Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council election, 1995

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Map of the results of the 1995 Wigan council election. Wigan91.png
Map of the results of the 1995 Wigan council election.

Elections were held on Thursday, 4 May 1995, with one third of the seats set for re-election, with an extra vacancy in Leigh East. Ahead of this election Labour had gained the seat being fought in Beech Hill from the Liberal Democrats, and defended a seat in Worsley Mesnes in by-elections. The major parties marginally increased their number of candidates upon last year's totals, whereas the number of Independent Labour candidates fighting returned to just the incumbent in Hindley. Having been the only party opposing Labour in Atherton, the Independent Labour absence there meant that went uncontested this time round, alongside two of last year's unopposed wards, Ince and Leigh Central. In total unopposed wards were reduced from the previous year's four to three. Turnout fell to 26.4%, the second lowest in the council's history, only surpassing the 1992 nadir.

The Labour Party is a centre-left political party in the United Kingdom that has been described as an alliance of social democrats, democratic socialists and trade unionists. The party's platform emphasises greater state intervention, social justice and strengthening workers' rights.

Liberal Democrats (UK) Political party in the United Kingdom

The Liberal Democrats are a liberal political party in the United Kingdom. It is currently led by Vince Cable. They have 11 Members of Parliament in the House of Commons, 96 members of the House of Lords, one member of the European Parliament, five Members of the Scottish Parliament and one member in the Welsh Assembly and London Assembly. At the height of its influence, the party formed a coalition government with the Conservative Party from 2010 to 2015 with its leader Nick Clegg serving as Deputy Prime Minister.

Worsley Mesnes human settlement in United Kingdom

Worsley Mesnes is a mainly residential area of Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The ward population at the 2011 census was 11,973.

Contents

The election seen mixed fortunes for the main parties. For the Conservatives, this was undoubtedly their worst performance, with the lowest vote share (and at 10.2%, very close to dropping into single-digits) and vote figure obtained in their 22-year history of contesting for this council. Despite receiving near-two thousand fewer votes from the election the year before, Labour, however, beat the record share they'd recorded then, capturing 72.8% of votes cast. The Lib Dem vote fell further into the four-digit territory seen recently in their tumultuous merger period, but unlike then managed to stay within mid-teens in vote share.

Conservative Party (UK) Political party in the United Kingdom

The Conservative Party, officially the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom. The governing party since 2010, it is the largest in the House of Commons, with 313 Members of Parliament, and also has 249 members of the House of Lords, 18 members of the European Parliament, 31 Members of the Scottish Parliament, 12 members of the Welsh Assembly, eight members of the London Assembly and 8,916 local councillors.

With such an overwhelming vote, Labour captured every seat except the Independent Labour-held Hindley, making a total of four gains, and securing the largest majority since 1973. All but one were at the Lib Dem's expense, with their incumbent in Aspull-Standish standing for his third term ousted, their seat in Bedford-Astley fought and won by their previous incumbent for Labour and being reduced to one in the increasingly marginal, but one-time stronghold, ward of Langtree. The Conservatives suffered a loss to Labour in their only remaining favourable territory of Swinley, reducing their representation to an all-time low of one in both ward and council. The sole non-Labour victor in Hindley, standing under the title as Real Labour, seen her majority reduced. [1]

Aspull village in United Kingdom

Aspull is a village in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, in Greater Manchester, England. Historically in Lancashire, Aspull, along with Haigh, is surrounded by greenbelt and agricultural land, separated from Westhoughton, on its southeast side, by a brook running through Borsdane Wood. The ground rises from south to north, reaching 400 feet (122 m), and has views towards Winter Hill and the West Pennine Moors. It has a population of 4,977.

Standish, Greater Manchester village in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England

Standish is a large village in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. Historically in Lancashire, it is on the A49 road between Chorley and Wigan, near Junction 27 of the M6 motorway. The population of the village was 13,278 in the 2011 census.

Election result

Wigan Local Election Result 1995
PartySeatsGainsLossesNet gain/lossSeats %Votes %Votes+/−
  Labour 24 4 0 +4 96.0 72.8 39,936 +2.5%
  Independent Labour 1 0 0 0 4.0 2.2 1,207 -0.1%
  Liberal Democrat 0 0 3 -3 0.0 14.7 8,075 -1.3%
  Conservative 0 0 1 -1 0.0 10.2 5,610 -1.1%

This result had the following consequences for the total number of seats on the Council after the elections:

PartyPrevious councilNew council
Labour 62 66
Liberal Democrats 7 4
Conservatives 2 1
Independent Labour 1 1
Total 72 72
Working majority 52  60 

Ward results

Abram [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Labour B. Hampson 1,746 90.7 +0.9
Conservative A. Eccles 178 9.2 -0.9
Majority 1,568 81.5 +1.8
Turnout 1,924 20.4 -3.5
Labour hold Swing +0.9
Ashton-Golborne [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Labour J. Hilton 1,965 76.8 -0.5
Conservative M. Winstanley 376 14.7 +3.7
Liberal Democrat S. Cooper 216 8.4 -3.2
Majority 1589 62.1 -3.5
Turnout 2,557 26.1 -3.5
Labour hold Swing -2.1
Aspull-Standish [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Labour D. Standring 1,726 48.9 +0.4
Liberal Democrat G. Davies 1,494 42.4 +1.7
Conservative J. Davies 306 8.7 -2.1
Majority 232 6.5 -1.3
Turnout 3,526 32.1 -5.2
Labour gain from Liberal Democrat Swing -0.6
Atherton [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Labour J. Sumner UnopposedN/AN/A
Labour hold Swing N/A
Bedford-Astley [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Labour J. Lea 1,602 68.3 -0.4
Liberal Democrat R. Bleakley 543 23.1 -8.1
Conservative J. Mosley 200 8.5 +8.5
Majority 1,059 45.1 +7.6
Turnout 2,345 27.0 -1.7
Labour gain from Liberal Democrat Swing +3.8
Beech Hill [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Labour C. Roscoe 1,744 61.9 +14.0
Liberal Democrat J. Beswick 965 34.2 -13.8
Conservative J. Cartwright 109 3.9 -0.2
Majority 779 27.6 +27.5
Turnout 2,818 31.6 -5.7
Labour hold Swing +13.9
Bryn [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Labour J. Foster 2,385 87.5 +1.0
Conservative W. Holmes 340 12.5 -1.0
Majority 2,045 75.0 +2.1
Turnout 2,725 27.7 -1.0
Labour hold Swing +1.0
Hindley [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Independent Labour E. Edwardson 1,207 50.3 +50.3
Labour P. Kelly 984 41.0 -40.7
Liberal Democrat F. Graham 206 8.6 -9.6
Majority 223 9.3 -54.2
Turnout 2,397 24.8 -0.0
Independent Labour hold Swing +45.5
Hindley Green [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Labour R. McAllister 1,893 81.0 -5.1
Liberal Democrat J. Hough 228 9.7 +9.7
Conservative C. Butterworth 217 9.3 -4.7
Majority 1,665 71.2 -0.9
Turnout 2,338 20.7 -3.9
Labour hold Swing -7.4
Hindsford [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Labour S. Little 1,898 74.2N/A
Liberal Democrat D. Soye 406 15.9N/A
Conservative R. Oxley 253 9.9N/A
Majority 1,492 58.3N/A
Turnout 2,557 23.7N/A
Labour hold Swing N/A
Hope Carr [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Labour G. Brooks 1,859 57.1 +6.6
Liberal Democrat P. Hough 1,090 33.5 -1.4
Conservative D. Morris 307 9.4 -5.2
Majority 769 23.6 +8.1
Turnout 3,256 32.5 -3.0
Labour hold Swing +4.0
Ince [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Labour D. Molyneux UnopposedN/AN/A
Labour hold Swing N/A
Langtree [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Labour M. Greenwood 2,067 63.0 +5.8
Liberal Democrat T, Beswick 911 27.8 +0.2
Conservative F. Parkinson 301 9.2 -0.5
Majority 1,156 35.2 +5.6
Turnout 3,279 28.6 -6.1
Labour gain from Liberal Democrat Swing +2.8
Leigh Central [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Labour B. Thomas UnopposedN/AN/A
Labour hold Swing N/A
Leigh East [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Labour K. Cunliffe 1,849 71.0 +2.4
Labour S. Kennedy 1,657
Liberal Democrat S. Hide 505 19.4 -12.0
Liberal Democrat G. Waddup 465
Conservative A. Oxley 249 9.6 +9.6
Majority 1,344 51.6 +14.4
Turnout 2,603 25.8 -1.3
Labour hold Swing
Labour hold Swing +7.2
Lightshaw [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Labour B. Strett 2,923 83.3 +2.6
Conservative C. Duffy 584 16.6 -2.6
Majority 2,339 66.7 +5.3
Turnout 3,507 31.8 -4.0
Labour hold Swing +2.6
Newtown [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Labour J. Birch 1,827 90.8 +5.7
Liberal Democrat M. Wiswall 184 9.1 +1.2
Majority 1,643 81.7 +4.5
Turnout 2,011 22.8 -3.0
Labour hold Swing +2.2
Norley [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Labour S. Parker 1,819 92.4 +7.2
Liberal Democrat A. Sudworth 150 7.6 -7.2
Majority 1,669 84.7 +14.4
Turnout 1,969 26.1 -4.3
Labour hold Swing +7.2
Orrell [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Labour R. Capstick 1,839 73.8 +3.1
Conservative M. Green 654 26.2 -3.1
Majority 1,185 47.5 +6.1
Turnout 2,493 26.7 -5.2
Labour hold Swing +3.1
Swinley [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Labour J. Ball 1,606 59.7 -3.2
Conservative K. Swift 781 29.0 -8.0
Liberal Democrat A. Robinson 301 11.2 +11.2
Majority 825 30.7 +4.9
Turnout 2,688 30.3 -6.5
Labour gain from Conservative Swing +2.4
Tyldesley East [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Labour S. Hellier 2,109 70.6N/A
Liberal Democrat A. Pennington 876 29.3N/A
Majority 1,233 41.3N/A
Turnout 2,985 26.5N/A
Labour hold Swing N/A
Whelley [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Labour M. Pendleton 1,859 90.9 +2.5
Conservative T. Sharpe 185 9.0 -2.5
Majority 1,674 81.9 +5.1
Turnout 2,044 25.2 -3.7
Labour hold Swing +2.5
Winstanley [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Labour G. Roberts 2,324 86.4 +22.1
Conservative G. Whiston 365 13.6 -0.7
Majority 1,959 72.8 +29.9
Turnout 2,689 22.7 -5.9
Labour hold Swing +11.4
Worsley Mesnes [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Labour J. Baldwin 1,912 90.3 +30.5
Conservative T. Sutton 205 9.7 +4.2
Majority 1,707 80.6 +46.2
Turnout 2,117 21.2 -8.5
Labour hold Swing +13.1

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References