2008 Thurrock Council election

The 2008 Thurrock Council election took place on 1 May 2008 to elect members of Thurrock Council in Essex, England. One third of the council was up for election and the council stayed under no overall control.[1]

After the election, the composition of the council was

Campaign

The 2008 election in Thurrock was seen as one of the key national contests with the Conservatives needing to gain one seat to take overall control.[3][4] Important issues in the election included recycling, local bus services and race relations.[3]

18 seats were contested in the election with the Tilbury Riverside and Thurrock Park seat being a by-election after the previous councillor resigned.[5] The Conservatives, Labour and British National Party contested all 18 seats except in East Tilbury where the Conservatives did not put up a candidate.[6] There were also 8 Liberal Democrats and 2 other candidates.[6]

Election results

The results saw the council stay under no overall control but with the British National Party gaining a seat.[7][8] The Conservatives remained the largest party on the council after winning 10 of the seats contested as compared to 6 for Labour.[9] The final seat was won by independent Barry Palmer in East Tilbury.[10]

While the Conservatives were still just short of an overall majority they remained in control of the council due to their existing agreement with the 2 independent councillors.[11] Both main parties said they would not work with the new British National Party councillor, although she said she did not want to work with them anyway.[11]

Following the election in March 2009, Terry Hipsey, the then Conservative leader of the council, defected from the Conservatives to Labour, leaving each of the major parties with 23 councillors.[12]

Thurrock Local Election Result 2008[5]
Party Seats Gains Losses Net gain/loss Seats % Votes % Votes +/−
  Conservative 10 1 1 0 55.6 37.2 11,900 +6.5%
  Labour 6 2 2 0 33.3 32.6 10,416 -1.5%
  BNP 1 1 0 +1 5.6 21.3 6,827 -3.3%
  Independent 1 0 0 0 5.6 3.5 1,115 -0.7%
  Liberal Democrats 0 0 0 0 0 4.0 1,265 +0.0%
  UKIP 0 0 0 0 0 1.2 372 -0.5%
  Ind. Working Class 0 0 0 0 0 0.3 98 -0.2%
  Independent Socialist 0 0 1 -1 0 0 0 0

Ward results
Aveley & Uplands[13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Amanda Wilton 845 45.5 +8.5
BNP Dave Strickson 521 28.1 -2.9
Labour John Garner 363 19.5 -4.5
Liberal Democrats John Livermore 128 6.9 -1.1
Majority 324 17.4 +11.4
Turnout 1,857 29.0 +1.0
Conservative hold Swing
Belhus[13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Sue Gray 786 42.8 +6.8
Conservative Georgette Polley 549 29.9 -4.6
BNP Lauren Kay 387 21.1 -1.6
Liberal Democrats John Biddall 115 6.3 -0.5
Majority 237 12.9 +11.4
Turnout 1,837 28.6 +1.5
Labour hold Swing
Chadwell St. Mary[13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Gerard Rice 925 42.0 -1.3
BNP Bryn Robinson 645 29.3 -3.5
Conservative Amanda Redsell 515 23.4 +5.8
Liberal Democrats Peter Saunders 119 5.4 -0.9
Majority 280 12.7 +2.2
Turnout 2,204 30.7 -0.3
Labour hold Swing
Chafford & North Stifford[13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Garry Hague 866 52.6 +16.1
Liberal Democrats Earnshaw Palmer 390 23.7 -5.2
BNP Sandra Strickson 201 12.2 -2.6
Labour Martin Healy 188 11.4 -3.7
Majority 476 28.9 +21.3
Turnout 1,645 31.1 +2.4
Conservative hold Swing
Corringham & Fobbing[13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Ian Harrison 837 49.2 +7.7
Labour John Cecil 560 32.9 +0.9
BNP Warren Parish 303 17.8 -8.7
Majority 277 16.3 +6.8
Turnout 1,700 38.2 -1.5
Conservative hold Swing
East Tilbury[13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Independent Barry Palmer 923 64.6 -1.7
BNP Bradley Elvin 286 20.0 -4.2
Labour Felton Flavius 220 15.4 +5.9
Majority 637 44.6 +2.5
Turnout 1,429 31.0 +0.2
Independent hold Swing
Grays Riverside[13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour John Kent 720 41.8 -1.9
Conservative Paul Coutts 473 27.5 +6.8
BNP Jamie Strickson 398 23.1 -2.6
Liberal Democrats Claire Jones 130 7.6 -2.3
Majority 247 14.3 -3.7
Turnout 1,721 23.8 +0.6
Labour hold Swing
Grays Thurrock[13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Yash Gupta 1,011 47.3 -1.2
Conservative Leo Milan-Vega 555 25.9 -0.8
BNP Ricky-Lee Strickson 445 20.8 -4.0
Liberal Democrats William Jackson 128 6.0 +6.0
Majority 456 21.4 -0.4
Turnout 2,139 33.9 -0.3
Labour hold Swing
Little Thurrock Blackshots[13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Joycelyn Redsell 735 46.8 -18.0
Labour Bob Moorman 279 17.8 -4.0
BNP Dean Kay 243 15.5 +15.5
UKIP Alan Broad 207 13.2 +13.2
Liberal Democrats Thomas Kelly 106 6.8 -6.6
Majority 456 29.0 -14.0
Turnout 1,570 35.0 -2.7
Conservative hold Swing
Ockendon[13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Amanda Arnold 1,016 45.3 +10.5
Labour Wendy Curtis 806 35.9 +1.8
BNP Sophie Agass 422 18.8 -1.9
Majority 210 9.4 +8.7
Turnout 2,244 33.9 +2.8
Conservative hold Swing
Orsett[13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Diane Revell 1,103 59.5 -13.9
Labour Angela Gaywood 420 22.7 +6.9
BNP Derek Beackon 330 17.8 +17.8
Majority 683 36.8 -20.8
Turnout 1,853 40.0 -4.3
Conservative hold Swing
South Chafford[13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Stephen Veryard 547 55.0 +8.6
Labour David Hooper 188 18.9 -4.2
Liberal Democrats Adedoyin Ogunfemi 149 15.0 -15.5
BNP Donna Strickson 111 11.2 +11.2
Majority 359 36.1 +20.2
Turnout 995 21.5 -3.9
Conservative hold Swing
Stanford East & Corringham Town[13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Danny Nicklen 1,069 43.5 +8.3
Labour Gordon Gambier 949 38.6 +0.9
BNP Danny Brown 344 14.0 -7.1
Ind. Working Class Dave Amis 98 4.0 -2.0
Majority 120 4.9
Turnout 2,460 38.0 +1.2
Conservative gain from Labour Swing
Stanford-Le-Hope West[13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Terry Hipsey 718 44.7 +5.0
Labour Anita Nuss 450 28.0 +0.3
BNP Anita Jessup 275 17.1 -0.9
UKIP Clive Broad 165 10.3 -4.3
Majority 268 16.7 +4.7
Turnout 1,608 33.9 +2.7
Conservative hold Swing
The Homesteads[13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Suzanne MacPherson 1,203 45.5 +4.2
Labour Anthony Sharp 901 34.1 +0.4
BNP Paul Woodley 542 20.5 -4.5
Majority 302 11.4 +3.8
Turnout 2,646 39.5 +0.5
Conservative hold Swing
Tilbury Riverside & Thurrock Park[13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
BNP Emma Colgate 530 39.9 +9.7
Labour Paul Martin 463 34.8 +0.9
Independent June Brown 192 14.4 -9.4
Conservative Lee Dove 144 10.8 -1.3
Majority 67 5.1
Turnout 1,329 30.9 +5.9
BNP gain from Labour Swing
Tilbury St. Chads[13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Lynn Worrall 519 46.5 -1.2
BNP Angela Daly 458 41.0 +14.0
Conservative Kay Mangion 139 12.5 -0.9
Majority 61 5.5 -15.2
Turnout 1,116 27.8 -0.3
Labour gain from Independent Swing
West Thurrock & South Stifford[13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Oliver Gerrish 668 40.7 -1.2
Conservative Gareth Davies 586 35.7 +7.2
BNP Ken Daly 386 23.5 -6.1
Majority 82 5.0 -7.3
Turnout 1,640 25.9 -0.7
Labour gain from Conservative Swing

References
  1. "Thurrock". BBC News Online. 19 April 2008. Retrieved 3 December 2009.
  2. "National: Full election results". The Guardian. 3 May 2008. p. 45.
  3. "The key battlegrounds". The Sunday Telegraph. 13 April 2008. p. 8.
  4. Beattie, Jason (28 April 2008). "Cutting truth of voting Tory". The Daily Mirror. p. 6.
  5. "News Archive - Thurrock Council election night". Thurrock Council. 2 May 2008. Archived from the original on 8 June 2011. Retrieved 29 November 2009.
  6. "BNP to fight all seats in Thurrock election". Clacton Gazette. 4 April 2008. Retrieved 3 December 2009.
  7. Cecil, Nicholas (2 May 2008). "Cameron steps up march across country". Evening Standard. p. 4.
  8. "Ups and downs for Tories in Essex". BBC News Online. 2 May 2008. Retrieved 3 December 2009.
  9. "Thurrock: BNP take Tilbury seat". Evening Echo. 2 May 2008. Retrieved 3 December 2009.
  10. "Conservatives hold on to power in Thurrock". Thurrock Gazette. 2 May 2008. Retrieved 3 December 2009.
  11. "Tory chief's delight at two more years". Thurrock Gazette. 2 May 2008. Retrieved 3 December 2009.
  12. "Party switch for council leader". BBC News Online. 25 March 2009. Retrieved 3 December 2009.
  13. "Full election results, 01/05/2008" (PDF). Thurrock Council. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 June 2011. Retrieved 28 November 2009.
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