Solihull Council election, 2004

The 2004 Solihull Council election took place on 10 June 2004 to elect members of Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council in the West Midlands, England. The whole council was up for election with boundary changes since the last election in 2003. The Conservative party stayed in overall control of the council.[1]

Contents

Campaign

During the lead up to the election the Labour party suffered 2 defections. Firstly councillor Jim Ryan quit the party to sit as an independent after disagreements over policy.[2] He was then followed in May 2004 by Jeff Potts who defected to join the Conservatives and blamed infighting within the Labour party for his decision.[2] Both councillors contested the election, Jim Ryan as an independent,[3] and Jeff Potts as a Conservative in Kingshurst and Fordbridge ward.[2]

The election saw the British National Party (BNP) contest 2 seats in Chelmsley Wood and Olton wards,[4] while the National Front contested Silhill ward.[5] The presence of these candidates led the leaders of each of the Conservative, Liberal Democrat and Labour parties on the council to condemn the policies of both the BNP and National Front.[5]

Election result

The results saw the Conservatives stay in control of the council but with their majority cut from 5 to 3 seats.[6] The Conservative dropped by 1 seat, while the Liberal Democrats became the next largest party on the council after gaining 5 seats.[6] Labour dropped by 5 seats, 3 of which could be put down to the boundary changes, while another seat was lost by Labour to the Conservatives in Kingshurst and Fordbridge.[6] The final Labour loss came in Bickenhill where former Labour councillor Jim Ryan was re-elected onto the council as an independent.[6] Overall turnout increased by 10% from 2003 to reach 39%.[6]

Solihull Local Election Result 2004[7][8]
Party Seats Gains Losses Net gain/loss Seats % Votes % Votes +/-
  Conservative 27 -1 52.9 54.0 83,853 +2.7%
  Liberal Democrat 15 +5 29.4 33.1 51,389 +2.3%
  Labour 8 -5 15.7 10.6 16,514 -7.3%
  Independent 1 +1 2.0 1.5 2,346 +1.5%
  BNP 0 0 0 0.6 935 +0.6%
  National Front 0 0 0 0.2 287 +0.2%

Ward results

Bickenhill (3)[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Independent Jim Ryan 2,346
Conservative Robert Sleigh 1,510
Conservative Alan Martin 1,472
Conservative James Williams 1,079
Labour Arthur Harper 554
Labour Ann Wood 464
Liberal Democrat Jennifer Wright 430
Liberal Democrat Jean Hamilton 413
Turnout 8,268 40.4
Blythe (3)[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrat Margaret Allen 1,720
Liberal Democrat Leonard Cresswell 1,664
Conservative Brian Burgess 1,605
Conservative David Skelding 1,589
Liberal Democrat Charles Robinson 1,555
Conservative Rosemary Worsley 1,553
Labour Shirley Young 376
Turnout 10,062 40.5
Castle Bromwich (3)[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative George Richards 2,603
Conservative Ian Hillas 2,133
Conservative Michael Robinson 2,074
Labour Kenneth Nye 796
Liberal Democrat Geoffrey Daniell 639
Labour Patricia Harrop 636
Turnout 8,881 38.3
Chelmsley Wood (3)[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Alfred Hill 1,051
Labour Michael Corser 871
Labour Nicholas Stephens 778
BNP George Morgan 679
Conservative Gail Sleigh 510
Conservative Martin McCarthy 487
Conservative Graham Juniper 484
Liberal Democrat John Scriven 380
Turnout 5,240 25.5
Dorridge and Hockley Heath (3)[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Kenneth Meeson 2,889
Conservative Andrzej Mackiewicz 2,710
Conservative Ian Courts 2,533
Liberal Democrat Claire Berry 1,398
Labour Janet Fletcher 595
Turnout 10,125 47.6
Elmdon (3)[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative John Bramham 1,832
Liberal Democrat Barbara Harber 1,651
Conservative Kenneth Hawkins 1,642
Conservative James Wild 1,612
Liberal Democrat Nigel Dyer 1,553
Liberal Democrat Christine Reeves 1,519
Labour Frederick Churchill 609
Turnout 10,418 41.5
Kingshurst and Fordbridge (3)[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour John Kimberley 872
Labour Frederick Nash 840
Conservative Robert Hall 831
Labour Kenneth Harrop 811
Conservative Jeffrey Potts 775
Conservative Elspeth Martin 757
Liberal Democrat Christopher Hayes 468
Turnout 5,354 24.2
Knowle (3)[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative James Blake 2,617
Conservative Leslie Kyles 2,384
Conservative Diana Holl-Allen 2,370
Liberal Democrat Anthony Verduyn 1,050
Labour Alan Jacques 581
Turnout 9,002 44.8
Lyndon (3)[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrat Irene Chamberlain 2,319
Liberal Democrat Olive Hogg 2,100
Liberal Democrat Robert Reeves 1,983
Conservative Theresa Tedd 1,143
Conservative David Williams 1,106
Conservative Shailesh Parekh 980
Labour Catherine Connan 506
Turnout 10,137 38.1
Meriden (3)[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Peter Lea 2,489
Conservative David Bell 2,182
Conservative Kenneth Allsopp 2,087
Liberal Democrat Mark Johnson 888
Liberal Democrat Peter Whitlock 759
Liberal Democrat Hugh McCredie 742
Labour Jonathan Maltman 581
Turnout 9,728 40.9
Olton (3)[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrat Honor Cox 2,209
Liberal Democrat Norman Davies 2,161
Liberal Democrat John Windmill 2,009
Conservative Charles Drayson 1,489
Conservative Peter Groom 1,375
Conservative Dipak Shah 1,033
Labour Gerald Dufficy 362
BNP Mark James 256
Turnout 10,894 45.1
Shirley East (3)[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrat June Gandy 2,181
Liberal Democrat John Reeve 2,058
Liberal Democrat Ian Hedley 1,841
Conservative Neill Watts 1,540
Conservative Patricia Handslip 1,431
Conservative Joseph Tidesley 1,391
Labour Kevin Raven 360
Turnout 10,802 46.2
Shirley South (3)[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Gary Allport 2,158
Conservative David Elsmore 1,999
Conservative John Hawkswood 1,922
Liberal Democrat Howard Knight 1,312
Liberal Democrat Roger Gemmell 1,253
Liberal Democrat Ian Lynes 1,030
Labour James Burman 676
Turnout 10,350 40.4
Shirley West (3)[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrat Howard Allen 1,802
Liberal Democrat Susan Reeve 1,753
Liberal Democrat Elsie Cotton 1,741
Conservative James Pike 1,315
Conservative Lee Watts 1,152
Conservative Jeffrey Stocks 1,119
Labour Rajeshwar Singh 308
Turnout 9,190 38.2
Silhill(3)[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Susan Gomm 2,005
Conservative Peter Hogarth 1,944
Conservative Sheila Pittaway 1,846
Liberal Democrat Brenda Davies 1,158
Liberal Democrat John Knight 1,042
Liberal Democrat Douglas Hogg 976
Labour Una Kimberley 453
National Front Norman Tomkinson 287
Turnout 9,711 43.2
Smith's Wood (3)[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Hugh Hendry 1,014
Labour Graham Craig 1,004
Labour Donald Cornock 994
Conservative Daniel Kettle 713
Conservative Robert Jolley 544
Conservative Clive Nelson 537
Liberal Democrat Bernard Wright 427
Turnout 5,233 23.5
St Alphege (3)[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Kathleen Wild 2,849
Conservative Jean Clark 2,799
Conservative Stuart Davis 2,664
Liberal Democrat Brenda Chapple 1,202
Liberal Democrat David Small 1,023
Liberal Democrat Andrew Hodgson 980
Labour Michelle Cluney 422
Turnout 11,939 44.6

References

  1. ^ "Solihull council". BBC News Online. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/bsp/hi/vote2004/locals/html/3756.stm. Retrieved 2010-12-14. 
  2. ^ a b c Dale, Paul (2004-05-12). "Solihull councillor blames party in-fighting as he quits Labour to rejoin Tories". Birmingham Post. p. 5. 
  3. ^ Bell, David (2004-06-08). "Local council election nominations: Labour fears end of an era". Birmingham Mail. p. 30. 
  4. ^ Johnson, Steve (2004-05-14). "Row on BNP vote push; Party branded 'Nazis in sharp suits'". Birmingham Mail. p. 2. 
  5. ^ a b Jeys, Anna (2004-05-15). "Poll surprise for wealthy; NF candidate stands". Birmingham Mail. p. 12. 
  6. ^ a b c d e "Election 2004: Tories stay in control to face new opposition". Birmingham Mail. 2004-06-12. p. 7. 
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r "Borough Council election". Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council. http://www.solihull.gov.uk/Attachments/ElectionResults2004.pdf. Retrieved 2010-12-14. 
  8. ^ "Ballot box". The Times. 2004-06-12. p. 26. 
Preceded by
Solihull Council election, 2003		 Solihull local elections Succeeded by
Solihull Council election, 2006
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