2002 West Lancashire District Council election
The 2002 West Lancashire District Council election took place on 2 May 2002 to elect members of West Lancashire District Council in Lancashire, England. The whole council was up for election with boundary changes since the last election in 2000 reducing the number of seats by 1.[1] The Conservative Party gained overall control of the council from Labour.[2]
After the election the composition of the council was:
| Party | Seats | ± | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | 30 | +8 | |
| Labour | 24 | -7 | |
| Independent | 0 | -2 | |
Campaign
[edit]Before the election Labour had 25 seats on the council, compared to 23 for the Conservatives.[3] All the seats were being contested for the first time since 1974 after boundary changes had taken place.[4] Among the candidates there was a record number of independents at 12, with 6 of them having defected from Labour.[4]
Issues in the election including transport, housing and leisure facilities.[5] The Labour Party said they were the only party that had the experience to run the council and pledged to remove charges for pensioners for pest control.[5] However the Conservatives pledged to improve services, increase recycling, keep parking charges low, form partnerships with private firms to improve facilities, while making efficiency savings.[5]
Election result
[edit]The results saw the Conservatives gain control of the council after winning 30 seats compared to 24 for Labour.[4] The Conservatives won the seats in Ormskirk, while Labour held the seats in Skelmersdale.[4] However the former Labour chairman of the council, Andrew Johnson, was defeated in the election in Aughton and Downholland ward after his former seat of Downholland was merged with the more Conservative Aughton in the boundary changes.[4] All of the independent candidates were defeated in the election, which saw an overall turnout of 32.5%.[4]
| Party | Seats | Gains | Losses | Net gain/loss | Seats % | Votes % | Votes | +/− | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | 30 | +8 | 55.6 | 47.5 | 26,397 | ||||
| Labour | 24 | -8 | 44.4 | 40.0 | 22,256 | ||||
| Independent | 0 | -2 | 0 | 11.5 | 6,378 | ||||
| Green | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.8 | 454 | ||||
| Socialist Alliance | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 | 93 | ||||
Ward results
[edit]Ashurst
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Ian Duffy | 728 | |||
| Labour | Donna Duffy | 726 | |||
| Labour | Ann Rice | 656 | |||
| Independent | Marie McElhinney | 382 | |||
| Independent | Patrick McElhinney | 349 | |||
| Conservative | James Coomber | 219 | |||
| Socialist Alliance | Lyndsey Shipstone | 93 | |||
| Turnout | 3,153 | ||||
Aughton and Downholland
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | David O'Toole | 1,085 | |||
| Conservative | Una Atherley | 1,069 | |||
| Conservative | David Westley | 985 | |||
| Labour | Andrew Johnson | 780 | |||
| Turnout | 3,919 | ||||
Aughton Park
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Ian Grant | 879 | |||
| Conservative | Geoffrey Roberts | 790 | |||
| Labour | Gordon Rankin | 322 | |||
| Turnout | 1,991 | ||||
Bickerstaffe
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Patricia Taylor | 440 | 62.2 | ||
| Labour | Paul Cotterill | 267 | 37.8 | ||
| Majority | 173 | 24.4 | |||
| Turnout | 707 | ||||
Birch Green
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Mary Pendleton | 410 | |||
| Labour | Jane Roberts | 320 | |||
| Independent | John Hiley | 165 | |||
| Conservative | Florence Kean | 56 | |||
| Turnout | 951 | ||||
Burscough East
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Walter Carter | 582 | |||
| Conservative | Florence Westley | 582 | |||
| Labour | Anne Carter | 580 | |||
| Conservative | Susan Murrin-Bailey | 546 | |||
| Turnout | 2,290 | ||||
Burscough West
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | John Draper | 732 | |||
| Labour | Cynthia Dereli | 713 | |||
| Conservative | Richard Shepherd | 633 | |||
| Conservative | Graham Rhys Jones | 607 | |||
| Turnout | 2,685 | ||||
Derby
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Paul Greenall | 811 | |||
| Conservative | Adrian Owens | 750 | |||
| Conservative | David Swiffen | 734 | |||
| Labour | Noel Delaney | 610 | |||
| Labour | Elizabeth Rafferty | 571 | |||
| Green | Anne Doyle | 321 | |||
| Turnout | 3,797 | ||||
Digmoor
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Terence Aldridge | 609 | |||
| Labour | Anne Maguire | 461 | |||
| Independent | Ian Givens | 139 | |||
| Conservative | Malcolm Barron | 85 | |||
| Turnout | 1,294 | ||||
Halsall
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Doreen Stephenson | 431 | 73.8 | ||
| Labour | Dorothy Rimmer | 153 | 26.2 | ||
| Majority | 278 | 47.6 | |||
| Turnout | 584 | ||||
Hesketh-with-Becconsall
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Christopher Ashcroft | 607 | |||
| Conservative | Martin Forshaw | 592 | |||
| Independent | Gail Hodson | 295 | |||
| Independent | Lesley Standish-Gore | 285 | |||
| Labour | Susan Jones | 113 | |||
| Turnout | 1,892 | ||||
Knowsley
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Valerie Hopley | 1,059 | |||
| Conservative | Peter Lea | 1,010 | |||
| Conservative | Robert Bailey | 913 | |||
| Labour | Margaret Pinnington | 635 | |||
| Labour | Richard Nolan | 541 | |||
| Turnout | 4,158 | ||||
Moorside
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Patricia Carson | 423 | |||
| Labour | Susan Riley | 415 | |||
| Independent | Ronald Ford | 144 | |||
| Independent | Karl Taraldsen | 128 | |||
| Turnout | 1,110 | ||||
Newburgh
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Kenneth Vincent | 533 | 72.2 | ||
| Labour | Jacqueline Citarella | 205 | 27.8 | ||
| Majority | 328 | 44.4 | |||
| Turnout | 738 | ||||
North Meols
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | John Baldock | 549 | |||
| Conservative | Jill Baldock | 548 | |||
| Independent | Joan Draper | 383 | |||
| Labour | Shan France | 304 | |||
| Turnout | 1,784 | ||||
Parbold
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | William Waterworth | 935 | |||
| Conservative | May Blake | 920 | |||
| Labour | David McKay | 305 | |||
| Turnout | 2,160 | ||||
Rufford
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Joan Colling | 374 | 75.3 | ||
| Labour | Christopher Cheetham | 123 | 24.7 | ||
| Majority | 251 | 50.6 | |||
| Turnout | 497 | ||||
Scarisbrick
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | William Cropper | 755 | |||
| Conservative | Margaret Edwards | 695 | |||
| Labour | Paul Gray | 281 | |||
| Turnout | 1,731 | ||||
Scott
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Charles Gains | 722 | |||
| Labour | Francis Williams | 710 | |||
| Conservative | Cyril Ainscough | 656 | |||
| Labour | John Hodson | 636 | |||
| Conservative | Leslie Yeates | 587 | |||
| Independent | John Fillis | 463 | |||
| Independent | David Braid | 187 | |||
| Turnout | 3,961 | ||||
Skelmersdale North
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Alan Bullen | 514 | |||
| Labour | Jane McDermott | 498 | |||
| Independent | Joan Morrison | 368 | |||
| Independent | Alan Spears | 301 | |||
| Turnout | 1,681 | ||||
Skelmersdale South
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Richard Cavanagh | 754 | |||
| Labour | Sydney Jones | 728 | |||
| Labour | Doreen Saxon | 703 | |||
| Independent | Joan Britton | 520 | |||
| Independent | Sharon Wright | 329 | |||
| Conservative | Susan Cropper | 140 | |||
| Green | Martin Lowe | 133 | |||
| Turnout | 3,307 | ||||
Tanhouse
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Robert Pendleton | 374 | |||
| Labour | William Roberts | 321 | |||
| Independent | David Gibson | 163 | |||
| Conservative | Irene O'Donnell | 129 | |||
| Turnout | 987 | ||||
Tarleton
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Robert Hodge | 986 | |||
| Conservative | John Mee | 939 | |||
| Conservative | Rosemary Evans | 833 | |||
| Independent | John Hodson | 625 | |||
| Independent | Roy Hiscock | 583 | |||
| Independent | Nadine Ashcroft | 569 | |||
| Labour | Denise Francis | 131 | |||
| Turnout | 4,666 | ||||
Up Holland
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Barbara Burke | 940 | |||
| Labour | Margaret Skilling | 837 | |||
| Labour | Anthony Rice | 796 | |||
| Conservative | Ruth Pollock | 615 | |||
| Turnout | 3,188 | ||||
Wrightington
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Peter Gartside | 661 | |||
| Conservative | Carolyn Evans | 659 | |||
| Labour | Derek Thompson | 542 | |||
| Labour | David Phythian | 485 | |||
| Turnout | 2,347 | ||||
References
[edit]- ^ "West Lancashire". BBC News Online. Retrieved 18 December 2009.
- ^ a b "Election results; Local Election". The Times. 4 May 2002. p. 16.
- ^ Woodhead, Jane (10 April 2002). "Election candidates prepare to do battle". Liverpool Echo. p. 17.
- ^ a b c d e f "Local Elections: Tories at the reins ; W Lancs . . . Tory gain". Liverpool Echo. 3 May 2002. p. 9.
- ^ a b c Wildman, Jennifer (24 April 2002). "So incensed I'm going to vote! ; In the third part of our local election series, Jennifer Wildman examines the main issues affecting Sefton and West Lancashire". Liverpool Echo. p. 18.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z "West Lancashire". Local Elections Archive Project. Retrieved 14 April 2010.
