2008 Woking Borough Council election

The 2008 Woking Council election took place on 1 May 2008 to elect members of Woking Borough Council in Surrey, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Conservative Party stayed in overall control of the council.[1]

Map of the results of the 2008 Woking council election. Liberal Democrats in yellow and Conservatives in blue. Wards in grey were not contested in 2008.

After the election, the composition of the council was:

Background

13 seats were contested in the election with 42 candidates from the Conservatives, Liberal Democrats, Labour and United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP).[3] Labour only put forward 6 candidates, while UKIP had candidates in every ward for the first time.[4] Since the 2007 election the Conservatives had held a majority on the council after a long period with no party holding a majority.[5]

Election result

The results saw the Conservatives maintain their majority on the council with 19 seats compared to 17 for the Liberal Democrats.[4] Seven new councillors were elected after five sitting councillors stood down and 2 Liberal Democrats lost in the election.[4] The Conservatives gained seats from the Liberal Democrats in Brookwood and Horsell West, while the Liberal Democrats won seats back in Knaphill and Maybury and Sheerwater.[4] Overall turnout in the election at 43.46%,[6] was almost the same as the 43.6% seen in 2007.[4]

Woking Local Election Result 2008[6][7]
PartySeatsGainsLossesNet gain/lossSeats %Votes %Votes+/−
 Liberal Democrats722053.844.111,230+8.7%
 Conservative622046.246.711,885-4.2%
 Labour000004.61,178-4.1%
 UKIP000004.61,160+0.1%

Ward results

Brookwood[6][7]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
ConservativeGlynis Preshaw48848.7+3.4
Liberal DemocratsMichael Peel47747.6-1.7
UKIPWilliam March191.9+1.9
LabourRichard Ford191.9-0.1
Majority111.1
Turnout1,00352.9-1.6
Conservative gain from Liberal DemocratsSwing
Byfleet[6][7]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Liberal DemocratsAnne Roberts1,20450.6+7.6
ConservativeSimon Farrant1,10646.5-10.5
UKIPRichard Squire682.9+2.9
Majority984.1
Turnout2,37844.1+0.1
Liberal Democrats holdSwing
Goldsworth East[6][7]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Liberal DemocratsRosie Sharpley1,26158.4+6.5
ConservativeDavid Roe65430.3-7.1
UKIPRobert Burberry1265.8+2.5
LabourJohn Scott-Morgan1205.6-1.8
Majority60728.1+13.6
Turnout2,16140.0-0.9
Liberal Democrats holdSwing
Goldsworth West[6][7]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Liberal DemocratsIan Eastwood66155.3-8.9
ConservativeAnthony Casey36930.9+1.7
LabourPaul Brown1169.7+3.1
UKIPLeo Dix504.2+4.2
Majority29224.4-10.6
Turnout1,19631.3-1.6
Liberal Democrats holdSwing
Horsell East and Woodham[6][7]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
ConservativeMichael Smith1,10070.3-0.8
Liberal DemocratsJohn Doran33421.4+3.0
UKIPMarion Free1308.3+1.8
Majority76648.9-3.8
Turnout1,56444.5-3.4
Conservative holdSwing
Horsell West[6][7]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
ConservativeAnthony Branagan1,24948.0-2.7
Liberal DemocratsAnn-Marie Barker1,15344.3+4.5
UKIPTimothy Shaw1174.5+0.3
LabourAudrey Worgan823.2-0.4
Majority963.7-7.2
Turnout2,60149.3-2.5
Conservative gain from Liberal DemocratsSwing
Kingfield and Westfield[6][7]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Liberal DemocratsDerek McCrum69939.4+7.5
ConservativeCarl Thomson50928.7-7.7
LabourJohn Martin47826.9+1.7
UKIPDennis Davey885.0-1.4
Majority19010.7
Turnout1,77444.9+1.9
Liberal Democrats holdSwing
Knaphill[6][7]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Liberal DemocratsOliver Wells1,38049.8+7.3
ConservativeBeryl Dunham1,25845.4+1.1
UKIPDuncan Clarke1314.7-3.1
Majority1224.4
Turnout2,76939.5+2.3
Liberal Democrats gain from ConservativeSwing
Maybury and Sheerwater[6][7]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Liberal DemocratsMohammed Bashir1,55149.1+14.9
ConservativeRashid Mohammed1,10435.0-3.8
LabourNicholas Trier36311.5-10.4
UKIPMarcia Taylor1394.4+1.4
Majority44714.1
Turnout3,15748.6+2.8
Liberal Democrats gain from ConservativeSwing
Mount Hermon East[6][7]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
ConservativeDavid Bittleston94254.3+10.1
Liberal DemocratsPhilip Goldenberg73642.4-6.0
UKIPJudith Squire563.2-0.7
Majority20611.9
Turnout1,73447.4-1.3
Conservative holdSwing
Mount Hermon West[6][7]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Liberal DemocratsIan Johnson96561.0+4.3
ConservativeValerian Hopkins56835.9+0.7
UKIPMary Kingston483.0-1.5
Majority39725.1+3.6
Turnout1,58137.9-5.4
Liberal Democrats holdSwing
Pyrford[6][7]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
ConservativeAshley Bowes1,37970.5-5.8
Liberal DemocratsAndrew Grimshaw46623.8+6.2
UKIPRobin Milner1125.7-0.5
Majority91346.7-12.0
Turnout1,95739.2-12.2
Conservative holdSwing
West Byfleet[6][7]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
ConservativeGary Elson1,15973.4-3.8
Liberal DemocratsMichael Wilson34321.7+8.1
UKIPGraham Wood764.8+0.7
Majority81651.7-11.9
Turnout1,57839.2-4.0
Conservative holdSwing

References