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One third (40) seats to Birmingham City Council 61 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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2008 local election results in Birmingham. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Elections to Birmingham City Council in England were held on 1 May 2008. One third of the council was up for election and the council stayed under no overall control as it had been since 2003. [1]
Birmingham City Council is the local government body responsible for the governance of the City of Birmingham in England, which has been a metropolitan district since 1974. It is the most populated local council in the United Kingdom with, following a reorganisation of boundaries in June 2004, 120 Birmingham City councillors representing over one million people, in 40 wards. This means that Birmingham is technically the largest city in the United Kingdom. The council headquarters are at the Council House in the city centre. The council is responsible for running nearly all local services, with the exception of those run by joint boards. The provision of certain services has in recent years been devolved to several council constituencies, which each have a constituency committee made up of councillors from that district.
In the context of local authorities in the United Kingdom, the term no overall control refers to a situation in which no single political group achieves a majority of seats; and is analogous to a hung parliament. Of the 310 councils who had members up for election in the 2007 local elections, 85 resulted in a NOC administration.
Contents
230 candidates stood in the election for the 40 seats that were contested. Five parties contested every ward in Birmingham, the Conservatives, Labour, Liberal Democrats, British National Party and the Greens. [2] Overall turnout across the city was 31.2%
The Conservative Party, officially the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom. Presently led by Theresa May, it has been the governing party since 2010. It presently has 314 Members of Parliament in the House of Commons, 249 members of the House of Lords, and 18 members of the European Parliament. It also has 31 Members of the Scottish Parliament, 12 members of the Welsh Assembly, eight members of the London Assembly and 9,008 local councillors. One of the major parties of UK politics, it has formed the government on 45 occasions, more than any other party.
The Labour Party is a centre-left political party in the United Kingdom which has been described as an alliance of social democrats, democratic socialists and trade unionists. The party's platform emphasises greater state intervention, social justice and strengthening workers' rights.
The Liberal Democrats are a liberal political party in the United Kingdom. They presently have 11 Members of Parliament in the House of Commons, 96 members of the House of Lords, and one member of the European Parliament. They also have five Members of the Scottish Parliament and a member each in the Welsh Assembly and London Assembly. The party reached the height of its influence in the early 2010s, forming a junior partner in a coalition government from 2010 to 2015. It is presently led by Vince Cable.
The results saw the Conservative party gain significantly, winning 6 seats from the Labour party and Respect gain an independent seat. [1] The Liberal Democrats were pleased to hold all their seats. [3] As a result, the Conservative and Liberal Democrat ruling coalition increased their majority to hold 75% of the seats on the council. [3] Both Conservatives and Liberal Democrats attributed their success to below inflation council tax rises and the national unpopularity of the Labour government. [3] [4]
