1980 Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council election

'All-out' elections to the Wigan Council were held on 1 May 1980, following extensive boundary changes and entirely new wards, yet retaining the number of 24 wards with three seats each for a total of 72 seats. The results were comparable to the 1973 election (also an election where all 72 seats were up for vote), with Labour rewarded a crushing majority in seats for approaching 60% of the vote with their main competitors, the Conservatives, falling to under 30%. The Liberals seen their highest representation yet by way of winning all three seats in Langtree.

Map of the results of the 1980 Wigan council election.

A former Labour councillor who'd represented the just-abolished ward 19 (encompassing central/north Hindley) since the council's creation fought the Hindley ward as an Independent Labour. Overall turnout fell to the slightly higher than usual number of 36.2% from the general election turnout of 75.7% last year, with all wards recording at least one competitor - although that meant in a number of wards Labour were unopposed for one or two of the seats.

Election result

Wigan Local Election Result 1980

Party		Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
	Labour	64	0	0	0	88.9	55.7	48,775	+3.5
	Conservative	5	0	0	0	6.9	29.0	23,954	-8.9
	Liberal	3	0	0	0	4.2	6.8	5,634	+1.8
	Residents	0	0	0	0	0.0	3.0	2,498	+1.7
	Independent Labour	0	0	0	0	0.0	1.5	1,265	+1.5
	Communist	0	0	0	0	0.0	0.2	159	+0.1
	Independent	0	0	0	0	0.0	0.2	149	+0.2

This result had the following consequences for the total number of seats on the Council after the elections:

Party		Previous council	New council
	Labour	56	64
	Conservatives	14	5
	Liberals	1	3
	Independent	1	0
Total		72	72
Working majority		40	56

Ward results

Abram

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	A. Bennett	2,125	74.0	N/A
	Labour	N. Cumberbatch	2,028
	Labour	A. Miller	2,002
	Conservative	M. Jones	747	26.0	N/A
Majority			1,378	48.0	N/A
Turnout			2,872	28.1	N/A
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

Ashton-Golborne

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	T. Jones	2,054	69.2	N/A
	Labour	J. Hilton	2,042
	Labour	R. McEntegart	2,008
	Conservative	W. Corless	915	30.8	N/A
	Conservative	M. Gambles	855
Majority			1,139	38.4	N/A
Turnout			2,969	31.6	N/A
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

Aspull-Standish

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	A. Singer	2,188	47.0	N/A
	Labour	W. Mason	2,055
	Labour	A. Hitchmough	1,934
	Conservative	J. Wild	1,575	33.8	N/A
	Conservative	E. Slevin	1,390
	Conservative	J. Holland	1,375
	Liberal	M. Rutherford	893	19.2
	Liberal	J. Leeuwangh	758
	Liberal	P. Knowles	723
Majority			613	13.2	N/A
Turnout			4,656	46.5	N/A
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

Atherton

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	J. Clarke	2,866	76.9	N/A
	Labour	J. Sumner	2,791
	Labour	L. Sumner	2,601
	Conservative	M. Sharland	862	23.1	N/A
	Conservative	B. France	752
Majority			2,004	53.8	N/A
Turnout			3,728	38.8	N/A
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

Bedford-Astley

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	J. Jones	2,342	57.5	N/A
	Labour	H. Hayes	2,226
	Labour	J. Prytharch	2,165
	Conservative	S. Johnson	1,728	42.5	N/A
	Conservative	C. Hampson	1,539
	Conservative	S. Emerton	1,510
Majority			614	15.1	N/A
Turnout			4,070	41.6	N/A
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

Beech Hill

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	T. Bishop	2,134	73.9	N/A
	Labour	J. Maloney	1,960
	Labour	G. Pullin	1,955
	Conservative	A. Atherton	754	26.1	N/A
	Conservative	J. Lawson	727
	Conservative	J. Wilkinson	653
Majority			1,380	47.8	N/A
Turnout			2,888	32.3	N/A
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

Bryn

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	G. Lockett	2,028	74.6	N/A
	Labour	A. Heckles	1,820
	Labour	R. Lyons	1,800
	Conservative	D. Gambles	691	25.4	N/A
	Conservative	C. Michaels	635
Majority			1,337	49.2	N/A
Turnout			2,719	29.0	N/A
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

Hindley

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	A. Robinson	1,799	48.2	N/A
	Labour	T. Isherwood	1,725
	Labour	J. Bray	1,382
	Independent Labour	C. Priestley	1,265	33.9	N/A
	Conservative	T. Sharples	667	17.9	N/A
Majority			534	14.3	N/A
Turnout			3,731	39.7	N/A
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

Hindley Green

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	G. Harrison	1,665	66.3	N/A
	Labour	R. McAllister	1,552
	Labour	T. Wynn	1,474
	Residents	J. Venables	846	33.7	N/A
Majority			819	32.6	N/A
Turnout			2,511	23.8	N/A
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

Hindsford

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	M. Devlin	2,473	68.7	N/A
	Labour	S. Little	2,426
	Labour	A. Wright	2,392
	Conservative	E. Valentine	1,128	31.3	N/A
	Conservative	H. Davies	1,091
Majority			1,345	37.4	N/A
Turnout			3,601	33.9	N/A
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

Hope Carr

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	A. Roberts	2,391	57.1	N/A
	Labour	F. Newton	2,378
	Labour	J. Hession	2,239
	Conservative	B. Powell	1,800	42.9	N/A
	Conservative	R. Goodwin	1,726
	Conservative	D. Powell	1,713
Majority			591	14.1	N/A
Turnout			4,191	44.3	N/A
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

Ince

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	A. Banks	1,651	78.0	N/A
	Labour	R. Taylor	1,439
	Labour	A. Rowlandson	1,437
	Conservative	C. Jones	466	22.0	N/A
Majority			1,185	56.0	N/A
Turnout			2,117	25.7	N/A
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

Langtree

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	J. Pigott	2,348	46.7	N/A
	Liberal	E. Hill	1,786
	Liberal	P. Davies	1,722
	Labour	J. Hardy	1,516	30.1	N/A
	Labour	T. Morris	1,336
	Labour	D. Standring	1,202
	Conservative	M. Frost	1,169	23.2	N/A
Majority			832	16.5	N/A
Turnout			5,033	49.8	N/A
	Liberal win (new seat)
	Liberal win (new seat)
	Liberal win (new seat)

Leigh Central

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	G. Macdonald	2,309	72.7	N/A
	Labour	P. Hull	2,204
	Labour	P. Smith	2,112
	Conservative	M. Stott	706	22.2	N/A
	Conservative	G. Byrne	701
	Communist	H. Kedward	159	5.0	N/A
Majority			1,603	50.5	N/A
Turnout			3,174	35.2	N/A
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

Leigh East

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	J. Riley	1,987	55.5	N/A
	Labour	D. Caley	1,874
	Labour	T. Harper	1,869
	Conservative	M. Wood	1,591	44.5	N/A
	Conservative	H. Yates	1,501
	Conservative	K. Price	1,477
Majority			396	11.1	N/A
Turnout			3,578	36.1	N/A
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

Lightshaw

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	N. Holt	2,541	66.7	N/A
	Labour	B. Strett	2,538
	Labour	B. Strett	2,511
	Conservative	T. Thompson	1,268	33.3	N/A
	Conservative	A. Emmett	1,248
	Conservative	J. Harrison	1,189
Majority			1,273	33.4	N/A
Turnout			3,809	49.9	N/A
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

Newtown

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	A. Peet	2,017	77.9	N/A
	Labour	M. Milligan	2,004
	Labour	J. Bridge	1,956
	Conservative	D. Hill	571	22.1	N/A
Majority			1,446	55.9	N/A
Turnout			2,588	27.5	N/A
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

Norley

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	E. Maddocks	2,237	81.6	N/A
	Labour	J. Smith	2,129
	Labour	N. Turner	2,070
	Conservative	M. Hill	279	10.2	N/A
	Liberal	G. Foster	226	8.2	N/A
	Liberal	P. Gibbons	184
Majority			1,958	71.4	N/A
Turnout			2,742	31.5	N/A
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

Orrell

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	F. Fairbairn	1,809	38.5	N/A
	Labour	R. Capstick	1,674	35.6	N/A
	Conservative	J. Hitchen	1,552
	Conservative	M. Fox	1,546
	Labour	E. Nickeas	1,517
	Labour	J. Roberts	1,377
	Residents	R. Kemp	978	20.8	N/A
	Liberal	K. Mason	242	5.1	N/A
Majority			35	2.9	N/A
Turnout			47,03	47.7	N/A
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)

Swinley

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	W. France	1,739	54.5	N/A
	Conservative	G. Lewthwaite	1,698
	Conservative	C. Giles	1,633
	Labour	M. Pendleton	827	25.9	N/A
	Labour	K. Green	818
	Labour	H. Antill	797
	Liberal	B. Barber	627	19.6	N/A
	Liberal	A. Robinson	507
	Liberal	J. Grayson	463
Majority			912	28.6	N/A
Turnout			3,193	34.7	N/A
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)

Tyldesley East

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	G. Woodcock	2,200	57.8	N/A
	Labour	F. Walker	2,154
	Labour	J. Burke	2,099
	Conservative	K. Hampson	980	25.7	N/A
	Conservative	J. Davies	929
	Liberal	G. Pickthall	626	16.4	N/A
	Liberal	L. Seal	615
	Liberal	J. Seal	609
Majority			1,220	32.1	N/A
Turnout			3,806	41.3	N/A
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

Whelley

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	A. Coyle	2,069	74.6	N/A
	Labour	M. Pratt	2,026
	Labour	W. Pendleton	2,012
	Conservative	G. Whittle	703	25.4	N/A
	Conservative	D. Fitton	681
Majority			1,366	49.3	N/A
Turnout			2,772	31.4	N/A
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

Winstanley

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	J. Whittle	1,582	37.5	N/A
	Labour	G. Taberner	1,528
	Labour	E. Naylor	1,487
	Conservative	A. Foster	1,144	27.1	N/A
	Conservative	J. Michaels	1,068
	Conservative	E. Bell	1,067
	Residents	C. Hughes	674	16.0	N/A
	Liberal	K. Higham	672	15.9	N/A
	Liberal	J. Fitzpatrick	657
	Independent	G. Barlow	149	3.5	N/A
Majority			438	10.4	N/A
Turnout			4,221	40.8	N/A
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

Worsley Mesnes

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	W. Brogan	2,100	76.0	N/A
	Labour	J. Baldwin	2,017
	Labour	H. Milligan	1,946
	Conservative	A. Edwards	662	24.0	N/A
	Conservative	R. Rogers	641
	Conservative	J. Unsworth	565
Majority			1,438	52.0	N/A
Turnout			2,762	28.3	N/A
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)