Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council election, 1978

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Map of the results for the 1978 Wigan council election. Labour in red and Conservatives in blue. Wigan UK local election 1978 map.png
Map of the results for the 1978 Wigan council election. Labour in red and Conservatives in blue.

Elections to Wigan Council were held on 4 May 1878, with one third of the council up for election as well as vacancies in Ward 2 and 17. Previous to the election, a Labour councillor in Ward 9 defected to become an Independent Labour, reducing Labour's majority to 38. This seat was up for vote and became the only Labour gain of the night, as they suffered five losses to the Conservatives, and their majority reduced to 30 - half of what it was in 1973. The election seen a first of all wards being contested, with turnout rising marginally to 34.7%. [1]

Metropolitan Borough of Wigan Metropolitan borough in England

The Metropolitan Borough of Wigan is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, in North West England. It is named after its largest component town and former county borough, Wigan and includes the towns and villages of Leigh, part of Ashton-in-Makerfield, Ince-in-Makerfield, Hindley, Orrell, Standish, Atherton, Tyldesley, Golborne, Lowton, Billinge, Astley, Haigh and Aspull. The borough was formed in 1974 and is an amalgamation of several former local government districts and parishes. The borough has three civil parishes and lies directly to the west of the City of Salford and southwest of the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton. The local authority is Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council.

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.

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.

Contents

Election result

Wigan Local Election Result 1978
PartySeatsGainsLossesNet gain/lossSeats %Votes %Votes+/−
  Labour 19 1 5 -4 73.1 54.3 42,687 +3.0%
  Conservative 7 5 0 +5 26.9 43.6 34,337 +2.8%
  Liberal 0 0 0 0 0.0 1.7 1,331 -2.2%
  Communist 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.2 147 -0.2%
  Independent Labour 0 0 1 -1 0.0 0.2 146 +0.2%

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

PartyPrevious councilNew council
Labour 55 51
Conservatives 14 19
Liberals 1 1
Independent 1 1
Independent Labour 1 0
Total 72 72
Working majority 38  30 

Ward results

Ward 1 (Lindsay-Scholes-Whelley) [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Labour W. Pendleton 1,980 62.9 -0.2
Conservative C. Giles 1,170 37.1 +0.2
Majority 810 25.7 -0.5
Turnout 3,150 34.3 +1.2
Labour hold Swing -0.2
Ward 2 (Poolstock-Worsley Mesnes) [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Labour W. Brogan 1,744 66.8 +4.3
Labour H. Antill 1,587
Conservative C. Rogers 866 33.2 +9.5
Conservative R. Rogers 837
Majority 878 33.6 -5.3
Turnout 2,610 29.2 +4.5
Labour hold Swing
Labour hold Swing -2.6
Ward 3 (Gidlow-Swinley-Whitley) [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Conservative H. Dowling 2,731 70.5 +1.3
Labour M. Pendleton 1,143 29.5 -1.3
Majority 1,588 41.0 +2.6
Turnout 3,874 34.2 +0.8
Conservative hold Swing +1.3
Ward 4 (Beech Hill and Marsh Green) [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Labour E. Naylor 1,892 68.5N/A
Conservative A. Atherton 869 31.5N/A
Majority 1,023 37.1N/A
Turnout 2,761 29.4N/A
Labour hold Swing N/A
Ward 5 (Highfield and Lamberhead) [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Labour G. Barlow 1,553 52.4 -1.0
Conservative A. Foster 1,412 47.6 +1.0
Majority 141 4.8 -2.0
Turnout 2,965 26.1 -0.3
Labour hold Swing -1.0
Ward 6 (Newtown and Rose Hill) [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Labour A. Peet 1,591 66.5 +4.5
Conservative J. Lawson 801 33.5 +5.5
Majority 790 33.0 -0.9
Turnout 2,392 27.6 +0.2
Labour hold Swing -0.5
Ward 7 (Hope Carr) [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Conservative R. Goodwin 1,711 56.2 -0.0
Labour A. Roberts 1,334 43.8 +0.0
Majority 377 12.4 -0.1
Turnout 3,045 43.3 -1.6
Conservative gain from Labour Swing -0.0
Ward 8 (St Pauls and St Peters) [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Labour G. Macdonald 1,542 62.6 +3.8
Conservative W. Lackenby 830 33.7 -3.4
Communist H. Kedward 90 3.7 -0.4
Majority 712 28.9 +7.1
Turnout 2,462 27.2 +1.4
Labour hold Swing +3.6
Ward 9 (Etherstone and St Marys) [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Labour P. Smith 1,386 46.6 -4.9
Conservative H. Davies 1,385 46.6 +1.1
Independent Labour E. Moore 146 4.9 +4.9
Communist K. James 57 1.9 -1.0
Majority 1 0.0 -6.0
Turnout 2,974 33.0 -2.3
Labour gain from Independent Labour Swing -3.0
Ward 10 (Lilford-St Josephs-St Thomas) [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Conservative G. Wyatt 2,042 57.2 +4.6
Labour H. Smith 1,528 42.8 -1.2
Majority 514 14.4 +5.8
Turnout 3,570 40.3 +0.2
Conservative gain from Labour Swing +2.9
Ward 11 (Golborne St Thomas and Lowton)
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Labour N. Holt 2,468 58.2 -0.5
Conservative T. Thompson 1,776 41.8 +0.5
Majority 692 16.3 -1.0
Turnout 4,244 40.7 +1.0
Labour hold Swing -0.5
Ward 12 (Golborne Heath Park and Ashton) [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Labour J. Hilton 2,116 64.9 -5.4
Conservative J. Harrison 1,146 35.1 +5.4
Majority 970 29.7 -10.7
Turnout 3,262 36.7 -1.2
Labour hold Swing -5.4
Ward 13 (Ashton-in-Makerfield North and West) [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Labour A. Heckles 1,695 62.8 -4.8
Conservative B. Smith 1,003 37.2 +37.2
Majority 692 25.6 -9.6
Turnout 2,698 35.5 +3.5
Labour hold Swing -21.0
Ward 14 (Ashton-in-Makerfield Central and East) [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Labour S. Lea 1,645 56.7 +4.2
Conservative M. Ball 1,257 43.3 +14.3
Majority 388 13.4 -10.1
Turnout 2,902 32.5 -5.4
Labour hold Swing -5.0
Ward 15 (Standish with Langtree and Shevington) [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Labour G. Pullin 1,981 39.8 +4.4
Conservative E. Howard 1,911 38.4 +9.7
Liberal J. Pigot 1,089 21.9 +21.9
Majority 70 1.4 +0.8
Turnout 4,981 +42.2 +3.4
Labour hold Swing -2.6
Ward 16 (Aspull) [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Conservative J. Wild 1,942 48.0 +0.8
Labour A. Singer 1,860 46.0 +6.3
Liberal K. Mason 242 6.0 -7.1
Majority 82 2.0 -1.4
Turnout 4,044 41.7 +7.5
Conservative gain from Labour Swing -2.7
Ward 17 (Atherton North East) [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Labour J. Clarke 2,590 72.1 +5.6
Labour W. Murphy 2,115
Conservative M. Sharland 1,001 27.9 -5.6
Conservative B. France 895
Majority 1,589 44.2 +11.2
Turnout 3,591 34.1 +0.6
Labour hold Swing
Labour hold Swing +5.6
Ward 18 (Atherton South West) [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Conservative D. Williams 1,435 52.5 -6.8
Labour J. Sumner 1,296 47.5 +6.8
Majority 139 5.1 -13.6
Turnout 2,731 42.1 +4.4
Conservative gain from Labour Swing -6.8
Ward 19 (Hindley Central and North) [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Labour C. Priestley 1,558 68.5 +1.8
Conservative L. McGreal 716 31.5 -1.8
Majority 842 37.0 +3.6
Turnout 2,274 30.9 +2.8
Labour hold Swing +1.8
Ward 20 (Hindley South East and West) [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Labour G. Harrison 1,720 55.8 +6.0
Conservative T. Whitfield 1,361 44.2 +5.2
Majority 359 11.7 +0.8
Turnout 3,081 28.3 -1.7
Labour hold Swing +0.4
Ward 21 (Ince-in-Makerfield) [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Labour R. Taylor 2,553 71.7N/A
Conservative M. Jones 1,006 28.3N/A
Majority 1,547 43.5N/A
Turnout 3,559 31.8N/A
Labour hold Swing N/A
Ward 22 (Orrell and Billinge) [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Conservative J. Hitchen 2,723 55.3 +11.2
Labour J. Whittle 2,201 44.7 +9.6
Majority 522 10.6 +1.5
Turnout 4,924 35.7 +3.2
Conservative gain from Labour Swing +0.8
Ward 23 (Tyldesley - Shakerley) [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Labour S. Little 1,744 51.9 -1.8
Conservative L. Knowles 1,614 48.1 +1.8
Majority 130 3.9 -3.6
Turnout 3,358 37.5 -1.0
Labour hold Swing -1.8
Ward 24 (Tyldesley - Astley Green and Blackmoor) [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Conservative S. Emerton 1,629 51.0 -4.5
Labour R. Rawson 1,567 49.0 +4.5
Majority 62 1.9 -8.9
Turnout 3,196 41.4 -1.2
Conservative gain from Labour Swing -4.5

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