# 2002 Wyre Forest District Council election

The 2002 Wyre Forest District Council election took place on 2 May 2002 to elect members of Wyre Forest District Council in Worcestershire, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Independent Kidderminster Hospital and Health Concern party gained overall control of the council from no overall control.
After the election, the composition of the council was:
* Health Concern 21
* Conservative 6
* Labour 5
* Liberal 5
* Liberal Democrats 2
* Independent 2
* Vacant 1

## Campaign

Before the election the council was run by a coalition of Health Concern, Conservative, Liberal Democrats and Liberal councillors. 14 seats were initially expected to be contested with the Conservatives unopposed in Chaddesley ward. However, in mid April the defending Liberal Democrat councillor for Sutton Park, Steve Roberts, died meaning that the election in that ward was postponed until a by-election could be held. With Labour defending 6 of the seats which were being contested there was an expectation that the Health Concern group could gain a majority on the council. Since the last election in 2000, Richard Taylor from Health Concern had gained the parliamentary constituency from Labour in the 2001 general election.
The issue of the downgrading of the local Kidderminster hospital, which had dominated the last two council election, continued to remain a significant theme of the campaign. Another issue which was raised in the campaign was concern over plans to establish a new incinerator in Kidderminster, which was opposed by all the parties contesting the election.

## Election result

The results saw the Health Concern party gain control of the council after making a net gain of five seats. This meant that Health Concern had 21 seats, 15 more than any other party. They thus had control of the council on the chairman's casting vote.
The gains for Health Concern were mainly at the expense of Labour who lost five seats, with the Liberal Democrats also losing a seat. However both the Conservative and Liberal parties gained one seat each. Overall turnout at the election was 32%.
Wyre Forest local election result 2002 :
| Party | Seats | Gains | Losses | Net gain/loss | Seats % | Votes % | Votes |
| Health Concern | 7 | 6 | 1 | +5 | 53.8 | 29.6 | 5,837 |
| Conservative | 3 | 1 | 0 | +1 | 23.1 | 25.1 | 4,947 |
| Liberal | 2 | 1 | 0 | +1 | 15.4 | 13.0 | 2,569 |
| Labour | 1 | 0 | 5 | -5 | 7.7 | 24.8 | 4,892 |
| Liberal Democrats | 0 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 0 | 6.3 | 1,233 |
| Independent | 0 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 0 | 1.1 | 221 |

## Ward results

Aggborough and Spennells :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Health Concern | Keith Robertson | 781 | 34.2 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Peter Dyke | 712 | 31.2 |
| | Conservative | Keith Fletcher | 560 | 24.6 |
| | Labour | Mari Jones | 154 | 6.8 |
| | Liberal | Kevin Hill | 74 | 3.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 69 | 3.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,281 | |
| | Health Concern gain from Liberal Democrats | Health Concern gain from Liberal Democrats | Swing | |
Areley Kings :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | Albert Adams | 694 | 46.6 |
| | Conservative | Michael Partridge | 575 | 38.6 |
| | Independent | Jim Millington | 221 | 14.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 119 | 8.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,490 | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | |
Bewdley :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | Stephen Clee | 836 | 54.7 |
| | Labour | Paul Gittins | 692 | 45.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 144 | 9.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,528 | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | |
Broadwaters :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Health Concern | Marion Spragg | 591 | 46.6 |
| | Labour | John Stevens | 306 | 24.1 |
| | Liberal | Rob Wheway | 189 | 14.9 |
| | Conservative | John Friend | 120 | 9.5 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Michael Gay | 62 | 4.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 285 | 22.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,268 | |
| | Health Concern gain from Labour | Health Concern gain from Labour | Swing | |
Chaddesley Corbett :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Stephen Williams | unopposed | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
Franche :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Health Concern | Kimberley Poller | 819 | 48.1 |
| | Labour | Nigel Knowles | 549 | 32.2 |
| | Conservative | Kevin Ruddy | 299 | 17.5 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Nigel Goodman | 37 | 2.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 270 | 15.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,704 | |
| | Health Concern gain from Labour | Health Concern gain from Labour | Swing | |
Greenhill :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Liberal | Paul Harrison | 960 | 57.2 |
| | Health Concern | Mike Shellie | 364 | 21.7 |
| | Labour | John Gretton | 224 | 13.3 |
| | Conservative | Geoff Bulmer | 131 | 7.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 596 | 35.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,679 | |
| | Liberal gain from Health Concern | Liberal gain from Health Concern | Swing | |
Habberley and Blakebrook :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Health Concern | Howard Eeles | 1,036 | 53.1 |
| | Labour | Lynn Hyde | 656 | 33.6 |
| | Conservative | Neil Anderson | 220 | 11.3 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Mike Price | 40 | 2.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 380 | 19.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,952 | |
| | Health Concern gain from Labour | Health Concern gain from Labour | Swing | |
Lickhill :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Health Concern | Jill Fairbrother-Millis | 920 | 53.2 |
| | Conservative | Gary Talbot | 463 | 26.8 |
| | Labour | Graham Whitefoot | 346 | 20.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 457 | 26.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,729 | |
| | Health Concern hold | Health Concern hold | Swing | |
Mitton :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Health Concern | Maureen Aston | 665 | 44.5 |
| | Conservative | David Little | 473 | 31.7 |
| | Labour | Mick Grinnall | 356 | 23.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 192 | 12.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,494 | |
| | Health Concern gain from Labour | Health Concern gain from Labour | Swing | |
Offmore :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Liberal | Mike Oborski | 1,346 | 74.2 |
| | Labour | Adrian Sewell | 240 | 13.2 |
| | Conservative | Margaret Gregory | 229 | 12.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,106 | 61.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,815 | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | |
Oldington and Foley Park :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | Nathan Desmond | 543 | 43.3 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Clare Cassidy | 382 | 30.5 |
| | Labour | William Bradley | 328 | 26.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 161 | 12.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,253 | |
| | Conservative gain from Labour | Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | |
Wribbenhall and Arley :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Health Concern | Tony Greenfield | 661 | 43.9 |
| | Conservative | Louise Edginton | 498 | 33.1 |
| | Labour | Barry McFarland | 347 | 23.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 163 | 10.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,506 | |
| | Health Concern gain from Independent | Health Concern gain from Independent | Swing | |

## By-elections between 2002 and 2003

A by-election was held in Sutton Park on 13 June 2002 after the death of Liberal Democrat councillor Steve Roberts. The seat was gained for the Conservatives by Marcus Hart with a majority of 77 votes over Health Concern candidate Jennifer Harrison. This meant Health Concern no longer had a majority on the council, but continued to run the council with the casting vote of the council chairman, as they had 21 of the 42 seats on the council.
Sutton Park by-election 13 June 2002 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Marcus Hart | 583 | 38.1 | +29.7 |
| | Health Concern | Jennifer Harrison | 506 | 33.1 | −20.9 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Clare Cassidy | 253 | 16.5 | −12.4 |
| | Labour | William Bradley | 187 | 12.2 | +3.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 77 | 5.0 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,529 | 31.8 | |
| | Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats | Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats | Swing | | |