The 2008 Basingstoke and Deane Council election took place on 1 May 2008 to elect members of

Basingstoke and Deane Basingstoke and Deane is a local government district and borough in Hampshire, England. Its primary settlement is Basingstoke. Other settlements include Bramley, Tadley, Kingsclere, Overton, Oakley, Whitchurch and the village of Deane, som ...

Borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle Ag ...

Council in

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. The whole council was up for election with boundary changes since the 2007 election. 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 ...

gained overall control of the council from no overall control.

Background

After the last election in 2007 the Conservatives had a majority on the council with 31 of the 60 seats. However the Conservatives would lose their majority after defeat by the Liberal Democrats in a

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

Baughurst Baughurst is a village and civil parish in Hampshire, England. It is located west of the town of Tadley, north of Basingstoke. In the 2001 census it had a population of 2,473. The village is known for its feud with Tadley in the manufacture ...

in January 2008 left the Conservatives with exactly half o the seats. The whole council was contested in 2008 instead of the usual third, after changes were made to the boundaries. The changes included abolishing Calleva

ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

and creating a Bramley and Sherfield ward.

Tadley Tadley is a town and civil parish in the English county of Hampshire. During the 1950s and 1960s, the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment (AWRE), now known as AWE, became the area's largest employer, and many houses were built during this p ...

North was split in two,

Burghclere Burghclere is a village and civil parish in Hampshire, England. According to the 2011 census the village had a population of 1,152. The village is near the border of Hampshire with Berkshire, four miles south of Newbury, Berkshire, Newbury. It ...

was merged with Highclere and St Mary Bourne and the number of seats in

Winklebury Winklebury and Manydown is a large suburb located two miles north-west of central Basingstoke in the UK. Until the late 1960s Winklebury was a collection of small holdings but Basingstoke's growth as a London Overspill town saw the area become ...

ward was reduced by one.

Councillor A councillor is an elected representative for a local government council in some countries. Canada Due to the control that the provinces have over their municipal governments, terms that councillors serve vary from province to province. Unl ...

s standing down at the election included Gwen Richardson and Erica Shaw, while former

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

group leader David Potter and the former Conservative council leader from the 1980s and 1990s, Stephen Reid, attempted to return to the council. Meanwhile,

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

councillor David Leeks, stood for the Conservatives after joining the party.

Election result

The results saw the Conservatives gain a 10-seat majority on the council after winning 35 of the 60 seats. This was compared to 14 Liberal Democrat, 9 Labour and 2 independent councillors. Among those defeated in the election was the leader of the Labour group on the council, Gary Watts, who lost in

South Ham South Ham is a district and ward of Basingstoke, to the west of the town centre. It takes its name from South Ham Farm, which was once the major farm in the area but was demolished in the early 1960s. Parts of the area were developed for Counci ...

and the

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

Warwick Lovegrove. The former leader of the council Stephen Reid returned to the council in Buckskin, defeating a former mayor Tony Jones. Overall turnout in the election was 37%. Following the election Conservative Andrew Finney became the new leader of the council succeeding John Leek.

Ward results

References

{{United Kingdom local elections, 2008

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

2008 English local elections 2000s in Hampshire