Redditch Borough Council election, 2008

Elections to Redditch Borough Council were held on 1 May 2008. One third of the council was up for election and the Conservative party gained overall control of the council from no overall control. Overall turnout was 33.2%.^[1]

This was the first time in 26 years that the Conservative party had control of Redditch council.^[2] This came after the Conservatives gained 4 seats from the Labour party, with local and national issues being said to be behind the results.^[2] The results in Redditch were described as being representative of the mood of the electorate nationally.^[3]

After the election, the composition of the council was

• Conservative 15
• Labour 10
• Liberal Democrat 3
• British National Party 1

Election result

Redditch Local Election Result 2008
Party		Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
	Conservative	6	4	0	+4	66.7	48.0	7,815	+6.1%
	Labour	2	0	4	-4	22.2	30.0	4,881	+0.7%
	Liberal Democrat	1	0	0	0	11.1	13.9	2,263	-6.8%
	Independent	0	0	0	0	0	4.7	768	+4.2%
	BNP	0	0	0	0	0	3.4	549	-4.3%

Ward results

Batchley

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Jinny Pearce	968	51.4	+21.1
	Labour	Diane Haywood	709	37.7	-2.0
	Liberal Democrat	Christopher Hennessey	205	10.9	+2.6
Majority			259	13.7
Turnout			1,882	32.3	-3.8
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing

Central

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	R Farooqui	744	47.1	+11.1
	Labour	Greg Chance	571	36.1	-13.3
	Liberal Democrat	Simone Rudge	153	9.7	-5.0
	Independent	Isabel Armstrong	113	7.1	+7.1
Majority			173	11.0
Turnout			1,581	34.5	-5.0
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing

Church Hill

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Bill Hartnett	733	39.3	-4.3
	Conservative	James Swansborough	722	38.7	+2.2
	Liberal Democrat	David Gee	233	12.5	-7.4
	Independent	Dave Small	176	9.4	+9.4
Majority			11	0.6	-6.5
Turnout			1,864	30.3	-0.6
	Labour hold		Swing

Greenlands

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	William Norton	702	41.1	+17.1
	Labour	Patie Hill	626	36.6	-0.8
	Liberal Democrat	Anthony Pitt	263	15.4	+1.4
	Independent	Orion Moon	119	7.0	+7.0
Majority			76	4.5
Turnout			1,710	27.7	-5.4
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing

Headless Cross & Oakenshaw

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Peter Anderson	1,493	62.9	+5.1
	Labour	Dot Dudley	550	23.2	-3.1
	Liberal Democrat	Ronald Thompson	330	13.9	-1.9
Majority			943	39.7	+8.2
Turnout			2,373	34.7	-2.7
	Conservative hold		Swing

Lodge Park

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Mark Shummer	556	41.4	-4.9
	Conservative	Paul Swansborough	547	40.7	+5.2
	Liberal Democrat	Ian Webster	147	10.9	-7.4
	Independent	Richard Armstrong	94	7.0	+7.0
Majority			9	0.7	-10.1
Turnout			1,344	33.4	-0.7
	Labour hold		Swing

Matchborough

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Anita Clayton	852	58.5	+2.3
	Labour	Gareth Young	356	24.4	-4.8
	Liberal Democrat	Fiona Hennessey	141	9.7	-4.9
	Independent	Rod Mansell	108	7.4	+7.4
Majority			496	34.1	+7.1
Turnout			1,457	32.0	-1.8
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing

West

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Conservative	Michael Braley	1,112	71.1	+6.4
	Labour	John Fisher	294	18.8	-4.0
	Independent	Helen Truman	158	10.1	+10.1
Majority			818	52.3	+10.4
Turnout			1,564	35.4	-2.5
	Conservative hold		Swing

Winyates

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal Democrat	Malcolm Hall	791	31.6	+1.5
	Conservative	John Russell	675	27.0	+9.4
	BNP	Maurice Field	549	22.0	+0.4
	Labour	Linda Hammond	486	19.4	-9.0
Majority			116	4.6	+2.9
Turnout			2,501	38.7	-4.1
	Liberal Democrat hold		Swing

References

1. "No appetite for elected mayor in Redditch". The Redditch Standard. 2008-05-09. Archived from the original on 22 July 2011. Retrieved 2008-05-12.
2. "Tories take control in Redditch". Birmingham Post. 2008-05-02. Retrieved 2008-05-12.
3. "Tories gain 'weathervane' council". BBC Online. 2008-05-02. Retrieved 2008-05-12.

• 2008 Redditch election result
• Ward results
• Redditch
• Tories take control after 26-year wait