Derby Council election, 2008
Encyclopedia
The 2008 Derby Council election took place on 1 May 2008 to elect members of Derby
Unitary
Council in England
. One third of the council was up for election and the council stayed under no overall control
. Overall turnout
was 34.6%.
After the election, the composition of the council was
the Labour party had been running the council in an agreement with the Conservatives and both parties did not rule out continuing this arrangement after the election. However a major issue in the election was a proposal by the Labour party to close 10 play areas across Derby in order to save money, which were opposed by the Conservatives. The arrangement was also strained by the defection of 2 Labour councillor
s, Hardial Dhamrait and Amar Nath, to the Conservatives since the 2007 election
. Other changes since 2007 included Labour councillor Prem Chera becoming an independent, and independent Frank Leeming joining the Conservatives. This meant that before the election there were 21 Labour, 14 Conservative, 13 Liberal Democrat and 2 independent councillors.
In all 61 candidates stood in the election, with 17 seats being contested. Of those 17 seats Labour were defending 8, the Conservatives 6 and the Liberal Democrats 3.
The leader of the Conservative party, David Cameron
, visited Derby to support the local party on 3 April and described it as a "key battleground".
wards
from Labour, and in Blagreaves and Oakwood wards from the Conservatives. Meanwhile Labour recovered a seat in Sinfin
which they had lost when Hardial Dhamrait had defected to the Conservatives. However Labour also two seats in Chaddesden
and Chellaston
to the Conservatives.
Following the elections the three parties held discussions to decide who would run the council for the next two years. On the 6 May the Conservatives decided that they would not agree any deal with the other two parties and would sit in opposition, with Conservative councillors feeling that the previous agreement with Labour had meant they did not make gains as the party had done nationally. The Liberal Democrats and Labour then planned to hold talks, with Labour abandoning their previous proposals to introduce congestion charging in Derby, and parking meter
s in Littleover
. However the Liberal Democrats decided they would prefer to run the council as a minority rather than reach an agreement with Labour. At the council meeting on the 21 May the Liberal Democrat leader, Hilary Jones, was elected leader of the council by 19 votes to 17 after the Conservatives abstained.
Derby
Derby , is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands region of England. It lies upon the banks of the River Derwent and is located in the south of the ceremonial county of Derbyshire. In the 2001 census, the population of the city was 233,700, whilst that of the Derby Urban Area was 229,407...
Unitary
Unitary authority
A unitary authority is a type of local authority that has a single tier and is responsible for all local government functions within its area or performs additional functions which elsewhere in the relevant country are usually performed by national government or a higher level of sub-national...
Council in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. One third of the council was up for election and the council stayed under no overall control
No overall control
Within the context of local councils of the United Kingdom, the term No Overall Control refers to a situation in which no single party achieves a majority of seats and is analogous to a hung parliament...
. Overall turnout
Voter turnout
Voter turnout is the percentage of eligible voters who cast a ballot in an election . After increasing for many decades, there has been a trend of decreasing voter turnout in most established democracies since the 1960s...
was 34.6%.
After the election, the composition of the council was
- Liberal Democrat 18
- LabourLabour Party (UK)The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
17 - ConservativeConservative Party (UK)The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
14 - IndependentIndependent (politician)In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...
2
Campaign
Since the 2006 electionDerby Council election, 2006
The 2006 Derby Council election took place on 4 May 2006 to elect members of Derby Unitary Council in England. One third of the council was up for election and the Labour party lost their majority on the council to no overall control....
the Labour party had been running the council in an agreement with the Conservatives and both parties did not rule out continuing this arrangement after the election. However a major issue in the election was a proposal by the Labour party to close 10 play areas across Derby in order to save money, which were opposed by the Conservatives. The arrangement was also strained by the defection of 2 Labour councillor
Councillor
A councillor or councilor is a member of a local government council, such as a city council.Often in the United States, the title is councilman or councilwoman.-United Kingdom:...
s, Hardial Dhamrait and Amar Nath, to the Conservatives since the 2007 election
Derby Council election, 2007
The 2007 Derby Council election took place on 3 May 2007 to elect members of Derby Unitary Council in England. One third of the council was up for election and the council stayed under no overall control....
. Other changes since 2007 included Labour councillor Prem Chera becoming an independent, and independent Frank Leeming joining the Conservatives. This meant that before the election there were 21 Labour, 14 Conservative, 13 Liberal Democrat and 2 independent councillors.
In all 61 candidates stood in the election, with 17 seats being contested. Of those 17 seats Labour were defending 8, the Conservatives 6 and the Liberal Democrats 3.
The leader of the Conservative party, David Cameron
David Cameron
David William Donald Cameron is the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service and Leader of the Conservative Party. Cameron represents Witney as its Member of Parliament ....
, visited Derby to support the local party on 3 April and described it as a "key battleground".
Election result
The results saw the Liberal Democrats gain 5 seats to move from third largest group on the council to become the largest party, overtaking the Labour and Conservative parties. Liberal Democrat gains were recorded in Abbey, Arboretum and MackworthMackworth Estate
Mackworth Estate is a large council estate situated to the north-west of Derby near to Markeaton Park and the suburb of Mickleover and also the village of the same name but which is linked by no other means....
wards
Wards of the United Kingdom
A ward in the United Kingdom is an electoral district at sub-national level represented by one or more councillors. It is the primary unit of British administrative and electoral geography .-England:...
from Labour, and in Blagreaves and Oakwood wards from the Conservatives. Meanwhile Labour recovered a seat in Sinfin
Sinfin
Sinfin is a southern suburb of Derby, England, historically it was a separate village. It contained the main centre of Rolls-Royce, on Nightingale Road...
which they had lost when Hardial Dhamrait had defected to the Conservatives. However Labour also two seats in Chaddesden
Chaddesden
Chaddesden, also known locally as Chad, is a large suburb of Derby, United Kingdom, formerly known as Cedesdene.-Cedesene village:The old village of Cedesene is situated two and a half miles east of the city...
and Chellaston
Chellaston
Chellaston is a suburb of the City of Derby, which is in the East Midlands in England in the United Kingdom. It is on a natural hill, and has recently expanded due to several new housing estates....
to the Conservatives.
Following the elections the three parties held discussions to decide who would run the council for the next two years. On the 6 May the Conservatives decided that they would not agree any deal with the other two parties and would sit in opposition, with Conservative councillors feeling that the previous agreement with Labour had meant they did not make gains as the party had done nationally. The Liberal Democrats and Labour then planned to hold talks, with Labour abandoning their previous proposals to introduce congestion charging in Derby, and parking meter
Parking meter
A parking meter is a device used to collect money in exchange for the right to park a vehicle in a particular place for a limited amount of time. Parking meters can be used by municipalities as a tool for enforcing their integrated on-street parking policy, usually related to their traffic and...
s in Littleover
Littleover
Littleover is a large suburb of Derby, England situated between Rose Hill, Normanton, Sunny Hill, South Derbyshire and Mickleover about three miles south west of Derby city centre.-History:The history of the name of Littleover is simple...
. However the Liberal Democrats decided they would prefer to run the council as a minority rather than reach an agreement with Labour. At the council meeting on the 21 May the Liberal Democrat leader, Hilary Jones, was elected leader of the council by 19 votes to 17 after the Conservatives abstained.