2002 Halton Borough Council election

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The 2002 Halton Borough Council election took place on 2 May 2002 to elect members of Halton Unitary Council in Cheshire, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Labour Party stayed in overall control of the council. [1]

Contents

After the election, the composition of the council was:

Campaign

18 seats were contested in the election, [3] including 2 seats in Norton ward, where a Labour councillor had resigned his seat. [4] The seats being contested included those of the Labour mayor, Chris Loftus, and the Liberal Democrat leader on the council, Alan Taylor. [5] 47 candidates stood in the election, including 3 married couples, with Labour contesting seats in all 17 wards, as compared to 14 for the Conservatives, 9 for the Liberal Democrats and 2 from the Runcorn Labour Councillors Group. [4]

Major issues in the election included housing, concerns over health effects from a local chemical plant and a proposal to close down a recreation centre in Norton. [6] The council was dominated by Labour before the election and this was seen as unlikely to change. [7]

Results

The results saw Labour increase its majority on the council by gaining 3 seats to have 47 councillors, while the Runcorn Labour Councillors Group lost their 2 remaining seats. [8] However the Liberal Democrats won an extra seat in Norton ward to remain the main opposition with 7 seats. [8] Overall turnout in the election was 21.5%. [9]

Halton local election result 2002 [2] [10]
PartySeatsGainsLossesNet gain/lossSeats %Votes %Votes+/−
  Labour 15+283.359.111,919
  Liberal Democrats 3+116.720.44,116
  Conservative 000.017.53,526
  Independent 0-10.01.6315
 Runcorn Labour Councillors Group0-20.01.5300

Ward results

Appleton [10]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Gerald Philbin70779.0
Conservative Janet Edge18821.0
Majority 51958.0
Turnout 895
Broadheath [10]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Robert Gilligan89881.0
Conservative David Lewis21019.0
Majority 68862.0
Turnout 1,108
Castlefields [10]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Liam Temple67169.4
Liberal Democrats Sean Casey29630.6
Majority 37538.8
Turnout 967
Ditton [10]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Shaun Osborne85071.9
Conservative Gillian Hensley33228.1
Majority 51843.8
Turnout 1,182
Farnworth [10]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour David Reynolds90954.3
Conservative Philip Balmer76545.7
Majority 1448.6
Turnout 1,674
Grange [10]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Stephen Pearsall58662.3
Liberal Democrats James Maguire18820.0
Conservative William Denton16617.7
Majority 39842.3
Turnout 940
Hale [9] [10]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Michael Wharton42257.3
Independent Agnes Mitchell31542.7
Majority 10714.6
Turnout 737
Labour gain from Independent Swing
Halton [10]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Stanley Hill78474.2
Conservative Denis Thomas27325.8
Majority 51148.4
Turnout 1,057
Halton Brook [10]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour John Massey72363.5
Liberal Democrats Trevor Higginson31627.7
Conservative Roger Tuson1008.8
Majority 40735.8
Turnout 1,139
Heath [10]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Liberal Democrats Alan Taylor1,12858.1
Conservative Marjorie Bradshaw50726.1
Labour Dorothy Fahey30515.7
Majority 62132.0
Turnout 1,940
Hough Green [10]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Paul Nolan76772.6
Conservative Maureen Forsyth15614.8
Liberal Democrats Frances Jump13312.6
Majority 61157.8
Turnout 1,056
Kingsway [10]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Valerie Hill82379.7
Conservative Frank Lloyd20920.3
Majority 61459.4
Turnout 1,032
Mersey [9] [10]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Christopher Loftus51048.0
Liberal Democrats Christopher Rowe43140.6
Conservative Colin Keam12111.4
Majority 797.4
Turnout 1,062
Labour hold Swing
Murdishaw [10]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Mary Massey53773.7
Liberal Democrats Sue France19226.3
Majority 34547.4
Turnout 729
Norton (2) [10]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Liberal Democrats Timothy Sly654
Liberal Democrats Diane Inch644
Labour Alban Boyle630
Labour Annette Lyons472
Conservative Alan McKie121
Conservative Barbara Price115
Runcorn Labour Councillors GroupMichael Gelling85
Runcorn Labour Councillors GroupJoseph Glover72
Turnout 2,793
Palacefields [10]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Kathleen Loftus63963.0
Runcorn Labour Councillors GroupWilliam Murphy14314.1
Liberal Democrats Janet Clein13413.2
Conservative David Masheder989.7
Majority 49648.9
Turnout 1,014
Riverside [10]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Francis Nyland68680.6
Conservative Margaret Hill16519.4
Majority 52161.2
Turnout 851

References

  1. "Halton". BBC News . Retrieved 25 February 2010.
  2. 1 2 "Election results; Local Election". The Times . 4 May 2002. p. 16.
  3. "33 city seats in May poll contest". Liverpool Echo. 5 April 2002. p. 2.
  4. 1 2 "Couples bid for election success". this is cheshire. 15 April 2002. Archived from the original on 13 July 2007. Retrieved 26 February 2010.
  5. Kelly, Andy (11 April 2002). "Town halls may have new leaders in weeks". Liverpool Daily Post . p. 13.
  6. Jewell, Alan (26 April 2002). "Health fears and too much litter ; in the fifth part of our local election series Alan Jewell looks at the issues affecting Halton and Warrington". Liverpool Echo. p. 27.
  7. Woodhead, Jane (10 April 2002). "Election candidates prepare to do battle". Liverpool Echo. p. 17.
  8. 1 2 "Local Elections: Labour grip is stronger ; Halton . . . No change". Liverpool Echo. 3 May 2002. p. 9.
  9. 1 2 3 "Local elections: Labour snatch Lib Dems' seats ; Party is now electable in Liverpool again, says MP". Liverpool Daily Post . 3 May 2002. p. 2.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 "Halton". Local Elections Archive Project. Retrieved 25 February 2010.