Elections for

Coventry City Council Coventry City Council is the local government body responsible for the governance of the City of Coventry in England, which has been a metropolitan district since 1974. The city is divided up into 18 Wards each with three councillors. Coventry ...

were held on Thursday, 3 May 2012, the same day as other 2012 local elections in the United Kingdom. As the council is elected by thirds, one seat in each of the city's 18 wards was up for election. The Labour Party won the seat in 15 of the wards, gaining a total of 8 and increasing their majority to 32 seats. 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 ...

won the remaining three seats, losing six, with the Liberal Democrats and the

Socialist Party Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of t ...

both losing their only seat on the council. The election coincided with a local referendum on whether to have an elected mayor.

Campaign

The Conservative party focused their efforts on retaining their existing seats, campaigning on issues like the closure of Sure Start centres, disruption caused by rebuilding the city centre, and an alternative budget proposal. Labour focused on their aim of protecting frontline services, rebuilding the city centre for the

Olympics The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

( Coventry hosted several football events), and fixing potholes. Liberal Democrat councillor Russell Field focused on his record in working for his ward. The Socialists supported an independent candidate in Foleshill who is campaigning against the planned closure of a local sports centre. They focused on "stiffening the resistance to coalition cuts to this city" and accused Labour of signing up to coalition austerity plans. The Greens focused on alternative plans for the city, including an insulation scheme for homes and instituting a Living Wage for council employees. UKIP was focussing on local issues.

Results

Voter turnout was 26%.

Council composition

The composition of the council before and after the election can be found in the following table:

Results by ward

Note: For all wards, the percentage change is calculated from the council local election in 2011 (the last time the ward was contested), whilst the gains, losses, and holds are calculated from 2008 (the last time these particular seats were contested). Note for Bablake ward: Independent candidate John Gazey was the sitting councillor for the Conservative party. After being deselected he decided to run as an independent.

References

{{United Kingdom local elections, 2012 2012 English local elections

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

2010s in Coventry