2002 St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council election

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Map of the results of the 2002 St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council election. Labour in red, Liberal Democrats in yellow and Conservatives in blue.

The 2002 St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council election took place on 2 May 2002 to elect members of St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council in Merseyside, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Labour Party stayed in overall control of the council.[1]

After the election, the composition of the council was:

Background[edit]

Before the election Labour held a 16-seat majority on the council,[4] with 18 seats being contested in 2002.[5] Among the councillors who were defending seats at the election was the Liberal Democrat group leader Brian Spencer.[6]

In an attempt to increase turnout, primary school children in the 2 wards with the lowest turnout in previous elections, Blackbrook and West Sutton were given balloons with the date of election printed on them to remind their parents of the election date.[7] Access to polling places had also been improved and there was greater publicity about the availability of postal voting,[7] which led to 5,086 requests for postal votes compared to 1,100 at the last election in 2000.[8]

Election result[edit]

Labour held control of the control with 33 councillors after losing 1 seat to the Conservatives.[2] The Conservative gain came in Windle, where Nancy Ashcroft joined her husband as a councillor for the ward.[3] This took the Conservatives to 5 seats on the council, while the Liberal Democrats remained on 15 seats.[3] Overall turnout at the election was 26.4% and ranged between a low of 19.3% in West Sutton and a high of 36.93% in Rainford.[2][3]

St Helens local election result 2002[9][10]
Party Seats Gains Losses Net gain/loss Seats % Votes % Votes +/−
  Labour 11 0 1 -1 61.1 47.6 17,126 +2.3%
  Liberal Democrats 5 0 0 0 27.8 34.4 12,365 +1.4%
  Conservative 2 1 0 +1 11.1 17.6 6,338 -3.7%
  Socialist Labour 0 0 0 0 0 0.3 99 -0.2%
  Independent 0 0 0 0 0 0.1 32 +0.1%

Ward results[edit]

Billinge and Seneley Green[3][10]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Bessie Griffin 1,530 59.8 +6.4
Conservative Elizabeth Black 589 23.0 -10.1
Liberal Democrats Christine Langley 439 17.2 +3.7
Majority 941 36.8 +16.4
Turnout 2,558 24.9 +5.1
Labour hold Swing
Blackbrook[3][10]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Linda Maloney 928 63.4 -0.8
Liberal Democrats Matthew Dunn 393 26.9 +4.8
Conservative Judith Collins 142 9.7 -4.0
Majority 535 36.6 -5.5
Turnout 1,463 21.0 +6.6
Labour hold Swing
Broad Oak[3][10]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Ken Pinder 928 55.7 +4.0
Liberal Democrats Alec Mills 654 39.2 -5.3
Conservative Joan Foster 85 5.1 +1.3
Majority 274 16.4 +9.2
Turnout 1,667 25.2 +3.2
Labour hold Swing
Eccleston[3][10]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats Teresa Sims 2,064 71.3 +6.4
Labour Stephen Glover 415 14.3 -0.7
Conservative William Highcock 415 14.3 -5.8
Majority 1,649 57.0 +12.2
Turnout 2,894 34.0 +5.0
Liberal Democrats hold Swing
Grange Park[3][10]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Terence Hanley 851 51.9 +1.2
Liberal Democrats David Evans 446 27.2 +4.8
Conservative John Willis 245 14.9 -8.8
Socialist Labour Michael Perry 99 6.0 +2.8
Majority 405 24.7 -2.3
Turnout 1,641 21.9 +5.9
Labour hold Swing
Haydock[3][10][11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour William Swift 1,387 63.2 -0.7
Liberal Democrats Eric Sheldon 507 23.1 +2.9
Conservative Keith Winstanley 299 13.6 -2.3
Majority 880 40.1 -3.6
Turnout 2,193 24.3 +6.2
Labour hold Swing
Marshalls Cross[3][10]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats John Beirne 1,047 69.6 +1.3
Labour Michael Glover 418 27.8 -0.6
Conservative Jill Jones 39 2.6 -0.7
Majority 629 41.8 +1.8
Turnout 1,504 25.3 +2.6
Liberal Democrats hold Swing
Moss Bank[3][10]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats Carole Kavanagh 1,495 56.4 +2.5
Labour Barbara Jakubiak 1,005 37.9 -0.1
Conservative John Cunliffe 152 5.7 -0.4
Majority 490 18.5 +2.7
Turnout 2,652 32.5 +3.5
Liberal Democrats hold Swing
Newton East[3][10][11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats Neil Taylor 1,325 59.4 -6.1
Labour Charles Banks 747 33.5 +5.7
Conservative Margaret Harvey 160 7.2 +0.5
Majority 578 25.9 -11.8
Turnout 2,232 29.4 +1.7
Liberal Democrats hold Swing
Newton West[3][10][11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Keith Deakin 1,202 61.8 +11.7
Liberal Democrats David Crowther 512 26.3 -15.3
Conservative Catherine Perks 232 11.9 +3.6
Majority 690 35.5 +27.0
Turnout 1,946 23.5 +1.8
Labour hold Swing
Parr and Hardshaw[3][10]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Mark Arnold 897 72.1 +1.4
Liberal Democrats Noreen Knowles 238 19.1 +0.1
Conservative Madeleine Wilcock 77 6.2 -4.0
Independent David Round 32 2.6 +2.6
Majority 659 53.0 +1.3
Turnout 1,244 21.1 +4.7
Labour hold Swing
Queens Park[3][10]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Richard McCauley 897 54.8 +0.0
Liberal Democrats Lesley Ronan 596 36.4 +4.4
Conservative Charmain Pyke 143 8.7 -4.5
Majority 301 18.4 -4.4
Turnout 1,636 23.4 +5.2
Labour hold Swing
Rainford[3][10]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Tony Brown 1,544 60.4 -8.5
Labour David Wood 797 31.2 +5.4
Liberal Democrats Stephen Topping 215 8.4 +3.0
Majority 747 29.2 -13.9
Turnout 2,556 36.9 +1.2
Conservative hold Swing
Rainhill[3][10]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Lee Myers 1,517 59.1 +0.5
Conservative Jonathan Mackie 629 24.5 -5.3
Liberal Democrats Kenneth Knowles 419 16.3 +4.8
Majority 888 34.6 +5.8
Turnout 2,565 26.7 +6.8
Labour hold Swing
Sutton and Bold[3][10]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats Brian Spencer 1,202 58.8 +5.7
Labour Derek Maylor 744 36.4 -6.0
Conservative Stephen Holt 97 4.7 +0.2
Majority 458 22.4 +11.7
Turnout 2,043 27.4 +1.4
Liberal Democrats hold Swing
Thatto Heath[10]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Patricia Robinson 1,061 68.8 +3.5
Liberal Democrats Carol Pearl 318 20.6 +4.9
Conservative Barbara Woodcock 164 10.6 -3.4
Majority 743 48.2 -1.4
Turnout 1,543 21.5 +2.7
Labour hold Swing
West Sutton[3][10]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Frank Robinson 784 64.5
Liberal Democrats Darren Makin 291 24.0
Conservative Henry Spriggs 140 11.5
Majority 493 40.6
Turnout 1,215 19.3 +3.9
Labour hold Swing
Windle[3][10]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Nancy Ashcroft 1,186 49.3
Labour Geoffrey Almond 1,018 42.3
Liberal Democrats Gary Pulfer 204 8.5
Majority 168 7.0
Turnout 2,408 34.9 +6.0
Conservative gain from Labour Swing

By-elections between 2002 and 2003[edit]

Marshalls Cross by-election 19 September 2002[12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats 813 72.3 +2.7
Labour 275 24.5 -3.3
Conservative 36 3.2 +0.6
Majority 538 47.9 +6.1
Turnout 1,124 18.9 -6.4
Liberal Democrats hold Swing

References[edit]

  1. ^ "St Helens". BBC News Online. Retrieved 22 February 2015.
  2. ^ a b c "Local Elections: Town keeps it in the family". Liverpool Echo. NewsBank. 3 May 2002.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Bianchi, Stefania (10 May 2002). "Triumph for Nancy!". Cheshire, Greater Manchester, and Merseyside Counties Publications. NewsBank.
  4. ^ Woodhead, Jane (10 April 2002). "Election candidates prepare to do battle". Liverpool Echo. NewsBank.
  5. ^ Kelly, Andy (11 April 2002). "Town halls may have new leaders in weeks". Liverpool Daily Post. NewsBank.
  6. ^ Kelly, Andy (2 May 2002). "Can e-voting shift balance of power?". Liverpool Daily Post. NewsBank.
  7. ^ a b Beard, Elizabeth (2 May 2002). "Floating voters!". Cheshire, Greater Manchester, and Merseyside Counties Publications. NewsBank.
  8. ^ Woodhead, Jane; Hernon, Ian (2 May 2002). "Hi-tech voting to boost Mersey poll". Liverpool Echo. NewsBank.
  9. ^ "Election results - Local Elections". The Times. NewsBank. 3 May 2002. p. 6.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s "Local Election Results 2002". Local Elections Archive Project. Retrieved 22 February 2015.
  11. ^ a b c Magill, Pete (3 May 2002). "Newton Local Election Results 2002". Cheshire, Greater Manchester, and Merseyside Counties Publications. NewsBank.
  12. ^ "Tories make shock gain from SNP". The Guardian. 20 September 2002. Retrieved 22 February 2015.
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