Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council election, 1994

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Map of the results of the 1994 Wigan council election. Wigan92.png
Map of the results of the 1994 Wigan council election.

Elections to the Wigan council were held on Thursday, 5 May 1994, with one third of the seats up for election. Prior to the election, Labour had defended their seats in two by-elections for Abram and Hindley. The election suffered from a mixture of a poor contesting rate and low voter turnout. The number of candidates contesting was just 50, the lowest since 1975, with four wards going unopposed, and Lib Dems back to fighting a half of the seats, and the Conservatives less than two-thirds. The only other opposition standing were three Independent Labour candidates, one of which was the previous - but since deselected - Labour incumbent for the seat being fought in Worsley Mesnes. Voter turnout rose from the previous election's nadir, but at 30.4%, still well below average.

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.

Hindley, Greater Manchester town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan in Greater Manchester, England

Hindley is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan in Greater Manchester, England. Lying three miles (5 km) east of Wigan it covers an area of 1044 hectares. Historically in Lancashire, Hindley borders the towns of Ince-in-Makerfield, Aspull, Westhoughton, Atherton and Westleigh in the former borough of Leigh. In 2001, Hindley had a population of 23,457, increasing to 28,000 at the 2011 Census. It forms part of the wider Greater Manchester Urban Area.

Contents

Labour achieved their highest vote share to date, with an overwhelming 70.3% of votes cast. Conversely the Conservatives obtained both their lowest vote share, and lowest vote figure, on record. The Lib Dems, whilst suffering a drop to 16% - a figure below average for results in recent years - witnessed nothing as dramatic. Party seat totals remained unchanged, with Labour and the Lib Dems gaining a seat from each other. The Lib Dem narrowly gained (by just four votes) their third in Beech Hill, turning a ward entirely represented by Labour from the early to mid eighties, into solely Lib Dem for the first time. Labour elsewhere regained a seat in Hope Carr, returning that to entirely Labour. [1]

Election result

Wigan Local Election Result 1994
PartySeatsGainsLossesNet gain/lossSeats %Votes %Votes+/−
  Labour 23 1 1 0 95.8 70.3 41,704 +14.6%
  Liberal Democrat 1 1 1 0 4.2 16.0 9,520 -4.1%
  Conservative 0 0 0 0 0.0 11.3 6,729 -10.2%
  Independent Labour 0 0 0 0 0.0 2.3 1,343 +1.4%

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

PartyPrevious councilNew council
Labour 61 61
Liberal Democrats 8 8
Conservatives 2 2
Independent Labour 1 1
Total 72 72
Working majority 50  50 

Ward results

Abram [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Labour J. Best 2,073 89.8 +9.6
Conservative J. Wright 235 10.2 -9.6
Majority 1,838 79.6 +19.2
Turnout 2,308 23.9 +5.3
Labour hold Swing +9.6
Ashton-Golborne [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Labour A. Bullen 2,253 77.3 +19.6
Liberal Democrat S. Cooper 340 11.7 -3.6
Conservative I. Cunliffe 320 11.0 -15.9
Majority 1,913 65.7 +34.8
Turnout 2,913 29.7 +10.0
Labour hold Swing +11.6
Aspull-Standish [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Labour J. Hilton 1,948 48.5 +14.0
Liberal Democrat L. Chamberlain 1,633 40.7 -5.4
Conservative J. Davies 432 10.8 -8.6
Majority 315 7.8 -3.7
Turnout 4,013 37.3 +5.2
Labour hold Swing +9.7
Atherton [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Labour S. Loundon 2,033 84.6 +8.2
Independent Labour D. Graeme 370 15.4 -8.2
Majority 1,663 69.2 +16.3
Turnout 2,403 26.1 +3.9
Labour hold Swing +8.2
Bedford-Astley [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Labour F. Walker 1,717 68.8 +18.3
Liberal Democrat G. Mann 780 31.2 +5.0
Majority 937 37.5 +13.3
Turnout 2,497 28.7 +2.5
Labour hold Swing +6.6
Beech Hill [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Liberal Democrat L. Brooks 1,621 48.0 -15.1
Labour T. Bishop 1,617 47.9 +15.5
Conservative J. Cartwright 138 4.1 -0.3
Majority 4 0.1 -30.7
Turnout 3,376 37.4 +4.1
Liberal Democrat gain from Labour Swing -15.3
Bryn [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Labour A. Melling 2,429 86.5 +11.4
Conservative R. Clayton 380 13.5 -11.4
Majority 2,049 72.9 +22.9
Turnout 2,809 28.7 +7.9
Labour hold Swing +11.4
Hindley [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Labour W. Shaw 1,946 81.8 +3.7
Liberal Democrat F. Graham 434 18.2 -3.7
Majority 1,512 63.5 +7.4
Turnout 2,380 24.8 +6.2
Labour hold Swing +3.7
Hindley Green [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Labour W. Simmons 2,407 86.0 +28.6
Conservative A. Emmett 390 13.9 -12.8
Majority 2,017 72.1 +41.4
Turnout 2,797 24.6 +7.0
Labour hold Swing +20.7
Hindsford [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Labour A. Wright UnopposedN/AN/A
Labour hold Swing N/A
Hope Carr [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Labour K. Anderson 1,812 50.4 +12.6
Liberal Democrat P. Hough 1,254 34.9 +3.8
Conservative D. Morris 526 14.6 -16.4
Majority 558 15.5 +8.8
Turnout 3,592 35.6 +4.9
Labour gain from Liberal Democrat Swing +4.4
Ince [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Labour W. Blackledge UnopposedN/AN/A
Labour hold Swing N/A
Langtree [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Labour J. O'Neill 2,250 57.2 +21.1
Liberal Democrat J. Shaw 1,083 27.5 -18.3
Conservative F. Parkinson 381 9.7 +9.7
Independent Labour H. O'Neill 218 5.5 +5.5
Majority 1,167 29.7 +19.9
Turnout 3,932 34.7 +3.4
Labour hold Swing +19.7
Leigh Central [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Labour P. Smith UnopposedN/AN/A
Labour hold Swing N/A
Leigh East [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Labour T. Harper 1,870 68.6 +12.7
Liberal Democrat S. Hide 856 31.4 -12.7
Majority 1,014 37.2 +25.3
Turnout 2,726 27.1 +6.8
Labour hold Swing +12.7
Lightshaw [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Labour T. Sherratt 3,180 80.7 +21.2
Conservative C. Duffy 760 19.3 -21.2
Majority 2,420 61.4 +42.5
Turnout 3,940 35.8 +5.2
Labour hold Swing +21.2
Newtown [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Labour K. Pye 1,964 85.1 +12.9
Liberal Democrat H. Wagner 183 7.9 -5.5
Conservative G. Peach 160 6.9 -7.4
Majority 1,781 77.2 +19.3
Turnout 2,307 25.8 +9.3
Labour hold Swing +9.2
Norley [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Labour N. Tuner 1,973 85.2 +7.3
Liberal Democrat B. Turner 343 14.8 +1.7
Majority 1,630 70.4 +5.7
Turnout 2,316 30.4 +9.7
Labour hold Swing +2.8
Orrell [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Labour G. Seaward 2,133 70.7 +19.1
Conservative G. Whiston 884 29.3 -19.1
Majority 1,249 41.4 +38.2
Turnout 3,017 31.9 +5.5
Labour hold Swing +19.1
Swinley [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Labour S. Turner 2,032 62.9 +24.2
Conservative M. Winstanley 1,198 37.1 -15.8
Majority 834 25.8 +11.7
Turnout 3,230 36.8 +2.8
Labour hold Swing +20.0
Tyldesley East [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Labour B. Wilson UnopposedN/AN/A
Labour hold Swing N/A
Whelley [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Labour W. Pendleton 2,125 88.4 +22.3
Conservative T. Sharpe 279 11.6 -4.6
Majority 1,846 76.8 +26.9
Turnout 2,404 28.8 +8.5
Labour hold Swing +13.4
Winstanley [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Labour W. Evans 2,168 64.3 +11.5
Liberal Democrat P. Evans 721 21.4 -0.5
Conservative M. Green 483 14.3 -11.1
Majority 1,447 42.9 +15.5
Turnout 3,372 28.6 +7.7
Labour hold Swing +6.0
Worsley Mesnes [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Labour W. Rotherham 1,774 59.8 -5.3
Independent Labour H. Milligan 755 25.5 +25.5
Liberal Democrat W. Sly 272 9.2 -9.1
Conservative T. Sutton 163 5.5 -11.0
Majority 1,019 34.4 -12.5
Turnout 2,964 29.8 +12.5
Labour hold Swing -15.4

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