Labour gains in Coventry and Nuneaton and Bedworth

Labour has increased its majority at Coventry City Council and taken control of Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council.


Votes were counted at Coventry's Ricoh Arena

The party gained eight seats in Coventry to give it a comfortable majority of 32 seats.

The Tories lost six seats, while the Liberal Democrats lost their one seat. Socialist Alternative councillor Dave Nellist also lost his seat.

Labour took control of Nuneaton after gaining eight seats.

The Tories have retained control of Stratford-on-Avon District Council, where a third of the seats were contested.

Seventeen of the 34 seats were up for election at Nuneaton and Bedworth which previously had no overall control.

The Green Party gained one seat, while the Conservatives lost six seats at the council.

Counting will take place on Friday at Rugby Borough Council where all of the seats were up for election following a boundary review. It created 16 new wards and reduced the number of councillors in the borough from 48 to 42.

Election 2012: Coventry City Council full results

ST MICHAEL’S:

AKHTAR, Naeem (Lab) 1,673

CLIFFE, Christian (Con) 243

NELLIST, Dave (Socialist)* 1,469

Lab gain

***

UPPER STOKE:

BEECH, Denise (Con) 275

CAAN, Kamran Asif (Lab) 2,024

FIELD, Russell (Lib Dem)* 682

HALPIN, John (Green) 213

HURREN John (BNP) 156

SMITH, Paul (Socialist) 120

Lab gain

***

WAINBODY:

BLUNDELL, John (Con)* 1,540

CROWTER, Dan (Socialist) 54

FOULSTONE, Danny (Green) 210

HARTNETT, Martin (Lab) 1,214

PENLINGTON, Napier (Lib Dem) 172

TAYLOR, Mark (UKIP) 449

Cons hold

***

WESTWOOD:

ALI, Maya (Lab) 1,418

DONNELLY, Jim (Socialist) 122

GERING, Merle (Green) 183

JUDGE, Greg (Lib Dem) 145

LAPSA, Marcus (Con)* 1,346

THOMAS, Darren (BNP) 165

Lab gain

***

WHOBERLEY:

ADSHEAD, Rachel (Green) 320

BAILEY, Roger (Con)* 1,014

GROVES, Richard (Socialist) 206

INNES, Jayne (Lab) 1,693

LEWIS, Brian (Lib Dem) 160

Lab gain

***

WOODLANDS:

BASU, Jacqueline (Lib Dem) 192

BEGUM, Sunara (Socialist) 82

GOWER, Dan (Green) 222

JOHNSON, Heather (Con)* 1,534

THOMAS, Steven (Lab) 1,853

Lab gain

***

WYKEN:

DIXON, Susanna (Con)* 1,146

HANNIS; Jodie (Socialist) 89

ROLL, Adrian (Independent) 203

THAY, Robert (Lab) 1,888

WATTEBOT, Cathy (Green) 160

Lab gain

***

BABLAKE

BIRDI, Jaswant (Con) 1,302

BOOTON, Betty (BNP) 179

GALLIERS, David (Lab) 1,502

GAZEY, John (Independent)* 669

LEBAR, Louise (Christian Movement For Great Britain) 35

MILNER, Walter (Green) 141

SIMPSON, Peter (Lib Dem) 122

WALDRON, Jethro (Socialist) 48

Lab gain

***

BINLEY & WILLENHALL:

ARMSTRONG, Ross (Socialist) 67

CHATER, David (Lab)* 1,898

CLARKE, David (BNP) 100

REECE, Linda (Con) 570

STUBBS, Colin (UKIP) 503

WOOD, Justin (Green) 95

Lab hold

***

CHEYLESMORE:

ARLIDGE, Anne (Lab) 1,688

GRIFFITHS, Judy (Socialist) 141

NOONAN, Hazel (Con)* 1,992

VERDULT, John (Green) 266

Cons hold

***

EARLSDON:

AKHTAR, Bilal (Lab) 1,442

ANDREWS, Allan (Con)* 2,137

BENEFIELD, Derek (Lib Dem) 261

BOWES, James (UKIP) 272

PASHAZADEH, Fiona (Socialist) 116

REDDING, Scott (Green) 327

SIDHU, William (Christian Movement For Great Britain) 43

Cons hold

***

FOLESHILL:

AHMED, Shabbir (Con) 1,114

AULUCK, Malkiat (Lab)* 2,112

BROMWICH, William (Ind) 213

HELMSLEY, Hunter (BNP) 61

LEBAR, Ron (Christian Movement For Great Britain) 71

SUMRA, Rana (Green) 80

Lab hold

***

HENLEY:

FRIEL, Siobhan (Socialist) 80

KEOUGH, Steven (Con) 393

MORRIS, Rose (BNP) 243

PATTON, Brian (Lib Dem) 488

ROBINSON, George (Green) 121

RUANE, Ed (Lab)* 2,036

Lab hold

***

HOLBROOKS:

BADRICK, Mark (BNP) 211

GRAY, Stephen (Green) 215

HENSMAN, Jim (Socialist) 99

LANCASTER, Rachel (Lab)* 2,087

STONE, Val (Con) 404

Lab hold

***

LONGFORD:

ANDREW, Paul (Green) 163

BATES, Frankie (BNP) 203

DAVENPORT, Craig (Socialist) 111

DUGGINS, George (Lab)* 2,409

KUMAR, Raj (Christian Movement For Great Britain) 362

MASIH, Dial (Con) 58

Lab hold

***

LOWER STOKE:

BALLINGER, Michael (Con) 484

BEVAN, John (UKIP) 233

McARDLE, Rob (Socialist) 310

MIKS, Catherine (Lab)* 1,748

OXFORD, Keith (BNP) 101

VESTY, Laura (Green) 161

WHITE, James (Lib Dem) 168

Lab hold

***

RADFORD:

COLLINS, Gavin (Green) 210

MUTTON, Mal (Lab)* 1,896

TAYLOR, Mary (Con) 498

WANKLING, Ian (BNP) 126

WATSON, Glen (Socialist) 142

Lab hold

***

SHERBOURNE:

EMIRALI, Leon (Con) 705

GINGELL, Alison (Lab) 1,833

GLENN, Christopher (Lib Dem) 96

GRIFFITHS, John (Green) 225

TOYNBEE, Jason (Socialist) 145

WAGSTAFF, Leisel (BNP) 173

Labour gain

* Denotes sitting councillor.

The electorate seem to have spoken! And in rejecting an elected mayor. I remember Dave Nellist standing as a councillor when I was young - didn't he stand as a Communist or something similar?

I remember Dave Nellist standing as a councillor when I was young - didn't he stand as a Communist or something similar?

No he was Labour at a time when Labour supported socialist policies. He stood this time as "Socialist Alternative".

This probably won't interest anyone but in my country Labour has been rejected as the main opposition party in favour of a true Socialist Party which now has the support of a majority of the population. They've achieved this by consistently rejecting so-called 'austerity measures' and bailouts to other Eurozone countries.

Do ANY of our politicians have anything to be proud of these days? The problem as I see it is that we have politicians foisted on us where we actually need some statesmen.......

As a general rule people vote on national issues rather than local issues in local elections. There was an exception a few years ago when the Tories made such a mess of running the city that Coventry bucked the national trend and voted them out. The same was true in Birmingham.

Election 2012: Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council full results

HERE'S the full list of results for the Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council elections in May 2012.

ABBEY
Laurel Brindley (Green Party)...............147
Lee Millard (British National Party)........96
Steven Nicklin (Conservative)................290
Jill Sheppard (Labour) *.......................1030
Labour hold

ARBURY
Don Navarro (Lab)................832
Richard Smith (Con)..............475
Michael Wright (Green).........145
Labour gain

ATTLEBOROUGH
Phillip Kimberley (BNP)........116
Clive Stringer (Con) *.............562
June Tandy (Lab).....................718
Labour gain

BARPOOL
Alwyn Deacon (BNP).................121
Martyn Findley (Ind) *................281
Gwynne Pomfrett (Lab)...............815
Hayden Walmsley (Con).............235
Labour gain

BEDE
Raymond Casey (BNP)................132
William Hancox (Lab) *............1055
David Lane (Eng Dems)..............108
Arthur Liggins (Con)...................204
Labour hold

BULKINGTON
John Beaumont (Lab)...................909
Julian Gutteridge (Con) *.............882
Labour gain

CAMP HILL
Michael Bannister (Con)................215
Yvonne Deacon (BNP)..................100
Ian Lloyd (Lab) *............................756
Paul Reilly (Trade Unionists)..........115
Labour hold

EXHALL
Sara Doughty (Lab)........................1091
Merle Gering (Green)......................204.
Margaret Hunter (Socialist Alt)........141
Anne Llewellyn-Nash (Con).............333
Labour hold

GALLEY COMMON
Bryan Grant (Con) *.....................587
Paul Hickling (Lab)......................688
Labour gain

HEATH
Damon Brown (Con) *.................512
Brian Hawkes (Lab)....................1260
Maureen Lincoln (BNP)................90
Labour gain

KINGSWOOD
Barry Longden (Lab)....................811
John Waine (Con) *......................407
Labour gain

POPLAR
John Glass (Lab) *...................1008
Glyn Haycock (BNP).................158
Ian Llewellyn-Nash (Con).........297
Labour hold

SLOUGH
Stacey Fleming (BNP)..............123
Dianne Fowler (Lab).................828
John Ison (Ind) *.......................272
Stephen Paxton (Con)................329
Labour gain

ST NICOLAS
James Foster (Con)...............................874
Andreas Hammerschmiedt (UKIP)......153
Michele Kondakor (Green)...................349
Samuel Margrave (Lab)........................404
Cons hold

WEDDINGTON
Jack Bonner (Lab)........................488
Jeffrey Clarke (Con) *..................651
Keith Kondakor (Green).............1012
Green gain

WEM BROOK
Blaine Aldridge (Con).........................246
Scott Harbison (Libertarian Party)........37
Alexander Horobin (Green).................116
Julie Jackson (Labour) *.....................1049
Labour hold


WHITESTONE
Richard Chattaway (Lab)....................674
Nicholas Grant (Con) *.....................1283
Cons hold

*Denotes sitting councillor

We need to get rid of party politics. People who keep voting for parties just because that's what they do are the reason Labour get in year after year. They don't do anything for the city, except drag it down, and they're responsible for the terrible city centre and poor economy - something that could have been averted in the 1960s if they'd listened to the warnings they were given. The same areas that were 'problem' areas 20 years ago, maybe 40, are still problem areas, and they have no clue about how to bring prosperity to those areas other than throwing money at stupid schemes like health centres and colleges that don't actually generate any revenue or jobs for local people. If government/councils ARE going to invest they need to invest it wisely, not just keep building things - they seem to think they can build their way out of a decline with Coventry, but they cannot.

I doubt the Tories would be any better either.

Where I live we have mainly Tories, but otherwise mainly LibDems. We even have the spectacle of Tories at county council level at war with Tories at local area level. Are they better? Emphatically no. I don't believe that we should have party politics at local level; people should stand on their view of what needs to be done - and be held to it if elected, booted out otherwise. We have also had the spectacle of a Green Party council leader defecting to the Tories. How is that justifiable? If someone stands on the basis of one party's flag and manifesto, if they want to defect, they should stand down and stand for re-election. But, no, the only thing that matters is self-interest!

Generally in this rural area, the sway is held by the big farmers, who vote Tory to a man. Remember the protests over fuel prices a few years back when Blair was in power? There were huge queues of tractors. And now, when it's far worse? Not a squeak! Bloody hypocrites.

Coventry had Conservative councils for many years, especially pre-war, so far as I am aware. Were they better? Well, it was they who initiated the plans to pull down the old city centre before the war intervened, so they could rebuild it. Why? You can bet they had one helluva vested interest in doing so! I can't remember when Coventry became staunchly Labour - 50s (dutchman??) - but their policies haven't done anything better for the city either.

I live in a village, and volunteered for the parish council last year. What I experienced sickened me, and I vowed never to do anything for the village again. I won't go into it, but it's clear to me that corruption is the norm at all levels of government, whatever the level. There's no wonder this country is in the mess it's in, with the type of self-interested wotsits who go into politics in this country.

I can't remember when Coventry became staunchly Labour - 50s (dutchman??) - but their policies haven't done anything better for the city either.

During local elections Coventry usually follows the national trend of voting against whichever party is in office at national level. As the Conservatives were in government for most of the 1950s that meant a Labour council in Coventry.

Yes, I think they first went Labour along with Attlee's government though (but I could be wrong...) - many did - but I remember Labour councils for most of the 50s. But in the end, it doesn't matter who's in, it's what they do that counts, isn't it?