The 2009 United Kingdom local elections were elections held to all 27 County Councils, three existing Unitary Authorities and five new Unitary Authorities, all in England, on 4 June 2009.[2][3] The elections were due to be held on 7 May 2009, but were delayed in order to coincide with elections to the European Parliament.[4][5]
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All 27 county councils, 7 out of 55 unitary authorities, 1 sui generis authority, and 3 directly elected mayors | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 County council election results | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Unitary authority and mayoral elections | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The elections resulted in significant gains for the Conservatives. The party won Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Staffordshire and Lancashire from Labour, as well as Devon and Somerset from the Liberal Democrats. The Liberal Democrats did however win a majority in Bristol. Despite the optimism for the Conservatives in seat and council gains, their share of the vote at 38% was 6% down on 2008. That said, they had a clear 10% lead over the Liberal Democrats who achieved a respectable second place on 28%.
Labour, taking the blame in government from a worsening economic climate, soaring unemployment and the expenses scandal, lost all of its councils, with some authorities being swept clear of any Labour councillors at all. The party also performed poorly in the European elections on the same day.
Summary of results
edit| Party | Councillors | Councils | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | Change | Number | Change | ||
| Conservative | 1,531 |  244
|
30 | 7
| |
| Liberal Democrats | 484 |  2
|
1 | 1
| |
| Labour | 178 | 291
|
0 | 4
| |
| Independent | 97 | 6
|
0 | 
| |
| Green | 18 | 8
|
0 |
| |
| Residents | 9 | 2
|
0 |
| |
| UKIP | 7 | 7
|
0 |
| |
| BNP | 3 | 3
|
0 |
| |
| Mebyon Kernow | 3 |
|
0 |
| |
| Liberal | 2 |
|
0 |
| |
| Others | 30 | 15
|
0 |
| |
| No overall control | n/a | n/a | 3 | 2
| |
Source: BBC News Isles of Scilly Council not included in the above figures.
County councils
editAll 27 English County Councils were up for election. All seats on the councils were contested at this election.
Unitary authorities
editExisting authorities
edit| Council | Proportion up for election |
Previous control | Result | Details | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bristol | 1/3 | No overall control | Liberal Democrats gain | Details | ||
| Isle of Wight | All | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details | ||
New authorities
editElections were held for five new unitary authorities. All councillors were elected at this election.
| Council | Result | Details | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bedford | No overall control | Details | |
| Central Bedfordshire | Conservative | Details | |
| Cornwall | No overall control (Conservative/Independent Coalition) | Details | |
| Shropshire | Conservative | Details | |
| Wiltshire | Conservative | Details | |
Isles of Scilly
editThe Council of the Isles of Scilly was created by the Local Government Act 1888, meaning they lie outside the classifications of authorities used in the rest of England.
| Council | Proportion up for election |
Previous control | Result | Details | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Isles of Scilly | All | Independent | Independent hold | Details | ||
Mayoral elections
edit| Local Authority | Previous Mayor | Candidate elected | Details | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Doncaster | Martin Winter (Independent[6]) | Peter Davies (English Democrats) | Details | ||
| Hartlepool | Stuart Drummond (Independent) | Stuart Drummond (Independent) | Details | ||
| North Tyneside | John Harrison (Labour) | Linda Arkley (Conservative) | Details | ||
A mayoral election was also due to be held in Stoke-on-Trent, however voters in the city voted to abolish the directly elected mayor system in a referendum held in October 2008. The referendum decided to replace the mayor and executive system with a council leader and cabinet system of local government.[7]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "BBC projected national vote shares for 2009". BBC News. 5 June 2009. Retrieved 6 June 2009.
- ^ "Communities and Local Government - Local government elections in 2009". Communities.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 9 March 2009. Retrieved 6 June 2009.
- ^ Communities and Local Government - Moving the date of English Local Government elections to the date of the European Parliament elections in 2009 - Consultation Archived August 29, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Department of the Official Report (Hansard), House of Commons, Westminster (4 November 2008). "House of Commons Hansard Debates from 04 Nov 2008 - Local Government Motion". Publications.parliament.uk. Retrieved 6 June 2009.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "'British expenses scandal dominates political debate', 23 May 2009". City Mayors. 23 May 2009. Retrieved 6 June 2009.
- ^ Winter was twice elected mayor as the Labour Party's candidate, but he declared himself an independent following the 2008 local elections and was subsequently expelled from the Labour Party. He did not stand for re-election in 2009.
- ^ "Mayor faces final months in power". BBC News. 6 March 2009. Retrieved 6 June 2009.
External links
edit- Elections 2009 BBC News
- Elections 2009: Councils A-Z BBC News