FACTBOX - Local elections

(Reuters) - Voters elect the mayor of London and 4,023 local councillors in England and Wales on Thursday in Gordon Brown's first electoral test since taking over as prime minister from Tony Blair last June.

Here are some key facts and figures. Voting will run from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.

WHO NEEDS WHAT

Labour Party - If Labour loses seats, it will have had its worst set of local election results since the days of Harold Wilson back in 1968. The party could probably live with up to 100 losses given the economic climate, but anything approaching 200 would be seen as worrying for Brown's parliamentary election prospects. A parliamentary election must be held by mid-2010.

A win for Labour's Ken Livingstone in the London race would be a big boost to party morale, but he faces a strong challenge from Conservative candidate Boris Johnson.

Conservative Party - Again the key figure is 200. A gain of more than 200 seats would confirm the Conservatives' opinion poll lead. Between 100 and 200 seats would be good but not great and any fewer than 100 would suggest they still have to convince the electorate they are ready to form the next government.

Liberal Democrat Party - Last year Britain's third party lost about 250 seats in England and this time analysts expect it to be hoping for around 50 gains. Any fewer would be a poor start for new leader Nick Clegg.

KEY SEATS

Reading is the last Labour local stronghold in the southeast of England and a swing of 4 percent to the Conservatives would see Labour lose overall control for the first time since 1986. A similar swing would see Labour lose Nuneaton and Bedworth in central England.

WHAT'S UP FOR GRABS

There are 4,023 seats up for election in England and Wales. In most councils only a third of seats are being contested so scope for changes in overall control will be limited. Labour suffered heavy defeats -- 412 net losses -- when these seats were last fought. Labour is going into this election with the lowest number of councillors since 1973.

The Conservatives control 205 local authorities in England while Labour controls just 50 and the Liberal Democrats 29.

While central government determines national spending priorities, local councils are responsible for many services such as social housing, schools, licensing for bars, street lighting, sports facilities, parking regulations, rubbish collection and care for the elderly.

Turnout is often low in local elections. In 2003 it was 36 percent in England, in 2004 it was 41 percent. In 2005, when the vote was the same day as a parliamentary election, it was 61 percent. In 2006 it was 36 percent and in 2007 it was 38 percent.

(Writing by Steve Addison, editing by Kate Kelland and Richard Meares)

• Email Story
• IM Story
• Printable View
• Blog This
• Post a Comment

Recommend this article

Sponsored Links

(What’s this?)