The 2011 Taunton Deane Borough Council election took place on 5 May 2011 to elect members of Taunton Deane Borough Council in Somerset, England. The whole council was up for election and the council stayed under no overall control. The Conservatives won 28 seats, exactly half, while the Liberals Democrats took 23. Labour only won three seats, with the two remaining held by independent candidates. [1] Falling only one seat short of an overall majority, the Conservatives took on the leadership of the council as a minority administration, under Councillor John Williams. [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 Liberal Democrats are a liberal, centrist 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 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. Labour is a full member of the Party of European Socialists and Progressive Alliance, and holds observer status in the Socialist International. As of 2017, the party was considered the "largest party in Western Europe" in terms of party membership, with more than half a million members.
After the 2007 elections, the council was under no overall control, with the Conservatives having 26 seats, the Liberal Democrats 25 and the five remaining seats shared between Labour and Independent councillors. [3] Four subsequent by-elections were all held by the incumbent party.
