Elections to

Southampton City Council Southampton City Council is the local authority of the city of Southampton. It is a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority, having the powers of a non-metropolitan county and district council combined. It provides a full range of local ...

took place on Thursday 3 May 2018, alongside nationwide local elections, alongside other

local elections In many parts of the world, local elections take place to select office-holders in local government, such as mayors and councillors. Elections to positions within a city or town are often known as "municipal elections". Their form and conduct vary ...

across the country. The elections saw no changes in the overall composition of the council, however saw seats being exchanged. The Labour Party lost Bitterne, Millbrook and Peartree to the Conservative party while the Conservatives lost Freemantle, Portswood and Swaythling to Labour. This led to the Labour leader of the council, Simon Letts, and the leader of the Conservative group in the city, Jeremy Moulton, losing their seats.

Background and Campaigning

In the lead up to the election, the BBC had summarised that the situation in Southampton for the Labour Party was incredibly precarious and one seat loss could deprive the party of a majority. They cited the Redbridge ward as a target for the main opposition the

Conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

, yet the Conservatives came third to the

Southampton Independents The Southampton Independents was a minor political party of the United Kingdom based in the city of Southampton, Hampshire. The party campaigned on a wide range of local issues such atower block fire safetyafter the Grenfell Tower tragedy, the fai ...

candidate. Labour targeted the Conservative seats of

Freemantle Freemantle is a suburb and electoral ward in Southampton, England. There are similarly named places in Hampshire: notably Henry II's hunting lodge in Kingsclere; a suburb of Hannington, Hampshire, Hannington; and Freemantle Common in Bitterne. ...

Portswood Portswood is a suburb and Electoral Ward of Southampton, England. The suburb lies to the north-north-east of the city centre and is bounded by (clockwise from west) Freemantle, Highfield, Swaythling, St. Denys and Bevois Valley. Portswood W ...

and

Swaythling Swaythling is a suburb and electoral ward of the city of Southampton in Hampshire, England. The ward has a population of 13,664. Swaythling is predominantly residential in character, and noted for its large student population due to its proxi ...

, as well as the independent Coxford ward. Labour made a commitment to building 1,000 homes in the city over five years, invest further in council services, build a modular home factory and create a

Clean Air Zone A Clean Air Zone (CAZ) is an area in the United Kingdom where targeted action is taken to improve air quality. A CAZ can be non-charging or charging. Whether a vehicle is charged when entering or moving through a CAZ depends on the type of vehicl ...

for the city. The Conservative Party offered a series of policies to tackle air pollution and traffic in the city: suggesting two new railway stations in the city, one at

St Mary's Stadium St Mary's Stadium is an all-seater football stadium in Southampton, England, which has been the home stadium of Premier League club Southampton F.C. since 2001. The stadium has a capacity of 32,384 and is currently the largest football stadium ...

and one in Ocean Village potentially where the old Southampton Terminus Station was, allow free parking for electric vehicles and introducing more electric charge points in the city. The Liberal Democrats focused on the quality of roads within the city and was sceptical of the way resources were used by the Labour administration to tackle homelessness in the city. The council had come under scrutiny for its decision to close the Kentish Road respite centre, which was due to budget cuts. Activists Lisa Stead and Amanda Guest, who have campaigned on the issue, stood in Bitterne and Shirely, respectively, with the 'Putting People First' group on the council. The Conservatives committed to fully reopening the respite centre.

Election results

Overall election result

As the council is elected in thirds, one councillor for each of the 16 wards are elected each year. All comparisons in seats and swing are to the corresponding Southampton Council election, 2014.

Changes in council composition

Ward results

References

{{Hampshire elections 2018 English local elections

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

2010s in Southampton