2008 Southampton City Council election

The 2008 Southampton Council election took place on 1 May 2008 to elect members of Southampton Unitary Council in Hampshire, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Conservative Party gained overall control of the council from no overall control.^[1]

After the election, the composition of the council was:

Background

After the 2007 election the Conservative party took control as a minority administration after one Liberal Democrat councillor, Norah Goss, broke with her party to support the Conservatives.^[3] However, at the February 2008 budget meeting, the Labour and Liberal Democrats joined together to take control from the Conservatives.^[3]

Election result

The results saw the Conservative party win a majority on the council for the first time since 1984.^[4] The Conservatives gained 8 seats, 4 from Labour, 3 from the Liberal Democrats and 1 from an independent.^[5] Two 18-year-olds were among the Conservative winners, David Fuller taking Bitterne by 460 votes and Matthew Jones gaining Peartree by over 500 votes.^[6]^[7] Meanwhile, both the Labour leader of the council, June Bridle, in Sholing^[3] and the Liberal Democrat group leader, Adrian Vinson, in Portswood were among those who lost seats.^[8] The Conservative gains meant that they won 15 of the 17 seats contested to take a 4-seat majority^[8] with 26 seats, compared to 14 seats for Labour and 8 for the Liberal Democrats.^[9] Overall turnout in the election was 29.7%, down on the 30.3% in 2007 and varying between a low of 16.1% in Bargate and a high of 36.9% in Shirley.^[10]

The Conservative election success was put down to a combination of a rejection of the pact between the Labour and Liberal Democrat parties, anger at plans to charge people for parking outside their homes and the national issue of the abolition of the 10p rate of income tax.^[8] The results were also seen as indications for the next general election, with projections that the Conservatives could gain Southampton Test and Southampton Itchen constituencies from Labour on swings of 15.9% and 18.9% respectively, based on the local election results.^[11]

Following the election, Alec Samuels became the new Conservative leader of the council,^[12] Richard Williams became leader of the Labour group^[12] and Jill Baston took charge of the Liberal Democrat group.^[13]

Southampton Local Election Result 2008^[14]^[15]
	Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
Conservative	15	8	0	+8	88.2	47.4	25,374	+9.9%
Labour	2	0	4	-4	11.8	26.3	14,090	-4.2%
Liberal Democrats	0	0	3	-3	0	18.6	9,974	-5.2%
Green	0	0	0	0	0	4.5	2,394	-0.6%
Independent	0	0	1	-1	0	1.5	816	+1.5%
UKIP	0	0	0	0	0	1.0	551	-1.2%
Southampton First	0	0	0	0	0	0.5	292	-0.1%

Ward results

Bargate

Bargate^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Amy Whiskerd	912	41.5	+8.9
	Labour	John Noon	776	35.3	−7.9
	Liberal Democrats	Michelle Milton	250	11.4	−3.3
	Green	John Spottiswoode	156	7.1	−2.3
	Independent	Frances Murphy	103	4.7	+4.7
Majority			136	6.2
Turnout			2,197	16.1	+0.1
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing

Bassett

Bassett^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Hannides	2,103	55.0	+7.6
	Liberal Democrats	Jonathan Walsh	1,207	31.6	−4.6
	Labour	Lee Whitbread	348	9.1	−1.8
	UKIP	Mike Cottrell	166	4.3	−1.2
Majority			896	23.4	+12.2
Turnout			3,824	34.0	−1.9
	Conservative hold		Swing

Bevois

Bevois^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Stephen Barnes-Andrews	965	43.3	−7.5
	Conservative	Chris Rowland	753	33.8	+12.5
	Green	Martin Hall	269	12.1	+2.3
	Liberal Democrats	Simon Mockler	244	10.9	−2.0
Majority			212	9.5	−20.0
Turnout			2,231	20.8	−0.1
	Labour hold		Swing

Bitterne

Bitterne^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	David Fuller	1,494	51.3	+17.5
	Labour	Paul Jenks	1,034	35.5	−12.8
	Liberal Democrats	Robert Naish	387	13.3	−4.6
Majority			460	15.8
Turnout			2,915	29.4	+0.8
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing

Bitterne Park

Bitterne Park^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Ivan White	1,933	57.7	+8.4
	Liberal Democrats	Robbie Robinson	757	22.6	+1.2
	Labour	Shaun Brady	660	19.7	−2.1
Majority			1,176	35.1	+7.5
Turnout			3,350	32.6	+0.0
	Conservative hold		Swing

Coxford

Coxford^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Ben Walker	1,018	31.7	+9.3
	Labour	Keith Morrell	986	30.7	−4.2
	Liberal Democrats	Sue Jackson	918	28.6	−4.7
	UKIP	Leslie Obee	287	8.9	+3.1
Majority			32	1.0
Turnout			3,209	31.3	−2.6
	Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats		Swing

Freemantle

Freemantle^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Michael Ball	1,580	53.6	+7.8
	Labour	David Sturrum	671	22.8	−4.5
	Liberal Democrats	Paul Abbott	405	13.7	+0.1
	Green	Darren Pickering	293	9.9	−3.3
Majority			909	30.8	+12.2
Turnout			2,949	27.5	−0.7
	Conservative hold		Swing

Harefield

Harefield (2)^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Edward Daunt	2,051
	Conservative	Daniel FitzHenry	1,918
	Labour	Mike Brainsby	888
	Labour	Funda Pepperell	778
	Liberal Democrats	Diana Wills	380
	Liberal Democrats	Sharon Mintoff	351
	Green	Andy Shaw	324
Turnout			6,690	34.3
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

Millbrook

Millbrook^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Andy Wells	1,527	47.9
	Liberal Democrats	Ken Darke	700	22.0
	Labour	Richard Green	675	21.2
	Green	Victoria Payne	287	9.0
Majority			827	25.9
Turnout			3,189	29.3	−3.5
	Conservative hold		Swing

Peartree

Peartree^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Matthew Jones	1,334	38.6	+8.7
	Liberal Democrats	Barbara Cove	832	24.1	−20.2
	Labour	Andy Wilson	580	16.8	−9.0
	Independent	Norah Goss	508	14.7	+14.7
	Independent	Robert Goldie	205	5.9	+5.9
Majority			502	14.5
Turnout			3,459	34.0	+2.1
	Conservative gain from Independent		Swing

Portswood

Portswood^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Vincenzo Capozzoli	1,273	37.6	+11.3
	Liberal Democrats	Adrian Vinson	1,144	33.8	+0.5
	Labour	Samuel Goold	472	14.0	−3.5
	Green	Christopher Bluemel	350	10.3	−0.7
	Southampton First	Peter Knight	143	4.2	−5.2
Majority			129	3.8
Turnout			3,382	31.7	+2.1
	Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats		Swing

Redbridge

Redbridge^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Paul Holmes	1,251	43.5	+16.6
	Labour	Dennis Harryman	1,199	41.7	−1.3
	Liberal Democrats	Juliet Williams	424	14.8	−15.3
Majority			52	1.8
Turnout			2,874	27.7	−1.2
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing

Shirley

Shirley^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Terry Matthews	1,922	51.6	+6.7
	Labour	Graham Giles	1,137	30.5	−1.5
	Green	Paul Garratt	336	9.0	+0.7
	Liberal Democrats	Keith Reed	331	8.9	−1.2
Majority			785	21.1	+8.2
Turnout			3,726	36.1	−2.1
	Conservative hold		Swing

Sholing

Sholing^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Neil Fitzgerald	2,022	54.1	+9.0
	Labour	June Bridle	1,339	35.9	−0.3
	Liberal Democrats	James Read	374	10.0	+0.2
Majority			683	18.3	+9.4
Turnout			3,735	35.3	−2.0
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing

Swaythling

Swaythling^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Edward Osmond	1,140	41.6	−3.6
	Liberal Democrats	Ann Milton	897	32.7	+6.2
	Labour	Cameron Miller	332	12.1	−6.7
	Southampton First	Alan Kebbell	149	5.4	+5.4
	Green	Joe Cox	124	4.5	−5.0
	UKIP	Rod Caws	98	3.6	+3.6
Majority			243	8.9	−9.9
Turnout			2,740	28.9	+0.5
	Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats		Swing

Woolston

Woolston^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Richard Williams	1,250	41.4	−5.8
	Conservative	John Whiskerd	1,143	37.8	+8.3
	Liberal Democrats	Margaret O'Neill	373	12.3	−11.1
	Green	Colin Reader	255	8.4	+8.4
Majority			107	3.5	−14.2
Turnout			3,021	30.5	+2.0
	Labour hold		Swing

References

^ "Southampton". BBC News Online. Retrieved 30 January 2011.
^ "National: Full election results". The Guardian. 3 May 2008. p. 45.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Tories seize power in Southampton". BBC News Online. 2 May 2008. Retrieved 31 January 2011.
^ Watt, Nicholas (2 May 2008). "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.
^ Morris, Nigel (2 May 2008). "A result that puts Cameron on course for Downing Street". The Independent. p. 2.
^ "Teenagers take Southampton". The Independent. 3 May 2008. p. 6.
^ Barney, Katharine (2 May 2008). "Teenage politicians help turn a city blue". Evening Standard. p. 6.
^ ^a ^b ^c Smith, Matt. "Tories sweep into power in Southampton". This is Hampshire. Retrieved 31 January 2011.
^ Smith, Matt (4 May 2008). "Blues back in business". Southern Daily Echo. Retrieved 31 January 2011.
^ Smith, Matt (2 May 2008). "City turnout results". Southern Daily Echo. Retrieved 31 January 2011.
^ "National: Local elections: The MPs who would have lost their seats". The Guardian. 3 May 2008. p. 6.
^ ^a ^b Smith, Matt (15 May 2008). "Tories scrap traveller site plans". Southern Daily Echo. Retrieved 31 January 2011.
^ Kottegoda, Maheesha (5 May 2008). "New leader at helm for Lib Dem's". Southern Daily Echo. Retrieved 31 January 2011.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q "Election details". Southampton City Council. Retrieved 30 January 2011.
^ "Results". The Times. 3 May 2008. p. 14.

Preceded by 2007 Southampton Council election	Southampton local elections	Succeeded by 2010 Southampton Council election

[gain-1] "Southampton". BBC News Online. Retrieved 30 January 2011.

[national-2] "National: Full election results". The Guardian. 3 May 2008. p. 45.

[seize-3] "Tories seize power in Southampton". BBC News Online. 2 May 2008. Retrieved 31 January 2011.

[north-4] Watt, Nicholas (2 May 2008). "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.

[downing-5] Morris, Nigel (2 May 2008). "A result that puts Cameron on course for Downing Street". The Independent. p. 2.

[teenagers-6] "Teenagers take Southampton". The Independent. 3 May 2008. p. 6.

[blue-7] Barney, Katharine (2 May 2008). "Teenage politicians help turn a city blue". Evening Standard. p. 6.

[sweep-8] Smith, Matt. "Tories sweep into power in Southampton". This is Hampshire. Retrieved 31 January 2011.

[business-9] Smith, Matt (4 May 2008). "Blues back in business". Southern Daily Echo. Retrieved 31 January 2011.

[turnout-10] Smith, Matt (2 May 2008). "City turnout results". Southern Daily Echo. Retrieved 31 January 2011.

[mps-11] "National: Local elections: The MPs who would have lost their seats". The Guardian. 3 May 2008. p. 6.

[traveller-12] Smith, Matt (15 May 2008). "Tories scrap traveller site plans". Southern Daily Echo. Retrieved 31 January 2011.

[helm-13] Kottegoda, Maheesha (5 May 2008). "New leader at helm for Lib Dem's". Southern Daily Echo. Retrieved 31 January 2011.

[results-14] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q "Election details". Southampton City Council. Retrieved 30 January 2011.

[times-15] "Results". The Times. 3 May 2008. p. 14.

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