2004 South Tyneside Metropolitan Borough Council election

The 2004 South Tyneside Metropolitan Borough Council election took place on 10 June 2004 to elect members of South Tyneside Metropolitan Borough Council in Tyne and Wear, England. The whole council was up for election with boundary changes since the last election in 2003 reducing the number of seats by 6.[1] The Labour Party stayed in overall control of the council.[2]

Campaign

Before the election, South Tyneside was seen as one of Labour's safest councils in the north east of England – Labour having 49 of the 60 councillors; they were expected to remain in control of the council.[3] The Boundary Committee for England had made changes in South Tyneside's wards since the 2003 election and these meant there would be 54 councillors elected from 18 wards, instead of the previous 60 councillors from 20 wards.[4] The changes abolished All Saints and Rekendyke wards and new ward names included Biddick and All Saints, Hebburn North and Simonside and Rekendyke.[5]

Labour was the only party which contested all 54 seats that were up for election, with the other candidates being made up of 23 Conservatives, 22 Liberal Democrats, 13 independents, 12 Progressives, 3 British National Party and 1 each from the Green Party and the National Front.[6][7] The independent candidates included 4 former Labour councillors who had quit the party to stand as independents, Mervyn Owen, Tom Defty, Jim Caine and Allen Branley, as well as Allen Branley's wife Jane Branley.[4]

The election was held with all postal voting, but delays relating to the printers meant that many voters received their ballot papers almost a week late.[8]

Election result

The results saw Labour defend a reduced majority on the council after winning 35 of the 54 seats.[9] The independents and Progressives were jointly the largest opposition groups after the election after winning 6 seats each, with the Progressive leader, Jim Capstick, saying that the boundary changes had helped them to win all of the seats in Harton and West Park wards.[9] The gains for the independents included the former Labour councillors, Tom Defty, who defeated the mayor and wife of the council leader, Linda Waggott,[10] in Bede ward, and Allen Braley in Westoe ward, who was elected along with his wife Jane.[9]

Meanwhile, the Conservatives had 3 councillors after the election, the most for decades, after winning all 3 seats in Cleadon and East Boldon ward at the expense of the Liberal Democrats.[9] Among the Liberal Democrats who failed to be elected in Cleadon and East Boldon was the leader of the party on the council, Jim Selby, but the party did gain one seat in Biddick & All Saints ward.[10]

South Tyneside Local Election Result 2004[2][11]
Party Seats Gains Losses Net gain/loss Seats % Votes % Votes +/−
  Labour 35 -14 64.8 45.5 49,457 -3.5%
  Independent 6 +4 11.1 11.2 12,220 +2.2%
  Progressive 6 +3 11.1 10.9 11,829 +2.4%
  Liberal Democrats 4 -1 7.4 16.6 18,022 -0.2%
  Conservative 3 +2 5.6 14.5 15,783 -1.4%
  BNP 0 0 0 0.8 889 +0.0%
  Green 0 0 0 0.3 315 +0.3%
  National Front 0 0 0 0.2 262 +0.2%

Ward results
Beacon & Bents (3)[11][12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour John Wood 908
Labour Audrey McMillan 898
Labour John Anglin 863
Liberal Democrats Susan Troupe 569
Liberal Democrats Jennifer Burke 561
Liberal Democrats David Selby 542
Independent Robert Growcott 541
Conservative George Smith 447
Conservative Edward Russell 438
Conservative Christopher Taylor 394
BNP James Hills 371
Green Bryan Atkinson 315
Turnout 6,847 41.7
Bede (3)[11][12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Thomas Hanson 1,118
Labour Agnes Stewart 1,089
Independent Thomas Defty 1,054
Labour Linda Waggott 929
Conservative Mary Golightly 367
Turnout 4,557 38.9
Biddick & All Saints (3)[11][12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Joseph Kidd 986
Liberal Democrats William Troupe 845
Labour Stephen Forster 804
Labour Olive Punchion 738
National Front Charles Schmidt 262
Turnout 3,635 32.6
Boldon Colliery (3)[11][12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Joanne Bell 1,404
Labour William Lynch 1,368
Labour Alison Strike 1,316
Liberal Democrats Frederick Taylor 860
Liberal Democrats Terence Branthwaite 806
Conservative Gerald Brebner 662
Turnout 6,416 40.9
Cleadon & East Boldon (3)[11][12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Philip Parkinson 1,649
Conservative Donald Wood 1,569
Conservative David Potts 1,500
Liberal Democrats Christopher Johnson 1,456
Liberal Democrats James Selby 1,177
Liberal Democrats Henry Grainger 1,176
Labour Mary Purvis 495
Labour David Wood 423
Labour Terence Fairley 414
Turnout 9,859 51.6
Cleadon Park (3)[11][12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Alexander Donaldson 802
Independent George Elsom 761
Labour James Foreman 751
Labour Anne Walsh 732
Progressive Arthur Morton 718
Progressive John Williams 527
Progressive Gunther Keller 497
Turnout 4,788 37.2
Fellgate & Hedworth (3)[11][12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Paul Waggott 1,116
Labour Moira Smith 1,071
Labour Edith Battye 1,011
Conservative Sandra Jackson 647
Turnout 3,845 35.8
Harton (3)[11][12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Progressive James Capstick 1,585
Progressive Gordon Finch 1,540
Progressive Lawrence Nolan 1,535
Labour Robert Dix 1,111
Labour Wilhelmina Moad 994
Labour Wallace Hobson 863
Turnout 7,628 44.4
Hebburn North (3)[11][12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats Joseph Abbott 1,266
Liberal Democrats John McKie 1,230
Liberal Democrats Joseph Atkinson 1,131
Labour John Hodgson 916
Labour John Drynan 669
Labour Gladys Hobson 609
Conservative Stewart Jackson 159
Turnout 5,980 38.9
Hebburn South (3)[11][12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Independent John McCabe 1,678
Labour Henry McAtominey 1,113
Labour Nancy Maxwell 1,047
Labour John Watson 824
Liberal Democrats Constance Ridgway 776
Liberal Democrats Jeffrey Harling 618
Conservative John Coe 313
Turnout 6,369 48.1
Horsley Hill (3)[11][12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Arthur Meeks 1,056
Labour Iain Malcolm 1,033
Labour Eileen Leask 908
Conservative Patricia Pigott 862
Conservative Martin Anderson 812
Conservative Cheryl Anderson 767
Independent Mervyn Owen 634
Liberal Democrats Yvonne Carlin-Page 465
Liberal Democrats Carol Selby 412
BNP Christine Richardson 287
Turnout 7,236 47.2
Monkton (3)[11][12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Joan Lewis 984
Labour Alan Kerr 960
Labour James Sewell 929
Liberal Democrats Rosalind Slater 756
Liberal Democrats Sheila Bennett 666
Liberal Democrats Muriel Coe 624
Conservative John Cameron 425
Independent Derek Wagstaffe 351
Independent John Bissett 203
Turnout 5,898 39.5
Primrose (3)[11][12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour James Perry 1,065
Labour Barrie Scorer 1,036
Labour Emma Lewell 972
Conservative Walter Armstrong 634
Turnout 3,707 34.0
Simonside & Rekendyke (3)[11][12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Edward Malcolm 1,004
Labour Michael Clare 915
Labour Joan Meeks 896
Liberal Democrats Jean Turner 609
Progressive Robert Burdon 556
Progressive David Maxwell 540
Progressive Raymond Evans 495
Turnout 5,015 34.6
West Park (3)[11][12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Progressive Enid Hetherington 1,315
Progressive Marjorie Robinson 1,279
Progressive Kenneth Hickman 1,242
Labour Scott Duffy 800
Labour Kenneth Stephenson 702
Labour Jane Carter 698
Turnout 6,036 40.1
Westoe (3)[11][12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Independent Allen Branley 1,561
Independent Jane Branley 1,488
Labour Ronald Reynolds 807
Conservative George Wilkinson 787
Liberal Democrats Derek Brown 751
Conservative Quintin Smith 651
Conservative Karl Arthur 612
Labour Henry Williams 544
Labour Thomas Pigott 536
Turnout 7,737 47.8
Whitburn & Marsden (3)[11][12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Tracey Dixon 1,019
Labour Shirley Stratford 949
Labour Peter Boyack 897
Independent James Caine 726
Liberal Democrats Peter Carlin-Page 726
Conservative Jeffrey Milburn 683
Conservative John Fettis 642
Conservative Ralph Robson 623
Turnout 6,265 45.5
Whiteleas (3)[11][12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Independent John Haram 1,296
Labour Ernest Gibson 1,178
Labour William Brady 1,126
Labour Mavis Brady 1,061
Independent Joanne Burns 978
Independent Stephen Pattison 949
BNP David Richardson 231
Conservative Barbara Surtees 140
Turnout 6,959 44.5

References
  1. "South Tyneside council". BBC News Online. Retrieved 21 February 2010.
  2. "Ballot box". The Times. 12 June 2004. p. 26.
  3. Linford, Paul; Smith, Ross (5 May 2004). "Mowing the PM's grass roots". The Journal. p. 3.
  4. "Labour rumbles on after dispute". The Journal. 28 May 2004. p. 16.
  5. "Drive to push up voting numbers". Shields Gazette. 14 May 2004. Archived from the original on 2 February 2013. Retrieved 22 February 2010.
  6. "Seaside borough's vote battle". Evening Chronicle. 20 May 2004. p. 8.
  7. "Race is on to win over voters". Shields Gazette. 14 May 2004. Archived from the original on 2 February 2013. Retrieved 22 February 2010.
  8. "Print delay hits council election". Shields Gazette. 27 May 2004. Archived from the original on 2 February 2013. Retrieved 22 February 2010.
  9. McKay, Neil (12 June 2004). "Trouble and strife at South Tyneside". The Journal. p. 32.
  10. "Mayor set to lose her chains of office". Evening Chronicle. 12 June 2004. p. 4.
  11. "Elections: 11 Jun 2004 Local Government Election". South Tyneside Council. Retrieved 21 February 2010.
  12. "Election 2004 results - South Tyneside". The Journal. 12 June 2004. p. 32.
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