# 2008 Weymouth and Portland Borough Council election

Elections to Weymouth and Portland Borough Council in Dorset, England were held on 1 May 2008. One third of the council was up for election and the council stayed under no overall control as it has been since 1980.
The Mayor David Harris and four other councillors stood down at the election. A further seat was vacant for Melcombe Regis after the death of a Liberal Democrat councillor.
The election saw the Conservative Party gain 3 seats, including their first ever seat in Portland, consolidating their position as largest party on the council. However their leader Nigel Reed lost in Weymouth East to the Liberal Democrats. The leader of the Labour Party on the council, Kate Wheller, was one of two Labour losses when she lost in Westham West.
After the election, the composition of the council was:
* Conservative 16
* Liberal Democrat 12
* Labour 4
* Independent 4

## Election result

Weymouth and Portland Local Election Result 2008 :
| Party | Seats | Gains | Losses | Net gain/loss | Seats % | Votes % | Votes | +/− |
| Liberal Democrats | 7 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 53.8 | 31.5 | 5,332 | +3.4 |
| Conservative | 4 | 3 | 1 | +2 | 30.8 | 40.3 | 6,824 | +1.6 |
| Labour | 1 | 0 | 2 | -2 | 7.7 | 21.4 | 3,635 | -3.5 |
| Independent | 1 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 7.7 | 5.9 | 1,008 | +1.2 |
| Green | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.9 | 154 | -1.2 |

## Ward results

Littlemoor :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Simon Bowkett | 383 | 58.1 | +2.8 |
| | Conservative | Ronald Peattie | 276 | 41.9 | +12.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 107 | 16.2 | −9.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 659 | 25.5 | −10.5 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
Melcombe Regis (2) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Peter Farrell | 625 | | |
| | Conservative | Grant Leighton | 605 | | |
| | Conservative | Derek Model | 503 | | |
| | Liberal Democrats | John Liles | 494 | | |
| | Labour | Maria Blackwood | 184 | | |
| | Green | Paul McIntosh | 154 | | |
| | Labour | Justine Marriott | 137 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,702 | 29.6 | +1.2 |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | | |
| | Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats | Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats | Swing | | |
Preston :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | David Mannings | 1,201 | 48.5 | +5.2 |
| | Conservative | Dominic Lonsdale | 1,157 | 46.8 | −4.4 |
| | Labour | Maureen Drake | 116 | 4.7 | −0.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 44 | 1.7 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,474 | 57.6 | +3.2 |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | | |
Radipole :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Ian Roebuck | 704 | 54.2 | −13.2 |
| | Conservative | Ralph Johnson | 407 | 31.4 | +14.2 |
| | Labour | Matt Pitman | 187 | 14.4 | +7.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 294 | 22.8 | −27.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,298 | 42.8 | +0.2 |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | | |
Tophill West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Amanda Alsop | 518 | 48.7 | −18.5 |
| | Independent | Gareth Duncan | 332 | 31.2 | +31.2 |
| | Labour | Jo Atwell | 214 | 20.1 | −12.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 186 | 17.5 | −16.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,064 | 27.0 | −0.6 |
| | Conservative gain from Independent | Conservative gain from Independent | Swing | | |
Underhill :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Independent | Tim Munro | 354 | 38.6 |
| | Independent | Richard Denton-White | 322 | 35.1 |
| | Labour | Sandy West | 157 | 17.1 |
| | Conservative | Margaret Gadd | 84 | 9.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 32 | 3.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 917 | 34.0 |
| | Independent hold | Independent hold | Swing | |
Westham East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Howard Legg | 334 | 46.1 | −10.5 |
| | Conservative | Liisa Wallace | 218 | 30.1 | +9.6 |
| | Labour | Stewart Pearson | 172 | 23.8 | +0.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 116 | 16.0 | −17.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 724 | 25.8 | −7.3 |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | | |
Westham North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Graham Winter | 750 | 52.7 | +10.6 |
| | Conservative | David Wallace | 354 | 24.9 | +2.6 |
| | Labour | Lindsay Drage | 319 | 22.4 | −13.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 396 | 27.8 | +21.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,423 | 34.1 | −2.7 |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | | |
Westham West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Gill Taylor | 530 | 44.1 | +10.7 |
| | Labour | Kate Wheller | 351 | 29.2 | −2.0 |
| | Conservative | Margaret Alsop | 321 | 26.7 | −8.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 179 | 14.9 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,202 | 41.4 | −1.7 |
| | Liberal Democrats gain from Labour | Liberal Democrats gain from Labour | Swing | | |
Weymouth East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | John Birtwistle | 694 | 53.2 | +17.1 |
| | Conservative | Nigel Reed | 489 | 37.5 | −2.4 |
| | Labour | Richard Baker | 121 | 9.3 | −8.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 205 | 15.7 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,304 | 45.7 | +3.3 |
| | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Swing | | |
Weymouth West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Sonia Cash | 856 | 54.8 | +14.2 |
| | Labour | Andy Blackwood | 705 | 45.2 | +8.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 151 | 9.6 | +5.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,561 | 38.9 | −2.2 |
| | Conservative gain from Labour | Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | | |
Wyke Regis :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Doug Hollings | 1,036 | 63.8 | +25.7 |
| | Labour | Colin Huckle | 589 | 36.2 | −6.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 447 | 27.6 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,625 | 37.7 | −0.6 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |