2008 Birmingham City Council election
Introduction


**Elections to [Birmingham City Council](/wiki/Birmingham_City_Council "Birmingham City Council")** in England were held on 1 May 2008\. One third of the council was up for election and the council stayed under [no overall control](/wiki/No_overall_control "No overall control") as it had been since 2003\.

230 candidates stood in the election for the 40 seats that were contested. Five parties contested every [ward](/wiki/Wards_of_the_United_Kingdom "Wards of the United Kingdom") in Birmingham, the [Conservatives](/wiki/Conservative_Party_%28UK%29 "Conservative Party (UK)"), [Labour](/wiki/Labour_Party_%28UK%29 "Labour Party (UK)"), [Liberal Democrats](/wiki/Liberal_Democrats_%28UK%29 "Liberal Democrats (UK)"), [British National Party](/wiki/British_National_Party "British National Party") and the [Greens](/wiki/Green_Party_of_England_and_Wales "Green Party of England and Wales"). Overall turnout across the city was 31\.2%

The results saw the Conservative Party gain significantly, winning 6 seats from the Labour Party and [Respect](/wiki/Respect_%E2%80%93_The_Unity_Coalition "Respect – The Unity Coalition") gain an [independent](/wiki/Independent_%28politician%29 "Independent (politician)") seat. The Liberal Democrats were pleased to hold all their seats. As a result, the Conservative and Liberal Democrat ruling coalition increased their majority to hold 75% of the seats on the council. Both Conservatives and Liberal Democrats attributed their success to below inflation [council tax](/wiki/Council_tax "Council tax") rises and the national unpopularity of the Labour government.


When were the elections held?