# 2008 Rossendale Borough Council election

Elections to Rossendale Borough Council were held on 1 May 2008. One third of the council was up for election and the Conservative party gained overall control of the council from no overall control. Overall turnout was up by one per cent from the last election in 2007 at 36.3%.
The Conservative party gained three seats in the election including Worsley, the seat of the former Conservative leader of the council, Duncan Ruddick, who had defected from the party in 2007 to become an independent councillor. The Liberal Democrats gained one seat, while the Labour party lost three seats, with one defeated Labour councillor, Tina Durkin, blaming the Prime Minister Gordon Brown for the losses.
After the election, the composition of the council was
* Conservative 21
* Labour 11
* Liberal Democrat 3
* Independent 1

## Election result

Rossendale Local Election Result 2008 :
| Party | Seats | Gains | Losses | Net gain/loss | Seats % | Votes % | Votes | +/− |
| Conservative | 10 | 3 | 0 | +3 | 76.9 | 42.4 | 7,512 | +3.0% |
| Liberal Democrats | 2 | 1 | 0 | +1 | 15.4 | 17.7 | 3,129 | -2.3% |
| Labour | 1 | 0 | 3 | -3 | 7.7 | 30.4 | 5,385 | -4.9% |
| BNP | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.6 | 998 | +0.3% |
| Independent | 0 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 0 | 3.8 | 680 | +3.8% |

## Ward results

Cribden :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Janet Graham | 386 | 35.4 | +14.3 |
| | Labour | Andrea Fletcher | 367 | 33.6 | −8.0 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Bob Sheffield | 338 | 31.0 | +4.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 19 | 1.8 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,091 | 38.9 | +0.0 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
Eden :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Darryl Smith | 916 | 79.5 | +15.2 |
| | Labour | John Pilling | 236 | 20.5 | −3.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 680 | 59.0 | +18.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,152 | 41.7 | +2.4 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
Facit and Shawforth :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Lynda Barnes | 336 | 29.0 | +5.7 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Reggie Lane | 298 | 25.7 | −10.9 |
| | BNP | Michael Crossley | 218 | 18.8 | +18.8 |
| | Independent | Karen Ruane | 185 | 16.0 | +16.0 |
| | Labour | Ian Mycock | 121 | 10.4 | −29.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 38 | 3.3 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,158 | 41.7 | +2.2 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
Goodshaw :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Dorothy Farrington | 631 | 55.3 | +2.3 |
| | Conservative | Judy Bates | 510 | 44.7 | −2.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 121 | 10.6 | +4.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,141 | 36.9 | +0.2 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
Greenfield :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Gladys Sandiford | 993 | 60.8 | +18.3 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Sadaqut Amin | 350 | 21.4 | −36.1 |
| | Labour | John McManus | 290 | 17.8 | +17.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 643 | 39.4 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,633 | 37.4 | +0.4 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
Greensclough :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Judith Driver | 697 | 43.2 | +15.4 |
| | Labour | Dale Connearn | 422 | 26.1 | −1.0 |
| | BNP | Peter Salt | 273 | 16.9 | −4.9 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Michael Carr | 223 | 13.8 | −9.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 275 | 17.1 | +16.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,615 | 36.5 | −1.6 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
Hareholme :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Nicola May | 775 | 53.3 | |
| | Labour | Amanda Hewlett | 679 | 46.7 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 96 | 6.6 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1454 | 34.8 | −0.2 |
| | Conservative gain from Labour | Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | | |
Helmshore :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Peter Evans | 975 | 60.1 | +4.2 |
| | Labour | Emma Harding | 320 | 19.7 | −8.5 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Cliff Adamson | 181 | 11.2 | −4.7 |
| | Independent | Noel O'Brien | 145 | 8.9 | +8.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 655 | 40.4 | +12.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,621 | 36.0 | +2.2 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
Irwell :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Hazel Steen | 529 | 41.1 | +8.9 |
| | Labour | Tina Durkin | 450 | 35.0 | +3.0 |
| | BNP | Kevin Bryan | 307 | 23.9 | −2.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 79 | 6.1 | +5.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,286 | 33.3 | +1.5 |
| | Conservative gain from Labour | Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | | |
Longholme :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Jason Gledhill | 679 | 44.9 | |
| | Labour | Maurice Jones | 484 | 32.0 | |
| | Independent | Leonard Entwistle | 350 | 23.1 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 195 | 12.9 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1513 | 36.3 | +2.2 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
Whitewell (2) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Tim Nuttall | 1,006 | | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Jim Pilling | 733 | | |
| | Labour | Trisha Dearden | 433 | | |
| | Labour | Michael Wilkinson | 277 | | |
| | BNP | Matthew Perry | 200 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,649 | 34.1 | +1.4 |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | | |
| | Liberal Democrats gain from Labour | Liberal Democrats gain from Labour | Swing | | |
Worsley :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | David Stansfield | 716 | 51.5 | +8.2 |
| | Labour | Ann Kenyon | 675 | 48.5 | +12.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 41 | 3.0 | −4.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,391 | 32.5 | −1.7 |
| | Conservative gain from Independent | Conservative gain from Independent | Swing | | |