# 2003 West Lancashire District Council election

The 2003 West Lancashire District Council election took place on 1 May 2003 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.
After the election, the composition of the council was:
| Party | Party | Seats | ± |
| | Conservative | 28 | -2 |
| | Labour | 26 | +2 |

## Campaign

Before the election the Conservatives held 30 seats compared to 24 for the Labour Party, after the Conservatives gained a majority in the 2002 election for the first time since 1991. 18 seats were contested in the election with the Conservatives defending 11 and Labour 7. In total 46 candidates stood in the election, made up of 18 Conservative, 17 Labour, 4 Green and 7 independent candidates. No Liberal Democrats stood in the election, with their local party reported to have fewer than 100 members. Among the councillors defending their seats in the election was the Conservative council leader, Geoffrey Roberts, while a former Labour councillor John Fillis stood as in independent in Scott ward, after having been cleared earlier in the year of defrauding Labour party accounts during the 1997 general election.
The election was seen as being a close contest being the Conservative and Labour parties, but the Liverpool Echo felt apathy among Labour voters could imperil some Labour held seats in Skelmersdale. The Conservatives defended their record in control of the council for the past year, pointing to a recycling scheme they had introduced, improvements they claimed to have made in street cleaning and they pledged to continue investing in services. However Labour attacked the Conservatives for scrapping a community warden scheme, pledged that they would end a pest control charge and would provide a new cemetery for the area. Labour also accused the Conservatives of planning to privatise services to a Liverpool company, however this was denied by the Conservatives.

## Election result

The results saw the Conservatives remain in control of the council despite losing 2 seats to Labour. Labour narrowly gained seats in Scott and Wrightington wards from the Conservative after a recount. This meant the Conservatives only had a majority of 2, with 28 seats compared to 26 for Labour. No other candidates were elected with all 7 independents being defeated. Overall turnout in the election was 27.5%.
West Lancashire Local Election Result 2003 :
| Party | Seats | Gains | Losses | Net gain/loss | Seats % | Votes % | Votes | +/− |
| Conservative | 9 | 0 | 2 | -2 | 50.0 | 46.1 | 8.497 | -1.4% |
| Labour | 9 | 2 | 0 | +2 | 50.0 | 39.9 | 7,363 | -0.1% |
| Independent | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11.1 | 2,043 | -0.4% |
| Green | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.9 | 541 | +2.1% |

## Ward results
### Ashurst

Ashurst :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | Ann Rice | 483 | 53.1 |
| | Independent | Patrick McElhinney | 268 | 29.5 |
| | Conservative | Paul Boulton | 158 | 17.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 215 | 23.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 909 | 18.7 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | |

### Aughton and Downholland

Aughton and Downholland :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | David Westley | 954 | 60.7 |
| | Labour | Andrew Johnson | 618 | 39.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 336 | 21.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,572 | 34.0 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | |

### Aughton Park

Aughton Park :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | Geoffrey Roberts | 682 | 78.0 |
| | Labour | Stephen Hanlon | 192 | 22.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 490 | 56.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 874 | 28.3 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | |

### Bickerstaffe

Bickerstaffe :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Patricia Taylor | 402 | 53.7 | −8.5 |
| | Labour | Paul Cotterill | 347 | 46.3 | +8.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 55 | 7.4 | −17.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 749 | 45.1 | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |

### Birch Green

Birch Green :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | Jane Roberts | 323 | 84.6 |
| | Conservative | Timothy Edwards | 59 | 15.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 264 | 69.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 382 | 12.9 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | |

### Derby

Derby :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | David Swiffen | 618 | 47.5 |
| | Labour | Noel Delaney | 541 | 41.6 |
| | Green | Anne Doyle | 141 | 10.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 77 | 5.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,300 | 28.2 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | |

### Digmoor

Digmoor :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | Ann-Marie Maguire | 394 | 75.5 |
| | Independent | Alan Spears | 74 | 14.2 |
| | Conservative | Richard Shepherd | 54 | 10.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 220 | 61.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 522 | 16.4 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | |

### Knowlsey

Knowsley :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | Robert Bailey | 730 | 56.6 |
| | Labour | Margaret Pinnington | 415 | 32.2 |
| | Green | John Watt | 145 | 11.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 315 | 24.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,290 | 28.4 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | |

### North Meols

North Meols :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | Jill Baldock | 386 | 48.9 |
| | Independent | Joan Draper | 286 | 36.2 |
| | Labour | Jane McDermott | 117 | 14.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 100 | 12.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 789 | 24.7 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | |

### Parbold

Parbold :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | May Blake | 749 | 58.8 |
| | Independent | Rosalind Wess | 341 | 26.8 |
| | Labour | Clare Gillard | 183 | 14.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 408 | 32.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,273 | 40.3 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | |

### Scarisbrick

Scarisbrick :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | Margaret Edwards | 560 | 72.0 |
| | Labour | David Evans | 218 | 28.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 342 | 44.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 778 | 26.6 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | |

### Scott

Scott :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | Allison Sinton | 582 | 38.3 |
| | Conservative | Cyril Ainscough | 574 | 37.7 |
| | Independent | John Fillis | 221 | 14.5 |
| | Green | Maurice George | 144 | 9.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 8 | 0.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,521 | 32.5 |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | |

### Skelmersdale North

Skelmersdale North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | Richard Nolan | 450 | 61.1 |
| | Independent | Joan Morrison | 195 | 26.5 |
| | Conservative | Graham Jones | 92 | 12.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 255 | 34.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 737 | 23.5 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | |

### Skelmersdale South

Skelmersdale South :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | Doreen Saxon | 682 | 73.8 |
| | Conservative | Susan Cropper | 131 | 14.2 |
| | Green | Martin Lowe | 111 | 12.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 551 | 59.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 924 | 18.6 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | |

### Tanhouse

Tanhouse :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | William Roberts | 368 | 76.3 |
| | Conservative | Irene O'Donnell | 114 | 23.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 254 | 52.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 482 | 16.3 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | |

### Tarleton

Tarleton :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | Rosemary Evans | 957 | 59.3 |
| | Independent | John Hodson | 658 | 40.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 299 | 18.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,615 | 37.0 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | |

### Up Holland

Up Holland :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | Anthony Rice | 812 | 55.2 |
| | Conservative | Ruth Pollock | 659 | 44.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 253 | 10.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,471 | 30.3 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | |

### Wrightington

Wrightington :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | Derek Thompson | 638 | 50.8 |
| | Conservative | Carolyn Evans | 618 | 49.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 20 | 1.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,256 | 37.2 |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | |