# 2012 Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council election

The 2012 Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council election took place on 3 May 2012 to elect members of Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council in the West Midlands, England. One third of the council was up for election. The shock result of the election came in Blythe where the Independent Ratepayers ousted a Tory Incumbent. Prior to the election, the defending councillor in Shirley West had joined the Greens, having previously sat as an Independent Liberal Democrat. Following the election another Shirley West Liberal Democrat councillor, Andy Hodgson, joined the Greens, taking their total up to 6 seats, and the Liberal Democrats down to 10.

## Election result

Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council Election, 2012 :
| Party | Seats | Gains | Losses | Net gain/loss | Seats % | Votes % | Votes | +/− |
| Conservative | 9 | 1 | 2 | -1 | 52.9 | 42.0 | 19,562 | -6.3% |
| Liberal Democrats | 3 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 17.6 | 19.5 | 9,095 | -0.0% |
| Green | 3 | 1 | 0 | +1 | 17.6 | 11.9 | 5,547 | +4.4% |
| Labour | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5.9 | 17.3 | 8,075 | +0.7% |
| Independent Ratepayers & Residents | 1 | 1 | 0 | +1 | 5.9 | 6.4 | 2,997 | +0.8% |
| English Democrat | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 2.4 | 1,115 | +1.3% |
| BNP | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 150 | -0.2% |
This result had the following consequences for the total number of seats on the council after the elections :
| Party | Party | Previous council | New council |
| | Conservatives | 29 | 28 |
| | Liberal Democrat | 12 | 11 |
| | Labour | 6 | 6 |
| | Green | 4 | 5 |
| | Independent Ratepayers & Residents | 0 | 1 |
| Total | Total | 51 | 51 | 51 |
| Working majority | Working majority | 7 | 5 |

## Ward results

Bickenhill :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Jim Ryan | 1,349 | 57.62 | −2.7 |
| | Labour | Margaret Elizabeth Brittin | 573 | 24.48 | +3.2 |
| | Green | Alex Hawkeswood | 312 | 13.33 | +8.2 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Peter Charles Lee | 107 | 4.57 | −0.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 776 | 33.15 | −5.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,341 | 25.6 | −10.8 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | -2.9 | |
Blythe :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Independent Ratepayer & Residents | Linda Brown | 1,181 | 42.91 | +23.1 |
| | Conservative | Martin McCarthy | 1,020 | 37.06 | −18.2 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Jo Hodgson | 285 | 10.36 | −0.2 |
| | Labour | Raj Singh | 266 | 9.67 | −2.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 161 | 5.85 | −29.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,752 | 27.1 | −14.3 |
| | Independent Ratepayers & Residents gain from Conservatives | Independent Ratepayers & Residents gain from Conservatives | Swing | +20.6 |
Castle Bromwich :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Ted Richards | 1,565 | 64.43 | +0.3 |
| | Labour | Ben Semens | 632 | 26.02 | +2.1 |
| | Green | Joy Aldworth | 167 | 6.88 | −0.7 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Ronald Lloyd | 65 | 2.76 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 933 | 38.41 | −1.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,429 | 26.8 | −12.8 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | -0.9 | |
Chelmsley Wood :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Green | Chris Williams | 1,336 | 62.8 | +11.5 |
| | Labour Co-op | Angela Reid | 644 | 30.3 | −0.8 |
| | Conservative | Catherine Price | 147 | 6.9 | −6.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 692 | 32.5 | +12.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,127 | 23.6 | −5.0 |
| | Green gain from Labour | Green gain from Labour | Swing | +6.1 | |
Dorridge & Hockley Heath :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Ken Meeson | 1,948 | 70.7 | +1.9 |
| | Labour | Hugh Hendry | 244 | 8.9 | +1.1 |
| | Green | Sara Irene Stevens | 210 | 7.6 | +2.9 |
| | English Democrat | Andrew Martin Taylor | 187 | 6.8 | +2.8 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Jan Mason | 165 | 6.0 | −6.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,704 | 61.9 | +5.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,754 | 32.0 | −19.5 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +0.4 | |
Elmdon :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Glenis Ann Slater | 1,321 | 47.3 | +5.9 |
| | Conservative | Paul Thomas | 657 | 23.5 | −9.1 |
| | Labour | Andrew James Mullinex | 451 | 16.1 | +1.6 |
| | English Democrat | Robert Graham Lassen | 239 | 8.5 | +5.6 |
| | Green | Elaine Teresa Williams | 127 | 4.5 | +2.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 664 | 23.8 | +15.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,795 | 30.3 | −12.1 |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | +7.5 | |
Kingshurst & Fordbridge :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Flo Nash | 1,111 | 58.8 | +8.0 |
| | Conservative | Debbie Evans | 578 | 30.6 | −5.9 |
| | Green | Gary Macnaughton | 146 | 7.7 | +2.4 |
| | Liberal Democrats | David Robert Godfrey | 53 | 2.8 | −0.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 533 | 28.2 | +14.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,888 | 21.2 | −5.1 |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | +7.0 | |
Knowle :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Jeff Potts | 1,941 | 66.2 | −2.7 |
| | Labour | Simon Martin Johnson | 323 | 11.0 | +0.8 |
| | Green | Jane Allison Holt | 291 | 9.9 | +2.9 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Lionel Arthur King | 220 | 7.5 | 0.0 |
| | English Democrat | Frank (Shannon) O'Brien | 157 | 5.3 | +0.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,618 | 55.2 | −3.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,932 | 35.6 | −15.3 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | -1.7 | |
Lyndon :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Irene Beatrice Chamberlain | 1,265 | 46.9 | +6.2 |
| | Labour | Ian Clifford English | 583 | 21.6 | +2.3 |
| | Conservative | David Skelding | 442 | 16.4 | −10.0 |
| | English Democrat | David Francis Reynolds | 268 | 9.9 | +3.4 |
| | Green | Frances Grice | 138 | 5.1 | +1.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 682 | 25.3 | +11.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,696 | 27.7 | −11.6 |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | +1.9 | |
Meriden :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Tony Diciccio | 1318 | 45.7 | −19.6 |
| | Independent Ratepayer | Ken Meeson | 858 | 29.8 | +23.3 |
| | Labour | Cathy Connan | 412 | 14.3 | −1.9 |
| | Green | Roger Philip King | 173 | 6.0 | +1.3 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Tony Ludlow | 122 | 4.2 | −3.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 460 | 16.0 | −33.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,883 | 30.5 | −17.4 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | -21.4 | |
Olton :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Claire Louise O'Kane | 1,899 | 50.5 | +6.7 |
| | Conservative | David Price | 1,326 | 35.3 | −4.3 |
| | Labour | Alan Edward Jacques | 316 | 8.4 | −2.1 |
| | Green | Carol Joy Linfield | 216 | 5.7 | +2.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 573 | 15.2 | +11.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,757 | 38.8 | −7.2 |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | +5.5 | |
Shirley East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Karen Grinsell | 1,045 | 37.3 | −6.9 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Sue Rose | 850 | 30.3 | +2.5 |
| | Labour | Kevin Peter Raven | 390 | 13.9 | +1.6 |
| | English Democrat | Lisa Jane White | 264 | 9.4 | +9.4 |
| | Independent Ratepayer | Neil Watts | 252 | 9.0 | −3.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 195 | 7.0 | −9.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,801 | 32.6 | −13.2 |
| | Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats | Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats | Swing | -4.7 | |
Shirley South :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Gary Allport | 1,379 | 38.5 | −0.4 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Tim Hodgson | 1,343 | 37.5 | +3.1 |
| | Independent Ratepayer | Trevor Eames | 463 | 12.9 | +1.6 |
| | Labour | Shirley Rose Young | 400 | 11.2 | −0.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 36 | 1.0 | −3.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,585 | 36.5 | −7.2 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | -1.7 | |
Shirley West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Green | Howard John Allen | 1,001 | 39.1 | +34.3 |
| | Conservative | Richard Holt | 729 | 28.4 | −6.6 |
| | Labour | Ray Brookes | 426 | 16.6 | −2.3 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Eimear Fossey | 406 | 15.8 | −15.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 272 | 10.6 | +6.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,562 | 28.4 | −12.3 |
| | Green hold | Green hold | Swing | +20.4 | |
Silhill :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Peter Hogarth | 1,811 | 59.4 | +6.4 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Bruce Keith Stone | 579 | 19.0 | −7.5 |
| | Labour | Janet Mary Marsh | 445 | 14.6 | +2.9 |
| | Green | Trevor John Barker | 212 | 7.0 | +4.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,232 | 40.4 | +13.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,047 | 33.3 | −14.9 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +6.9 | |
Smith's Wood :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Green | Mike Sheridan | 1,030 | 57.7 | +11.8 |
| | Labour | Mohammed Rashid | 473 | 26.5 | −6.7 |
| | BNP | Simone Neale | 150 | 8.4 | +8.4 |
| | Conservative | Sarah Evans | 132 | 7.4 | −5.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 557 | 31.2 | +18.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,785 | 20.1 | −6.0 |
| | Green hold | Green hold | Swing | +9.2 | |
St. Alphege :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Kate Wild | 2,175 | 63.8 | −2.9 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Martin Smith | 415 | 12.2 | −3.9 |
| | Labour | Paul Cook Tuxworth | 386 | 11.3 | +1.1 |
| | Independent Ratepayer & Residents | John Rogers | 243 | 7.1 | +4.2 |
| | Green | Stephen Robert Holt | 188 | 5.5 | +1.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,760 | 51.7 | +1.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,407 | 33.0 | −17.3 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | +0.5 | |