# 2008 United Kingdom local elections

The 2008 United Kingdom local elections were held on 1 May 2008. These elections took place in 137 English Local Authorities and all Welsh Councils.
There were also extraordinary elections held for four of the new unitary authorities being created, in Northumberland, County Durham and Cheshire (two councils – Cheshire East and Cheshire West and Chester). Scheduled elections for Penwith in Cornwall, Shrewsbury and Atcham in Shropshire, Bedford and South Bedfordshire in Bedfordshire and five district councils in Cheshire were cancelled, due to the up-coming unitary authorities being established in those counties.
The Labour Party finished in 3rd place by vote share, trailing the Conservatives by 20%, the largest such margin ever between the two main parties. Aside from the strong showing for David Cameron's Conservatives, Plaid Cymru and the Lib Dems each made net gains of over 30 seats and the BNP made 10 net gains to finish with over 30 seats.
The strong showing for the Conservatives and the disappointing showing by Labour reflected the change in the political mood of Britain at the time, where the Labour government, now led by prime minister Gordon Brown, had suffered a slump in popularity due to the financial crisis and economic fears which were affecting Britain at the time.

## Summary of results

| Party | Party | Councillors | Councillors | Councils | Councils |
| Party | Party | Number | Change | Number | Change |
| | Conservative | 3,155 | 257 | 65 | 12 |
| | Labour | 2,365 | 334 | 18 | 9 |
| | Liberal Democrats | 1,804 | 33 | 12 | 1 |
| | Plaid Cymru | 205 | 31 | 0 | 1 |
| | Green | 47 | 5 | 0 | |
| | Residents | 43 | 11 | 0 | |
| | BNP | 37 | 10 | 0 | |
| | Liberal | 20 | 2 | 0 | |
| | Health Concern | 10 | | 0 | |
| | UKIP | 8 | 3 | 0 | |
| | Respect | 4 | 1 | 0 | |
| | Socialist Alternative | 2 | | 0 | |
| | Others | 716 | 4 | 0 | |
| | No overall control | n/a | n/a | 64 | 3 |

## England
### Metropolitan boroughs

All 36 English metropolitan borough councils had one third of their seats up for election.
| Council | Previous control | Result | Details |
| Barnsley | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Birmingham | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |
| Bolton | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |
| Bradford | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |
| Bury | No overall control | Conservative gain | Details |
| Calderdale | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |
| Coventry | Conservative | No overall control gain | Details |
| Doncaster | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |
| Dudley | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Gateshead | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Kirklees | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |
| Knowsley | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Leeds | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |
| Liverpool | Liberal Democrats | Liberal Democrats hold | Details |
| Manchester | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Newcastle upon Tyne | Liberal Democrats | Liberal Democrats hold | Details |
| North Tyneside | No overall control | Conservative gain | Details |
| Oldham | Labour | No overall control gain | Details |
| Rochdale | Liberal Democrats | Liberal Democrats hold | Details |
| Rotherham | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Salford | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Sandwell | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Sefton | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |
| Sheffield | No overall control | Liberal Democrats gain | Details |
| Solihull | No overall control | Conservative gain | Details |
| South Tyneside | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| St Helens | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |
| Stockport | Liberal Democrats | Liberal Democrats hold | Details |
| Sunderland | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Tameside | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Trafford | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Wakefield | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Walsall | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Wigan | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Wirral | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |
| Wolverhampton | Labour | No overall control gain | Details |

### Unitary authorities
#### Existing councils

In 19 English unitary authorities one third of the council was up for election.
| Council | Previous control | Result | Details |
| Blackburn with Darwen | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |
| Derby | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |
| Halton | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Hartlepool | Labour | No overall control gain |
| Kingston upon Hull | No overall control | Liberal Democrats gain | Details |
| Milton Keynes | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |
| North East Lincolnshire | No overall control | No overall control hold |
| Peterborough | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Plymouth | Conservative | Conservative hold |
| Portsmouth | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |
| Reading | Labour | No overall control gain |
| Slough | No overall control | Labour gain | Details |
| Southampton | No overall control | Conservative gain | Details |
| Southend-on-Sea | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Stoke-on-Trent | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |
| Swindon | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Thurrock | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |
| Warrington | No overall control | No overall control hold |
| Wokingham | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |

#### New councils

Elections were held in three of the current non-metropolitan counties of Cheshire, County Durham and Northumberland for four new unitary authorities which were established in 2009. These councils were "shadow councils" until then.
| Council | Result | Details |
| Cheshire East | Conservative | Details |
| Cheshire West and Chester | Conservative | Details |
| Durham | Labour | Details |
| Northumberland | No overall control |

### District councils
#### Whole council

In 4 English district authorities the whole council was up for election following ward boundary changes.
| Council | Previous control | Result | Details |
| Barrow-in-Furness | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |
| Basingstoke and Deane | No overall control | Conservative gain | Details |
| South Lakeland | Liberal Democrats | Liberal Democrats hold | Details |
| Welwyn Hatfield | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |

#### Half of council

In 7 English district authorities, half of the council was up for election.
| Council | Previous control | Result | Details |
| Adur | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Cheltenham | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |
| Fareham | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Gosport | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |
| Hastings | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |
| Nuneaton and Bedworth | Labour | Conservative gain | Details |
| Oxford | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |

#### Third of council

In 67 English district authorities, a third of the council was up for election.
| Council | Previous control | Result | Details |
| Amber Valley | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Basildon | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Bassetlaw | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Brentwood | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Broxbourne | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Burnley | No overall control | Liberal Democrats gain | Details |
| Cambridge | Liberal Democrats | Liberal Democrats hold | Details |
| Cannock Chase | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |
| Carlisle | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |
| Castle Point | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Cherwell | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Chorley | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Colchester | Conservative | No overall control gain | Details |
| Craven | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |
| Crawley | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Daventry | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Eastleigh | Liberal Democrats | Liberal Democrats hold | Details |
| Elmbridge | No overall control | Conservative gain | Details |
| Epping Forest | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Exeter | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |
| Gloucester | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |
| Great Yarmouth | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Harlow | No overall control | Conservative gain | Details |
| Harrogate | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |
| Hart | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |
| Havant | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Hertsmere | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Huntingdonshire | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Hyndburn | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Ipswich | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |
| Lincoln | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Maidstone | No overall control | Conservative gain | Details |
| Mole Valley | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Newcastle-under-Lyme | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |
| North Hertfordshire | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Norwich | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |
| Pendle | Liberal Democrats | No overall control gain | Details |
| Preston | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |
| Purbeck | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |
| Redditch | No overall control | Conservative gain | Details |
| Reigate and Banstead | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Rochford | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Rossendale | No overall control | Conservative gain | Details |
| Rugby | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Runnymede | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Rushmoor | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| South Cambridgeshire | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| St Albans | No overall control | Liberal Democrats gain | Details |
| Stevenage | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Stratford-on-Avon | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Stroud | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Swale | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Tamworth | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Tandridge | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Three Rivers | Liberal Democrats | Liberal Democrats hold | Details |
| Tunbridge Wells | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Watford | Liberal Democrats | Liberal Democrats hold | Details |
| Waveney | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| West Lancashire | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| West Lindsey | Liberal Democrats | Conservative gain | Details |
| West Oxfordshire | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Weymouth and Portland | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |
| Winchester | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Woking | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Worcester | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |
| Worthing | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Wyre Forest | No overall control | Conservative gain | Details |

### Mayoral elections

| Local Authority | Previous Mayor | Previous Mayor | Mayor-elect | Mayor-elect | Details |
| London | | Ken Livingstone (Labour) | | Boris Johnson (Conservative) gain | Details |

## Wales

In all 22 Welsh councils the whole of the council was up for election.
| Council | Previous control | Result | Details |
| Blaenau Gwent | Labour | No overall control gain | Details |
| Bridgend | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |
| Caerphilly | Labour | No overall control gain | Details |
| Cardiff | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |
| Carmarthenshire | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |
| Ceredigion | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |
| Conwy | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |
| Denbighshire | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |
| Flintshire | Labour | No overall control gain | Details |
| Gwynedd | Plaid Cymru | No overall control gain | Details |
| Isle of Anglesey | Independent | Independent hold | DetailsI |
| Merthyr Tydfil | Labour | Independent gain | Details |
| Monmouthshire | Conservative | Conservative hold | Details |
| Neath Port Talbot | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Newport | Labour | No overall control gain | Details |
| Pembrokeshire | Independent | Independent hold | Details |
| Powys | Independent | Independent hold | Details |
| Rhondda Cynon Taff | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Swansea | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |
| Torfaen | Labour | No overall control gain | Details |
| Vale of Glamorgan | No overall control | Conservative gain | Details |
| Wrexham | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |