# 2002 West Lancashire District Council election

The 2002 West Lancashire District Council election took place on 2 May 2002 to elect members of West Lancashire District 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 1. The Conservative Party gained overall control of the council from Labour.
After the election the composition of the council was:
| Party | Seats | ± |
| Conservative | 30 | +8 |
| Labour | 24 | -7 |
| Independent | 0 | -2 |

## Campaign

Before the election Labour had 25 seats on the council, compared to 23 for the Conservatives. All the seats were being contested for the first time since 1974 after boundary changes had taken place. Among the candidates there was a record number of independents at 12, with 6 of them having defected from Labour.
Issues in the election including transport, housing and leisure facilities. The Labour Party said they were the only party that had the experience to run the council and pledged to remove charges for pensioners for pest control. However the Conservatives pledged to improve services, increase recycling, keep parking charges low, form partnerships with private firms to improve facilities, while making efficiency savings.

## Election result

The results saw the Conservatives gain control of the council after winning 30 seats compared to 24 for Labour. The Conservatives won the seats in Ormskirk, while Labour held the seats in Skelmersdale. However the former Labour chairman of the council, Andrew Johnson, was defeated in the election in Aughton and Downholland ward after his former seat of Downholland was merged with the more Conservative Aughton in the boundary changes. All of the independent candidates were defeated in the election, which saw an overall turnout of 32.5%.
West Lancashire Local Election Result 2002 :
| Party | Seats | Net gain/loss | Seats % | Votes % | Votes |
| Conservative | 30 | +8 | 55.6 | 47.5 | 26,397 |
| Labour | 24 | -8 | 44.4 | 40.0 | 22,256 |
| Independent | 0 | -2 | 0 | 11.5 | 6,378 |
| Green | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.8 | 454 |
| Socialist Alliance | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 | 93 |

## Ward results
### Ashurst

Ashurst (3) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes |
| | Labour | Ian Duffy | 728 |
| | Labour | Donna Duffy | 726 |
| | Labour | Ann Rice | 656 |
| | Independent | Marie McElhinney | 382 |
| | Independent | Patrick McElhinney | 349 |
| | Conservative | James Coomber | 219 |
| | Socialist Alliance | Lyndsey Shipstone | 93 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,153 |

### Aughton and Downholland

Aughton and Downholland (3) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes |
| | Conservative | David O'Toole | 1,085 |
| | Conservative | Una Atherley | 1,069 |
| | Conservative | David Westley | 985 |
| | Labour | Andrew Johnson | 780 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,919 |

### Aughton Park

Aughton Park (2) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes |
| | Conservative | Ian Grant | 879 |
| | Conservative | Geoffrey Roberts | 790 |
| | Labour | Gordon Rankin | 322 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,991 |

### Bickerstaffe

Bickerstaffe (1) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | Patricia Taylor | 440 | 62.2 |
| | Labour | Paul Cotterill | 267 | 37.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 173 | 24.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 707 | |

### Birch Green

Birch Green (2) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes |
| | Labour | Mary Pendleton | 410 |
| | Labour | Jane Roberts | 320 |
| | Independent | John Hiley | 165 |
| | Conservative | Florence Kean | 56 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 951 |

### Burscough East

Burscough East (2) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes |
| | Labour | Walter Carter | 582 |
| | Conservative | Florence Westley | 582 |
| | Labour | Anne Carter | 580 |
| | Conservative | Susan Murrin-Bailey | 546 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,290 |

### Burscough West

Burscough West (2) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes |
| | Labour | John Draper | 732 |
| | Labour | Cynthia Dereli | 713 |
| | Conservative | Richard Shepherd | 633 |
| | Conservative | Graham Rhys Jones | 607 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,685 |

### Derby

Derby (3) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes |
| | Conservative | Paul Greenall | 811 |
| | Conservative | Adrian Owens | 750 |
| | Conservative | David Swiffen | 734 |
| | Labour | Noel Delaney | 610 |
| | Labour | Elizabeth Rafferty | 571 |
| | Green | Anne Doyle | 321 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,797 |

### Digmoor

Digmoor (2) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes |
| | Labour | Terence Aldridge | 609 |
| | Labour | Anne Maguire | 461 |
| | Independent | Ian Givens | 139 |
| | Conservative | Malcolm Barron | 85 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,294 |

### Halsall

Halsall (1) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | Doreen Stephenson | 431 | 73.8 |
| | Labour | Dorothy Rimmer | 153 | 26.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 278 | 47.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 584 | |

### Hesketh-with-Becconsall

Hesketh-with-Becconsall (2) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes |
| | Conservative | Christopher Ashcroft | 607 |
| | Conservative | Martin Forshaw | 592 |
| | Independent | Gail Hodson | 295 |
| | Independent | Lesley Standish-Gore | 285 |
| | Labour | Susan Jones | 113 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,892 |

### Knowsley

Knowsley (3) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes |
| | Conservative | Valerie Hopley | 1,059 |
| | Conservative | Peter Lea | 1,010 |
| | Conservative | Robert Bailey | 913 |
| | Labour | Margaret Pinnington | 635 |
| | Labour | Richard Nolan | 541 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 4,158 |

### Moorside

Moorside (2) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes |
| | Labour | Patricia Carson | 423 |
| | Labour | Susan Riley | 415 |
| | Independent | Ronald Ford | 144 |
| | Independent | Karl Taraldsen | 128 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,110 |

### Newburgh

Newburgh (1) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | Kenneth Vincent | 533 | 72.2 |
| | Labour | Jacqueline Citarella | 205 | 27.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 328 | 44.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 738 | |

### North Meols

North Meols (2) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes |
| | Conservative | John Baldock | 549 |
| | Conservative | Jill Baldock | 548 |
| | Independent | Joan Draper | 383 |
| | Labour | Shan France | 304 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,784 |

### Parbold

Parbold (2) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes |
| | Conservative | William Waterworth | 935 |
| | Conservative | May Blake | 920 |
| | Labour | David McKay | 305 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,160 |

### Rufford

Rufford (1) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | Joan Colling | 374 | 75.3 |
| | Labour | Christopher Cheetham | 123 | 24.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 251 | 50.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 497 | |

### Scarisbrick

Scarisbrick (2) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes |
| | Conservative | William Cropper | 755 |
| | Conservative | Margaret Edwards | 695 |
| | Labour | Paul Gray | 281 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,731 |

### Scott

Scott (3) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes |
| | Labour | Charles Gains | 722 |
| | Labour | Francis Williams | 710 |
| | Conservative | Cyril Ainscough | 656 |
| | Labour | John Hodson | 636 |
| | Conservative | Leslie Yeates | 587 |
| | Independent | John Fillis | 463 |
| | Independent | David Braid | 187 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,961 |

### Skelmersdale North

Skelmersdale North (2) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes |
| | Labour | Alan Bullen | 514 |
| | Labour | Jane McDermott | 498 |
| | Independent | Joan Morrison | 368 |
| | Independent | Alan Spears | 301 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,681 |

### Skelmersdale South

Skelmersdale South (3) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes |
| | Labour | Richard Cavanagh | 754 |
| | Labour | Sydney Jones | 728 |
| | Labour | Doreen Saxon | 703 |
| | Independent | Joan Britton | 520 |
| | Independent | Sharon Wright | 329 |
| | Conservative | Susan Cropper | 140 |
| | Green | Martin Lowe | 133 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,307 |

### Tanhouse

Tanhouse (2) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes |
| | Labour | Robert Pendleton | 374 |
| | Labour | William Roberts | 321 |
| | Independent | David Gibson | 163 |
| | Conservative | Irene O'Donnell | 129 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 987 |

### Tarleton

Tarleton (3) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes |
| | Conservative | Robert Hodge | 986 |
| | Conservative | John Mee | 939 |
| | Conservative | Rosemary Evans | 833 |
| | Independent | John Hodson | 625 |
| | Independent | Roy Hiscock | 583 |
| | Independent | Nadine Ashcroft | 569 |
| | Labour | Denise Francis | 131 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 4,666 |

### Up Holland

Up Holland (3) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes |
| | Labour | Barbara Burke | 940 |
| | Labour | Margaret Skilling | 837 |
| | Labour | Anthony Rice | 796 |
| | Conservative | Ruth Pollock | 615 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,188 |

### Wrightington

Wrightington (2) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes |
| | Conservative | Peter Gartside | 661 |
| | Conservative | Carolyn Evans | 659 |
| | Labour | Derek Thompson | 542 |
| | Labour | David Phythian | 485 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,347 |