2008 Purbeck District Council election

Elections to Purbeck District Council were held on 1 May 2008. Nine of the twenty-four seats on the council were up for election and the council stayed under no overall control.[1] Overall turnout was 44.86%.[2]

A big issue in the election was housing with much criticism of plans to build over five thousand homes in the district by 2026.[3] The nominations for the election saw an unusual event when Liberal Democrat candidate Alexandra Brenton signed the nomination papers for her friend and Labour Party candidate Selby Bennett.[4] Two seats were contested in Lytchett Matravers after Liberal Democrat councillor Michael Peacock stood down in February.[5]

The results saw the Liberal Democrat party gained Wareham and Wool wards from the Conservative Party to pull level on the Council. The Conservative party took Swanage South from Liberal Democrat Colin Bright who had defected from the Conservatives the previous month.[6]

After the election, the composition of the council was

Election result
Purbeck Local Election Result 2008
Party Seats Gains Losses Net gain/loss Seats % Votes % Votes +/−
  Liberal Democrats 5 2 1 +1 55.6 45.6 6,174 +3.8%
  Conservative 4 1 2 -1 44.4 47.3 6,399 +8.7%
  Labour 0 0 0 0 0 4.8 653 -2.3%
  Independent 0 0 0 0 0 2.2 304 -3.2%

Ward results
Lytchett Matravers (2)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats Martyn Colvey 785
Conservative David Cross 729
Liberal Democrats Alexandra Brenton 715
Conservative Colin Gibb 692
Labour James Selby Bennett 50
Turnout 2,971 52.7 +0.4
Liberal Democrats hold Swing
Conservative hold Swing
Lytchett Minster and Upton East
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats Wendy Starr 692 57.6 -4.1
Conservative Simon Williams 509 42.4 +4.1
Majority 183 15.2 -8.2
Turnout 1,201 39.1 -0.8
Liberal Democrats hold Swing
Lytchett Minster and Upton West
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Paul Johns 829 65.3 +15.8
Liberal Democrats Mark Howlett 391 30.8 -19.7
Labour Ruth Cade 50 3.9 +3.9
Majority 438 24.5
Turnout 1,270 42.6 -6.3
Conservative hold Swing
St Martin
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats Beryl Ezzard 563 56.2 -0.9
Conservative Jane Thomas 438 43.8 +10.3
Majority 125 12.4 -11.2
Turnout 1,001 46.5 +0.9
Liberal Democrats hold Swing
Swanage North
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Gloria Marsh 917 59.3 +8.2
Liberal Democrats Philippa Keeling 497 32.1 +7.1
Labour Margaret Storey 132 8.5 -2.3
Majority 420 27.2 +1.1
Turnout 1,546 46.2 -3.4
Conservative hold Swing
Swanage South
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Alison Patrick 932 50.6 +10.6
Liberal Democrats Colin Bright 561 30.5 +1.1
Labour Marilyn Larthe de Langladure 348 18.9 +0.6
Majority 371 20.1 +9.5
Turnout 1,841 38.5 0.0
Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats Swing
Wareham
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats Keith Critchley 1,245 57.6 -4.6
Conservative Roy Anderson 915 42.4 +4.6
Majority 330 15.2 -9.2
Turnout 2,160 47.0 +4.1
Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative Swing
Wool
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats Graham Holmes 725 47.1 +0.7
Conservative Malcolm Shakesby 438 28.4 -6.1
Independent Rosemary Grey-Hodder 304 19.7 +19.7
Labour Rosemary Phillips 73 4.7 -2.6
Majority 287 18.7 +6.8
Turnout 1,540 46.5 +2.9
Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative Swing

References
  1. "Tories gain seats and Labour lose". BBC Online. 2 May 2008. Retrieved 2 May 2008.
  2. "Purbeck District council". Purbeck District Council. Archived from the original on 2 March 2001. Retrieved 2 May 2008.
  3. "Purbeck: no control". Bournemouth Daily Echo. 2 May 2008. Retrieved 2 May 2008.
  4. "Lib Dem signs for Labour 'friend'". BBC Online. 29 April 2008. Retrieved 2 May 2008.
  5. "Housing the big issue for Purbeck electors". Bournemouth Daily Echo. 29 April 2008. Retrieved 2 May 2008.
  6. "Tories lose Purbeck council". Bournemouth Daily Echo. 2 May 2008. Retrieved 2 May 2008.
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