United Kingdom local elections, 2009

United Kingdom local elections, 2009

4 June 2009

35 English Local Authorities   First party Second party Third party   Leader David Cameron Nick Clegg Gordon Brown Party Conservative Liberal Democrat Labour Leader since 6 December 2005 18 December 2007 24 June 2007 Last election 44%[1] 25%[1] 24%[1] Percentage 38%[2] 28%[2] 23%[2] Swing 6% 3% 1% Councils 30 1 0 Councils +/– 7 1 4 Councillors 1531 484 178 Councillors +/– 244 2 291

The 2009 United Kingdom local elections were elections held to all 27 County Councils, three existing Unitary Authorities and five new Unitary Authorities, all in England, on 4 June 2009.^[3][4] The elections were due to be held on 7 May 2009, but were delayed in order to coincide with elections to the European Parliament.^[5][6]

The elections produced a political landscape on the map of England that was a sea of Conservative blue. The party snatched Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Staffordshire and Lancashire from Labour, as well as Devon and Somerset from the Liberal Democrats. The Liberal Democrats did however win a majority in Bristol. Despite the optimism for the Conservatives in seat and council gains, their share of the vote at 38% was 6% down on 2008. That said, they had a clear 10% lead over the Liberal Democrats who achieved a respectable second place on 28%.

Labour, taking the blame in government from a worsening economic climate, soaring unemployment and the expenses scandal, lost all of its councils, with some authorities being swept clear of any Labour councillors at all. Its showing in the same day's European elections was similarly dismal, and although four years had passed since the last general election, there would be no general election in 2009; opinion polls all pointed at a heavy Labour defeat at the time.

Summary of results

Mapped results

Source: BBC News Isles of Scilly Council not included in the above figures.

County councils

All 27 English County Councils were up for election. All seats on the councils were contested at this election.

Unitary authorities

Existing authorities

New authorities

Elections were held for five new unitary authorities. All councillors were elected at this election.

Mayoral elections

A mayoral election was also due to be held in Stoke-on-Trent, however voters in the city voted to abolish the directly elected mayor system in a referendum held in October 2008. The referendum decided to replace the mayor and executive system with a council leader and cabinet system of local government.^[8]

See also

• 2009 structural changes to local government in England
• European Parliament election, 2009 (United Kingdom)

References

External links

• Elections 2009 BBC News
  • Elections 2009: Councils A-Z BBC News

Elections and referendums in the United Kingdom
General elections	1801 co-option 1802 1806 1807 1812 1818 1820 1826 1830 1831 1832 1835 1837 1841 1847 1852 1857 1859 1865 1868 1874 1880 1885 1886 1892 1895 1900 1906 1910 (Jan) 1910 (Dec) 1918 1922 1923 1924 1929 1931 1935 1945 1950 1951 1955 1959 1964 1966 1970 1974 (Feb) 1974 (Oct) 1979 1983 1987 1992 1997 2001 2005 2010 2015 Next
Local elections	1889 1890 1892 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
European elections	1979 1984 1989 1994 1999 2004 2009 2014 2019
Referendums	1975 2011 2016
Elections and referendums in England (1264–1705) Scotland (Pre-1707) Great Britain (1708–1796) Ireland Northern Ireland Scotland Wales

(2008 ←)   United Kingdom local elections, 2009   (→ 2010)
County council elections	Buckinghamshire Cambridgeshire Cumbria Derbyshire Devon Dorset East Sussex Essex Gloucestershire Hampshire Hertfordshire Kent Lancashire Leicestershire Lincolnshire Norfolk North Yorkshire Northamptonshire Nottinghamshire Oxfordshire Somerset Staffordshire Suffolk Surrey Warwickshire West Sussex Worcestershire
Mayoral elections	Doncaster Hartlepool North Tyneside
Unitary authorities	Bedford Bristol Central Bedfordshire Cornwall Isle of Wight Isles of Scilly Shropshire Wiltshire
See also: European Parliament election Bold indicates a new unitary authority. Stoke-on-Trent cancelled mayoral election after abolishing mayoral system.