Harrogate Council election, 2008
Encyclopedia
The 2008 Harrogate Council election took place on 1 May 2008 to elect members of Harrogate
Borough
Council in North Yorkshire
, England
. One third of the council was up for election and the council stayed under no overall control
.
After the election, the composition of the council was
held 24 of the 54 seats, the Liberal Democrats 23 and independents
6. A further seat in Lower Nidderdale
was vacant after the death of Conservative councillor
Elwyn Hinchcliffe.
16 seats were contested in the election, all from the rural
areas of the council, with the Conservatives the party defending in 13 seats and the Liberal Democrats in 3. 2 incumbent
councillors stood down at the election, Nick Wilson from Newby ward
and Chris Lewis from Ouseburn ward. The Conservatives contested all 16 seats, the Liberal Democrats 15, British National Party
6, Labour
5, United Kingdom Independence Party
3 and 1 independent.
Issues in the election included a possible recycling plant near Boroughbridge
and the storage site for toxic chemicals in Melmerby
, as well as the issues of transport, affordable housing
and the council tax
.
by 77 votes, but they came 34 votes short of taking Lower Nidderdale and 37 votes from taking Claro. No other party won any seats in the election, while 6 independent councillors remained on the council, after none of them had been defending seats in the election. Overall turnout
in the election was 48%, the highest in a decade apart from the all postal voting
election in 2004
.
Harrogate (borough)
Harrogate is a local government district and borough of North Yorkshire, England. Its council is based in the town of Harrogate but it also includes surrounding towns and villages...
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 North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire is a non-metropolitan or shire county located in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England, and a ceremonial county primarily in that region but partly in North East England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972 it covers an area of , making it the largest...
, 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...
.
After the election, the composition of the council was
- 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...
27 - Liberal Democrat 21
- 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...
6
Campaign
Before the election the ConservativesConservative 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...
held 24 of the 54 seats, the Liberal Democrats 23 and independents
Independent (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...
6. A further seat in Lower Nidderdale
Nidderdale
Nidderdale is one of the Yorkshire Dales in North Yorkshire, England. It is the upper valley of the River Nidd, which flows south through the dale, forming several reservoirs including the Gouthwaite Reservoir, before turning east and eventually joining the River Ouse.The only town in the dale is...
was vacant after the death of Conservative 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:...
Elwyn Hinchcliffe.
16 seats were contested in the election, all from the rural
Rural
Rural areas or the country or countryside are areas that are not urbanized, though when large areas are described, country towns and smaller cities will be included. They have a low population density, and typically much of the land is devoted to agriculture...
areas of the council, with the Conservatives the party defending in 13 seats and the Liberal Democrats in 3. 2 incumbent
Incumbent
The incumbent, in politics, is the existing holder of a political office. This term is usually used in reference to elections, in which races can often be defined as being between an incumbent and non-incumbent. For example, in the 2004 United States presidential election, George W...
councillors stood down at the election, Nick Wilson from Newby ward
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:...
and Chris Lewis from Ouseburn ward. The Conservatives contested all 16 seats, the Liberal Democrats 15, British National Party
British National Party
The British National Party is a British far-right political party formed as a splinter group from the National Front by John Tyndall in 1982...
6, Labour
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...
5, United Kingdom Independence Party
United Kingdom Independence Party
The United Kingdom Independence Party is a eurosceptic and right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. Whilst its primary goal is the UK's withdrawal from the European Union, the party has expanded beyond its single-issue image to develop a more comprehensive party platform.UKIP...
3 and 1 independent.
Issues in the election included a possible recycling plant near Boroughbridge
Boroughbridge
Boroughbridge is a small town and civil parish in the Harrogate district of North Yorkshire, England. It is situated northwest of York. Until its bypass was built, it was on the main A1 road from London to Edinburgh...
and the storage site for toxic chemicals in Melmerby
Melmerby, Harrogate
Melmerby is a village and civil parish in the Harrogate district of North Yorkshire, England. Whilst the name is of viking origin, many of the fields in the area have saxon names eg Halikeld....
, as well as the issues of transport, affordable housing
Affordable housing
Affordable housing is a term used to describe dwelling units whose total housing costs are deemed "affordable" to those that have a median income. Although the term is often applied to rental housing that is within the financial means of those in the lower income ranges of a geographical area, the...
and the 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...
.
Election result
The results saw the Conservatives gain 2 seats from the Liberal Democrats to hold 27 seats, exactly half of the council. The Conservatives gained Boroughbridge and Ouseburn wards, by 161 and 731 votes respectively, to reduce the Liberal Democrats to 21 seats. The only seat held by the Liberal Democrats was in Pateley BridgePateley Bridge
Pateley Bridge is a small market town in Nidderdale in the Borough of Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England, on the River Nidd.It has the oldest sweet shop in England and is the home of the Nidderdale Museum....
by 77 votes, but they came 34 votes short of taking Lower Nidderdale and 37 votes from taking Claro. No other party won any seats in the election, while 6 independent councillors remained on the council, after none of them had been defending seats in the election. 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...
in the election was 48%, the highest in a decade apart from the all postal voting
Postal voting
Postal voting describes the method of voting in an election whereby ballot papers are distributed or returned by post to electors, in contrast to electors voting in person at a polling station or electronically via an electronic voting system....
election in 2004
Harrogate Council election, 2004
The 2004 Harrogate Council election took place on 10 June 2004 to elect members of Harrogate Borough Council in North Yorkshire, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Conservative party stayed in overall control of the council....
.