UK local elections, 2013

[YL]

This year's round of local elections in the UK takes place on Thursday 2 May.

For most of urban England, this an off-year: there are no (well, almost no) elections in London, only Bristol of the big cities has anything, and the only elections in metropolitan boroughs are a couple of mayoral elections in Doncaster (will normality return? what is normality in Doncaster anyway?) and North Tyneside.

The main elections which do happen are county council elections in the remaining two-tier areas.  These were last contested at Labour's nadir in 2009, and all but one (Cumbria) are currently controlled by the Tories; that last point indicates that the Lib Dems didn't do very well either.  There are also elections in a number of unitary authority areas on the same cycle as the county councils; these are mostly former county councils like Cornwall and Durham whose districts were abolished so they're now unitary.  Then a third of seats on Bristol City Council are up.

Finally, there is one totally bizarre election, which unlike the others is held in March rather than May.  This is the election for the Common Councilmen of the City of London.  For details, see City Vote 2013.  It looks a bit like a normal election in some respects, and there are even a few party candidates (all Labour I think; they won't win), but the more you look at it the weirder it seems.

[minionofmidas]

(what is normality in Doncaster anyway?)

The coal mines doing brisk trade.

[You kip if you want to...]

Well these results should be hilarious, with Labour being down at 23% last time.

Of course, the aftermath of these elections this time round should be much less dramatic.

I don't know much about the CCs and their voting patterns. Any predictions yet?

[You kip if you want to...]

I always find the expectation management that goes on every April hilarious. Apparently Labour need to gain 1000 councillors.

I actually think UKIP will be the story of the night though.

[minionofmidas]

I always find the expectation management that goes on every April hilarious. Apparently Labour need to gain 1000 councillors.

I actually think UKIP will be the story of the night though.

Probs, yeah.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Most of the County divisions UKIP currently hold are going to be tough holds for them, for various reasons. But they ought to be able to make up for that (and then some) elsewhere.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

For some reason the first elections to the new Town Council in Crewe were held yesterday. Labour won every single seat and almost all of them very comfortably indeed. UKIP pretty clearly came second in popular vote terms; the Tory showing was embarrassingly bad.

[YL]

The Mayor of Doncaster, Peter Davies, who was elected as an English Democrat but left the party in February, is standing for re-election as an independent.

Full list of candidates:
David Allen (Eng Dem) (stood for S Yorks Police Commissioner)
John Brown (Lib Dem)
Peter Davies (Ind)
Martin Drake (Con)
Mary Jackson (TUSC)
Ros Jones (Lab)
Michael Maye (Ind) (was runner up to Davies in 2009)
Dave Owen (NF)
Tony Ward (Ind)
Doug Wright (Save Your Services)

This could be another advert for the quirks of the Supplementary Vote, or perhaps Labour will win easily.

[YL]

On the other hand, North Tyneside only has three candidates for its mayoral election:

John Appleby (Lib Dem)
Linda Arkley (Con) (incumbent)
Norma Redfearn (Lab)

[joevsimp]

The Mayor of Doncaster, Peter Davies, who was elected as an English Democrat but left the party in February, is standing for re-election as an independent.

Full list of candidates:
David Allen (Eng Dem) (stood for S Yorks Police Commissioner)
John Brown (Lib Dem)
Peter Davies (Ind)
Martin Drake (Con)
Mary Jackson (TUSC)
Ros Jones (Lab)
Michael Maye (Ind) (was runner up to Davies in 2009)
Dave Owen (NF)
Tony Ward (Ind)
Doug Wright (Save Your Services)

This could be another advert for the quirks of the Supplementray Vote, or perhaps Labour will win easily.

Maye ran with libdem and green support last time did he not? has anyone endorsed him this time round?

[YL]

The Mayor of Doncaster, Peter Davies, who was elected as an English Democrat but left the party in February, is standing for re-election as an independent.

Full list of candidates:
David Allen (Eng Dem) (stood for S Yorks Police Commissioner)
John Brown (Lib Dem)
Peter Davies (Ind)
Martin Drake (Con)
Mary Jackson (TUSC)
Ros Jones (Lab)
Michael Maye (Ind) (was runner up to Davies in 2009)
Dave Owen (NF)
Tony Ward (Ind)
Doug Wright (Save Your Services)

This could be another advert for the quirks of the Supplementray Vote, or perhaps Labour will win easily.

Maye ran with libdem and green support last time did he not? has anyone endorsed him this time round?

I couldn't find anything about the Greens.  Clearly the Lib Dems haven't.

UKIP have endorsed Davies.

[You kip if you want to...]

Nigel and his UKIPers receive the ringing endorsement from none other than the EDL, who tell nationalists to stand down in favour of UKIP and for nationalists voters to vote tactically for them.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/english-defence-league-backs-ukip-in-local-elections-8562350.html

[jaichind]

Cool.  I will be in London that week for a business trip.  This way I can watch the results right there in UK. 

[You kip if you want to...]

Cool.  I will be in London that week for a business trip.  This way I can watch the results right there in UK. 

The locals aren't the most exciting spectacle, especially not this set of seats.

[You kip if you want to...]

In before Winter of Discontent/Thatcher effect.

[You kip if you want to...]

Party Election Broadcast's start tonight with Labour.

[Harry Hayfield]

Cool.  I will be in London that week for a business trip.  This way I can watch the results right there in UK. 

Six counties declare overnight, the remaining 22 declare the following day (Source: Press Association)

[You kip if you want to...]

Cool.  I will be in London that week for a business trip.  This way I can watch the results right there in UK.  

Six counties declare overnight, the remaining 22 declare the following day (Source: Press Association)

While good for the taxpayer, that's no good for we politicos.

[You kip if you want to...]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6j27pG4M-8

Brilliant broadcast from Labour, to go out tonight.

[You kip if you want to...]

[Filuwaúrdjan]

One thing that needs to be noted - in case hacks of either subspecies (media, political) start heading deep into dubious comparison territory - from 1974 until the late 1990s, the county councils covered the entire area of the new administrative 'non-metropolitan' (so called) counties created in 1974. This hasn't been the case since the late 1990s, making long term comparisons decidedly dodgy.

[You kip if you want to...]

One thing that needs to be noted - in case hacks of either subspecies (media, political) start heading deep into dubious comparison territory - from 1974 until the late 1990s, the county councils covered the entire area of the new administrative 'non-metropolitan' (so called) counties created in 1974. This hasn't been the case since the late 1990s, making long term comparisons decidedly dodgy.

And hasn't there been some pretty minor shakeups in the 2000s? I know Cheshire disappeared, for instance.

[Leftbehind]

One thing that needs to be noted - in case hacks of either subspecies (media, political) start heading deep into dubious comparison territory - from 1974 until the late 1990s, the county councils covered the entire area of the new administrative 'non-metropolitan' (so called) counties created in 1974. This hasn't been the case since the late 1990s, making long term comparisons decidedly dodgy.

And hasn't there been some pretty minor shakeups in the 2000s? I know Cheshire disappeared, for instance.

Since 2001, these locals lost:-

• Blackburn with Darwen
• Halton
• Peterborough
• Reading
• Slough
• Southend-on-Sea
• Thurrock
• Warrington
• Wokingham

and since 2005:-

• Bedfordshire
• Cheshire
• Stockton-on-Tees

I'm predicting a dull affair, with the results mainly just realignment of the Right.

[You kip if you want to...]

One thing that needs to be noted - in case hacks of either subspecies (media, political) start heading deep into dubious comparison territory - from 1974 until the late 1990s, the county councils covered the entire area of the new administrative 'non-metropolitan' (so called) counties created in 1974. This hasn't been the case since the late 1990s, making long term comparisons decidedly dodgy.

And hasn't there been some pretty minor shakeups in the 2000s? I know Cheshire disappeared, for instance.

Since 2001, these locals lost:-

• Blackburn with Darwen
• Halton
• Peterborough
• Reading
• Slough
• Southend-on-Sea
• Thurrock
• Warrington
• Wokingham

and since 2005:-

• Bedfordshire
• Cheshire
• Stockton-on-Tees

I'm predicting a dull affair, with the results mainly just realignment of the Right.

I have a feeling Labour'll under perform. UKIP will be the story of the night either way, not "Prime Minister-in-waiting Ed Miliband".

[Filuwaúrdjan]

As a technicality it must also be noted that Co. Durham, Northumberland, Shropshire, Cornwall and Wiltshire are no longer 'county councils', but unitary authorities.

Yes, five of the most rural of the post-1974 administrative counties are no longer run by county councils; a form of local authority that is technically now (as before 1974) really only justified by...

lol