2002 Wakefield Metropolitan District Council election

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The 2002 Wakefield Metropolitan District Council election took place on 2 May 2002 to elect members of Wakefield Metropolitan District Council in West Yorkshire, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Labour party kept overall control of the council. [1]

Contents

After the election, the composition of the council was

Campaign

Before the election the council had 55 Labour, 4 Conservative, 3 Independent and 1 Liberal Democrat members. [3] Each of the Labour and Conservative parties stood candidates in all 21 wards, along with 11 Liberal Democrats and 15 other candidates from various parties. [3] Labour were defending 20 seats in the election, with two seats being contested in Pontefract South due to the resignation of a councillor, [4] while the other 2 seats were held by independents. [3] One of the 2 independents who was defending his seat in Wakefield South was Norman Hazell, a former leader of the Conservatives in Wakefield, who had defected from the party in 2001. [3]

During the campaign an investigation was started by West Yorkshire Police after allegations of fraud in South Kirkby ward. [5] Here over a quarter of the 900 postal vote applications had been found to be invalid. [5]

Election result

The Labour party remained firmly in control of the council and were pleased with only losing 2 seats in the election. [2] The Conservatives gained Wakefield Rural, while the Liberal Democrats took Ossett. [2] Meanwhile, both independents held their seats, with Norman Hazell's defence of Wakefield South as an independent being seen as a surprise result. [2] Overall turnout in the election was 23.5%. [2]

Wakefield Local Election Result 2002 [4]
PartySeatsGainsLossesNet gain/lossSeats %Votes %Votes+/−
  Labour 1802-281.853.534,330+2.3%
  Independent 20009.16.03,852+1.8%
  Conservative 110+14.524.715,817-7.3%
  Liberal Democrats 110+14.511.47,337+0.5%
  Socialist Labour 000002.91,831+1.3%
  Socialist Alternative 000000.6386+0.6%
  UKIP 000000.5313+0.5%
  Socialist Alliance 000000.4285+0.4%

Ward results

Castleford Ferry Fryston [4]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Stephen Groves1,40475.6+17.2
Conservative Madge Richards26714.4+6.3
Socialist Labour Trevor Holderson18610.0+10.0
Majority1,13761.2+36.4
Turnout 1,85719.4−0.2
Labour hold Swing
Castleford Glasshoughton [4]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Mark Burns-Williamson 1,86482.1+5.6
Conservative Charles Scholes25511.2−4.2
Socialist Labour Angela Herbert1526.7−1.5
Majority1,60970.9+9.8
Turnout 2,27121.2+3.8
Labour hold Swing
Castleford Whitwood [4]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Colin Churm1,81282.9+5.6
Conservative Jean Molloy23710.8−4.7
Socialist Labour Mary Appleyard1376.3−0.9
Majority1,57572.1+10.3
Turnout 2,18622.1+2.0
Labour hold Swing
Crofton & Ackworth [4]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Paul Beckett1,56451.2+2.6
Liberal Democrats James McDougall66921.9−1.1
Conservative Catherine Campbell-Reitzik55418.1−10.3
UKIP Howard Burden1946.3+6.3
Socialist Labour David Bruce762.5+2.5
Majority89529.3+9.1
Turnout 3,05725.4+4.4
Labour hold Swing
Featherstone [4]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Robin Tuffs1,86783.0+28.6
Conservative Elizabeth Hick38317.0+4.0
Majority1,48466.0+44.2
Turnout 2,25020.4−2.4
Labour hold Swing
Hemsworth [4]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Wayne Jenkins1,62972.5−2.3
Conservative Eamonn Mullins37216.5−8.7
Socialist Labour Maurice Kent24711.0+11.0
Majority1,25756.0+6.4
Turnout 2,24820.8+2.7
Labour hold Swing
Horbury [4]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Brian Holmes1,40843.2+10.8
Conservative Caroline Sheen1,22537.6−7.4
Liberal Democrats Mark Goodair56717.4−5.2
Socialist Labour Karen Bruce601.8+1.8
Majority1835.6
Turnout 3,26027.0+0.5
Labour hold Swing
Knottingley [4]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Graham Stokes1,66775.9+4.4
Conservative David Howarth53024.1−4.4
Majority1,13751.8+8.8
Turnout 2,19720.7+2.9
Labour hold Swing
Normanton & Sharlston [4]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Peter Loosemore1,30649.8−11.5
Independent Graeme Milner66525.3+25.3
Conservative Allan Couch34613.2−6.5
Socialist Labour Mick Appleyard30811.7−7.3
Majority64124.5−17.1
Turnout 2,62520.6+1.5
Labour hold Swing
Ossett [4]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Liberal Democrats Peter Walker2,13854.9+18.6
Labour Maureen Cummings1,23531.7−3.5
Conservative Terence Brown51813.3−15.2
Majority90323.2+22.1
Turnout 3,89131.1+6.0
Liberal Democrats gain from Labour Swing
Pontefract North [4]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Jack Kershaw1,87568.2−2.9
Conservative Richard Molloy63823.2−5.7
Socialist Alternative John Gill1344.9+4.9
Socialist Labour Zane Carpenter1033.7+3.7
Majority1,23745.0+2.8
Turnout 2,75021.0+4.2
Labour hold Swing
Pontefract South (2) [4]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Trevor Izon1,581
Labour Martyn Ward1,317
Conservative Ian Bloomer1,250
Conservative Philip Booth1,243
Socialist Alliance Carol Ives285
Turnout 5,67628.4+4.2
Labour hold Swing
Labour hold Swing
South Elmsall [4]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour John Devine1,65568.1−2.6
Conservative Ian Hall43818.0−11.3
Liberal Democrats Mary Neale33913.9+13.9
Majority1,21750.1+8.7
Turnout 2,43221.2+4.9
Labour hold Swing
South Kirkby [4]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Independent Harold Mills1,28849.9+49.9
Labour Malcolm Evans1,16745.2−17.9
Conservative Michael Ledgard1285.0−5.9
Majority1214.7
Turnout 2,58324.1+4.9
Independent hold Swing
Stanley & Altofts [4]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour David Atkinson1,67051.9+3.3
Conservative Norma Crossley75023.3−4.8
Liberal Democrats Michael Burch71522.2−1.2
Socialist Labour Kathryn Summerscales832.6+2.6
Majority92028.6+8.1
Turnout 3,21823.1+3.0
Labour hold Swing
Stanley & Wrenthorpe [4]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Rosaline Lund1,65546.0+0.9
Conservative James Dick1,13131.4−5.7
Liberal Democrats Margaret Dodd81322.6+4.8
Majority52414.6+6.6
Turnout 3,59924.0+2.6
Labour hold Swing
Wakefield Central [4]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Antony Richardson1,75848.9+6.7
Conservative Jane Brown1,39638.9−3.5
Liberal Democrats Susan Morgan37610.5−0.4
Socialist Labour Paul Turek621.7−2.8
Majority36210.0
Turnout 3,59238.5+14.3
Labour hold Swing
Wakefield East [4]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Olivia Rowley1,53345.4−8.9
Conservative John Berry55216.4−9.5
Socialist Labour Abdul Aziz41712.4+12.4
Independent Georgina Fenton3249.6+9.6
Liberal Democrats Alan Dale2988.8−3.1
Socialist Alternative Michael Griffiths2527.5+7.5
Majority98129.0+0.6
Turnout 3,37626.6+3.9
Labour hold Swing
Wakefield North [4]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Keith Rhodes1,56255.8+3.4
Conservative Michael Mitchell67424.1−8.8
Liberal Democrats Douglas Dale44215.8+1.1
UKIP Keith Wells1194.3+4.3
Majority88831.7+12.2
Turnout 2,79724.8+3.4
Labour hold Swing
Wakefield Rural [4]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative Paul Harvey1,56643.6−8.1
Labour John Newsome1,53642.8+6.3
Liberal Democrats David Neale48613.5+1.7
Majority300.8−14.4
Turnout 3,58827.9+3.3
Conservative gain from Labour Swing
Wakefield South [4]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Independent Norman Hazell1,57533.5+32.3
Conservative Christian L'Anson1,36429.0−36.2
Labour Hazel Chowcat1,26526.9+3.7
Liberal Democrats Stephen Nuthall49410.5+0.1
Majority2114.5
Turnout 4,69838.0+5.6
Independent hold Swing

References

  1. ↑ "Wakefield". BBC News. Retrieved 5 December 2009.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Labour loses two seats as Norman survives". Wakefield Express . 3 May 2002. ISSN   0961-2459. Archived from the original on 5 May 2013.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "'Turn out and vote' urge rivals". Wakefield Express . 12 April 2002. ISSN   0961-2459. Archived from the original on 5 May 2013.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 "Summary of Wakefield District Council Elections Results 2002". City of Wakefield Metropolitan District Council. Archived from the original on 8 December 2002. Retrieved 5 December 2009.
  5. 1 2 "Local elections: Arrests amid claims that postal voting threatens ballot secrecy". Local Government Chronicle . 29 April 2002. Retrieved 5 December 2012.
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