# 2007 Hull City Council election

The 2007 Hull City Council election took place on 3 May 2007 to elect members of Hull City Council in England. One third of the council was up for election and the Liberal Democrats gained overall control of the council from no overall control. Overall turnout was 27%.
After the election, the composition of the council was
* Liberal Democrat 30
* Labour 20
* Independent 7
* Conservative 2

## Campaign

Before the election the Liberal Democrats had run the council as a minority administration since the 2006 election. However, by the time of the 2007 election they only had 24 seats on the council as compared to 25 for the Labour party; with 2 Conservatives, 6 in the independent group and 2 other independent councillors making up the council. The Liberal Democrats generally received support from the Conservatives and one of the independent councillors, while Labour usually got support from the independent group. As a result, the election was expected to be close with both main parties hopeful of forming the administration after the election.
All three of the Labour, Liberal Democrat and Conservatives parties contested the 19 seats which were up for election. There were also 11 independent, 6 Green, 3 British National Party and 3 United Kingdom Independence Party candidates. An important issue in the election was poor housing in Hull, with the council planning to spend £200 million on refurbishing council properties. An important division between Labour and the Liberal Democrats was over free school meals, with Labour wanting to extend the 3-year long pilot scheme which saw all primary school pupils get free meals. However the Liberal Democrats planned to reintroduce charges for lunches while keeping breakfasts free.
As the Liberal Democrats were only defending 7 seats and had won the most votes in the 2006 election they were optimistic of making gains. They pointed to the fact that the council had recently received a second star in the council performance ratings, and were also seen as likely to benefit due to the unpopularity of the national Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair, with even the Labour leader on the council saying that "the sooner he goes, the better". The Liberal Democrats targeted the Labour held wards of Drypool, Ings, Newington, Pickering and Sutton, as well as Derringham where the independent councillor Clare Page stood down at the election.

## Election result

The results saw the Liberal Democrats gain 6 seats, including 5 from Labour, to hold 30 seats and thus win a majority on the council. The Liberal Democrat gains included all 6 wards which they had been targeting, with the results seen as a reflection on the Labour party nationally. The result was welcomed by the national Liberal Democrat leader, Menzies Campbell, who described the result in Hull as "tremendous".
This was the first time any party had a majority on the council since 2002 and also the first time that the Liberal Democrats had ever won a majority in Hull. Meanwhile, Labour, on 20 seats after the election, were in their worst position on the council for nearly 40 years. Following the election defeat the leader of the Labour group on the council, Ken Branson, stood down as leader and was succeeded by Steve Brady.
Hull Local Election Result 2007 :
| Party | Seats | Gains | Losses | Net gain/loss | Seats % | Votes % | Votes | +/− |
| Liberal Democrats | 13 | 6 | 0 | +6 | 68.4 | 46.1 | 19,220 | +2.5% |
| Labour | 5 | 0 | 5 | -5 | 26.3 | 36.0 | 15,011 | +2.7% |
| Independent | 1 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 5.3 | 5.4 | 2,262 | -2.0% |
| Conservative | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7.8 | 3,251 | -3.6% |
| Green | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.1 | 874 | +2.1% |
| BNP | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.3 | 556 | -1.2% |
| UKIP | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.3 | 522 | +1.0% |

## Ward results

Avenue :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | David Woods | 1,267 | 43.6 | −6.9 |
| | Labour | Andrew Dorton | 809 | 27.9 | +3.7 |
| | Green | Martin Deane | 455 | 15.7 | +15.7 |
| | Conservative | Basil Bulmer | 221 | 7.6 | −0.4 |
| | Independent | Haris Livas-Dawes | 151 | 5.2 | −1.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 458 | 15.7 | −10.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,903 | 32.4 | +0.6 |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | | |
Beverley :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | David McCobb | 1,779 | 72.4 | +12.9 |
| | Labour | Josh Haringman | 373 | 15.2 | −8.3 |
| | Conservative | Richard Bate | 233 | 9.5 | −7.5 |
| | Green | Susan Harr | 72 | 2.9 | +2.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,406 | 57.2 | +21.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,457 | 36.9 | |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | | |
Boothferry :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Karen Woods | 1,453 | 51.4 | −6.2 |
| | Labour | Mall Fields | 866 | 30.6 | +5.2 |
| | Conservative | Karen Woods | 336 | 11.9 | −5.2 |
| | UKIP | Robert Shepherd | 173 | 6.1 | +6.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 587 | 20.8 | −11.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,828 | 29.5 | −0.2 |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | | |
Bransholme East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Independent | Nadene Burton | 731 | 60.0 | −4.2 |
| | Labour | Liz Noble | 336 | 27.6 | +6.1 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Ann Godden | 86 | 7.1 | −1.4 |
| | Conservative | Ian Brown | 66 | 5.4 | +5.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 395 | 32.4 | −10.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,219 | 19.8 | −2.6 |
| | Independent hold | Independent hold | Swing | | |
Bransholme West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Gordon Wilson | 663 | 48.6 | −12.7 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Karen Mathieson | 646 | 47.4 | +8.7 |
| | Conservative | David Whellan | 55 | 4.0 | +4.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 17 | 1.2 | −21.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,364 | 23.2 | +5.5 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
Derringham :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Helena Woods | 1,236 | 51.5 | +9.2 |
| | Labour | Simon Kelsey | 506 | 21.1 | +4.5 |
| | UKIP | John Cornforth | 277 | 11.5 | +11.5 |
| | Independent | Karen Rouse-Deane | 198 | 8.3 | −23.4 |
| | Conservative | Peter Abraham | 131 | 5.5 | −0.3 |
| | Green | James Russell | 52 | 2.2 | +2.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 730 | 30.4 | +19.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,400 | 27.1 | −2.7 |
| | Liberal Democrats gain from Independent | Liberal Democrats gain from Independent | Swing | | |
Drypool :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Angela Wastling | 1,642 | 52.1 | −3.5 |
| | Labour | Gary Wareing | 1,234 | 39.1 | +2.5 |
| | Independent | Janet Toker | 139 | 4.4 | +4.4 |
| | Conservative | James Parker | 138 | 4.4 | −3.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 408 | 13.0 | −6.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,153 | 31.2 | +0.8 |
| | Liberal Democrats gain from Labour | Liberal Democrats gain from Labour | Swing | | |
Holderness :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Yvonne Uzzell | 1,567 | 55.1 | −9.8 |
| | Labour | Martin Mancey | 837 | 29.4 | +4.1 |
| | Conservative | Albert Greendale | 243 | 8.5 | −1.2 |
| | Independent | Joe Matthews | 197 | 6.9 | +6.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 730 | 25.7 | −13.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,844 | 28.0 | −2.3 |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | | |
Ings :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Maureen Bristow | 1,527 | 49.4 | −11.6 |
| | Labour | Phil Webster | 1,212 | 39.2 | +9.1 |
| | Conservative | Andrew Forster | 202 | 6.5 | −0.3 |
| | Independent | Mally Reeve | 152 | 4.9 | +2.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 315 | 10.2 | −20.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,093 | 31.6 | −2.4 |
| | Liberal Democrats gain from Labour | Liberal Democrats gain from Labour | Swing | | |
Kings Park :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Carl Minns | 917 | 60.5 | +4.9 |
| | Labour | John Nicholson | 414 | 27.3 | +6.7 |
| | Conservative | Andrew Allison | 150 | 9.9 | +3.2 |
| | Independent | Janet McCoid | 34 | 2.2 | +2.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 503 | 33.2 | −1.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,515 | 25.2 | |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | | |
Longhill :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | John Black | 1,145 | 56.6 | +4.4 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Chris Gurevitch | 383 | 18.9 | −12.1 |
| | Independent | Peter Martin | 253 | 12.5 | +12.5 |
| | Conservative | Stephen Brown | 243 | 12.0 | −4.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 762 | 37.7 | +16.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,024 | 23.4 | +0.3 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
Marfleet :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Brenda Petch | 986 | 59.3 | −1.2 |
| | Liberal Democrats | James Morrell | 298 | 17.9 | −8.8 |
| | BNP | Mike Cooper | 208 | 12.5 | +12.5 |
| | Conservative | Wayne Hanson | 172 | 10.3 | −2.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 688 | 41.4 | +7.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,664 | 18.6 | −0.8 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
Myton :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Rilba Jones | 995 | 48.8 | −3.5 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Barbara Tress | 271 | 13.3 | −6.3 |
| | BNP | David Orriss | 214 | 10.5 | −5.7 |
| | Independent | Pat Penna | 194 | 9.5 | +9.5 |
| | Conservative | Reg Britton | 182 | 8.9 | −3.0 |
| | Green | Kate Bonella | 112 | 5.5 | +5.5 |
| | UKIP | Karl Horden | 72 | 3.5 | +3.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 724 | 35.5 | +3.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,040 | 22.0 | −0.3 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
Newington :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Rick Welton | 830 | 44.8 | −7.5 |
| | Labour | Lynn Petrini | 754 | 40.7 | +9.5 |
| | BNP | Jonathan Mainprize | 134 | 7.2 | −4.1 |
| | Conservative | Bob Cook | 80 | 4.3 | +0.4 |
| | Independent | June Jones | 56 | 3.0 | +3.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 76 | 4.1 | −17.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,854 | 22.1 | +0.7 |
| | Liberal Democrats gain from Labour | Liberal Democrats gain from Labour | Swing | | |
Newland :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Mark Collinson | 711 | 55.4 | −9.9 |
| | Labour | Iain Keers | 329 | 25.6 | +5.5 |
| | Green | Ruth Nicol | 135 | 10.5 | +10.5 |
| | Conservative | Martine Martin | 108 | 8.4 | +0.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 382 | 29.8 | 15.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,283 | 21.8 | |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | | |
Orchard Park and Greenwood :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Trevor Larsen | 1,152 | 70.7 | +35.7 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Craig Woolmer | 305 | 18.7 | +11.0 |
| | Conservative | Sheila Airey | 172 | 10.6 | +5.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 847 | 52.0 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,629 | 17.7 | −4.8 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
Pickering :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Sarita Bush | 1,411 | 52.8 | +5.5 |
| | Labour | Julie Lowery | 1,037 | 38.8 | +10.5 |
| | Conservative | Robert Brown | 225 | 8.4 | +2.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 374 | 14.0 | −5.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,673 | 29.4 | −4.4 |
| | Liberal Democrats gain from Labour | Liberal Democrats gain from Labour | Swing | | |
Sutton :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Tracey Neal | 1,930 | 63.1 | −0.2 |
| | Labour | Kenneth Turner | 955 | 31.2 | +3.3 |
| | Conservative | Colin Percy | 174 | 5.7 | −3.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 975 | 31.9 | −3.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,059 | 31.8 | +1.3 |
| | Liberal Democrats gain from Labour | Liberal Democrats gain from Labour | Swing | | |
University :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Christine Randall | 961 | 56.7 | −3.9 |
| | Labour | Dan Durcan | 408 | 24.1 | −7.1 |
| | Independent | June Johnson | 157 | 9.3 | +9.3 |
| | Conservative | Gordon Dear | 120 | 7.1 | −1.1 |
| | Green | Aaron Fitzpatrick | 48 | 2.8 | +2.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 553 | 32.6 | +3.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,694 | 28.9 | −3.2 |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | | |
No elections were held in Bricknell, Southcoates East, Southcoates West and St Andrews wards.