# 2003 Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council election

Elections to Wigan Borough Council were held on 1 May 2003 with one-third of the council was up for election. Prior to the election, there had been two vacancies in Leigh Central, with Labour winning a by-election in June and the seat being fought in this election filled unopposed by Barbara Jarvis.
The election boasted a record number of candidates for an election of thirds, with 90 spread across all 24 wards. Whilst the Conservative's fielded a strong showing of all but three wards and the Lib Dems improved to fight half the wards, the bulk of the increase came from Community Action and the Socialist Alliance more than doubling their last year's totals, with the Socialist Alliance now contesting all but four wards and Community Action just under half. Labour reliably put up candidates for all wards, and the BNP a second candidate in Orrell.
Labour's share fell to under half of the votes for only the second time in the council's history, with the only other time being their low-point in 1975, with one of their lowest votes achieved. The main beneficiaries were the rapidly advancing Community Action Party, and to a lesser extent the Lib Dems, helping them to narrowly retain their third place in vote share behind the second place, and largely unchanged, Conservatives. The Socialist Alliance made little headway despite their near-full slate, and significantly fell back in their most competitive wards.
Labour lost five seats on the night, with each of three main competitors picking up seats. Community Action accounted for three, gaining further representation in Bryn and Lightshaw and also making another breakthrough in the formerly uninterrupted Labour territory of Ashton-Golborne. The Lib Dems picked up a seat in the historically competitive Aspull-Standish ward for the first time in over a decade, as well as comfortably defending their seat in Hindsford. The Tories strengthened their footing on the council with another gain in Swinley, a ward which had reliably elected Conservatives throughout the eighties, but had progressively been routed in the early nineties. This left Labour's majority at 58, the lowest in just under twenty years.
Overall turnout dropped from last year's partly recovered figure of just over a quarter of the electorate, to 22.7%.

## Election result

Wigan Local Election Result 2003 :
| Party | Seats | Gains | Losses | Net gain/loss | Seats % | Votes % | Votes | +/− |
| Labour | 18 | 0 | 5 | -5 | 75.0 | 49.6 | 26,761 | -7.3 |
| Community Action | 3 | 3 | 0 | +3 | 12.5 | 13.8 | 7,458 | +4.6 |
| Liberal Democrats | 2 | 1 | 0 | +1 | 8.3 | 14.0 | 7,568 | +2.4 |
| Conservative | 1 | 1 | 0 | +1 | 4.2 | 17.0 | 9,174 | -0.3 |
| Socialist Alliance | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 3.6 | 1,921 | +1.1 |
| BNP | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 1.7 | 944 | +0.7 |
This result had the following consequences for the total number of seats on the Council after the elections:
| Party | Party | Previous council | New council |
| | Labour | 65 | 60 |
| | Community Action | 2 | 5 |
| | Liberal Democrat | 3 | 4 |
| | Conservative | 2 | 3 |
| | Socialist Alliance | 0 | 0 |
| | BNP | 0 | 0 |
| Total | Total | 72 | 72 | 72 |
| Working majority | Working majority | 58 | 48 |

## Ward results

Abram :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Carl Sweeney | 1,261 | 56.7 | −8.5 |
| | BNP | Dennis Shambley | 576 | 25.9 | +3.1 |
| | Community Action | Ronald Barnes | 218 | 9.8 | +9.8 |
| | Conservative | Marion Green | 164 | 7.4 | −4.3 |
| Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | 5 | 0.2 | -0.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 685 | 30.8 | −11.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,219 | 25.0 | −3.1 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | -5.8 | |
Ashton-Golborne :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Community Action | Kevin Williams | 1,256 | 46.8 | +4.7 |
| | Labour | Patricia Holland | 1,060 | 39.5 | −4.8 |
| | Conservative | Marie Winstanley | 276 | 10.3 | +0.2 |
| | Socialist Alliance | Marian Markham | 89 | 3.3 | −0.1 |
| Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | 3 | 0.1 | +0.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 196 | 7.3 | +5.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,684 | 24.1 | −2.7 |
| | Community Action gain from Labour | Community Action gain from Labour | Swing | +4.7 | |
Aspull-Standish :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Trevor Beswick | 1,354 | 39.8 | +9.3 |
| | Labour | George Davies | 1,296 | 38.1 | −6.2 |
| | Conservative | Barry Woolley | 687 | 20.2 | −2.0 |
| | Socialist Alliance | Judith Ford | 61 | 1.8 | −1.1 |
| Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | 3 | 0.1 | +0.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 58 | 1.7 | −12.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,401 | 28.8 | −1.7 |
| | Liberal Democrats gain from Labour | Liberal Democrats gain from Labour | Swing | +7.7 | |
Atherton :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Reginald Holmes | 989 | 53.6 | −1.2 |
| | Liberal Democrats | John Stackhouse | 659 | 35.7 | +2.2 |
| | Conservative | Ann Davies | 193 | 10.5 | +4.2 |
| Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | 4 | 0.2 | +0.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 330 | 17.9 | −3.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,845 | 21.3 | −7.3 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | -1.7 | |
Bedford-Astley :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | John Lea | 881 | 53.5 | N/A |
| | Conservative | David Morris | 393 | 23.9 | N/A |
| | Liberal Democrats | Glynnis Hogg | 305 | 18.5 | N/A |
| | Socialist Alliance | Barbara Hennessy | 61 | 3.7 | N/A |
| Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | 6 | 0.4 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 488 | 29.6 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,646 | 19.9 | N/A |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | N/A | |
Beech Hill :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Andrew Collins | 1,010 | 55.3 | −2.5 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Nigel Wickes | 467 | 25.6 | −6.0 |
| | Conservative | Barry Alder | 233 | 12.8 | +12.8 |
| | Socialist Alliance | Graham MacFarlane | 111 | 6.1 | +6.1 |
| Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | 5 | 0.3 | -0.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 543 | 29.7 | +3.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,826 | 20.1 | −7.0 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +1.7 | |
Bryn :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Community Action | Gary Wilkes | 1,320 | 47.7 | −0.3 |
| | Labour | Robin Atkinson | 1,222 | 44.1 | −0.9 |
| | Conservative | Stuart Foy | 161 | 5.8 | −1.1 |
| | Socialist Alliance | Paul Lewis | 61 | 2.2 | +2.2 |
| Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | 4 | 0.1 | +0.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 98 | 3.5 | +0.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,768 | 28.0 | −1.4 |
| | Community Action gain from Labour | Community Action gain from Labour | Swing | +0.3 | |
Hindley :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Jack Topping | 1,278 | 66.3 | −7.4 |
| | Conservative | Andre Walker | 331 | 17.2 | −8.1 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Tarek Gaber | 190 | 9.9 | +9.9 |
| | Socialist Alliance | Mark Tebbutt | 117 | 6.1 | +6.1 |
| Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | 12 | 0.6 | -0.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 947 | 49.1 | +0.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,928 | 18.2 | −3.1 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +0.3 | |
Hindley Green :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Peter Turner | 1,039 | 57.9 | −13.8 |
| | Conservative | Rosina Oxley | 343 | 19.1 | −8.0 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Solveiq Gaber | 273 | 15.2 | +15.2 |
| | Socialist Alliance | Claire Doherty | 135 | 7.5 | +7.5 |
| Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | 5 | 0.3 | -1.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 696 | 38.8 | −5.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,795 | 16.3 | −3.3 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | -2.9 | |
Hindsford :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Robert Bleakley | 1,685 | 61.1 | +5.7 |
| | Labour | Philip Loudon | 943 | 34.2 | +1.3 |
| | Conservative | Dorothy Angell | 131 | 4.7 | +0.7 |
| Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | 0 | 0.0 | -0.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 742 | 26.9 | +4.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,759 | 25.4 | −3.1 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +2.2 | |
Hope Carr :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | John O'Brien | 1,196 | 47.6 | −4.5 |
| | Community Action | Janice Solinas | 648 | 25.8 | +6.7 |
| | Conservative | Andrew Oxley | 564 | 22.5 | −2.3 |
| | Socialist Alliance | Keith Fry | 91 | 3.6 | +0.0 |
| Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | 11 | 0.4 | +0.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 548 | 21.8 | −5.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,510 | 24.4 | −3.7 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | -5.6 | |
Ince :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | David Molyneux | 1,085 | 73.7 | −2.7 |
| | Conservative | Robert Rees | 139 | 9.4 | −1.5 |
| | Socialist Alliance | Michael Doherty | 125 | 8.5 | −3.9 |
| | Community Action | Ian Franzen | 120 | 8.1 | +8.1 |
| Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | 4 | 0.3 | -0.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 946 | 64.2 | +0.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,473 | 19.2 | −2.0 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | -0.6 | |
Langtree :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Michael Crosby | 1,211 | 42.5 | −9.4 |
| | Conservative | Gareth Fairhurst | 1,062 | 37.3 | +7.7 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Freda Graham | 476 | 16.7 | −1.5 |
| | Socialist Alliance | John Pointon | 91 | 3.2 | +3.2 |
| Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | 11 | 0.4 | +0.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 149 | 5.2 | −17.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,851 | 24.5 | −4.1 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | -8.5 | |
Leigh Central :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Barbara Jarvis | 1,030 | 65.8 | −5.7 |
| | Conservative | Alan Lowe | 281 | 18.0 | +1.4 |
| | Community Action | Daniel Burrows | 170 | 10.9 | −0.8 |
| | Socialist Alliance | Robert Stephenson | 79 | 5.0 | +5.0 |
| Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | 5 | 0.3 | +0.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 749 | 47.9 | −7.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,565 | 18.6 | −2.9 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | -3.5 | |
Leigh East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Keith Cunliffe | 1,144 | 62.5 | −14.5 |
| | Conservative | Derek Davies | 368 | 20.1 | −2.1 |
| | Community Action | James Forkgen | 232 | 12.7 | +12.7 |
| | Socialist Alliance | William Markham | 79 | 4.3 | +4.3 |
| Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | 8 | 0.4 | -0.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 776 | 42.4 | −12.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,831 | 16.9 | −2.1 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | -6.2 | |
Lightshaw :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Community Action | Peter Solinas | 1,540 | 45.4 | +0.9 |
| | Labour | Alan Melling | 1,221 | 36.0 | −5.7 |
| | Conservative | James Grundy | 568 | 16.7 | +3.1 |
| | Socialist Alliance | Marie Winnard | 58 | 1.7 | +1.7 |
| Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | 5 | 0.1 | +0.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 319 | 9.4 | +6.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,392 | 27.9 | −7.1 |
| | Community Action gain from Labour | Community Action gain from Labour | Swing | +3.3 | |
Newtown :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Joy Birch | 981 | 66.1 | −10.8 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Martin Sutton | 348 | 23.5 | +23.5 |
| | Socialist Alliance | Barry Conway | 146 | 9.8 | −11.4 |
| Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | 9 | 0.6 | -1.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 633 | 42.7 | −13.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,484 | 17.5 | −1.2 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | -17.1 | |
Norley :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Stephen Parker | 815 | 59.2 | −24.3 |
| | Community Action | Margaret Crank | 508 | 36.9 | +36.9 |
| | Socialist Alliance | Samuel Blakeman | 51 | 3.7 | −12.3 |
| Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | 3 | 0.2 | -0.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 307 | 22.3 | −45.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,377 | 20.5 | +2.6 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | -30.6 | |
Orrell :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Ronald Capstick | 1,380 | 46.7 | −5.5 |
| | Conservative | Richard Clayton | 1,074 | 36.4 | −10.9 |
| | BNP | Richard Moreton | 368 | 12.5 | +12.5 |
| | Socialist Alliance | Robert Fairhurst | 125 | 4.2 | +4.2 |
| Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | 6 | 0.2 | -0.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 306 | 10.4 | +5.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,953 | 31.5 | +1.2 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +2.7 | |
Swinley :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Henry Cadman | 1,265 | 47.8 | +7.5 |
| | Labour | John Ball | 913 | 34.5 | −2.3 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Alan Robinson | 351 | 13.3 | +0.9 |
| | Socialist Alliance | Frances Berka | 111 | 4.2 | +2.0 |
| Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | 6 | 0.2 | +0.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 352 | 13.3 | +9.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,646 | 30.7 | −3.7 |
| | Conservative gain from Labour | Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | +4.9 | |
Tyldesley East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Stephen Hellier | 1,237 | 50.8 | −13.2 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Richard Derricutt | 1,186 | 48.7 | +13.5 |
| Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | 12 | 0.5 | -0.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 51 | 2.1 | −26.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,435 | 20.2 | −0.7 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | -13.3 | |
Whelley :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | John Earl | 1,208 | 65.4 | −5.4 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Jean Beswick | 274 | 14.8 | −6.9 |
| | Conservative | Joan Pietre | 239 | 12.9 | +12.9 |
| | Socialist Alliance | Janet Phillips | 117 | 6.3 | −0.7 |
| Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | 10 | 0.5 | +0.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 934 | 50.5 | +1.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,848 | 22.7 | −1.4 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +0.7 | |
Winstanley :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Philip Kelly | 1,259 | 44.5 | −20.1 |
| | Community Action | Stanley Barnes | 961 | 34.0 | +34.0 |
| | Conservative | Jonathan Cartwright | 486 | 17.2 | −17.5 |
| | Socialist Alliance | John Bolton | 114 | 4.0 | +4.0 |
| Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | 9 | 0.3 | -0.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 298 | 10.5 | −19.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,829 | 21.7 | +1.7 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | -27.0 | |
Worsley Mesnes :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Joseph Baldwin | 1,102 | 57.8 | −16.8 |
| | Community Action | William Barnes | 485 | 25.4 | +25.4 |
| | Conservative | Thomas Sutton | 216 | 11.3 | −3.9 |
| | Socialist Alliance | Jacqueline Pointon | 99 | 5.2 | −4.7 |
| Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | 6 | 0.3 | +0.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 617 | 32.3 | −27.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,908 | 20.0 | −0.2 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | -21.1 | |