Gedling Council election, 2011
Encyclopedia
The 2011 Gedling Council election took place on 5 May 2011 to elect members of Gedling
Borough
Council in Nottinghamshire
, England
. The whole council was up for election and the Labour party
gained overall control of the council from the Conservative party
.
.
A big issue in the election was the introduction of car parking charges by the Conservative council. Labour said that local businesses were suffering because of the charges and proposed to end the charges and cut the number of councillor
s, while the Conservatives said the charges enabled them to preserve services and keep council tax
down. Meanwhile the Liberal Democrats expected that they and the Conservatives would suffer due to the cuts being made by the national coalition government
.
in the election was 45.3%.
Gedling
Gedling is a local government district with borough status in Nottinghamshire, England. Its council is based in Arnold. It is part of the Greater Nottingham metropolitan area lying to the North and East of the City of Nottingham....
Borough
Borough status in the United Kingdom
Borough status in the United Kingdom is granted by royal charter to local government districts in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The status is purely honorary, and does not give any additional powers to the council or inhabitants of the district...
Council in Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire is a county in the East Midlands of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west...
, 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...
. The whole council was up for election and the Labour party
Labour 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...
gained overall control of the council from the Conservative party
Conservative 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...
.
Campaign
Before the election the Conservatives ran the council with 28 seats, compared to 9 for Labour, 8 Liberal Democrats and 5 independentsIndependent (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...
.
A big issue in the election was the introduction of car parking charges by the Conservative council. Labour said that local businesses were suffering because of the charges and proposed to end the charges and cut the number of 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, while the Conservatives said the charges enabled them to preserve services and keep council tax
Council tax
Council Tax is the system of local taxation used in England, Scotland and Wales to part fund the services provided by local government in each country. It was introduced in 1993 by the Local Government Finance Act 1992, as a successor to the unpopular Community Charge...
down. Meanwhile the Liberal Democrats expected that they and the Conservatives would suffer due to the cuts being made by the national coalition government
United Kingdom coalition government (2010–present)
The ConservativeLiberal Democrat coalition is the present Government of the United Kingdom, formed after the 2010 general election. The Conservative Party and the Liberal Democrats entered into discussions which culminated in the 2010 coalition agreement, setting out a programme for government...
.
Election result
The results saw Labour gain control of the council from the Conservatives, after taking 13 seats from the Conservative party, 5 from the Liberal Democrats and all 5 independent seats. This left Labour with 32 seats, compared to 15 Conservatives and 3 Liberal Democrats. Overall turnoutVoter 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...
in the election was 45.3%.