Barnsley Council election, 2008

The 2008 Barnsley Council election took place on 1 May 2008 to elect members of Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council in South Yorkshire, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Labour party stayed in overall control of the council.^[1]

After the election, the composition of the council was

Election result

Before the election it had been thought that the Labour party might lose overall control of the council but they held on by only one seat.^[2]^[3] They lost two seats to the Barnsley Independent Group but gained one seat from the Liberal Democrats to hold on.^[4] The Barnsley Independent Group also lost 1 seat to the Conservatives. Overall turnout was 34.78%.^[5]

The losses for the Labour party were blamed on government policies, such as on immigration and the abolition of the 10p income tax band, by the leader of the council, Steve Houghton, who was himself re-elected for Cudworth ward.^[6]

Barnsley Local Election Result 2008
Party		Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/-
	Barnsley Independent	10	2	0	+2	45.5	24.4	14,772	-0.1%
	Labour	8	1	3	-2	36.4	30.4	18,443	-8.8%
	Conservative	2	1	0	+1	9.1	15.1	9,157	+1.0%
	Liberal Democrat	1	0	1	-1	4.5	6.4	3,880	+0.8%
	Independent	1	0	0	0	4.5	5.7	3,429	+2.4%
	BNP	0	0	0	0	0	17.1	10,383	+4.2%
	Green	0	0	0	0	0	0.7	440	+0.2%
	UKIP	0	0	0	0	0	0.1	76	+0.1%

Ward results

Central
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Doug Birkinshaw	775	31.0	-12.2
	Barnsley Independent	Noel Cowdell	660	26.4	+3.9
	BNP	Peter Marshall	621	24.8	-1.0
	Liberal Democrat	Eddie Gouthwaite	243	9.7	+9.7
	Conservative	Andrew Barr	202	8.1	-0.4
Majority			115	4.6	-12.8
Turnout			2,501
	Labour gain from Liberal Democrat		Swing

Cudworth
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Steve Houghton	1,279	48.9	-25.6
	BNP	Terry Hubbard	650	24.9	+24.9
	Liberal Democrat	Pam Kershaw	215	8.2	+8.2
	Independent	Ian Sanders	184	7.0	+7.0
	Conservative	Dorothy Shaw	183	7.0	-18.5
	Barnsley Independent	David Surgey	82	3.1	+3.1
	Independent	Tony Devoy	22	0.8	+0.8
Majority			629	24.0	-25.1
Turnout			2,615
	Labour hold		Swing

Darfield
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Barnsley Independent	Ron Fisher	1,457	56.8	+11.9
	Labour	Brian Mathers	510	19.9	-9.2
	BNP	Steve O'Connor	316	12.3	-1.1
	Conservative	Gillian Milner	282	11.0	+4.4
Majority			947	46.9	+31.1
Turnout			2,565
	Barnsley Independent hold		Swing

Darton East
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	John Parkinson	1,044	34.5	-5.5
	BNP	Colin Porter	669	22.1	+4.9
	Independent	John Race	606	20.0	+8.5
	Conservative	Howard Pearson	490	16.2	+2.7
	Liberal Democrat	Sally Brook	220	7.3	+7.3
Majority			375	12.4	-9.8
Turnout			3,029
	Labour hold		Swing

Darton West
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Alice Cave	1,173	36.8	-6.2
	BNP	Ian Sutton	919	28.8	+1.8
	Conservative	Gordon Wilkinson	554	17.4	+5.4
	Independent	Jean Rowley	545	17.1	+17.1
Majority			254	8.0	-8.1
Turnout			3,191
	Labour hold		Swing

Dearne North
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Jennifer Worton	853	40.2	-6.7
	BNP	Rob Garrett	392	18.5	-3.1
	Barnsley Independent	Ian Garner	375	17.7	+13.0
	Liberal Democrat	Sarah Brook	316	14.9	-6.6
	Conservative	Paul Buckley	186	8.8	+3.4
Majority			461	21.7	-3.6
Turnout			2,122
	Labour hold		Swing

Dearne South
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrat	Sharron Brook	1,094	39.6	+12.9
	Labour	Ralph Sixsmith	934	33.8	-12.1
	BNP	June Peel	590	21.3	-1.3
	Conservative	Deborah Toon	146	5.3	+0.5
Majority			160	5.8
Turnout			2,764
	Liberal Democrat hold		Swing

Dodworth
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Barnsley Independent	Philip Birkinshaw	1,444	48.7	+10.8
	Labour	Pauline Haigh	654	22.0	-6.1
	Conservative	George Hill	456	15.4	+1.0
	BNP	Nick Parker	414	13.9	+0.8
Majority			790	26.7	+16.9
Turnout			2,968
	Barnsley Independent hold		Swing

Hoyland Milton
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Barnsley Independent	Michael Brankin	1,159	40.4	-6.7
	Labour	Robin Franklin	902	31.5	-11.9
	Conservative	Alan Pilkington	296	10.3	+0.8
	BNP	Simon Goodricke	289	10.1	+10.1
	Green	Carol Robb	145	5.1	+5.1
	UKIP	Wayne Harling	76	2.7	+2.7
Majority			257	8.9	+5.2
Turnout			2,867
	Barnsley Independent hold		Swing

Kingstone
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Barnsley Independent	Malcolm Price	1,016	45.7	+1.4
	Labour	Kath Mitchell	565	25.4	-9.8
	BNP	Peter Robinson	407	18.3	+3.2
	Conservative	Geoffrey Turvey	155	7.0	+1.6
	Independent	Frank Watson	80	3.6	+3.6
Majority			451	20.3	+11.1
Turnout			2,223
	Barnsley Independent hold		Swing

Monk Bretton
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Grace Brown	911	33.4	+33.4
	BNP	Jane Hubbard	668	24.5	+7.4
	Labour	Nadia Richardson	664	24.3	-19.0
	Liberal Democrat	Ken Smith	247	9.0	+9.0
	Conservative	Peter Murray	241	8.8	-1.7
Majority			243	8.9
Turnout			2,731
	Independent hold		Swing

North East
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Barnsley Independent	Danny Gillespie	1,522	45.9	+2.3
	Labour	Arthur Whittaker	1,183	35.7	-2.7
	BNP	Dennis Seilly	308	9.3	+2.6
	Conservative	Frances Hamer	305	9.2	+3.5
Majority			339	10.2	+5.0
Turnout			3,318
	Barnsley Independent gain from Labour		Swing

Old Town (2)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Barnsley Independent	Bill Gaunt	1,503
	Barnsley Independent	John Love	1,255
	Labour	Phil Davies	721
	BNP	Daniel Cooke	564
	BNP	Lancer White	424
	Conservative	Elizabeth Hill	306
	Conservative	Alexander Wilkinson	227
Turnout			5,000
	Barnsley Independent hold		Swing
	Barnsley Independent hold		Swing

Penistone East
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Wilson	2,050	52.8	+3.8
	Labour	Jill Hayler	827	21.3	-2.4
	Liberal Democrat	Trish Arundel	654	16.8	+0.1
	BNP	Kelly Thorpe	355	9.1	+9.1
Majority			1,223	31.5	+6.2
Turnout			3,886
	Conservative hold		Swing

Penistone West
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Steve Webber	1,439	42.5	+1.5
	Barnsley Independent	Brenda Hinchcliff	654	19.3	+19.3
	BNP	Paul James	550	16.2	+7.6
	Labour	Peter Starling	447	13.2	-2.7
	Green	Lynda Pickersgill	295	8.7	+0.0
Majority			785	23.2	+8.0
Turnout			3,385
	Conservative gain from Barnsley Independent		Swing

Rockingham
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Barnsley Independent	Mary Brankin	1,336	42.1	-3.5
	Labour	Alan Schofield	913	28.8	-13.8
	BNP	Paul Richardson	343	10.8	+10.8
	Conservative	Lesley Watkinson	296	9.3	-2.5
	Liberal Democrat	Patrick Connell-Fothergill	159	5.0	+5.0
	Independent	Bob Hannaghan	128	4.0	+4.0
Majority			423	13.3	+10.3
Turnout			3,175
	Barnsley Independent hold		Swing

Royston
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Graham Kyte	1,202	46.9	+2.2
	Liberal Democrat	Danny Oates	513	20.0	-1.3
	BNP	Paul Harris	392	15.3	+2.0
	Conservative	Garry Needham	263	10.3	+1.7
	Barnsley Independent	Daniel Pickering	195	7.6	-4.4
Majority			689	26.9	+3.5
Turnout			2,565
	Labour hold		Swing

St Helens
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Len Picken	965	46.0	-11.6
	BNP	Lisa Brooksbank	635	30.3	+13.7
	Independent	Dennis Kelk	299	14.2	-4.4
	Conservative	Michael Toon	200	9.5	+2.4
Majority			330	15.7	-23.3
Turnout			2,099
	Labour hold		Swing

Stairfont
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Barnsley Independent	Fred Clowery	1,218	48.8	+20.7
	Labour	Steve Redford	706	28.3	-13.2
	BNP	Susan Harris	350	14.0	-0.8
	Conservative	Clive Watkinson	224	9.0	+3.9
Majority			512	20.5
Turnout			2,498
	Barnsley Independent hold		Swing

Wombwell
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Margaret Morgan	1,200	48.9	-10.3
	BNP	Lisa Goodricke	527	21.5	+7.0
	Conservative	Keith Jenner	439	17.9	+6.3
	Barnsley Independent	Ray Murdoch	286	11.7	-3.0
Majority			673	27.4	-17.1
Turnout			2,452
	Labour hold		Swing

Worsbrough
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Barnsley Independent	Gill Carr	1,264	48.1	+16.5
	Labour	Terry Bristowe	926	35.3	+0.1
	Liberal Democrat	Pat Durie	219	8.3	-2.0
	Conservative	Peter Hamer	217	8.3	+2.8
Majority			338	12.8
Turnout			2,626
	Barnsley Independent gain from Labour		Swing

References

^ "Barnsley". BBC News Online. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/bsp/hi/elections/local_council/08/html/cc.stm. Retrieved 20 June 2011.
^ "BIG Gain on Labour Council". BarnsleyNews.co.uk. 2008-05-02. http://www.barnsleynews.co.uk/barnsley-news/10-news/42-big-gain-on-labour-council. Retrieved 2008-08-23.
^ "ELECTIONS '08: Labour maintains control in Barnsley". The Star. 2008-05-02. http://www.thestar.co.uk/barnsley/ELECTIONS-3908-Labour-maintains-control.4045584.jp. Retrieved 2008-08-23.
^ "Lib Dems take power in Sheffield". BBC Online. 2008-05-02. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/south_yorkshire/7378924.stm. Retrieved 2008-08-23.
^ "Local election results 2008". Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council. http://www.barnsley.gov.uk/bguk/Council_Democracy/Press_Releases/May/Local%20election%20results%202008.html. Retrieved 2008-08-17.
^ "Shaky 'republic' hangs on by one seat". Yorkshire Post. 2008-05-03. http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/election/Shaky-39republic39-hangs-on-by.4048182.jp. Retrieved 2008-08-23.

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