No overall control
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In the context of local councils in the United Kingdom, the term No Overall Control (abbreviated to NOC) refers to a situation in which no single political party achieves a majority of seats; and is analogous to a hung parliament. Of the 310 councils who had members up for election in the 2007 local elections, 85 (just over a quarter) resulted in a NOC administration.
Administration in NOC councils
Typically, if no party achieves overall control of a council, the largest grouping will form alliances to create an ad hoc governing coalition. Often local councils have larger proportions of smaller party and independent members than the House of Commons, and this may result in these minor groups having more influence than their numerical representation would otherwise allow.
Examples exist of alliances between the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives (Birmingham City Council, Leeds City Council), Liberal Democrats and Labour (Southampton City Council until the 2008 local elections when the Conservatives gained control of the council), Conservatives and Labour in Ashfield and between all major parties and independents or residents associations. Alliances between several different parties in this context are often referred to as a "rainbow coalition".[1]
It is possible for a council to be under no overall control even when there is an apparent majority, most usually of independents. This can arise when the councillors divide on other than party lines. The 2004 election to Isle of Anglesey County Council returned a notional majority of independents, but only Plaid Cymru maintained a party grouping, and not all of its members sat with the group. The remainder of the council, including members from the other main parties, formed four non-partisan groupings, none of which held a majority. The 2008 election resulted in the Original Independent grouping gaining a majority.
See also
References
External links
- No Overall Control? - Hansard weighs up a hung parliament Guy Aitchison, Our Kingdom