2008 West Lancashire District Council election

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Results of the 2008 West Lancashire Borough Council election West Lancashire UK local election 2008 map.svg
Results of the 2008 West Lancashire Borough Council election

The 2008 West Lancashire District Council election took place on 1 May 2008 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]

Contents

After the election, the composition of the council was:

PartySeats  ±  
Conservative 35+2
Labour 18-2
Independent 10

[2]

Campaign

Before the election, in which 19 seats were being contested, the Conservatives ran the council with 33 of the 52 seats. [3] The seat in Tanhouse was being contested after the death of Labour councillor Sally Keegan in December 2007, [2] while Conservative Martin Forshaw was unopposed in Hesketh with Becconsall. [4] The Conservatives were strongly favoured to remain in control and were particularly targeting the last Labour held seat in Burscough. [3]

The Conservatives campaigned on plans to regenerate Skelmersdale, build new council offices on a site in Ormskirk and a pledge to keep council tax rises as low as possible. [3]

Election result

The results saw the Conservatives increase their control of the council after making 2 gains from Labour. [2] They gained the seats of Burscough West and Up Holland, with the margin of victory in Up Holland being only 3 votes after 2 recounts were required. [2] Labour also only held the Tanhouse seat by 34 votes after a recount. [2] The results meant the Conservatives had 35 seats compared to 18 for Labour and 1 independent. [2] Overall turnout in the election was 30.51%. [5]

The Conservative council leader, Geoff Roberts, saw the results as a sign they could take the parliamentary seat in the next general election, while Labour blamed their defeats on national issues. [4]

West Lancashire Local Election Result 2008 [5]
PartySeatsGainsLossesNet gain/lossSeats %Votes %Votes+/−
  Conservative 1220+263.254.211,101+1.4
  Labour 702-236.836.87,543-1.1
  UKIP 00000.04.2857+3.3
  Green 00000.03.1638-0.5
  Independent 00000.01.6336+0.3

Ward results

Ashurst

Ashurst [5]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Geoff Roberts53351.2−17.0
Conservative James Coomber30229.0−2.8
UKIP Roy Green20719.9+19.9
Majority 23122.2−14.3
Turnout 1,04221.5+0.4
Labour hold Swing

Aughton and Downholland

Aughton and Downholland [5]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative Una Atherley1,07365.0−7.1
Labour Julie Gibson30218.3−9.6
UKIP Jim Bevan27616.7+16.7
Majority 77146.7+2.6
Turnout 1,65136.7+0.8
Conservative hold Swing

Birch Green

Birch Green [5]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Mary Pendleton39475.9−5.5
Conservative Malcolm Barron12524.1+5.5
Majority 26951.8−11.0
Turnout 51917.1+0.2
Labour hold Swing

Burscough East

Burscough East [5]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative George Pratt73765.6−0.6
Labour Kate Anderson38634.4+0.6
Majority 35131.3−1.1
Turnout 1,12334.6−3.4
Conservative hold Swing

Burscough West

Burscough West [5]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative Jason Grice85358.6+2.7
Labour Cynthia Dereli60241.4−2.7
Majority 25117.3+2.5
Turnout 1,45537.0+0.0
Conservative gain from Labour Swing

Derby

Derby [5]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative Adrian Owens90461.8+4.6
Labour Alexander Gilmore33623.0−3.5
Green Anne Doyle22315.2−1.1
Majority 56838.8+8.1
Turnout 1,46329.1−2.0
Conservative hold Swing

Digmoor

Digmoor [5]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Terence Aldridge51576.5−3.3
Conservative Graham Jones15823.5+3.3
Majority 35753.0−6.7
Turnout 67321.6+0.5
Labour hold Swing

Halsall

Halsall [5]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative Doreen Stephenson39564.4+9.0
Independent David Corfield15224.8−19.8
Labour Susan Jones6610.8+10.8
Majority 24339.6+28.8
Turnout 61334.6−12.4
Conservative hold Swing

Hesketh-with-Becconsall

Hesketh-with-Becconsall [5]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative Martin Forshawunopposed
Conservative hold Swing

Knowsley

Knowsley [5]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative Peter Lea1,00363.8+8.0
Labour Ann Rice35722.7−9.2
Green John Watt21113.4+1.0
Majority 64641.1+17.2
Turnout 1,57135.4+0.3
Conservative hold Swing

Moorside

Moorside [5]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Christopher Mawdsley47874.5−5.2
Conservative Richard Shepherd16425.5+5.2
Majority 31448.9−10.5
Turnout 64222.7+0.9
Labour hold Swing

Rufford

Rufford [5]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative Joan Colling52484.8+7.1
Labour Jacqueline Citarella9415.2−7.1
Majority 43069.6+14.2
Turnout 61837.6−9.7
Conservative hold Swing

Scott

Scott [5]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative Cyril Ainscough86155.7+8.4
Labour Noel Delaney48231.2−3.1
Green Maurice George20413.2+2.0
Majority 37924.5+11.5
Turnout 1,54734.8−1.8
Conservative hold Swing

Skelmersdale North

Skelmersdale North [5]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Neil Furey56362.9−14.4
Independent Joan Morrison18420.6+20.6
Conservative Dave Rydings14816.5−6.2
Majority 37942.3−12.2
Turnout 89529.0+1.3
Labour hold Swing

Skelmersdale South

Skelmersdale South [5]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Sydney Jones77866.7−6.5
Conservative Joanne Rushton38933.3+6.5
Majority 38933.3−13.0
Turnout 1,16723.3−0.7
Labour hold Swing

Tanhouse

Tanhouse [5]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Nikki Hennessy40252.2−8.3
Conservative Cindy Miller36847.8+21.4
Majority 344.4−29.7
Turnout 77022.7+3.1
Labour hold Swing

Tarleton

Tarleton [5]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative John Mee1,52687.7+18.2
Labour Stephen Hanlon21512.3+3.0
Majority 1,31175.3+27.1
Turnout 1,74138.9+2.2
Conservative hold Swing

Up Holland

Up Holland [5]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative Ruth Pollock72843.1−0.4
Labour Maggie Skilling72542.9−2.2
UKIP Marie Settle23814.1+2.8
Majority 30.2
Turnout 1,69134.4−0.3
Conservative gain from Labour Swing

Wrightington

Wrightington [5]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative Peter Gartside84365.1+2.2
Labour Pauline Bailey31524.3−12.8
UKIP Iain Routh13610.5+10.5
Majority 52840.8+14.9
Turnout 1,29438.8−1.4
Conservative hold Swing

References

  1. ↑ "West Lancashire". BBC News. 19 April 2008. Retrieved 18 April 2010.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Two wins sees grip tighten". Liverpool Echo . 2 May 2008. p. 5.
  3. 1 2 3 "Tories confident of maintaining their grip". Liverpool Daily Post . 25 April 2008. p. 9.
  4. 1 2 Byrne, Michael (2 May 2008). "Tories 'strong' in W Lancs". Liverpool Daily Post . p. 6.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 "Election Summary - District Council Elections 2008". West Lancashire Borough Council. Archived from the original on 2 September 2011. Retrieved 18 April 2010.
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