2000 Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council election

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The 2000 Oldham Council election took place on 4 May 2000 to elect members of Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council in Greater Manchester, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Liberal Democrats gained overall control of the council from the Labour Party. [1]

Contents

After the election, the composition of the council was:

Campaign

Before the election Labour ran the council with 32 seats compared to 25 for the Liberal Democrats who were the main opposition party on the council. [3] However the 1999 election had seen the Liberal Democrats win more votes than Labour, 42.5% compared to 38%, and they were confident of at least depriving Labour of a majority on the council in the election. [3]

Issues in the election included crime, education, employment, health and litter. [4] Unemployment was down at around 5%, but still above the national average and was much higher in some of the inner city areas. [4]

In the week before the election Labour suffered a blow when a councillor, Margaret Kelly, defected to the Green Party. [4] She had been a Labour member for 30 years, but said that the national Labour government was not what she had fought for in opposition. [4]

Election result

The results saw the Liberal Democrats gain control of the council from the Labour party. [5] Labour, who had run the council for the previous 20 years, suffered a number of losses including the council leader John Battye in Failsworth East ward. [5] Battye, who had been leader of the council for the previous 15 years, was defeated by 1,605 votes by a 23-year-old Liberal Democrat candidate Charles Glover in the most high-profile contest in the election. [6]

The swing to the Liberal Democrats was over 8% since 1996, [4] enabling them to gain control of the council for the first time. [6] They now had an overall majority of 2, [7] after they gained seats in Coldhurst, Hollinwood, Royton North and Royton South in addition to Failsworth East. [6] The Liberal Democrats also regained a seat in Crompton, where the independent Liberal Democrat councillor, Michael Hambley, stood down at the election. [6] Meanwhile, the Conservatives doubled the number of seats they held on the council to 2, after gaining a seat in Chadderton North from Labour. [6]

The national Liberal Democrat leader, Charles Kennedy described the results in Oldham as a "fantastic result, showing the inroads that Liberal Democrats were making into Labour's heartlands". [8] However the local Labour Member of Parliament Phil Woolas said that the election was down to local issues and had "nothing to do with the national political situation". [8]

Following the election there were allegations of vote rigging in the election. [9] After a police investigation, 11 people were convicted of election fraud in July 2001. [9] They were convicted after police found evidence of voters using dead people's names to vote and impersonating other voters. [9] The offences had taken place in the wards of the Coldhurst, St Mary's and Werneth and those convicted were both Labour and Liberal Democrat supporters. [9] Another defendant, Liberal Democrat councillor Mohib Uddin, who had been elected in Coldhurst, was acquitted. [9]

Oldham local election result 2000 [2] [6] [10]
PartySeatsGainsLossesNet gain/lossSeats %Votes %Votes+/−
  Liberal Democrats 1260+660.050.627,077+8.1%
  Labour 706-635.032.117,191-5.9%
  Conservative 110+15.015.58,298-2.8%
  Green 000000.8433+0.8%
  Independent 000000.6333+0.6%
  BNP 000000.4229+0.4%
  Ind. Lib Dem 001-1000–

Ward results

Alexandra [6] [10]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Riaz Ahmad1,17152.6−1.3
Liberal Democrats Angela Farrell62928.2−4.1
Independent Robert Anderson33314.9+14.9
Green Susannah Roney954.3+4.3
Majority 54224.3+2.7
Turnout 2,22831.8+1.8
Labour hold Swing
Chadderton Central [6] [10]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Tony Brownridge90641.9−9.2
Conservative Edward Bennett63929.5+3.3
Liberal Democrats Joyce Mercer61828.6+5.9
Majority 26712.3−12.6
Turnout 2,16325.9−0.1
Labour hold Swing
Chadderton North [6] [10]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative John Curran1,08742.3+3.8
Labour Leonard Quinn1,03240.2−5.1
Liberal Democrats Steven Farrimond45117.5+1.3
Majority 552.1
Turnout 2,57032.1+0.1
Conservative gain from Labour Swing
Chadderton South [6] [10]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour David Heyes76146.0−16.5
Liberal Democrats Philip Renold45027.2+11.1
Conservative Marie Curran44426.8+5.5
Majority 31118.8−22.4
Turnout 1,65522.5−2.5
Labour hold Swing
Coldhurst [6] [10]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Liberal Democrats Mohib Uddin1,57147.2+38.7
Labour Kevin Leyden1,33740.2−20.0
Conservative Keith Whitehead42112.6−2.6
Majority 2347.0
Turnout 3,32942.7+4.6
Liberal Democrats gain from Labour Swing
Crompton [6] [10]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Liberal Democrats Philomena Dillon1,58961.9+2.2
Conservative David Dunning61523.9+2.8
Labour Joseph Fitzpatrick36514.2−5.0
Majority 97437.9−0.7
Turnout 2,56930.0−1.9
Liberal Democrats gain from Independent Swing
Failsworth East [6] [10]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Liberal Democrats Charles Glover2,33573.7+39.4
Labour John Battye73023.1−42.6
Conservative Graham Drinkwater1023.2+3.2
Majority 1,60550.7
Turnout 3,16738.6+16.5
Liberal Democrats gain from Labour Swing
Failsworth West [6] [10]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour John Johnson1,03462.1−12.8
Liberal Democrats David Stanton63137.9+12.8
Majority 40324.2−25.6
Turnout 1,66522.5−0.2
Labour hold Swing
Hollinwood [6] [10]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Liberal Democrats Stephen Barrow1,36758.0+7.4
Labour Ian Thompson70429.9−19.5
BNP William Lockett2299.7+9.7
Green Kevin Moores572.4+2.4
Majority 66328.1+26.9
Turnout 2,35736.0−1.3
Liberal Democrats gain from Labour Swing
Lees [6] [10]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Liberal Democrats Valerie Sedgwick1,34654.7+2.5
Labour Bernard Fletcher83734.0−5.6
Conservative William Lee27811.3+3.1
Majority 50920.7+8.1
Turnout 2,46133.8−2.2
Liberal Democrats hold Swing
Royton North [6] [10]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Liberal Democrats Karen Evans2,22666.6+41.2
Labour Tony Larkin76022.7−20.7
Conservative Barbara Jackson35810.7−20.4
Majority 1,46643.8
Turnout 3,34440.2+11.0
Liberal Democrats gain from Labour Swing
Royton South [6] [10]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Liberal Democrats Dolores Phelan1,28041.6−5.8
Labour Philip Harrison1,16437.8+10.6
Conservative Joseph Farquhar63420.6−4.8
Majority 1163.8−16.3
Turnout 3,07838.5+3.1
Liberal Democrats gain from Labour Swing
Saddleworth East [6] [10]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Liberal Democrats Brian Mather2,75964.3+15.5
Conservative Richard Postle94422.0−13.3
Labour Harold Neild58813.7−2.2
Majority 1,81542.3+28.8
Turnout 4,29141.4−1.6
Liberal Democrats hold Swing
Saddleworth West [6] [10]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Liberal Democrats Christine Wheeler1,90458.6+12.9
Conservative Pam Byrne74222.8−5.6
Labour Jack Schofield60218.5−7.4
Majority 1,16235.8+18.5
Turnout 3,24836.5+1.9
Liberal Democrats hold Swing
Shaw [6] [10]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Liberal Democrats Rod Blyth1,41366.5−4.6
Conservative David Bentley38818.3+6.4
Labour Gertrude Hewitt32315.2−1.7
Majority 1,02548.3−5.9
Turnout 2,12426.6−1.5
Liberal Democrats hold Swing
St James [6] [10]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Liberal Democrats Roger Hindle1,10072.3−7.4
Labour Norman Bennett29919.6+4.2
Conservative Eileen Hulme1238.1+3.3
Majority 80152.6−11.7
Turnout 1,52224.5−6.0
Liberal Democrats hold Swing
St Mary's [6] [10]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Mohammed Masud1,60750.0+13.3
Liberal Democrats Bronwyn Thackery1,32741.3−10.2
Conservative David Atherton2798.7−3.1
Majority 2808.7
Turnout 3,21344.2−1.6
Labour hold Swing
St Paul's [6] [10]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour John Crowther88134.1−0.3
Conservative John Hudson82031.8−6.0
Liberal Democrats John McCann68126.4−1.3
Green John Roney1997.7+7.7
Majority 612.4
Turnout 2,58133.6−2.8
Labour hold Swing
Waterhead [6] [10]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Liberal Democrats Kay Knox2,01574.7+3.8
Labour Christopher Jones47217.5−6.2
Conservative Kenneth Middleton2117.8+2.3
Majority 1,54357.2+10.0
Turnout 2,69829.2−0.9
Liberal Democrats hold Swing
Werneth [6] [10]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Shaob Akhtar1,61849.1+7.1
Liberal Democrats Kenneth Stocks1,38542.0−8.0
Conservative Raymond Walmsley2136.5+2.5
Green Peter Robbie822.5+2.5
Majority 2337.1
Turnout 3,29844.8+0.5
Labour hold Swing

References

  1. ↑ "Oldham". BBC News Online . Retrieved 10 April 2010.
  2. 1 2 "Election results: local councils". The Times . 5 May 2000. p. 4.
  3. 1 2 Pike, Alan (27 April 2000). "Poll fears linger, despite Blair's pat on the back: Doubts over its heartland vote mean that Labour faces real concerns in next week's local elections". Financial Times . p. 6.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 "Battlground Oldham: Disillusionment and defection may be deciders". Financial Times . 5 May 2000. p. 6.
  5. 1 2 Jenkins, Russell (5 May 2000). "Lib Dems jubilant at taking Oldham". The Times . p. 4.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 Cheetham, Caroline (5 May 2000). "Council stunned as leader Battye is defeated: Time for a change after 20-year rule". Manchester Evening News . p. 29.
  7. ↑ "Conservative revival beats expectations: Local elections results deliver 'substantial blow to Labour morale'". Financial Times . 5 May 2000. p. 6.
  8. 1 2 "Kennedy leadership boosted by strong results; Lib Dems:". Financial Times . 5 May 2000. p. 6.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 Innes, John (31 July 2001). "Eleven guilty of rigging vote in Oldham election". The Scotsman . p. 4.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 "Oldham Council 2000 Local Elections". Oldham Council. Archived from the original on 22 November 2008. Retrieved 10 April 2010.
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