Students run in local elections

The Conservative Party won an outright majority in the Warwickshire County Council elections on 4 June.

The party now controls 39 of the 62 seats on the council, a gain of 11 on the previous election. Labour were relegated to third place, with just 10 seats, behind the Liberal Democrats with 12.

The Conservatives’ and Liberal Democrats’ gains are largely attributed to voters’ disillusionment with the ruling Labour government and particularly the ongoing MPs expenses scandal. In Warwickshire, this disillusionment translated to a higher-than-normal voter turnout—around 50 per cent—with voters heading to the polls to express their disapproval.

Across the West Midlands, however, turnout decreased marginally from the previous European Parliament elections in 2004—35.1 per cent, down from 36.6.

The West Midlands sent two Conservative and two UK Independence Party MEPs to the EU Parliament, while Labour and the Liberal Democrats won one seat each. The overall balance of the West Midlands European Parliament contingent was largely unchanged: just one seat changed hands, from Labour to UK Independence, reflecting the national trend of voters deserting Labour.

The far-right British National Party won two seats, in the North West and Yorkshire constituencies. Although they won fewer votes in both constituencies than in the previous EU elections, their percentage of the vote was large enough for them to win seats, because the overall number of voters declined this year.

Four Warwick students ran for local office: Chris Browne, Jesse Meadows, and John Walton, all in Rugby, and Tim Hodgson in Cheswick Green, Solihull. Browne, Meadows, and Walton were Green Party candidates in Rugby local council elections. Browne received 10.5 per cent of the vote, Meadows 8.5, and Walton 8.2. None, however, won a seat on the Council.

Tim Hodgson, a Liberal Democrat, was re-elected as a parish councillor in Cheswick Green, Solihull. Hodgson, a member of Warwick Liberal Democrats, said the campus society contributed to the re-election of Warwickshire County Councillor John Whitehouse, whose constituency covers part of Warwick University’s campus. He won by a mere 15 votes, largely because of enthusiastic student turnout.

Coventry City Council did not hold an election this year, so the other councillors covering campus remain unchanged.

The West Midlands does not keep statistics on election turnout by polling station or city, so there was no way to determine voter turnout or results on campus.