2008 Sandwell Council Election
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The 2008 Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council election took place on 1 May 2008 to elect members of Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council in the
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,
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. One third of the council was up for election and the
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 ...
Party stayed in overall control of the council. After the election, the composition of the council was: *
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 ...
49 * Conservative 14 * Liberal Democrat 5 * British National Party 2 *
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 ...
2


Background

Before the election Labour ran the council with 52 of the 72 seats, compared to 11 for the Conservatives, 5 Liberal Democrats, 2 British National Party and 2 independents. This meant the Conservatives could not gain control of the council whatever the results, despite Labour defending 17 of the 24 seats being contested. Other candidates in the election included 12 from the British National Party, 7 from 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 ...
and 1 Socialist Labour Party candidate in Oldbury ward.


Election result

The results saw Labour remain in control of the council with 49 seats, but the Conservatives made a net gain of 3 to move to 14 seats. The Conservatives gained 4 of the 17 seats Labour had been defending, in the wards of Bristnall, Cradley Heath and
Old Hill Old Hill is a small village in the metropolitan borough of Sandwell in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England, situated around north of Halesowen and south of Dudley. Initially a separate village it is now part of the much larger ...
,
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and Wednesbury South. However Labour did take 1 seat back from the Conservatives in St Pauls ward. Labour put the results down to them keeping council tax levels low and improving services, however the Conservatives said they were moving forward in "a traditional Labour stronghold". The Liberal Democrats held the 2 seats they had been defending in Great Barr with Yew Tree and Newton wards to stay on 5 seats, while neither the Greens or the British National Party won any seats. The British National Party share of the vote in the 12 seats they contested, dropped to 17% from the 33% they had won in the 2006 election.


Ward results


References

{{United Kingdom local elections, 2008 2008 English local elections
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; ...
2000s in the West Midlands (county)