| Election name | 2008 Leeds City Council election |
|---|---|
| Country | England |
| Ongoing | no |
| Party colour | yes |
| Previous election | 2007 |
| Previous year | 2007 |
| Next election | 2010 |
| Next year | 2010 |
| Seats for election | 33 of the 99 seats on Leeds City Council (and 1 vacancy) |
| Majority seats | 50 |
| Election date | 1 May 2008 |
| Turnout | 35.76% (1.76%) |
| Leader 1 | Keith Wakefield |
| Party 1 | Labour Party (UK) |
| Last election 1 | 15 seats, 32.5% |
| Seats 1 | 13 |
| Seats after 1 | 43 |
| Seat change 1 | 0 |
| Popular vote 1 | 56,124 |
| Percentage 1 | 28.67% |
| Leader 2 | Richard Brett |
| Party 2 | Liberal Democrats (UK) |
| Last election 2 | 8 seats, 19.7% |
| Seats 2 | 9 |
| Seats after 2 | 24 |
| Seat change 2 | 0 |
| Popular vote 2 | 37,216 |
| Percentage 2 | 18.89% |
| Leader 3 | Andrew Carter |
| Party 3 | Conservative Party (UK) |
| Last election 3 | 7 seats, 27.0% |
| Seats 3 | 8 |
| Seats after 3 | 22 |
| Seat change 3 | 0 |
| Popular vote 3 | 59,722 |
| Percentage 3 | 31.41% |
| Party 4 | Morley Borough Independents |
| Last election 4 | 2 seats, 2.7% |
| Seats 4 | 2 |
| Seats after 4 | 5 |
| Popular vote 4 | 6,379 |
| Percentage 4 | 3.19% |
| Party 5 | Green Party of England and Wales |
| Last election 5 | 1 seats, 3.9% |
| Seats 5 | 1 |
| Seats after 5 | 3 |
| Popular vote 5 | 7,449 |
| Percentage 5 | 3.72% |
| Party 6 | British National Party |
| Last election 6 | 0 seats, 11.2% |
| Seats 6 | 0 |
| Seats after 6 | 1 |
| Popular vote 6 | 22,094 |
| Percentage 6 | 11.35% |
| Posttitle | Council control after election |
| Before election | Coalition |
| Before party | Liberal Democrats and Conservatives |
| After election | Coalition |
| After party | Liberal Democrats and Conservatives |
The 2008 Leeds City Council election took place on Thursday 1 May 2008 to elect members of Leeds City Council in England.
As per the election cycle, one third of the council's 99 seats were contested, plus an additional vacancy in Calverley and Farsley ward as Amanda Carter stood down. Those seats up for election were those of the first-placed candidate elected for every ward at the 2004 all-out election, who had been granted a four-year term to expire in 2008.
It saw the Liberal Democrat and Conservative coalition administration continue their control of the council. Despite both Labour and the Liberal Democrats winning more seats, the Conservatives won the majority of votes cast for the first time since 1992.
The Liberal Democrats regained a total of 24 seats on the council by defeating former Liberal Democrat-turn-independent and then Conservative councillor for Weetwood ward, Brian Jennings. This had followed Hyde Park and Woodhouse councillor, Kabeer Hussain, defecting from the Liberal Democrats to Labour in October 2007, who he then left less than six months later to sit as an Independent before the 2008 election.[1][2][3][4]
Election result
This result had the following consequences for the total number of seats on the council after the elections:[1][2]
| Party | 2007 election | Prior to election | New council | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | 43 | 43 | 43 | ||
| Liberal Democrat | 24 | 23 | 24[a] | ||
| Conservative | 22 | 23[b] | 22 | ||
| Morley Borough Independent | 5 | 5 | 5 | ||
| Green | 3 | 3 | 3 | ||
| BNP | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Independent | 1[c] | 1[d] | 1 | ||
| Total | 99 | 99 | |||
| Working majority | |||||
Councillors who did not stand for re-election
| Councillor | Ward | First elected | Party | Reason | Successor | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amanda Carter[5] | Calverley & Farsley | 1999[e] | Conservative | stood down | Joe Marjoram (Conservative) | ||
| Elizabeth Minkin[6] | Kirkstall | 1988 | Labour | stood down | Lucinda Yeadon (Labour) | ||
| David Morton[7] | Headingley | 2000 | Liberal Democrats | stood down | Jamie Matthews (Liberal Democrats) | ||
Incumbent Labour councillor, Sharon Hamilton (Chapel Allerton), was selected as her party's candidate for Roundhay ward and lost to the Conservative incumbent. Hamilton was later elected for Moortown in 2010.
Notes
- ^ The Liberal Democrats increased their number of council seats by defeating incumbent Weetwood ward councillor, Brian Jennings, who had previously resigned from the Liberal Democrat council group following the 2006 election and joined the Conservatives in May 2007.
- ^ Former Liberal Democrat and now independent Brian Jennings (Weetwood) joined the Conservatives after the 2007 election. He lost his seat to the Liberal Democrats at the 2008 election.
- ^ Former Liberal Democrat councillor, Brian Jennings (Weetwood), was an independent at the time of the 2007 election.
- ^ Kabeer Hussain (Hyde Park and Woodhouse) defected from the Liberal Democrats to Labour in October 2007, leaving the Labour council group less than six months later to sit as an independent. He rejoined the Lib Dems in March 2009.[8]
- ^ Carter was later elected again for the same ward in 2015, replacing her successor Marjoram.
References
- ^ "Leeds City Council Election results - 1st May 2008". leeds.gov.uk. Archived 2011-01-04 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2013-01-18.
- ^ "Elections 2008: Leeds". BBC News. Retrieved 2013-01-18.
- ^ "Local elections: Leeds results". Yorkshire Evening Post. Retrieved 2013-01-18.
- ^ "Local Elections 2008: Leeds". andrewteale.me.uk. Retrieved 2013-01-18.
- ^ "Councillor Amanda Carter". democracy.leeds.gov.uk. Leeds City Council. Retrieved 26 November 2018.
- ^ "Councillor Elizabeth Minkin". democracy.leeds.gov.uk. Leeds City Council. Retrieved 25 December 2018.
- ^ "Councillor David Morton". democracy.leeds.gov.uk. Leeds City Council. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
- ^ "'Shock' after councillor's death". BBC News. 30 December 2009. Retrieved 1 May 2020.