# 2008 Purbeck District Council election

Elections to Purbeck District Council were held on 1 May 2008. Nine of the twenty-four seats on the council were up for election and the council stayed under no overall control. Overall turnout was 44.86%.
A big issue in the election was housing with much criticism of plans to build over five thousand homes in the district by 2026. The nominations for the election saw an unusual event when Liberal Democrat candidate Alexandra Brenton signed the nomination papers for her friend and Labour Party candidate Selby Bennett. Two seats were contested in Lytchett Matravers after Liberal Democrat councillor Michael Peacock stood down in February.
The results saw the Liberal Democrat party gained Wareham and Wool wards from the Conservative Party to pull level on the Council. The Conservative party took Swanage South from Liberal Democrat Colin Bright who had defected from the Conservatives the previous month.
After the election, the composition of the council was
* Conservative 11
* Liberal Democrat 11
* Independent 2

## Election result

Purbeck Local Election Result 2008 :
| Party | Seats | Gains | Losses | Net gain/loss | Seats % | Votes % | Votes | +/− |
| Liberal Democrats | 5 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 55.6 | 45.6 | 6,174 | +3.8% |
| Conservative | 4 | 1 | 2 | -1 | 44.4 | 47.3 | 6,399 | +8.7% |
| Labour | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.8 | 653 | -2.3% |
| Independent | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.2 | 304 | -3.2% |

## Ward results

Lytchett Matravers (2) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Martyn Colvey | 785 | | |
| | Conservative | David Cross | 729 | | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Alexandra Brenton | 715 | | |
| | Conservative | Colin Gibb | 692 | | |
| | Labour | James Selby Bennett | 50 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,971 | 52.7 | +0.4 |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
Lytchett Minster and Upton East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Wendy Starr | 692 | 57.6 | −4.1 |
| | Conservative | Simon Williams | 509 | 42.4 | +4.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 183 | 15.2 | −8.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,201 | 39.1 | −0.8 |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | | |
Lytchett Minster and Upton West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Paul Johns | 829 | 65.3 | +15.8 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Mark Howlett | 391 | 30.8 | −19.7 |
| | Labour | Ruth Cade | 50 | 3.9 | +3.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 438 | 24.5 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,270 | 42.6 | −6.3 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
St Martin :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Beryl Ezzard | 563 | 56.2 | −0.9 |
| | Conservative | Jane Thomas | 438 | 43.8 | +10.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 125 | 12.4 | −11.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,001 | 46.5 | +0.9 |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | | |
Swanage North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Gloria Marsh | 917 | 59.3 | +8.2 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Philippa Keeling | 497 | 32.1 | +7.1 |
| | Labour | Margaret Storey | 132 | 8.5 | −2.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 420 | 27.2 | +1.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,546 | 46.2 | −3.4 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
Swanage South :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Alison Patrick | 932 | 50.6 | +10.6 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Colin Bright | 561 | 30.5 | +1.1 |
| | Labour | Marilyn Larthe de Langladure | 348 | 18.9 | +0.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 371 | 20.1 | +9.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,841 | 38.5 | 0.0 |
| | Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats | Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats | Swing | | |
Wareham :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Keith Critchley | 1,245 | 57.6 | −4.6 |
| | Conservative | Roy Anderson | 915 | 42.4 | +4.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 330 | 15.2 | −9.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,160 | 47.0 | +4.1 |
| | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Swing | | |
Wool :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Graham Holmes | 725 | 47.1 | +0.7 |
| | Conservative | Malcolm Shakesby | 438 | 28.4 | −6.1 |
| | Independent | Rosemary Grey-Hodder | 304 | 19.7 | +19.7 |
| | Labour | Rosemary Phillips | 73 | 4.7 | −2.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 287 | 18.7 | +6.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,540 | 46.5 | +2.9 |
| | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Swing | | |