Our West Lancashire

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Our West Lancashire
AbbreviationOWL
LeaderAdrian Owens
Deputy LeaderPaul Hesketh
FoundedFebruary 2015
Ideology
Colours  Orange
SloganPutting residents first and foremost
West Lancashire Borough Council
6 / 45
Lancashire County Council
2 / 84
Website
ourwestlancashire.com

Our West Lancashire (OWL) is a localist political party [1] in West Lancashire, United Kingdom. [2] As of May 2024 it held 5 seats on West Lancashire Borough Council. [3] As of May 2025, the party also holds 2 seats in West Lancashire on Lancashire County Council. [4] The group has drawn members from all of the major parties in West Lancashire. Former Labour councillor, Neil Furey joined the group in May 2025. [5] It claims to "put residents before the party whip". [2]

Contents

History

Our West Lancashire was formed in February 2015 by Adrian Owens, a former Conservative Party councillor, Deputy Leader of West Lancashire Borough Council and candidate for West Lancashire in the 2010 United Kingdom general election, coming second with 17,540 votes, [6] after breaking off from the West Lancashire Conservative group on West Lancashire Borough Council. He was joined by Ian Davis in 2017, who won a by-election on Derby Ward. [7] The group gained a further four seats on West Lancashire Borough Council in the 2019 election.

In 2021, Our West Lancashire gained a further seat in Burscough West which led to the council going to No Overall Control. As a result, Our West Lancashire councillor, Gordon Paul Johnson became Mayor of West Lancashire and committee chairs were shared between all three political groups with Labour retaining the Leadership of the council.

Policies

Our West Lancashire is a localist party, and claims to "put residents before the party whip". [2] Their policies include reducing the number of councillors on West Lancashire Borough Council from 54 to 36, a reduction of a third. They also propose policies such as "revitalising" Ormskirk town centre, replacing the swimming pools in Skelmersdale and Ormskirk and improving West Lancashire Borough Council's free tree scheme. [8] OWL also publish data on councillors' attendance and publish a yearly alternative budget. [9]

The group is opposed to the whipping system. [2]

Electoral performance

The group has contested elections successfully on West Lancashire Borough Council and, in 2025 on Lancashire County Council. The group has never contested general elections, although Councillor Adrian Owens, the current Leader of the group, has formerly been a Conservative Party candidate for West Lancashire and South Ribble in the House of Commons.

West Lancashire Borough Council

Our West Lancashire's first councillor was Councillor Adrian Owens, who broke away from the Conservative Party in 2015. He won re-election in 2016 and 2021. The group gained a second councillor, Ian Davis, in a by-election on the Derby ward in 2017. The group gained a further four councillors – Gordon Johnson, Jane Thompson, Kate Mitchell and Ian Rigby – in the 2019 West Lancashire Borough Council election.

In the 2022 West Lancashire Borough Council election, Ian Davis retained his Derby ward seat but the group failed to win any of the other seats that it contested.

Following the electoral reorganisation of West Lancashire in 2023, reducing the number of councillors from 54 to 45, the party won only one seat in Burscough Town ward. In a deferred election, caused by the death of former OWL councillor Ian Davis before election day, the party won all three seats in Rural South ward, with Ian Rigby, Linda Webster and Thomas Marsh-Pritchard elected. [10] In the 2024 election, Janet Ingman won a seat in Ormskirk East, and OWL leader Adrian Owens was re-elected to the council in Rural South, replacing Thomas Marsh-Pritchard.

In May 2025, Labour councillor Neil Furey defected to OWL, and Gordon Johnson was re-elected to the council in a by-election in Aughton and Holborn in October 2025, replacing independent councillor Kerry Lloyd, bringing the party's total to seven.

Lancashire County Council

Our West Lancashire has previously contested elections on Lancashire County Council, on seats in the West Lancashire Borough Council area. The group came third in the Ormskirk and West Lancashire East wards in the 2017 elections. In the 2021 elections, they were second in both wards [11] In 2025, Our West Lancashire won both wards on Lancashire County Council, marking the first time the party was represented at the county level. [12]

Councillors

DateWLBC seatsLCC seatsEvent
2015
1 / 54
0 / 84
Adrian Owens, Conservative Party councillor for Derby, defects and forms Our West Lancashire
29 June 2017
2 / 54
0 / 84
Ian Davis elected in the Derby by-election
2 May 2019
6 / 54
0 / 84
Ian Rigby elected in Bickerstaffe, Gordon Johnson elected in Derby, Kate Mitchell elected in Knowsley, Jane Thompson elected in Scott
6 May 2021
7 / 54
0 / 84
George Clandon elected in Burscough West
April 2023
6 / 54
0 / 84
Ian Davis, councillor for Derby ward, dies
4 May 2023
1 / 45
0 / 84
Council reorganisation; all OWL councillors but George Clandon lose their seats
22 June 2023
4 / 45
0 / 84
Ian Rigby, Linda Webster and Thomas Marsh-Pritchard elected in the delayed Rural South election
2 May 2024
5 / 45
0 / 84
Adrian Owens replaces Thomas Marsh-Pritchard in Rural South, Janet Ingman elected in Ormskirk East
1 May 2025
5 / 45
2 / 84
Adrian Owens and Gordon Paul Johnson elected as first OWL councillors on Lancashire County Council
21 May 2025
6 / 45
2 / 84
Neil Furey, councillor for Old Skelmersdale, defects from Labour to OWL
9 October 2025
7 / 45
2 / 84
Gordon Johnson elected in the Aughton and Holborn by-election
NameWardTook officeLeft office
Adrian Owens Derby 20152023
Rural South 2024Incumbent
Ian Davis Derby 20172023
Jane Thompson Scott 20192023
Gordon Paul Johnson Derby 20192023
Aughton and Holborn 2025Incumbent
Kate Mitchell Knowsley 20192023
Ian Rigby Bickerstaffe 20192023
Rural South 2023Incumbent
George Clandon Burscough West 20212023
Paul Hesketh Burscough Town 20232024
Burscough Bridge and Rufford 2024Incumbent
Thomas Marsh-Pritchard Rural South 20232024
Linda Webster Rural South 2023Incumbent
Janet Ingman Ormskirk East 2024Incumbent
Neil Furey Old Skelmersdale 2025Incumbent

References

  1. ↑ "View registration". Electoral Commission . Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Our West Lancashire – About us". Our West Lancashire. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  3. ↑ Coyle, Simon (2 May 2024). "West Lancashire local council election 2024 results in full". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 2 May 2025.
  4. ↑ "All results". Lancashire County Council. Retrieved 2 May 2025.
  5. ↑ Office, Main (21 May 2025). "Councillor Neil Furey joins the Our West Lancashire Group of Councillors on West Lancashire Borough Council". Our West Lancashire. Retrieved 8 June 2025.
  6. ↑ "Election 2010". British Broadcasting Corporation . Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  7. ↑ "Election results archive – West Lancashire Borough Council". West Lancashire Borough Council. 17 July 2020.
  8. ↑ "Policies". Our West Lancashire. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  9. ↑ "Information". Our West Lancashire. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  10. ↑ "Election results for Rural South, 22 June 2023". democracy.westlancs.gov.uk. 22 June 2023. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
  11. ↑ "Lancashire County Council: Elections".
  12. ↑ "All results". www2.apps.lancashire.gov.uk. Retrieved 8 June 2025.
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