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]

Main article: West Lancashire Borough Council elections

After the election the composition of the council was:

PartySeats  ±  
Conservative30+8
Labour24-7
Independent0-2

Campaign

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

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]

West Lancashire Local Election Result 2002[2][6]
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

Ashurst
Ashurst (3)[6]
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
Aughton and Downholland (3)[6]
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
Aughton Park (2)[6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Ian Grant 879
Conservative Geoffrey Roberts 790
Labour Gordon Rankin 322
Turnout 1,991

Bickerstaffe
Bickerstaffe (1)[6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Patricia Taylor 440 62.2
Labour Paul Cotterill 267 37.8
Majority 173 24.4
Turnout 707

Birch Green
Birch Green (2)[6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Mary Pendleton 410
Labour Jane Roberts 320
Independent John Hiley 165
Conservative Florence Kean 56
Turnout 951

Burscough East
Burscough East (2)[6]
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
Burscough West (2)[6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour John Draper 732
Labour Cynthia Dereli 713
Conservative Richard Shepherd 633
Conservative Graham Rhys Jones 607
Turnout 2,685

Derby
Derby (3)[6]
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
Digmoor (2)[6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Terence Aldridge 609
Labour Anne Maguire 461
Independent Ian Givens 139
Conservative Malcolm Barron 85
Turnout 1,294

Halsall
Halsall (1)[6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Doreen Stephenson 431 73.8
Labour Dorothy Rimmer 153 26.2
Majority 278 47.6
Turnout 584

Hesketh-with-Becconsall
Hesketh-with-Becconsall (2)[6]
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
Knowsley (3)[6]
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
Moorside (2)[6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Patricia Carson 423
Labour Susan Riley 415
Independent Ronald Ford 144
Independent Karl Taraldsen 128
Turnout 1,110

Newburgh
Newburgh (1)[6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Kenneth Vincent 533 72.2
Labour Jacqueline Citarella 205 27.8
Majority 328 44.4
Turnout 738

North Meols
North Meols (2)[6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative John Baldock 549
Conservative Jill Baldock 548
Independent Joan Draper 383
Labour Shan France 304
Turnout 1,784

Parbold
Parbold (2)[6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative William Waterworth 935
Conservative May Blake 920
Labour David McKay 305
Turnout 2,160

Rufford
Rufford (1)[6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Joan Colling 374 75.3
Labour Christopher Cheetham 123 24.7
Majority 251 50.6
Turnout 497

Scarisbrick
Scarisbrick (2)[6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative William Cropper 755
Conservative Margaret Edwards 695
Labour Paul Gray 281
Turnout 1,731

Scott
Scott (3)[6]
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
Skelmersdale North (2)[6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Alan Bullen 514
Labour Jane McDermott 498
Independent Joan Morrison 368
Independent Alan Spears 301
Turnout 1,681

Skelmersdale South
Skelmersdale South (3)[6]
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
Tanhouse (2)[6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Robert Pendleton 374
Labour William Roberts 321
Independent David Gibson 163
Conservative Irene O'Donnell 129
Turnout 987

Tarleton
Tarleton (3)[6]
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
Up Holland (3)[6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Barbara Burke 940
Labour Margaret Skilling 837
Labour Anthony Rice 796
Conservative Ruth Pollock 615
Turnout 3,188

Wrightington
Wrightington (2)[6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Peter Gartside 661
Conservative Carolyn Evans 659
Labour Derek Thompson 542
Labour David Phythian 485
Turnout 2,347

References
  1. "West Lancashire". BBC News Online. Retrieved 18 December 2009.
  2. "Election results; Local Election". The Times. 4 May 2002. p. 16.
  3. Woodhead, Jane (10 April 2002). "Election candidates prepare to do battle". Liverpool Echo. p. 17.
  4. "Local Elections: Tories at the reins ; W Lancs . . . Tory gain". Liverpool Echo. 3 May 2002. p. 9.
  5. 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.
  6. "West Lancashire". Local Elections Archive Project. Retrieved 14 April 2010.
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