The 2008 Worcester City Council election took place on 1 May 2008 to elect members of Worcester City Council in Worcestershire, England. One third of the council was up for election and the council stayed under no overall control.[1]
After the election, the composition of the council was:
Before the election the Conservatives ran the council as a minority administration,[3] and required one extra seat in order to win a majority.[4] They had lost their majority after Labour gained a seat from them in a by-election in 2007.[5] 12 seats were up for election with 5 Conservative, 4 Labour, 2 independent and 1 Liberal Democrat seats being contested.[6] The Conservatives only contested 10 of the 12 seats after they decided not to oppose the two independents who were up for re-election in Nunnery and St John wards, however both they and the independent councillors denied that any deal had been done.[7]
Three members of the Shadow Cabinet, including the Shadow Chancellor George Osborne, visited Worcester to campaign for the Conservatives.[8]
The results saw the council remain without any party having a majority with the Conservatives continuing to run the administration.[9] They had come within 28 votes of winning in Arboretum ward but Labour's Joy Squires held the seat.[10]
The Green Party contested ten of the twelve seats, falling back slightly overall from 9.2 to 8.5% of the vote. Its claim of 10% related to the seats it contested. While it failed to win a seat, its best results were in the Rainbow Hill and Cathedral wards, where it scored 23.3 and 18.6% respectively.[11]