Worcester City Council election, 2008

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Map of the results of the 2008 Worcester council election. Conservatives in blue, Labour in red, independents in light grey and Liberal Democrats in yellow. Wards in dark grey were not contested in 2008. Worcester UK local election 2008 map.svg
Map of the results of the 2008 Worcester council election. Conservatives in blue, Labour in red, independents in light grey and Liberal Democrats in yellow. Wards in dark grey were not contested in 2008.

The 2008 Worcester City Council election took place on 1 May 2008 to elect members of Worcester District Council in Worcestershire, England. One third of the council was up for election and the council stayed under no overall control. [1]

Worcester Cathedral City and non-metropolitan district in England

Worcester is a city in Worcestershire, England, 31 miles (50 km) southwest of Birmingham, 101 miles (163 km) west-northwest of London, 27 miles (43 km) north of Gloucester and 23 miles (37 km) northeast of Hereford. The population is approximately 100,000. The River Severn flanks the western side of the city centre, which is overlooked by Worcester Cathedral.

Non-metropolitan district Type of local government district in England

Non-metropolitan districts, or colloquially "shire districts", are a type of local government district in England. As created, they are sub-divisions of non-metropolitan counties in a two-tier arrangement.

Worcestershire County of England

Worcestershire is a county in the West Midlands of England. Between 1974 and 1998, it was merged with the neighbouring county of Herefordshire as Hereford and Worcester.

Contents

After the election, the composition of the council was

Conservative Party (UK) Political party in the United Kingdom

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. 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.

Liberal Democrats (UK) Political party in the United Kingdom

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.

Campaign

Before the election the Conservatives ran the council as a minority administration, [3] and required one extra seat in order to win a majority. [4] They had lost their majority after Labour gained a seat from them in a by-election in 2007. [5] 12 seats were up for election with 5 Conservative, 4 Labour, 2 independent and 1 Liberal Democrat seats being contested. [6] The Conservatives only contested 10 of the 12 seats after they decided not to oppose the two independents who were up for re-election in Nunnery and St John wards, however both they and the independent councillors denied that any deal had been done. [7]

By-elections, also spelled bye-elections, are used to fill elected offices that have become vacant between general elections.

A Councillor is a member of a local government council.

Three members of the Shadow Cabinet, including the Shadow Chancellor George Osborne, visited Worcester to campaign for the Conservatives. [8]

Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet (United Kingdom) opposition cabinet of the United Kingdom

The Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet is, in British parliamentary practice, senior members of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition who scrutinise their corresponding Government ministers, develop alternative policies, and hold the Government to account for its actions and responses. Since May 2010, the Labour Party has been Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition, and its leadership therefore forms the current Shadow Cabinet.

Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer

The Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer in the British Parliamentary system is the member of the Shadow Cabinet who is responsible for shadowing the Chancellor of the Exchequer. The title is in the gift of the Leader of the Opposition but is informal. The Shadow Chancellor has no constitutional role.

George Osborne British politician (b. 1971)

George Gideon Oliver Osborne is a British Conservative Party politician, who was Member of Parliament (MP) for Tatton from June 2001 until he stood down on 3 May 2017. He served as Chancellor of the Exchequer under Prime Minister David Cameron from 2010 to 2016. He has been editor of the London Evening Standard since May 2017 and chair of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership (NPP) since September 2016.

Election result

The results saw the council remain without any party having a majority with the Conservatives continuing to run the administration. [9] They had come within 28 votes of winning in Arboretum ward but Labour's Joy Squires held the seat. [10]

The Green Party contested ten of the twelve seats, falling back slightly overall from 9.2 to 8.5% of the vote. Its claim of 10% related to the seats it contested. While it failed to win a seat, its best results were in the Rainbow Hill and Cathedral wards, where it scored 23.3 and 18.6% respectively. [11]

Green Party of England and Wales Political party in England and Wales

The Green Party of England and Wales is a green, left-wing political party in England and Wales. Headquartered in London, since September 2018, its Co-Leaders are Siân Berry and Jonathan Bartley. The Green Party has one Member of Parliament in the House of Commons, one representative in the House of Lords, and three Members of the European Parliament. It has various councillors in UK local government and two members of the London Assembly.

Worcester Local Election Result 2008 [12]
PartySeatsGainsLossesNet gain/lossSeats %Votes %Votes+/−
  Conservative 500041.737.47,868-5.5%
  Labour 400033.328.45,982+3.1%
  Independent 200016.710.32,164+5.5%
  Liberal Democrat 10008.310.52,215-2.5%
  Green 000008.51,790-1.2%
  BNP 000004.3899+0.6%
  UKIP 000000.7146+0.1%

Ward results

Arboretum [12]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Labour Joy Squires 72839.2-4.0
Conservative David Wilkinson70037.7+8.3
Liberal Democrat Ken Carpenter1578.5-4.5
Green Martin Sullivan1387.4-0.2
BNP Jack Amos1347.2+7.2
Majority281.5-12.3
Turnout 1,85741.0-1.0
Labour hold Swing
Battenhall [12]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Conservative Robert Rowden1,02164.9+7.9
Labour Lian Rees34121.7+0.7
Green Jan Dyer21113.4+3.8
Majority68043.2+7.2
Turnout 1,57338.4-4.7
Conservative hold Swing
Bedwardine [12]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Conservative Derek Prodger1,36963.5+7.1
Labour Christopher Winwood35016.2-4.4
Liberal Democrat Vaughan Hencher24011.1-2.7
Green Clive Matthews1989.2+0.1
Majority1,01947.3+11.5
Turnout 2,15734.5-2.8
Conservative hold Swing
Cathedral [12]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Conservative Francis Lankester1,15456.0+5.0
Labour Rachel Hall52125.3+3.7
Green Louis Stephen38418.6+4.5
Majority63330.7+1.3
Turnout 2,05930.3-4.9
Conservative hold Swing
Claines [12]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Liberal Democrat Sue Askin1,55153.1-1.6
Conservative Nicholas Turner1,00534.4+3.4
Green Peter Robinson1956.7+0.1
Labour Jane McCann1715.9-1.8
Majority54618.7-5.0
Turnout 2,92245.0-4.0
Liberal Democrat hold Swing
Gorse Hill [12]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Labour Roger Berry51545.3+1.3
BNP Lee Hancock28224.8+0.3
Conservative David Nolan24321.4+6.6
Green Linda Smith988.6+3.0
Majority23320.5+1.0
Turnout 1,13827.0-6.0
Labour hold Swing
Nunnery [12]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Independent Michael Layland1,11548.1+17.4
Labour Vanessa Mann70730.5-4.7
BNP Tom Amos35315.2+2.5
Green Alexander Gwinn1416.1+0.2
Majority40817.6
Turnout 2,31639.0+0.6
Independent hold Swing
Rainbow Hill [12]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Labour Adrian Gregson44344.1-4.6
Conservative Lesley Auden32732.6+12.7
Green Ruth Stafford23423.3-8.1
Majority11611.5-5.8
Turnout 1,00424.2-0.9
Labour hold Swing
St Clement [12]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Conservative Simon Geraghty87651.9+2.5
Labour Richard Bird45126.7+3.7
UKIP John Butterfield1468.7+8.7
BNP Peter Beechey1307.7-8.1
Green Olaf Twiehaus845.0-6.8
Majority42525.2-1.2
Turnout 1,68737.7-1.8
Conservative hold Swing
St John [12]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Independent Margaret Layland1,04953.7+37.8
Labour Richard Udall90546.3+4.0
Majority1447.4
Turnout 1,95433.9-0.6
Independent hold Swing
St Stephen [12]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Conservative Keith Burton80257.7-2.3
Liberal Democrat Eddie Hartley26719.2+6.6
Labour George Squires21515.5-3.8
Green Penelope Asquith1077.7-0.5
Majority53538.5-2.2
Turnout 1,39134.3-3.1
Conservative hold Swing
Warndon [12]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Labour Alan Amos63563.1+10.0
Conservative Robert Campbell37136.9+8.1
Majority26426.2+1.9
Turnout 1,00625.6+0.8
Labour hold Swing

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References

  1. "Worcester". BBC News Online . 2008-04-19. Retrieved 2010-01-08.
  2. "Local elections: Results: Voters in the cities and the shires have their say in the ballot box". The Guardian. 2008-05-02. p. 7.
  3. Watt, Nicholas (2008-05-02). "Local elections: From south to north, seats fall to Cameron: Prediction that Tories will claim 44% of council vote, with Labour down to 24%". The Guardian. p. 6.
  4. "Cameron to claim a Tory renaissance". Financial Times. 2008-05-02. p. 2.
  5. "Key battles for local councils". BBC News Online . 2008-04-25. Retrieved 2010-01-08.
  6. "Politicians wait for the verdict from the voters". Stourbridge News . 2008-05-01. Retrieved 2010-01-08.
  7. "Tories deny 'dirty deals' to hang on to council seats". Malvern Gazette . 2008-04-08. Retrieved 2010-01-08.
  8. "Conservative top gun visits city". Stourbridge News . 2008-04-18. Retrieved 2010-01-08.
  9. Walker, Jonathan (2008-05-02). "My blue Brum". Birmingham Post. p. 1.
  10. "Tories stay in control". Stourbridge News . 2008-05-02. Retrieved 2010-01-08.
  11. "Worcester City Council results May 2008". Worcestershire Green Party. Archived from the original on 9 November 2009. Retrieved 2010-01-09.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 "Election Results May 1st 2008". Worcester City Council. Retrieved 2010-01-08.