# 2002 Pendle Borough Council election

The 2002 Pendle Borough Council election took place on 2 May 2002 to elect members of Pendle Borough Council in Lancashire, England. The whole council was up for election with boundary changes since the last election in 2000 reducing the number of seats by 2. The council stayed under no overall control.

## Background

After the 2000 election Labour was the largest party with 23 of the 51 seats, compared to 19 for the Liberal Democrats and 9 Conservatives. In the early part of 2002 however the gap between Labour and the Liberal Democrats narrowed after Labour councillor Kathleen Shore defected to the Liberal Democrats.
The whole council was being elected in 2002 for the first time since 1976 after boundary changes. These changes meant 49 seats were contested from 20 wards, with new wards of Blacko and Higherford, Higham and Pendleside and Old Laund Booth being created.

## Campaign

In total 144 candidates stood in the election with the Labour, Liberal Democrat and Conservative parties standing in most wards, along with 2 candidates from the Socialist Alliance and some independents. Several councillors stood down at the election, including Conservative group leader Roy Clarkson, Liberal Democrat former mayors Ian Gilhespy and Gill Gilhespy and Labour's Tim Ormrod, while Liberal Democrat Lord Tony Greaves stood for the party in Walverden ward.
Issues in the election included the handling of proposals for closing residential homes, the proposed demolition of houses in Nelson, the condition of private housing in the area, the selection of the area as part of the Neighbourhood Management Pathfinder Programme and policing.
The election saw a trial of optional postal voting in an attempt to increase turnout, but there were allegations that the process was being abused. The Liberal Democrats claimed that about 900 postal votes in four marginal wards were being sent to common addresses, instead of the voters own address. Having the postal vote sent to another address was not illegal, but the Liberal Democrats feared fraud and that people had signed postal ballots without understanding what they were doing. The police made an investigation after one agent for the Liberal Democrats requested it, with the allegations also being looked into by the Electoral Commission.

## Election result

The results saw the Labour and Liberal Democrat parties both finish on 19 seats, while the Conservatives won 11. With the number of seats having been reduced by 2, Labour lost 3 seats, the Liberal Democrats lost 1 seat and the Conservatives gained 2 seats. The closest result came in Walverden ward, where it took 8 recounts before the final result was declared, with Labour winning the second seat in the ward by 2 votes over the Liberal Democrats.
Following the election Labour group leader Azhar Ali remained leader of the council, after winning a 19 to 18 vote over Liberal Democrat group leader Alan Davies at the full council meeting.
Pendle local election result 2002 :
| Party | Seats | Net gain/loss | Seats % | Votes % | Votes | +/− |
| Liberal Democrats | 19 | -1 | 38.8 | 38.6 | 27,067 | +6.1% |
| Labour | 19 | -3 | 38.8 | 32.5 | 22,761 | -3.9% |
| Conservative | 11 | +2 | 22.4 | 27.7 | 19,411 | -2.5% |
| Independent | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.8 | 536 | -0.1% |
| Socialist Alliance | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 | 316 | +0.5% |

## Ward results

Barrowford (3) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Liberal Democrats | Allan Vickerman | 840 | |
| | Conservative | Anthony Beckett | 761 | |
| | Conservative | Linda Crossley | 742 | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Michael Simpson | 667 | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Kay Coates | 658 | |
| | Conservative | Jonathan Eyre | 615 | |
| | Labour | Susan Nike | 359 | |
| | Labour | Anthony Hargreaves | 275 | |
| | Labour | Robert Oliver | 262 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 5,179 | 47.7 |
Blacko and Higherford :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | Shelagh Derwent | 569 | 81.8 |
| | Labour | Helen Ingham | 67 | 9.6 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Christel Abbiss | 60 | 8.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 502 | 72.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 696 | 52.0 |
Boulsworth (3) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Liberal Democrats | Josephine Belbin | 901 | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Alan Davies | 831 | |
| | Liberal Democrats | David Robertson | 828 | |
| | Conservative | Michael Calvert | 392 | |
| | Conservative | James Farnell | 305 | |
| | Conservative | Harold Ryder | 299 | |
| | Labour | Deborah Gray | 241 | |
| | Labour | Robert Parsons | 241 | |
| | Labour | Martin Wilson | 205 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 4,243 | 41.2 |
Bradley (3) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | Mohammed Iqbal | 1,052 | |
| | Labour | Frederick Hartley | 1,047 | |
| | Labour | Mohammad Nasim | 995 | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Mohammed Munir | 885 | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Sonia Robinson | 861 | |
| | Liberal Democrats | David Stopforth | 800 | |
| | Conservative | Eric King | 155 | |
| | Conservative | Frank Chadwick | 153 | |
| | Conservative | Edward Myers | 132 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 6,080 | 52.1 |
Brierfield (3) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | Frank Clifford | 845 | |
| | Labour | Pauline Allen | 840 | |
| | Labour | Abdul Jabbar | 838 | |
| | Conservative | Peter Jackson | 818 | |
| | Conservative | Hussnain Ashraf | 804 | |
| | Conservative | Francis Wren | 796 | |
| | Liberal Democrats | William Lawrence | 227 | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Khalid Mehmood | 147 | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Iain Carlos | 145 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 5,460 | 56.2 |
Clover Hill (3) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | Colin Waite | 675 | |
| | Labour | Neil Akrigg | 640 | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Kathleen Shore | 596 | |
| | Labour | Mohammed Ansar | 577 | |
| | Liberal Democrats | David Foster | 545 | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Nadeem Malik | 444 | |
| | Conservative | Audrey Emmott | 330 | |
| | Conservative | Marian Taylor | 300 | |
| | Conservative | Ann Jackson | 286 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 4,393 | 43.4 |
Coates (3) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Liberal Democrats | Margaret Bell | 1,082 | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Marjorie Adams | 1,020 | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Allan Buck | 989 | |
| | Labour | Paul Hanson | 383 | |
| | Conservative | David Poole | 185 | |
| | Conservative | Joyce Myers | 179 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,838 | 39.8 |
Craven (3) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Liberal Democrats | David Whipp | 1,056 | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Mary Norcross | 973 | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Marlene Hill-Crane | 879 | |
| | Labour | Frank Neal | 622 | |
| | Conservative | Keith Harrison | 254 | |
| | Conservative | Barbara Davison | 239 | |
| | Conservative | Beverley Harrison | 235 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 4,258 | 43.2 |
Earby (3) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | Christopher Tennant | 939 | |
| | Conservative | Rosemary Carroll | 861 | |
| | Conservative | Morris Horsfield | 861 | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Doris Haigh | 795 | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Timothy Haigh | 748 | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Claire Day | 689 | |
| | Labour | William Skinner | 278 | |
| | Labour | Ruth Wilkinson | 236 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 5,407 | 45.4 |
Foulridge :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | Carol Belshaw | 352 | 54.7 |
| | Labour | Jillian Smith | 188 | 29.2 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Michelle Birtwell | 104 | 16.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 164 | 25.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 644 | 47.5 |
Higham and Pendleside :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | John Nutter | 567 | 76.7 |
| | Labour | Sheila Wicks | 172 | 23.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 395 | 53.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 739 | 53.7 |
Horsfield (3) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Liberal Democrats | Sharon Davies | 618 | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Dorothy Lord | 593 | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Ann Kerrigan | 566 | |
| | Labour | Paul Broughton | 423 | |
| | Labour | David Johns | 406 | |
| | Labour | Keith Hutson | 356 | |
| | Independent | Peter Nowland | 301 | |
| | Conservative | Janet Riley | 207 | |
| | Conservative | Alexandra Thompson | 192 | |
| | Conservative | Donald Myers | 162 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,824 | 36.3 |
Marsden (2) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | Dorothy Ormrod | 473 | |
| | Labour | Gary Rowland | 455 | |
| | Independent | Leonard Atkinson | 235 | |
| | Conservative | Michael Landriau | 232 | |
| | Conservative | Victoria Landriau | 201 | |
| | Liberal Democrats | David French | 100 | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Doris Stanworth | 80 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,776 | 38.2 |
Old Laund Booth :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Liberal Democrats | John David | 639 | 84.6 |
| | Conservative | Clive Bevan | 116 | 15.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 523 | 69.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 755 | 62.7 |
Reedley (3) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | Pauline McCormick | 1,255 | |
| | Conservative | Willie Clegg | 1,155 | |
| | Conservative | Tonia Barton | 1,071 | |
| | Labour | Robert Allen | 681 | |
| | Labour | Mohammed Hanif | 599 | |
| | Labour | Anthony Martin | 559 | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Victoria Greaves | 258 | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Frances Myers | 215 | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Alison Whipp | 198 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 5,991 | 56.2 |
Southfield (3) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | Sheena Dunn | 787 | |
| | Labour | Mohammad Latif | 681 | |
| | Labour | Azhar Ali | 673 | |
| | Conservative | Peter Wildman | 350 | |
| | Conservative | Jack Marshall | 344 | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Martin Thornton | 310 | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Rukhsar Ahmed | 193 | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Mohammed Ashraf | 159 | |
| | Conservative | Javed Nasim | 158 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,655 | 37.5 |
Vivary Bridge (3) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Liberal Democrats | David Clegg | 617 | |
| | Labour | David Whalley | 608 | |
| | Labour | Frank Allanson | 510 | |
| | Labour | David Foat | 502 | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Robert Jackson | 479 | |
| | Conservative | Smith Benson | 290 | |
| | Conservative | Ian Porter | 281 | |
| | Conservative | Geoffrey Riley | 249 | |
| | Socialist Alliance | Kevin Bean | 149 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,685 | 35.6 |
Walverden (2) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | George Adam | 566 | |
| | Labour | Judith Robinson | 546 | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Qadeer Ahmed | 544 | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Anthony Greaves | 478 | |
| | Conservative | Barbara King | 186 | |
| | Conservative | Ann Tattersall | 165 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,485 | 52.0 |
Waterside (3) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Liberal Democrats | Edwina Sargeant | 626 | |
| | Labour | Anne Doult | 499 | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Ian Robinson | 492 | |
| | Labour | Ian Tweedie | 442 | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Adrian Statham | 437 | |
| | Labour | Ann Moulton | 431 | |
| | Conservative | Eric Jackson | 168 | |
| | Socialist Alliance | Richard MacSween | 167 | |
| | Conservative | Richard Wood | 165 | |
| | Conservative | Adrian Mitchell | 151 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,578 | 36.7 |
Whitefield (2) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Liberal Democrats | Mahboob Ahmed | 900 | |
| | Labour | Asjad Mahmood | 846 | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Abdul Malik | 795 | |
| | Labour | Mohammad Arshad | 680 | |
| | Conservative | Michelle Ainsworth | 105 | |
| | Conservative | Ijaz Ahmed | 79 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,405 | 70.1 |