Gravesham Council election, 2011
Encyclopedia
The 2011 Gravesham Council election took place on 5 May 2011 to elect members of Gravesham
Borough
Council in Kent
, England
. The whole council was up for election and the Labour party
gained overall control of the council from the Conservative party
.
when they won 26 seats, compared to 16 for Labour. However Labour gained a seat back at a by-election
in June 2009 in Painters Ash ward
.
During the campaign the national Labour leader Ed Miliband
came to Gravesham twice, while the Conservative Prime Minister
David Cameron
met party activists, along with visits by other senior figures from the two parties. Apart from the Conservative and Labour parties there were also candidates from the United Kingdom Independence Party
in 5 wards and the Liberal Democrats
in 3 wards.
and Westcourt wards to hold 25 seats, compared to 19 for the Conservatives.
Following the election Ed Miliband came back to Gravesham and said "Our victory here is both a sign of our progress and a symbol of our task ahead." Both the local Conservative and Labour leaders on the council, Mike Snelling and John Burden, put the results down to the cuts being made by the national Conservative led government.
Gravesham
Gravesham is a local government district and borough in North West Kent, England. It has borders with the River Thames to the north; the City of Rochester and Medway to the east; the borough of Tonbridge and Malling ; and the boroughs of Sevenoaks and Dartford to the west.Its council is based at...
Borough
Borough status in the United Kingdom
Borough status in the United Kingdom is granted by royal charter to local government districts in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The status is purely honorary, and does not give any additional powers to the council or inhabitants of the district...
Council in Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. The whole council was up for election and the Labour party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
gained overall control of the council from the Conservative party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
.
Background
Before the election the Conservatives had run the council since the 2007 electionGravesham Council election, 2007
The 2007 Gravesham Council election took place on 3 May 2007 to elect members of Gravesham Borough Council in Kent, England. The whole council was up for election and the Conservative party gained overall control of the council from the Labour party....
when they won 26 seats, compared to 16 for Labour. However Labour gained a seat back at a by-election
By-election
A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....
in June 2009 in Painters Ash ward
Wards of the United Kingdom
A ward in the United Kingdom is an electoral district at sub-national level represented by one or more councillors. It is the primary unit of British administrative and electoral geography .-England:...
.
During the campaign the national Labour leader Ed Miliband
Ed Miliband
Edward Samuel Miliband is a British Labour Party politician, currently the Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition...
came to Gravesham twice, while the Conservative Prime Minister
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
David Cameron
David Cameron
David William Donald Cameron is the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service and Leader of the Conservative Party. Cameron represents Witney as its Member of Parliament ....
met party activists, along with visits by other senior figures from the two parties. Apart from the Conservative and Labour parties there were also candidates from the United Kingdom Independence Party
United Kingdom Independence Party
The United Kingdom Independence Party is a eurosceptic and right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. Whilst its primary goal is the UK's withdrawal from the European Union, the party has expanded beyond its single-issue image to develop a more comprehensive party platform.UKIP...
in 5 wards and the Liberal Democrats
Liberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...
in 3 wards.
Election result
Labour gained 8 seats to take control of the council from the Conservatives. Labour made gains in Central, Painters Ash, SinglewellSinglewell
Singlewell or Ifield is the name given to the area south of Gravesend in Kent, England.Originally two separate settlements on either side of Watling Street, it is now separated by the A2 road and bears little resemblance to its past...
and Westcourt wards to hold 25 seats, compared to 19 for the Conservatives.
Following the election Ed Miliband came back to Gravesham and said "Our victory here is both a sign of our progress and a symbol of our task ahead." Both the local Conservative and Labour leaders on the council, Mike Snelling and John Burden, put the results down to the cuts being made by the national Conservative led government.