West Lancashire District Council election, 2003

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The 2003 West Lancashire District Council election took place on 1 May 2003 to elect members of West Lancashire District Council in Lancashire, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Conservative party stayed in overall control of the council.[1]

After the election, the composition of the council was:

Party Seats   ±  
Conservative 28 -2
Labour 26 +2

[2]

Campaign

Before the election the Conservatives held 30 seats compared to 24 for the Labour party,[3] after the Conservatives gained a majority in the 2002 election for the first time since 1991.[4] 18 seats were contested in the election with the Conservatives defending 11 and Labour 7.[5] In total 46 candidates stood in the election, made up of 18 Conservative, 17 Labour, 4 Green and 7 independent candidates.[4] No Liberal Democrats stood in the election, with their local party reported to have fewer than 100 members.[6] Among the councillors defending their seats in the election was the Conservative council leader, Geoffrey Roberts,[3] while a former Labour councillor John Fillis stood as in independent in Scott ward, after having been cleared earlier in the year of defrauding Labour party accounts during the 1997 general election.[7]

The election was seen as being a close contest being the Conservative and Labour parties, but the Liverpool Echo felt apathy among Labour voters could imperil some Labour held seats in Skelmersdale.[8] The Conservatives defended their record in control of the council for the past year, pointing to a recycling scheme they had introduced, improvements they claimed to have made in street cleaning and they pledged to continue investing in services.[9] However Labour attacked the Conservatives for scrapping a community warden scheme, pledged that they would end a pest control charge and would provide a new cemetery for the area.[9] Labour also accused the Conservatives of planning to privatise services to a Liverpool company, however this was denied by the Conservatives.[5]

Election result

The results saw the Conservatives remain in control of the council despite losing 2 seats to Labour.[10] Labour narrowly gained seats in Scott and Wrightington wards from the Conservative after a recount.[10] This meant the Conservatives only had a majority of 2, with 28 seats compared to 26 for Labour.[11] No other candidates were elected with all 7 independents being defeated.[11] Overall turnout in the election was 27.5%.[10]

West Lancashire Local Election Result 2003[2][12]
Party Seats Gains Losses Net gain/loss Seats % Votes % Votes +/−
  Conservative 9 0 2 -2 50.0 46.1 8.497 -1.4%
  Labour 9 2 0 +2 50.0 39.9 7,363 -0.1%
  Independent 0 0 0 0 0 11.1 2,043 -0.4%
  Green 0 0 0 0 0 2.9 541 +2.1%

Ward results

Ashurst

Ashurst[12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Ann Rice 483 53.1
Independent Patrick McElhinney 268 29.5
Conservative Paul Boulton 158 17.4
Majority 215 23.6
Turnout 909 18.7
Labour hold Swing

Aughton and Downholland

Aughton and Downholland[12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative David Westley 954 60.7
Labour Andrew Johnson 618 39.3
Majority 336 21.4
Turnout 1,572 34.0
Conservative hold Swing

Aughton Park

Aughton Park[12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Geoffrey Roberts 682 78.0
Labour Stephen Hanlon 192 22.0
Majority 490 56.0
Turnout 874 28.3
Conservative hold Swing

Bickerstaffe

Bickerstaffe[12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Patricia Taylor 402 53.7 -8.5
Labour Paul Cotterill 347 46.3 +8.5
Majority 55 7.4 -17.0
Turnout 749 45.1
Conservative hold Swing

Birch Green

Birch Green[12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Jane Roberts 323 84.6
Conservative Timothy Edwards 59 15.4
Majority 264 69.2
Turnout 382 12.9
Labour hold Swing

Derby

Derby[12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative David Swiffen 618 47.5
Labour Noel Delaney 541 41.6
Green Anne Doyle 141 10.8
Majority 77 5.9
Turnout 1,300 28.2
Conservative hold Swing

Digmoor

Digmoor[12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Ann-Marie Maguire 394 75.5
Independent Alan Spears 74 14.2
Conservative Richard Shepherd 54 10.3
Majority 220 61.3
Turnout 522 16.4
Labour hold Swing

Knowlsey

Knowsley[12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Robert Bailey 730 56.6
Labour Margaret Pinnington 415 32.2
Green John Watt 145 11.2
Majority 315 24.4
Turnout 1,290 28.4
Conservative hold Swing

North Meols

North Meols[12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Jill Baldock 386 48.9
Independent Joan Draper 286 36.2
Labour Jane McDermott 117 14.8
Majority 100 12.7
Turnout 789 24.7
Conservative hold Swing

Parbold

Parbold[12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative May Blake 749 58.8
Independent Rosalind Wess 341 26.8
Labour Clare Gillard 183 14.4
Majority 408 32.0
Turnout 1,273 40.3
Conservative hold Swing

Scarisbrick

Scarisbrick[12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Margaret Edwards 560 72.0
Labour David Evans 218 28.0
Majority 342 44.0
Turnout 778 26.6
Conservative hold Swing

Scott

Scott[12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Allison Sinton 582 38.3
Conservative Cyril Ainscough 574 37.7
Independent John Fillis 221 14.5
Green Maurice George 144 9.5
Majority 8 0.6
Turnout 1,521 32.5
Labour gain from Conservative Swing

Skelmersdale North

Skelmersdale North[12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Richard Nolan 450 61.1
Independent Joan Morrison 195 26.5
Conservative Graham Jones 92 12.5
Majority 255 34.6
Turnout 737 23.5
Labour hold Swing

Skelmersdale South

Skelmersdale South[12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Doreen Saxon 682 73.8
Conservative Susan Cropper 131 14.2
Green Martin Lowe 111 12.0
Majority 551 59.6
Turnout 924 18.6
Labour hold Swing

Tanhouse

Tanhouse[12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour William Roberts 368 76.3
Conservative Irene O'Donnell 114 23.7
Majority 254 52.6
Turnout 482 16.3
Labour hold Swing

Tarleton

Tarleton[12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Rosemary Evans 957 59.3
Independent John Hodson 658 40.7
Majority 299 18.6
Turnout 1,615 37.0
Conservative hold Swing

Up Holland

Up Holland[12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Anthony Rice 812 55.2
Conservative Ruth Pollock 659 44.8
Majority 253 10.4
Turnout 1,471 30.3
Labour hold Swing

Wrightington

Wrightington[12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Derek Thompson 638 50.8
Conservative Carolyn Evans 618 49.2
Majority 20 1.6
Turnout 1,256 37.2
Labour gain from Conservative Swing

References

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