2008 Halton Borough Council election

Template:Short description Template:Use British English The 2008 Halton Borough Council election took place on 1 May 2008 to elect members of Halton Unitary Council in Cheshire, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Labour Party stayed in overall control of the council.

After the election, the composition of the council was:

• Labour 33
• Liberal Democrat 14
• Conservative 9

Campaign

20 seats were contested in the election with Labour defending 12, the Liberal Democrats 6 and the Conservatives 2. Among these seats were those of the Labour leader of the council, Tony McDermott, and the Liberal Democrat group leader, Linda Redhead. There were 63 candidates including 20 from Labour, 19 each from the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats, 4 from the Green Party and 1 Citizens Party of Halton candidate. Labour were expected to remain in control of the council, but both Liberal Democrats and Conservatives were hoping to make gains, with the Liberal Democrats targeting Runcorn and the wards of Castlefields and Halton Brook.

A big issue in the election was a plan for an Ineos Chlor heat and power plant in the area with both the Liberal Democrats and Conservatives raising concerns from residents. Other issues included the Mersey Gateway project and the government Building Schools for the Future programme for building new schools. Labour were happy to defend their record in control of the council, but the Conservatives attacked Council Tax rises over the previous decade and the Liberal Democrats said that Runcorn had been neglected in favour of Widnes.

Results

The results saw Labour remain in control of the council as they had been since it became a unitary authority in 1998. Labour held all 12 seats they had been defending, including the leader of the council, Tony McDermott, who was comfortably re-elected in Broadheath ward. He described the results as being a "real vote of confidence in the party".

However, in Halton Brook ward the Labour councillor Stef Nelson only held his seat after a tie which required the drawing of lots. Both Nelson and the Liberal Democrat candidate, Louise Whitley, won 551 votes after 7 recounts, requiring the Returning Officer to draw a lot to decide the result, with Nelson successful and thus being declared to have won the election by 1 vote.

The only seat to change hands was Daresbury, where the Conservative Marjorie Bradshaw gained from the Liberal Democrats, in a ward which her husband had won in the 2007 election. Elsewhere the Green Party significantly reduced the Labour majority in Halton View ward. Overall turnout in the election was slightly down at 26.84%.

Halton Local Election Result 2008

Party		Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
		12	0	0	0	60.0	38.1	9,108	-3.1
		5	0	1	-1	25.0	30.6	7,327	-0.2
		3	1	0	+1	15.0	27.4	6,557	+4.8
		0	0	0	0	0.0	3.5	847	+0.2
	Citizens Party of Halton	0	0	0	0	0.0	0.4	97	0.0

Ward results

Appleton

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Eddie Jones	733	70.3
		Thomas Campbell	310	29.7
Majority			423	40.6
Turnout			1,043	22.2
	hold		Swing

Beechwood

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Linda Redhead	633	55.9
		David Walker	361	31.9
		Peter Harding	139	12.3
Majority			272	24.0
Turnout			1,133	36.2
	hold		Swing

Birchfield

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Peter Browne	812	57.9
		Jo Gleave	398	28.4
		Jayne Worrall	193	13.8
Majority			414	29.5
Turnout			1,403	29.2
	hold		Swing

Broadheath

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Tony McDermott	557	58.8
		Phillip Harper	229	24.2
		Geoff Brown	161	17.0
Majority			328	34.6
Turnout			947	19.7
	hold		Swing

Castlefields

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Harry Howard	555	48.8
		Simon Charlesworth	461	40.5
		Terence McDermott	122	10.7
Majority			94	8.3
Turnout			1,138	25.3
	hold		Swing

Daresbury

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Marjorie Bradshaw	624	48.4
		Chris Inch	528	40.9
		Amanda Stockton	138	10.7
Majority			96	7.4
Turnout			1,290	40.5
	gain from		Swing

Ditton

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Marie Wright	650	43.6
		Stephan Pfaffenzeller	495	33.2
		Ann Curzon	346	23.2
Majority			155	10.4
Turnout			1,491	28.4
	hold		Swing

Farnworth

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Phillip Balmer	992	58.8
		Robert Beck	391	23.2
		Ian Hare	185	11.0
		Maureen Miller	120	7.1
Majority			601	35.6
Turnout			1,688	31.4
	hold		Swing

Grange

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		John Swain	528	47.7
		William Dowdle	319	28.8
		Sharam Mesdaghi	259	23.4
Majority			209	18.9
Turnout			1,106	22.3
	hold		Swing

Halton Brook

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Stefan Nelson	552	43.9
		Louise Whitley	551	43.9
		Patricia Parkinson	153	12.2
Majority			1	0.1
Turnout			1,256	26.3
	hold		Swing

Halton Lea

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		David Thompson	543	50.1
		Ian Adams	250	23.1
		Janet Clein	194	17.9
	Citizens Party of Halton	Michael Gelling	97	8.9
Majority			293	27.0
Turnout			1,084	23.6
	hold		Swing

Halton View

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Robert Polhill	658	37.9
		Derek Mellor	528	30.4
		Anna Curzon	336	19.4
		Denis Thomas	213	12.3
Majority			130	7.5
Turnout			1,735	33.7
	hold		Swing

Heath

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Michael Hodgkinson	1,194	70.3
		Barbara Price	323	19.0
		Tedie Cole	181	10.7
Majority			871	51.3
Turnout			1,698	37.1
	hold		Swing

Hough Green

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Paul Nolan	630	48.9
		Ruth Rowan	403	31.3
		Stephen Hare	148	11.5
		Miriam Hodgson	107	8.3
Majority			227	17.6
Turnout			1,288	24.1
	hold		Swing

Kingsway

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Margaret Horabin	570	59.0
		Frank Lloyd	217	22.5
		Linda Mellor	92	9.5
		Damian Curzon	87	9.0
Majority			353	36.5
Turnout			966	20.2
	hold		Swing

Mersey

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Sue Blackmore	634	51.8
		Norman Plumpton	382	31.2
		Duncan Harper	207	16.9
Majority			252	20.6
Turnout			1,223	25.9
	hold		Swing

Norton North

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Dave Austin	863	60.0
		Peter Lloyd Jones	327	22.7
		Mark Walsh	249	17.3
Majority			536	37.2
Turnout			1,439	29.3
	hold		Swing

Norton South

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Ronald Hignett	587	61.5
		Andrew Whitley	215	22.5
		David Masheder	152	15.9
Majority			372	39.0
Turnout			954	20.1
	hold		Swing

Riverside

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		David Leadbetter	441	64.6
		Margaret Hill	126	18.4
		Paul Meara	116	17.0
Majority			315	46.1
Turnout			683	19.3
	hold		Swing

Windmill Hill

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Mike Shepperd	223	60.1
		Arthur Cole	148	39.9
Majority			75	20.2
Turnout			371	22.5
	hold		Swing