Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council election, 2004

Map of the results of the 2004 Solihull Council election. Conservatives in blue, Labour in red, Liberal Democrats in yellow and Independent in grey.

The 2004 Solihull Metropolitan Borough 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]

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]

This result had the following consequences for the total number of seats on the council after the elections :

Ward results

By-elections between 2004 and 2006

References

Council elections in the West Midlands Birmingham City Council 1973 1975 1976 1978 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015 2016 Coventry City Council 1973 1975 1976 1978 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015 2016 Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council 1973 1975 1976 1978 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015 2015 Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council 1973 1975 1976 1978 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015 2016 Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council 1973 1975 1976 1978 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015 2016 Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council 1973 1975 1976 1978 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015 2016 Wolverhampton City Council 1973 1975 1976 1978 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015 2016 West Midlands County Council 1973 1977 1981 Abolished See also: Wards Boundary changes

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