The 2008 Hart Council election took place on 1 May 2008 to elect members of Hart

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Council in

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

, England. One third of the council was up for election and the council stayed under

no overall control In the context of local authorities in the United Kingdom no overall control (NOC; ) is a situation in which no single political group achieves a majority of seats, comparable to a hung parliament. Of the 248 councils who had members up for elec ...

, with the Conservatives as the largest party. After the election, the composition of the council was: *

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

17 * Liberal Democrat 10 * Community Campaign (Hart) 6 *

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Campaign

12 seats were being contested in the election with the

Conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilizati ...

defending 6 seats, the Liberal Democrats 5 and the Community Campaign (Hart) 1 seat. In total there were 30 candidates standing in the election with the Conservatives the only party to stand in all of the seats. Other candidates included 10 from the Liberal Democrats, 5 from Labour, 2 Community Campaign (Hart) and 1 from the

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. Before the election a coalition of the Liberal Democrats, Community Campaign (Hart) and the 2 Independents ran the council with the Conservatives forming the opposition. Issues in the election included facilities for teenagers, cleaner streets,

recycling Recycling is the process of converting waste materials into new materials and objects. This concept often includes the recovery of energy from waste materials. The recyclability of a material depends on its ability to reacquire the propert ...

and reducing crime. The Conservatives wanted to improve the value for money the council produced, develop the infrastructure for new housing and to keep roads in good condition. However the Liberal Democrats pledged to improve recycling, get more

affordable housing Affordable housing is housing which is deemed affordable to those with a household income at or below the median, as rated by the national government or a local government by a recognized housing affordability index. Most of the literature on ...

and keep crime levels low. During the campaign the national Conservative leader,

David Cameron David William Donald Cameron, Baron Cameron of Chipping Norton (born 9 October 1966) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016. Until 2015, he led the first coalition government in the UK s ...

, visited the area to campaign for the party.

Election result

The results saw the council remain with no party having a majority, but with the Conservatives gaining 2 seats to hold 17 of the 35 seats. Both Conservative gains came from the Liberal Democrats, taking

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Courtmoor by 391 votes and Fleet Pondtail by 493 votes. The Conservatives won 60% of the vote and claimed a mandate to take control of the council. However the 2 independents held the balance of power between the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrat/Community Campaign (Hart) alliance. Overall turnout in the election was 36.9%. At the annual council meeting after the election the Conservatives took control of the council. Their leader Ken Crookes won 18 votes compared to 17 for Liberal Democrat leader David Neighbour, with 1 of the 2 independents, Susan Band, backing the Conservatives. The other independent, Denis Gotel, and the Community Campaign (Hart) backed the Liberal Democrat leader. As a result, the council cabinet was made up of all Conservatives, except for independent Susan Band who would continue to be responsible for housing and health.

Ward results

Blackwater and Hawley

Church Crookham East

Crondall

Fleet Central

Fleet Courtmoor

Fleet Pondtail

Fleet West

Hook

Long Sutton

Odiham

Yateley East

Yateley West

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hart Council Election, 2008

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

2008 English local elections 2000s in Hampshire