Super Thursday is significant both in
politics
Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...
and in
publishing
Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...
.
Politics
Many
elections in the United Kingdom
There are five types of elections in the United Kingdom: elections to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom (commonly called 'general elections' when all seats are contested), elections to devolved parliaments and assemblies, local electi ...
took place on "Super Thursday", 10 June 2004.
*
2004 London mayoral election
The 2004 election to the post of Mayor of London took place on 10 June 2004. It was being held on the same day as other local elections and the UK part of the 2004 European Parliament elections, so Londoners had a total of five votes on three ...
– won by
Ken Livingstone
Kenneth Robert Livingstone (born 17 June 1945) is an English politician who served as the Leader of the Greater London Council (GLC) from 1981 until the council was abolished in 1986, and as Mayor of London from the creation of the office i ...
*
2004 London Assembly election
An election to the Assembly of London took place on 10 June 2004, along with the 2004 London mayoral election.
The Assembly is elected by the Additional Member System. There are fourteen directly elected constituencies, nine of which were won ...
*the
United Kingdom part of the
2004 European Parliament election
The 2004 European Parliament election was held between 10 and 13 June 2004 in the 25 member states of the European Union, using varying election days according to local custom. The European Parliamental parties could not be voted for, but electe ...
*
local elections in many parts of England and Wales. In many districts ward boundaries were redrawn and so the entire council was being re-elected. This happened in all the
metropolitan borough
A metropolitan borough (or metropolitan district) is a type of local government district in England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972, metropolitan boroughs are defined in English law as metropolitan districts within metropolitan ...
s and all the
counties and county boroughs of Wales.
The UK government used this opportunity to trial
all-postal voting in both the local and European elections across four
regions:
North East
The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...
,
North West,
East Midlands
The East Midlands is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. It comprises the eastern half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. It consists of Leicestershire, Derbyshire, Li ...
, and
Yorkshire and the Humber
Yorkshire and the Humber is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. The population in 2011 was 5,284,000 with its largest settlements being Leeds, Sheffield, Bradford, Hull, and York.
It is ...
.
For more details, see here.
Results
The ruling
Labour Party polled poorly in the local elections, and was beaten into third place, in terms of share of the vote, after the
Conservative Party
The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right.
Political parties called The Conservative P ...
and the
Liberal Democrats. They lost control of several large (and traditionally Labour) councils, including
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...
and
Leeds
Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...
.
Of the minor parties,
Plaid Cymru and the
Green Party
A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence.
Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation ...
increased their number of councillors, whilst the
United Kingdom Independence Party picked up a handful. The
British National Party failed to make predicted gains in
Burnley
Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Bru ...
, and lost a seat in
Blackburn with Darwen
Blackburn with Darwen is a borough and unitary authority area in Lancashire, North West England. It consists of the industrial town of Blackburn and the market town of Darwen including other villages around the two towns.
Formation
It was fou ...
, but took three seats in
Epping Forest and four in
Bradford
Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...
.
The UKIP made a much stronger showing in the European Parliament elections, where it increased its number of MEPs from 3 to 12.
See
2004 United Kingdom local elections
The United Kingdom local elections of 2004 were held on 10 June, as part of the 2004 set of elections along with the European elections and the London mayoral and Assembly elections.
The councils of all the metropolitan boroughs in England a ...
for the full council results.
Publishing
Super Thursday, in the publishing industry, also refers to an annual industry promotional event held on the second Thursday in October. ''The Guardian'' termed it "the publishing industry’s major assault on the Christmas market," and the occasion is associated with activities, advertising, and booklists previewed in the following day's ''The Bookseller''." Super Thursday creates a "buzz" around books and, according to
Waterstone's
Waterstones, formerly Waterstone's, is a British book retailer that operates 311 shops, mainly in the United Kingdom and also other nearby countries. As of February 2014, it employs around 3,500 staff in the UK and Europe. An average-sized Wa ...
national press officer Jon Howells (quoted on 1 October 2009): "In the space of a year Super Thursday has gone from a clever turn of phrase to an essential date in the bookselling calendar. It has alerted everyone – booksellers, publishers, the media, and ultimately customers, to the incredible array of new titles available, and marks the unofficial start of the Christmas season."
Sp
See also
*
Super Thursday, 2011
References
{{reflist
External links
Vote 2004: BBC coverage of the elections