Leicester mayoral election, 2011
Encyclopedia
The Leicester
mayoral election, 2011 was an election for the office of Mayor of Leicester held on 5 May 2011. It was the first Leicester mayoral election, after the post was approved by Leicester City Council
on 10 December 2010.
After counting concluded nearly twenty-two hours after poles closed, Sir Peter Soulsby was declared as the first Mayor of Leicester with 46,948 votes.
controlled Leicester City Council
approved plans to give the city a directly elected Mayor with responsibility for all council decisions during their four-year term and for selecting up to nine councillors as a supporting cabinet.
The proposals received much criticism from opposition parties, despite a public consultation in which more than three-fifths of respondents indicated they were in favour of a directly elected Mayor. It is notable that those parties which opposed the idea of a directly elected mayor performed poorly at the polls.
put his name forward for selection as the Labour Party candidate for the Mayoralty of Leicester. When he was selected he resigned as an MP
, triggering the Leicester South by-election
.
Councillor Gary Hunt was the Liberal Democrat Candidate for Mayor. He, like other opposition councillors, opposed the creation of a directly elected mayor but ran anyway to make the system work for 'the good of the wider public'. He cited his twenty four years of experience on the council (representing Knighton Ward) and his tenure as Lord Mayor. He not only came a poor fourth in the election, in a city where Liberal Democrats have a strong base, but also lost his usually safe Council seat to Labour .
Councillor Ross Grant was the Conservative Candidate for Mayor . Councillor Grant was previously the Conservative candidate for Leicester South in the 2010 General Election, losing to then-MP Sir Peter Soulsby. One of his election promises was to hold a referendum on the position of elected mayor, a position criticised as being expensive to the taxpayer and a return to the 'cosy system' of a leader chosen by councillors . He is notable for being the only surviving Conservative councillor on the Leicester City Council after the 2011 Local Election, having seen six of his fellow Tory councillors go down to defeat at the hands of the Labour party. He was relected in Knighton whilst his fellow Conservative Councillor Andy Bayford and the Liberal Democrat candidate for Mayor Gary Hunt lost their seats.
Nima Patel
, an Independent candidate, is running on the premise that the people of Leicester should be given an opportunity to decide whether creating this post is really required in times of austerity.
Leicester
Leicester is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest...
mayoral election, 2011 was an election for the office of Mayor of Leicester held on 5 May 2011. It was the first Leicester mayoral election, after the post was approved by Leicester City Council
Leicester City Council
Leicester City Council is a unitary authority responsible for local government in the city of Leicester, England. It consists of 54 councillors, representing 22 wards in the city, overseen by a directly elected mayor. It is currently controlled by the Labour Party and has been led by Mayor Sir...
on 10 December 2010.
After counting concluded nearly twenty-two hours after poles closed, Sir Peter Soulsby was declared as the first Mayor of Leicester with 46,948 votes.
Background
In December 2010 the LabourLabour 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...
controlled Leicester City Council
Leicester City Council
Leicester City Council is a unitary authority responsible for local government in the city of Leicester, England. It consists of 54 councillors, representing 22 wards in the city, overseen by a directly elected mayor. It is currently controlled by the Labour Party and has been led by Mayor Sir...
approved plans to give the city a directly elected Mayor with responsibility for all council decisions during their four-year term and for selecting up to nine councillors as a supporting cabinet.
The proposals received much criticism from opposition parties, despite a public consultation in which more than three-fifths of respondents indicated they were in favour of a directly elected Mayor. It is notable that those parties which opposed the idea of a directly elected mayor performed poorly at the polls.
Candidates
As a former Leader of Leicester City Council, Sir Peter SoulsbyPeter Soulsby
Sir Peter Alfred Soulsby is a British Labour Party politician and the current Mayor of Leicester. He was the Member of Parliament for Leicester South from 2005 until he resigned in order to contest the new post of mayor in April 2011...
put his name forward for selection as the Labour Party candidate for the Mayoralty of Leicester. When he was selected he resigned as an MP
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
, triggering the Leicester South by-election
Leicester South by-election, 2011
The Leicester South by-election was held to elect a Member of Parliament of the United Kingdom for the Leicester South constituency on 5 May 2011. It was prompted by the resignation of Sir Peter Soulsby of the Labour Party, who stood down from Parliament to contest the election for Mayor of...
.
Councillor Gary Hunt was the Liberal Democrat Candidate for Mayor. He, like other opposition councillors, opposed the creation of a directly elected mayor but ran anyway to make the system work for 'the good of the wider public'. He cited his twenty four years of experience on the council (representing Knighton Ward) and his tenure as Lord Mayor. He not only came a poor fourth in the election, in a city where Liberal Democrats have a strong base, but also lost his usually safe Council seat to Labour .
Councillor Ross Grant was the Conservative Candidate for Mayor . Councillor Grant was previously the Conservative candidate for Leicester South in the 2010 General Election, losing to then-MP Sir Peter Soulsby. One of his election promises was to hold a referendum on the position of elected mayor, a position criticised as being expensive to the taxpayer and a return to the 'cosy system' of a leader chosen by councillors . He is notable for being the only surviving Conservative councillor on the Leicester City Council after the 2011 Local Election, having seen six of his fellow Tory councillors go down to defeat at the hands of the Labour party. He was relected in Knighton whilst his fellow Conservative Councillor Andy Bayford and the Liberal Democrat candidate for Mayor Gary Hunt lost their seats.
Nima Patel
, an Independent candidate, is running on the premise that the people of Leicester should be given an opportunity to decide whether creating this post is really required in times of austerity.
| Leicester Mayoral Election 2011 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Name | 1st Choice Votes | % | 2nd Choice Votes | Total | |
| Sir Peter Soulsby Peter Soulsby Sir Peter Alfred Soulsby is a British Labour Party politician and the current Mayor of Leicester. He was the Member of Parliament for Leicester South from 2005 until he resigned in order to contest the new post of mayor in April 2011... |
46,948 | |||||
| Ross Grant | 9,688 | |||||
| Rick Moore | 7,635 | |||||
| Gary Hunt | 6,029 | |||||
| Geoff Forse | 3,452 | |||||
| Nima Patel | 3,358| | |||||
| Regine Anderson | 2,195 | |||||
| Mohinder Farma | 1,944 | |||||
| David Bowley | 1,784 | |||||
| Mu-hamid Pathan | 1,465 | |||||
| Lee Sowden | 631 | |||||
| Total | 85,129 | 40.7% |