington

Bebington

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Sheila Clarke	1,945	40.9	10.0
	Labour	Susan Percy	1,719	36.2	7.5
	UKIP	Hilary Jones	479	10.1	0.1
	Liberal Democrats	Sheena Turner	448	9.4	2.1
	Green	Michael Harper	162	3.4	0.3
Majority			226	4.7	N/A
Registered electors			11,858
Turnout				40.1	1.8
	Conservative hold		Swing	8.8

^{[3] [4]}

Bidston and St James

Bidston and St James

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	James Crabtree	1,129	54.6	5.1
	Conservative	Christine Wilson	313	15.1	2.5
	Liberal Democrats	John Brace	266	12.9	3.6
	BNP	Steve McHale	236	11.4	N/A
	Green	George Bowler	125	6.0	1.0
Majority			816	39.5	6.8
Registered electors			10,030
Turnout				20.7	1.7
	Labour hold		Swing	3.4

^{[5] [6]}

Birkenhead and Tranmere

Birkenhead and Tranmere

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Jean Stapleton	1,278	59.9	2.5
	Liberal Democrats	Alan Brighouse	315	14.8	0.1
	Conservative	June Cowin	297	13.9	2.5
	Green	Catherine Page	244	11.4	0.1
Majority			963	45.1	2.4
Registered electors			10,278
Turnout				20.8	0.9
	Labour hold		Swing	1.2

^{[7] [8] [9]}

Bromborough

Bromborough

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Steve Niblock	1,496	42.8	5.5
	Labour	Irene Williams	817	23.4	4.2
	Conservative	Mark Gibson	746	21.3	2.5
	BNP	David McLennan	253	7.2	New
	Green	Percy Hogg	132	3.8	1.5
	UKIP	Timothy Pass	53	1.5	New
Majority			679	19.4	1.2
Registered electors			10,736
Turnout				32.6	0.7
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing	0.6

^{[10] [11] [12]}

Clatterbridge

Clatterbridge

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Cherry Povall	2,950	55.2	15.1
	Liberal Democrats	Robert Earl	1,566	29.3	15.4
	Labour	Valerie Morgan	591	11.0	1.0
	Green	Jim McGinley	130	2.4	0.8
	UKIP	Roger Jones	112	2.1	New
Majority			1,384	25.9	N/A
Registered electors			11,811
Turnout				45.4
	Conservative gain from Ind. Liberal Democrat		Swing	15.3

^{[13] [14]}

Claughton

Claughton

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	George Davies	1,695	51.1	0.9
	Conservative	Barbara Sinclair	959	28.9	1.4
	Liberal Democrats	Roy Wood	482	14.5	0.4
	Green	James Brady	179	5.4	1.0
Majority			736	22.2	2.3
Registered electors			11,330
Turnout				29.4	0.4
	Labour hold		Swing	1.2

^{[15] [16]}

Eastham

Eastham

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Phillip Gilchrist	3,038	71.3	1.0
	Conservative	Nick Whieldon	678	15.9	0.7
	Labour	Christopher Lawler	415	9.7	2.2
	Green	Brian Gibbs	132	3.1	0.5
Majority			2,360	55.4	0.3
Registered electors			11,121
Turnout				38.3	0.8
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing	0.1

^{[17] [18]}

Greasby, Frankby and Irby

Greasby, Frankby and Irby

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Gill Gardiner	2,329	44.6	2.7
	Conservative	Wendy Clements	2,254	43.2	9.0
	Labour	Barbara Moores	493	9.4	0.9
	Green	Perle Sheldricks	145	2.8	0.4
Majority			75	1.4	11.7
Registered electors			11,539
Turnout				45.3	0.9
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing	5.9

^{[19] [20] [21]}

Heswall

Heswall

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Peter Johnson	3,599	73.7	4.4
	Liberal Democrats	Bill Jones	513	10.5	2.2
	Labour	Audrey Moore	453	9.3	2.8
	Green	Matthew Rosseinsky	219	4.5	1.5
	UKIP	Mike Magee	101	2.1	New
Majority			3,086	63.2	6.6
Registered electors			11,095
Turnout				44.3	0.3
	Conservative hold		Swing	3.3

^{[22] [23]}

Hoylake and Meols

Hoylake and Meols

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Hale	2,762	64.8	1.9
	Labour	Di Christian	676	15.9	0.8
	Green	Colin Hawksworth	468	11.0	3.1
	Liberal Democrats	Alexander Clark	355	8.3	2.0
Majority			2,086	48.9	2.7
Registered electors			10,474
Turnout				40.8	0.9
	Conservative hold		Swing	1.4

^{[24] [25]}

Leasowe and Moreton East

Leasowe and Moreton East

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Ian Lewis	2,025	51.4	7.5
	Labour	Don Prout	1,373	34.9	9.4
	Liberal Democrats	Gerald Hainsworth	222	5.6	0.8
	Green	Rosemary Bland	171	4.3	1.1
	Independent	Glenn Fleetwood	147	3.7	New
Majority			652	16.5	N/A
Registered electors			10,905
Turnout				36.2	1.9
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing	8.5

^{[26] [27]}

Liscard

Liscard

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	James Keeley	2,122	51.1	1.4
	Labour	David Hawkins	1,369	33.0	4.8
	UKIP	Robbie Quinn	304	7.3	3.8
	Liberal Democrats	Daniel Clein	195	4.7	1.0
	Green	Jacqueline Smith	159	3.8	0.4
Majority			753	18.1	6.2
Registered electors			11,208
Turnout				37.1	0.3
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing	3.1

^{[28] [29]}

Moreton West and Saughall Massie

Moreton West and Saughall Massie

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Christopher Blakeley	2,936	71.1	10.6
	Labour	Darren Dodd	674	16.3	7.8
	Liberal Democrats	Eric Copestake	237	5.7	2.1
	UKIP	Lynda Williams	145	3.5
	Green	James Drew	137	3.3	0.8
Majority			2,262	54.8	18.4
Registered electors			10,920
Turnout				37.9	2.6
	Conservative hold		Swing	9.2

^{[30] [31] [32]}

New Brighton

New Brighton

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Sue Taylor	1,994	47.5	1.8
	Labour	Pat Hackett	1,572	37.4	5.8
	Green	Rebecca Koncienzcy	358	8.5	4.9
	Liberal Democrats	Eric Fenna	278	6.6	2.7
Majority			422	10.1	4.0
Registered electors			10,930
Turnout				38.6	2.9
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing	2.0

^{[33] [34] [35]}

Oxton

Oxton

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Pat Williams	1,910	53.2	1.6
	Conservative	Marcus Bleasdale	748	20.8	4.1
	Labour	David Barden	614	17.1	1.8
	UKIP	Cathy Williams	179	5.0	0.7
	Green	Garnette Bowler	139	3.9	1.4
Majority			1,162	32.4	3.5
Registered electors			11,141
Turnout				32.4	0.2
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing	1.8

^{[36] [37]}

Pensby and Thingwall

Pensby and Thingwall

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Robert Wilkins	2,071	43.7	0.3
	Conservative	John Meyer	1,813	38.2	1.2
	Labour	John Cunningham	564	11.9	3.6
	UKIP	Mike Pepler	160	3.4	New
	Green	Allen Burton	135	2.8	0.7
Majority			258	5.5	1.5
Registered electors			10,656
Turnout				44.6	0.2
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative		Swing	0.8

^{[38] [39]}

Prenton

Prenton

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Ann Bridson	1,836	48.5	3.8
	Labour	Denise Realey	905	23.9	3.0
	Conservative	John Gilbert	792	20.9	4.4
	Green	Mark Mitchell	154	4.1	0.2
	Liberal	Sean Keatley	96	2.5	New
Majority			931	24.6	0.8
Registered electors			11,017
Turnout				34.5	2.4
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing	0.4

^{[40] [41] [42]}

Rock Ferry

Rock Ferry

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Bill Davies	1,325	55.2	4.4
	Conservative	Joanne Suffield	493	20.5	3.0
	Liberal Democrats	Peter Heppinstall	354	14.8	1.0
	Green	Peter Exley	228	9.5	0.4
Majority			832	34.7	7.4
Registered electors			10,023
Turnout				24.1
	Labour hold		Swing	3.7

^{[43] [44]}

Seacombe

Seacombe

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	John Salter	1,188	51.0	8.5
	Conservative	Ann Lavin	508	21.8	0.1
	Liberal Democrats	Steve Pitt	282	12.1	0.2
	UKIP	Christopher Wellstead	243	10.4	New
	Green	Simon Wagner	107	4.6	2.0
Majority			680	29.2	8.6
Registered electors			10,445
Turnout				22.4	0.6
	Labour hold		Swing	4.3

^{[45] [46]}

Upton

Upton

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Tom Anderson	1,861	42.1	3.4
	Labour	Sue Brown	1,857	42.0	1.1
	Liberal Democrats	Christopher Beazer	451	10.2	2.6
	Green	Lesley Hussenbux	256	5.8	0.4
Majority			4	0.1	N/A
Registered electors			12,277
Turnout				36.2	0.2
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing	2.3

^{[47] [48]}

Wallasey

Wallasey

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Kate Wood	3,083	64.2	5.9
	Labour	Anne McArdle	954	19.9	3.8
	Liberal Democrats	John Codling	409	8.5	1.2
	UKIP	Ian Watson	180	3.7	0.7
	Green	Cynthia Stonall	175	3.6	0.3
Majority			2,129	44.3	9.7
Registered electors			11,937
Turnout				40.2	0.1
	Conservative hold		Swing	4.9

^{[49] [50] [51]}

West Kirby and Thurstaston

West Kirby and Thurstaston

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Geoffrey Watt	3,047	64.6	2.6
	Labour	James Brown	616	13.1	0.9
	Liberal Democrats	John Cresswell	571	12.1	3.6
	Green	Patrick Cleary	312	6.6	1.7
	UKIP	Philip Griffiths	171	3.6	New
Majority			2,431	51.5	5.2
Registered electors			10,346
Turnout				45.7	1.8
	Conservative hold		Swing	2.6

^{[52] [53] [54]}

Changes between 2008 and 2010

Moreton West and Saughall Massie by-election 2009

By-election, 26 November 2009: Moreton West and Saughall Massie

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Steve Williams	2,255	70.1	1.0
	Labour	Andrew Hollingworth	615	19.1	2.8
	Liberal Democrats	Steve Pitt	134	4.2	1.5
	Independent	Alec McFadden	121	3.8	New
	Green	Jim McGinley	92	2.9	0.4
Majority			1,640	51.0	3.8
Turnout				28.0	9.9
	Conservative hold		Swing	1.9

^{[55] [56]}

Other changes

Date	Ward	Name	Previous affiliation		New affiliation		Circumstance
18 May 2009	Seacombe	Denis Knowles		Labour		Conservative	Defected. [57]

Notes

• italics denote the sitting councillor • bold denotes the winning candidate

References

1. "Election Result for 1 May 2008 Summary". Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council.
2. "Local Election Results 2008 Wirral". Local Elections Archive Project.
3. "Election Result for Bebington ward on 1 May 2008". Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council.
4. "Councillor Sheila Clarke MBE". Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council.
5. "Election Result for Bidston and St. James ward on 1 May 2008". Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council.
6. "Councillor Jim Crabtree". Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council.
7. "Election Result for Birkenhead and Tranmere ward on 1 May 2008". Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council.
8. "Councillor Jean Stapleton". Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council.
9. "Councillor Alan Brighouse". Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 17 June 2018.
10. "Election Result for Bromborough ward on 1 May 2008". Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council.
11. "Councillor Steve Niblock". Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council. Archived from the original on 17 June 2018. Retrieved 17 June 2018.
12. "Councillor Irene Williams". Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council.
13. "Election Result for Clatterbridge ward on 1 May 2008". Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council.
14. "Councillor Cherry Povall, JP". Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council. 27 July 2023.
15. "Election Result for Claughton ward on 1 May 2008". Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council.
16. "Councillor George Davies". Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council. 27 July 2023.
17. "Election Result for Eastham ward on 1 May 2008". Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council.
18. "Councillor Phil Gilchrist". Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council. 27 July 2023.
19. "Election Result for Greasby, Frankby and Irby ward on 1 May 2008". Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council.
20. "Councillor Gill Gardiner". Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council. Archived from the original on 5 July 2018. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
21. "Councillor Wendy Clements". Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council.
22. "Election Result for Heswall ward on 1 May 2008". Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council.
23. "Councillor Peter Johnson". Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council. Archived from the original on 5 July 2018. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
24. "Election Result for Hoylake and Meols ward on 1 May 2008". Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council.
25. "Councillor John Hale". Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council. Archived from the original on 5 July 2018. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
26. "Election Result for Leasowe and Moreton East ward on 1 May 2008". Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council.
27. "Councillor Ian Lewis". Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council. 27 July 2023.
28. "Election Result for Liscard ward on 1 May 2008". Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council.
29. "Councillor James Keeley". Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council.
30. "Election Result for Moreton West and Saughall Massie ward on 1 May 2008". Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council.
31. "Councillor Chris Blakeley". Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council. Archived from the original on 1 September 2020. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
32. "Councillor Darren Dodd". Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council.
33. "Election Result for New Brighton ward on 1 May 2008". Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council.
34. "Councillor Sue Taylor". Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council.
35. "Councillor Pat Hackett". Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
36. "Election Result for Oxton ward on 1 May 2008". Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council.
37. "Councillor Pat Williams". Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
38. "Election Result for Pensby and Thingwall ward on 1 May 2008". Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council.
39. "Councillor Bob Wilkins". Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council. Archived from the original on 5 July 2018. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
40. "Election Result for Prenton ward on 1 May 2008". Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council.
41. "Councillor Ann Bridson". Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
42. "Councillor Denise Realey". Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council.
43. "Election Result for Rock Ferry ward on 1 May 2008". Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council.
44. "Councillor Bill Davies". Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
45. "Election Result for Seacombe ward on 1 May 2008". Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council.
46. "Councillor John Salter". Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council.
47. "Election Result for Upton ward on 1 May 2008". Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council.
48. "Councillor Tom Anderson". Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council.
49. "Election Result for Wallasey ward on 1 May 2008". Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council.
50. "Councillor Kate Wood". Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
51. "Councillor Anne McArdle". Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council. Archived from the original on 5 July 2018. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
52. "Election Result for West Kirby and Thurstaston ward on 1 May 2008". Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council.
53. "Councillor Geoffrey Watt". Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
54. "Councillor Pat Cleary". Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council.
55. "Conservatives win Moreton by-election". Wirral Globe. 27 November 2009. Retrieved 27 November 2009.
56. "Councillor Steve Williams". Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council.
57. Dunn, Justin; Manning, Craig (18 May 2009). "BREAKING NEWS: Labour councillor Denis Knowles quits and joins Tories at Wallasey Town Hall". Wirral Globe. Retrieved 28 December 2018.