Stratford-on-Avon District Council election, 2008
![](../I/m/Stratford-avon_2008_election_map.png)
Map of the results of the 2008 Stratford-on-Avon council election.
Conservatives in blue, Liberal Democrats in yellow and independent in white. Wards in grey were not contested in 2008.
The 2008 Stratford-on-Avon District Council election took place on 1 May 2008 to elect members of Stratford-on-Avon District Council in Warwickshire, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Conservative party stayed in overall control of the council.[1]
After the election, the composition of the council was
Background
Before the election the Conservatives had a 21-seat majority with 37 councillors, as compared to 14 for the Liberal Democrats and 2 independents.[3] 19 seats were being contested in the election, which was expected to be fought mainly between the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats.[3]
Election result
The results saw the Liberal Democrats make 5 gains to reduce the Conservatives majority on the council.[4] 3 of the gains for the Liberal Democrats came in the wards of Stratford-upon-Avon itself, along with 2 in Harbury and Shipston.[5] Meanwhile the one independent councillor who was up for election, Kim James, successfully held his seat in Bidford and Salford ward, defeating the Liberal Democrat candidate by 185 votes.[4]
The losses for the Conservatives were one of the worst performances by the party in the 2008 local elections, in contrast to the national picture where they made strong gains. Meanwhile the Liberal Democrat leader, Nick Clegg described the Stratford election as "an excellent result".[6]
Stratford-on-Avon Local Election Result 2008[7][8] |
Party |
Seats |
Gains |
Losses |
Net gain/loss |
Seats % |
Votes % |
Votes |
+/− |
|
Conservative |
11 |
0 |
5 |
-5 |
57.9 |
51.0 |
15,222 |
-0.9% |
|
Liberal Democrat |
7 |
5 |
0 |
+5 |
36.8 |
39.9 |
11,916 |
+4.3% |
|
Independent |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
5.3 |
3.4 |
1,019 |
+0.4% |
|
Labour |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3.7 |
1,103 |
-1.8% |
|
UKIP |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1.4 |
406 |
-0.9% |
|
Green |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0.6 |
183 |
-1.1% |
Ward results
Bidford and Salford[5][7][9] |
Party |
Candidate |
Votes |
% |
±% |
|
Independent |
Kim James |
903 |
52.0 |
+52.0 |
|
Liberal Democrat |
Rona Fitzpatrick |
718 |
41.3 |
+4.9 |
|
Labour |
Alec Brown |
116 |
6.7 |
-0.9 |
Majority |
185 |
10.7 |
|
Turnout |
1,737 |
32.9 |
-5.3 |
|
Independent hold |
Swing |
|
|
Ettington[5][7][9] |
Party |
Candidate |
Votes |
% |
±% |
|
Conservative |
Izzi Seccombe |
597 |
68.0 |
+2.6 |
|
Liberal Democrat |
Christian Senior |
165 |
18.8 |
-15.8 |
|
Independent |
Darryl Armstrong |
116 |
13.2 |
+13.2 |
Majority |
432 |
49.2 |
+18.4 |
Turnout |
878 |
47.4 |
-2.3 |
|
Conservative hold |
Swing |
|
|
Henley[5][7][9] |
Party |
Candidate |
Votes |
% |
±% |
|
Conservative |
Stephen Thirlwell |
1,172 |
74.6 |
-2.3 |
|
Liberal Democrat |
Karyl Rees |
215 |
13.7 |
+6.0 |
|
UKIP |
Brett Parsons |
184 |
11.7 |
+3.5 |
Majority |
957 |
60.9 |
-7.8 |
Turnout |
1,571 |
44.0 |
-2.2 |
|
Conservative hold |
Swing |
|
|
Shipston[5][7][9] |
Party |
Candidate |
Votes |
% |
±% |
|
Liberal Democrat |
Richard Cheney |
934 |
48.7 |
-0.5 |
|
Conservative |
Trevor Russel |
921 |
48.0 |
+1.5 |
|
Labour |
Jeffrey Kenner |
64 |
3.3 |
-1.0 |
Majority |
13 |
0.7 |
-1.9 |
Turnout |
1,919 |
48.6 |
-0.7 |
|
Liberal Democrat gain from Conservative |
Swing |
|
|
Stratford Alveston[5][7][9] |
Party |
Candidate |
Votes |
% |
±% |
|
Liberal Democrat |
Kate Rolfe |
1,264 |
49.1 |
+10.3 |
|
Conservative |
Lynda Organ |
1,088 |
42.3 |
-6.3 |
|
UKIP |
Ralph Berry |
222 |
8.6 |
+0.7 |
Majority |
176 |
6.8 |
|
Turnout |
2,574 |
48.3 |
+1.7 |
|
Liberal Democrat gain from Conservative |
Swing |
|
|
Stratford Avenue and New Town[5][7][9] |
Party |
Candidate |
Votes |
% |
±% |
|
Liberal Democrat |
Trevor Honychurch |
991 |
47.6 |
+30.0 |
|
Conservative |
Juliet Short |
957 |
46.0 |
+5.1 |
|
Labour |
Matthew Stephens |
132 |
6.3 |
+0.2 |
Majority |
34 |
1.6 |
|
Turnout |
2,080 |
37.5 |
-5.5 |
|
Liberal Democrat gain from Conservative |
Swing |
|
|
Stratford Guild and Hathaway[5][7][9] |
Party |
Candidate |
Votes |
% |
±% |
|
Liberal Democrat |
Ron Cockings |
1,141 |
47.3 |
+16.3 |
|
Conservative |
Michael Perry |
956 |
39.6 |
-10.8 |
|
Green |
Hugh Chatwin |
183 |
7.6 |
+1.7 |
|
Labour |
George Hathaway |
134 |
5.6 |
-2.1 |
Majority |
185 |
7.7 |
|
Turnout |
2,414 |
42.0 |
-2.4 |
|
Liberal Democrat gain from Conservative |
Swing |
|
|
Stratford Mount Pleasant[5][7][9] |
Party |
Candidate |
Votes |
% |
±% |
|
Liberal Democrat |
Joyce Taylor |
798 |
66.8 |
-1.3 |
|
Conservative |
Karen Parnell |
317 |
26.5 |
+3.3 |
|
Labour |
David Talbot |
80 |
6.7 |
-2.0 |
Majority |
481 |
40.3 |
-4.6 |
Turnout |
1,195 |
35.6 |
-4.5 |
|
Liberal Democrat hold |
Swing |
|
|
Studley[5][7][9] |
Party |
Candidate |
Votes |
% |
±% |
|
Liberal Democrat |
Paul Beaman |
1,083 |
59.0 |
+15.1 |
|
Conservative |
Jon Vale |
652 |
35.5 |
-13.0 |
|
Labour |
Jacqueline Abbott |
100 |
5.4 |
-2.2 |
Majority |
431 |
23.5 |
|
Turnout |
1,835 |
40.6 |
+0.0 |
|
Liberal Democrat hold |
Swing |
|
|
References