Pendle Council election, 2008
Encyclopedia
The 2008 Pendle Council election took place on 1 May 2008 to elect members of Pendle
Borough
Council in Lancashire
, England
. One third of the council was up for election and the Liberal Democrats lost overall control of the council to no overall control
.
After the election, the composition of the council was
4 and Labour
1 seat.
5 councillor
s stood down at the election, 2 Liberal Democrats from Bradley and Walverden wards
, 2 Conservatives from Earby
and Reedley and Labour's David Whalley from Vivary Bridge ward. Councillors who were defending seats included the leader of the council, Liberal Democrat Alan Davies, in Boulsworth, deputy mayor Marjorie Adams in Coates ward and the chairman of the Nelson
committee David Foster in Clover Hill. The only candidates standing in the election not from the 3 main parties, were 4 from the British National Party
and 2 independents
.
, leading to a police investigation and the matter being raised in Parliament
by the local Member of Parliament
Gordon Prentice
. These allegations involved both the Liberal Democrat parliament candidate for Pendle constituency
Afzal Anwar and Labour councillor Mohammed Tariq, after multiple postal votes were registered at their addresses. Both men denied doing anything and were supported by their parties, saying everyone registered at the addresses were entitled to vote. The police dropped the enquiry after concluding that there had been no wrongdoing.
During the campaign the national Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg
visited Pendle to support his party.
The Labour and Conservative parties both made significant gains from the Liberal Democrats. However Labour did lose one seat back to the Liberal Democrats in Vivary Bridge and the Conservatives lost a seat in Marsden to the British National Party. There was also a success for an independent candidate, with Glenn Whittaker taking Craven from the Liberal Democrats. These results meant the Liberal Democrats held 20 seats, the Conservatives 16, Labour 10, British National Party 2 as well as 1 independent. Overall turnout
in the election was 41.58%.
Following the election the parties held talks on control of the council with reports that an agreement between the Conservative and Labour parties to take over from the Liberal Democrats was possible. However these were not successful and the new leader of the Liberal Democrats group, John David, became leader of the council at the head of a minority administration, after an 18-17 vote at the council meeting.
Pendle
Pendle is a local government district and borough of Lancashire, England. It adjoins the Lancashire boroughs of Burnley and Ribble Valley, the North Yorkshire district of Craven and the West Yorkshire districts of Calderdale and the City of Bradford...
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 Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
, 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...
. One third of the council was up for election and the Liberal Democrats lost overall control of the council to no overall control
No overall control
Within the context of local councils of the United Kingdom, the term No Overall Control refers to a situation in which no single party achieves a majority of seats and is analogous to a hung parliament...
.
After the election, the composition of the council was
- Liberal Democrat 20
- ConservativeConservative 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...
16 - 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...
10 - British National PartyBritish National PartyThe British National Party is a British far-right political party formed as a splinter group from the National Front by John Tyndall in 1982...
2 - IndependentIndependent (politician)In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...
1
Background
Before the election the Liberal Democrats held control of the council with 28 seats, but a loss of 4 seats would mean they lost their majority. 17 seats were contested in the election, with the Liberal Democrats defending 12, the ConservativesConservative 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...
4 and Labour
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...
1 seat.
5 councillor
Councillor
A councillor or councilor is a member of a local government council, such as a city council.Often in the United States, the title is councilman or councilwoman.-United Kingdom:...
s stood down at the election, 2 Liberal Democrats from Bradley and Walverden wards
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:...
, 2 Conservatives from Earby
Earby
Earby is a small town and civil parish within the Borough of Pendle in Lancashire, England. It is north of Colne, from Skipton, and from Burnley. The parish had a population of 4,348 recorded in the 2001 census,...
and Reedley and Labour's David Whalley from Vivary Bridge ward. Councillors who were defending seats included the leader of the council, Liberal Democrat Alan Davies, in Boulsworth, deputy mayor Marjorie Adams in Coates ward and the chairman of the Nelson
Nelson, Lancashire
Nelson is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Pendle in Lancashire, England, with a population of 28,998 in 2001. It lies 4 miles north of Burnley on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal....
committee David Foster in Clover Hill. The only candidates standing in the election not from the 3 main parties, were 4 from the British National Party
British National Party
The British National Party is a British far-right political party formed as a splinter group from the National Front by John Tyndall in 1982...
and 2 independents
Independent (politician)
In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...
.
Campaign
The election saw complaints of voting fraud involving postal votingPostal voting
Postal voting describes the method of voting in an election whereby ballot papers are distributed or returned by post to electors, in contrast to electors voting in person at a polling station or electronically via an electronic voting system....
, leading to a police investigation and the matter being raised in Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
by the local Member of Parliament
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,...
Gordon Prentice
Gordon Prentice
Gordon Prentice is a British Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament for Pendle in Lancashire from 1992 to 2010.-Early life:...
. These allegations involved both the Liberal Democrat parliament candidate for Pendle constituency
Pendle (UK Parliament constituency)
Pendle is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.-Boundaries:...
Afzal Anwar and Labour councillor Mohammed Tariq, after multiple postal votes were registered at their addresses. Both men denied doing anything and were supported by their parties, saying everyone registered at the addresses were entitled to vote. The police dropped the enquiry after concluding that there had been no wrongdoing.
During the campaign the national Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg
Nick Clegg
Nicholas William Peter "Nick" Clegg is a British Liberal Democrat politician who is currently the Deputy Prime Minister, Lord President of the Council and Minister for Constitutional and Political Reform in the coalition government of which David Cameron is the Prime Minister...
visited Pendle to support his party.
Election result
The results saw the Liberal Democrats lost their majority on the council after suffering a net loss of 8 seats. Defeated councillors for the Liberal Democrats included the leader of the council Alan Davies in Boulsworth, Nelson Committee chairman David Foster in Clover Hill, Shelley Franklin in Craven, Frank Wren in Brierfield and Judith Robinson in Southfield. The Liberal Democrats blamed their defeats on a targeted campaign by the Conservatives, while the Conservatives said the "tide is now turning towards us".The Labour and Conservative parties both made significant gains from the Liberal Democrats. However Labour did lose one seat back to the Liberal Democrats in Vivary Bridge and the Conservatives lost a seat in Marsden to the British National Party. There was also a success for an independent candidate, with Glenn Whittaker taking Craven from the Liberal Democrats. These results meant the Liberal Democrats held 20 seats, the Conservatives 16, Labour 10, British National Party 2 as well as 1 independent. Overall turnout
Voter turnout
Voter turnout is the percentage of eligible voters who cast a ballot in an election . After increasing for many decades, there has been a trend of decreasing voter turnout in most established democracies since the 1960s...
in the election was 41.58%.
Following the election the parties held talks on control of the council with reports that an agreement between the Conservative and Labour parties to take over from the Liberal Democrats was possible. However these were not successful and the new leader of the Liberal Democrats group, John David, became leader of the council at the head of a minority administration, after an 18-17 vote at the council meeting.