Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council elections
Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council elections are generally held three years out of every four, with a third of the council being elected each time. Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council, generally known as Wigan Council, is the local authority for the metropolitan borough of Wigan in Greater Manchester, England. Since the last boundary changes in 2004, 75 councillors have been elected from 25 wards.[1]
Political control
From 1889 to 1974 Wigan was a county borough, independent of any county council.[2] Under the Local Government Act 1972 it had its territory enlarged and became a metropolitan borough, with Greater Manchester County Council providing county-level services. The first election to the reconstituted borough council was held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority before coming into its revised powers on 1 April 1974. Greater Manchester County Council was abolished in 1986 and Wigan became a unitary authority. Political control of the council since 1973 has been held by the following parties:[3][4]
| Party in control | Years | |
|---|---|---|
| Labour | 1973–present | |
Leadership
The leaders of the council since 1991 have been:[5]
| Councillor | Party | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peter Smith | Labour | 1991 | 23 May 2018 | |
| David Molyneux | Labour | 23 May 2018 | ||
Council elections
Summary of the council composition after council elections, click on the year for full details of each election. Boundary changes took place for the 1980 election, and more recently the 2004 election – which increased the number of seats by three. Both needed the whole council to be elected in those years.[1]
| Year | Labour | Conservative | Liberal Democrats | Community Action | Independent |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 | 66 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1975 | 61 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1976 | 56 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 1978 | 51 | 19 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 1979 | 56 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 1980 | 64 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 1982 | 61 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 1983 | 60 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| 1984 | 60 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| 1986 | 64 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 1987 | 62 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 1 |
| 1988 | 63 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 1 |
| 1990 | 64 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 1 |
| 1991 | 63 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 1 |
| 1992 | 61 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 1 |
| 1994 | 61 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 1 |
| 1995 | 66 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 |
| 1996 | 69 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| 1998 | 70 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 1999 | 70 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2000 | 69 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2002 | 65 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| 2003 | 60 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 0 |
| 2004 | 42 | 7 | 8 | 18 | 0 |
| 2006 | 43 | 9 | 8 | 15 | 0 |
| 2007 | 46 | 10 | 6 | 12 | 1 |
| 2008 | 42 | 14 | 4 | 8 | 7 |
| 2010 | 51 | 8 | 3 | 4 | 9 |
| 2011 | 58 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 8 |
| 2012 | 63 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 9 |
| 2014 | 62 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 11 |
| 2015 | 64 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 2016 | 65 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 2018 | 60 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 2019 | 57 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 2021 | 57 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
Borough result maps
1973 results map
1975 results map
1976 results map
1978 results map
1979 results map
1980 results map
1981 results map
1982 results map
1983 results map
1984 results map
1985 results map
1986 results map
1987 results map
1988 results map
1989 results map
1990 results map
1991 results map
1992 results map
1993 results map
1994 results map
1995 results map
1996 results map
2003 results map
2004 results map
2006 results map
2007 results map
2008 results map
2010 results map
2011 results map
2012 results map
2014 results map
2015 results map
2016 results map
2018 results map
2019 results map
2021 results map
By-election results
References
- "The Borough of Wigan (Electoral Changes) Order 2004", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 2004/365, retrieved 30 August 2022
- "Wigan Municipal Borough / County Borough". A Vision of Britain through Time. GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
- "Compositions calculator". The Elections Centre. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
- "Wigan". BBC News Online. 19 April 2008. Retrieved 14 March 2010.
- "Council minutes". Wigan Council. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
- "Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council results from 1973 to 2008" (PDF). wigan.gov.uk. Retrieved 30 January 2012. Pgs 50, 55, 82. Asterisks denote sitting councillors, however these candidates are different from that elected the last time the seats were up for election (pgs 35, 40, 67), suggesting the candidate was a victor of an intermediate by-election.
