Labour lose seats to Tories but maintain tight grip on Coventry City Council

[dutchman]

There was a shock in one ward and the ruling Labour group now has 39 seats compared to the Conservative's 15



The Conservative Party in Coventry claimed a small victory following Thursday’s election after gaining two seats on Coventry City Council.

However, the Labour Party remained in firm control of the city with 39 council seats now occupied by them compared to 15 held by the Tories.

Four seats changed hands on the night with an upset in Cheylesmore where the Tories lost their grip on a seat controlled by them for many years. But elsewhere Labour lost Westwood, Bablake and Woodlands to the Conservatives.

Westwood was the most closely contested ward on the evening with just nine votes securing the seat for the Conservatives after a recount.

It was a strong showing from UKIP who finished second in five of the eight seats they stood in.

Turnout across the city was just 27.4 per cent - compared to 58.1 per cent in 2015 which was boosted by the fact it was a General Election year.

Overall Labour secured a total of 13 seats on the night while the Tories claimed five.

The Conservative Party has two more seats than it did before the election with a new total of 15.

Labour remain in complete control of the council with 39 seats held.

Cheylesmore had been held for 15 years by long-serving councillor Hazel Noonan, who retired and made way for former UKIP chairman turned Tory Mark Taylor. But Labour snatched the seat away.

Westwood was always going to be a close contest, but few would have anticipated it would be settled by nine votes.

Labour may have hoped to hold onto Woodlands follwing intense campaigning in the ward - but it wasn’t to be.

Labour councillors will vote privately on Friday evening to decide if current leader Ann Lucas or challenger George Duggins should take control.

Both camps seem confident they have the votes - but there can be only one winner.

We should know the result before the end of the day.

It was a good show from UKIP who finished second in five of the eight wards they stood in and third in the others.

TUSC will be disappointed finishing last in 12 of the 18 seats they contested.

The Greens and the Lib Dems didn’t attract a huge amount of votes while the one Christian Movement candidate polled just 95 votes.

Coun Ann Lucas, Labour council leader, said: “I’m sorry that we lost good councillors and candidates, but I’m delighted that we gained in Cheylesmore.

“Overall we’ve lost two seats. If I was a Conservative, looking at some of their results tonight, I would be really quite worried. The Conservatives I’m sure would have liked a far bigger majority than they got in Bablake.

Asked if she thought issues around building on the green belt had cost the party seats, she said: “I understand that people are worried and concerned about their properties. But people need to understand is that the previous Conservatives administration had actually decided and put forward in their plan that they were going to be building in exactly the same places. There’s some party politics here.”

Asked about the upcoming challenge to her leadership, she said: “We are a democratic party and we will decide tomorrow night on all the positions in our group and we will do it by ballot.

“All of us who take part in this democratic exercise always accept the result.”



John Blundell, leader of the Conservative opposition in Coventry, said: “It’s obviously very pleasing. We’ve won three seats, which we are very pleased about, particularly Woodlands.

“We won with a healthy majority and people are obviously very concerned about building on the green belt. Bablake and Westwood were won too.

“We’ve increased our representation at a time when we have a Conservative government, that is no mean feat.”

Asked about the internal party structure, with roles such as deputy leader up for grabs at a private meeting on Monday, he said: “I intend to carry on as leader.

“Now that Allan Andrews has stood down as deputy, I’m happy to work with anyone who gets selected. Unlike other groups, we are a united group.”

[rebbonk]

I don't think any of those that won or held seats can congratulate themselves, the turn out was appalling.

I'm beginning to think we need a system like Australia where you get fined for not participating in elections. - Of course, that's unlikely to happen as a decent turn out might upset the apple-cart somewhat.