2002 St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council election

The 2002 St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council election took place on 2 May 2002 to elect members of St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council in Merseyside, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Labour Party stayed in overall control of the council.^[1]

After the election, the composition of the council was:

Background

Before the election Labour held a 16-seat majority on the council,^[4] with 18 seats being contested in 2002.^[5] Among the councillors who were defending seats at the election was the Liberal Democrat group leader Brian Spencer.^[6]

In an attempt to increase turnout, primary school children in the 2 wards with the lowest turnout in previous elections, Blackbrook and West Sutton were given balloons with the date of election printed on them to remind their parents of the election date.^[7] Access to polling places had also been improved and there was greater publicity about the availability of postal voting,^[7] which led to 5,086 requests for postal votes compared to 1,100 at the last election in 2000.^[8]

Election result

Labour held control of the control with 33 councillors after losing 1 seat to the Conservatives.^[2] The Conservative gain came in Windle, where Nancy Ashcroft joined her husband as a councillor for the ward.^[3] This took the Conservatives to 5 seats on the council, while the Liberal Democrats remained on 15 seats.^[3] Overall turnout at the election was 26.4% and ranged between a low of 19.3% in West Sutton and a high of 36.93% in Rainford.^[2]^[3]

St Helens local election result 2002^[9]^[10]
	Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
Labour	11	0	1	-1	61.1	47.6	17,126	+2.3%
Liberal Democrats	5	0	0	0	27.8	34.4	12,365	+1.4%
Conservative	2	1	0	+1	11.1	17.6	6,338	-3.7%
Socialist Labour	0	0	0	0	0	0.3	99	-0.2%
Independent	0	0	0	0	0	0.1	32	+0.1%

Ward results

Billinge and Seneley Green^[3]^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Bessie Griffin	1,530	59.8	+6.4
	Conservative	Elizabeth Black	589	23.0	−10.1
	Liberal Democrats	Christine Langley	439	17.2	+3.7
Majority			941	36.8	+16.4
Turnout			2,558	24.9	+5.1
	Labour hold		Swing

Blackbrook^[3]^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Linda Maloney	928	63.4	−0.8
	Liberal Democrats	Matthew Dunn	393	26.9	+4.8
	Conservative	Judith Collins	142	9.7	−4.0
Majority			535	36.6	−5.5
Turnout			1,463	21.0	+6.6
	Labour hold		Swing

Broad Oak^[3]^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Ken Pinder	928	55.7	+4.0
	Liberal Democrats	Alec Mills	654	39.2	−5.3
	Conservative	Joan Foster	85	5.1	+1.3
Majority			274	16.4	+9.2
Turnout			1,667	25.2	+3.2
	Labour hold		Swing

Eccleston^[3]^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Teresa Sims	2,064	71.3	+6.4
	Labour	Stephen Glover	415	14.3	−0.7
	Conservative	William Highcock	415	14.3	−5.8
Majority			1,649	57.0	+12.2
Turnout			2,894	34.0	+5.0
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Grange Park^[3]^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Terence Hanley	851	51.9	+1.2
	Liberal Democrats	David Evans	446	27.2	+4.8
	Conservative	John Willis	245	14.9	−8.8
	Socialist Labour	Michael Perry	99	6.0	+2.8
Majority			405	24.7	−2.3
Turnout			1,641	21.9	+5.9
	Labour hold		Swing

Haydock^[3]^[10]^[11]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	William Swift	1,387	63.2	−0.7
	Liberal Democrats	Eric Sheldon	507	23.1	+2.9
	Conservative	Keith Winstanley	299	13.6	−2.3
Majority			880	40.1	−3.6
Turnout			2,193	24.3	+6.2
	Labour hold		Swing

Marshalls Cross^[3]^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	John Beirne	1,047	69.6	+1.3
	Labour	Michael Glover	418	27.8	−0.6
	Conservative	Jill Jones	39	2.6	−0.7
Majority			629	41.8	+1.8
Turnout			1,504	25.3	+2.6
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Moss Bank^[3]^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Carole Kavanagh	1,495	56.4	+2.5
	Labour	Barbara Jakubiak	1,005	37.9	−0.1
	Conservative	John Cunliffe	152	5.7	−0.4
Majority			490	18.5	+2.7
Turnout			2,652	32.5	+3.5
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Newton East^[3]^[10]^[11]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Neil Taylor	1,325	59.4	−6.1
	Labour	Charles Banks	747	33.5	+5.7
	Conservative	Margaret Harvey	160	7.2	+0.5
Majority			578	25.9	−11.8
Turnout			2,232	29.4	+1.7
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Newton West^[3]^[10]^[11]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Keith Deakin	1,202	61.8	+11.7
	Liberal Democrats	David Crowther	512	26.3	−15.3
	Conservative	Catherine Perks	232	11.9	+3.6
Majority			690	35.5	+27.0
Turnout			1,946	23.5	+1.8
	Labour hold		Swing

Parr and Hardshaw^[3]^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Mark Arnold	897	72.1	+1.4
	Liberal Democrats	Noreen Knowles	238	19.1	+0.1
	Conservative	Madeleine Wilcock	77	6.2	−4.0
	Independent	David Round	32	2.6	+2.6
Majority			659	53.0	+1.3
Turnout			1,244	21.1	+4.7
	Labour hold		Swing

Queens Park^[3]^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Richard McCauley	897	54.8	+0.0
	Liberal Democrats	Lesley Ronan	596	36.4	+4.4
	Conservative	Charmain Pyke	143	8.7	−4.5
Majority			301	18.4	−4.4
Turnout			1,636	23.4	+5.2
	Labour hold		Swing

Rainford^[3]^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Tony Brown	1,544	60.4	−8.5
	Labour	David Wood	797	31.2	+5.4
	Liberal Democrats	Stephen Topping	215	8.4	+3.0
Majority			747	29.2	−13.9
Turnout			2,556	36.9	+1.2
	Conservative hold		Swing

Rainhill^[3]^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Lee Myers	1,517	59.1	+0.5
	Conservative	Jonathan Mackie	629	24.5	−5.3
	Liberal Democrats	Kenneth Knowles	419	16.3	+4.8
Majority			888	34.6	+5.8
Turnout			2,565	26.7	+6.8
	Labour hold		Swing

Sutton and Bold^[3]^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Brian Spencer	1,202	58.8	+5.7
	Labour	Derek Maylor	744	36.4	−6.0
	Conservative	Stephen Holt	97	4.7	+0.2
Majority			458	22.4	+11.7
Turnout			2,043	27.4	+1.4
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Thatto Heath^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Patricia Robinson	1,061	68.8	+3.5
	Liberal Democrats	Carol Pearl	318	20.6	+4.9
	Conservative	Barbara Woodcock	164	10.6	−3.4
Majority			743	48.2	−1.4
Turnout			1,543	21.5	+2.7
	Labour hold		Swing

West Sutton^[3]^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Frank Robinson	784	64.5
	Liberal Democrats	Darren Makin	291	24.0
	Conservative	Henry Spriggs	140	11.5
Majority			493	40.6
Turnout			1,215	19.3	+3.9
	Labour hold		Swing

Windle^[3]^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Nancy Ashcroft	1,186	49.3
	Labour	Geoffrey Almond	1,018	42.3
	Liberal Democrats	Gary Pulfer	204	8.5
Majority			168	7.0
Turnout			2,408	34.9	+6.0
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing

By-elections between 2002 and 2003

Marshalls Cross by-election 19 September 2002^[12]
Party		Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	813	72.3	+2.7
	Labour	275	24.5	−3.3
	Conservative	36	3.2	+0.6
Majority		538	47.9	+6.1
Turnout		1,124	18.9	−6.4
	Liberal Democrats hold	Swing

References

^ "St Helens". BBC News Online. Retrieved 22 February 2015.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Local Elections: Town keeps it in the family". Liverpool Echo. NewsBank. 3 May 2002.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u Bianchi, Stefania (10 May 2002). "Triumph for Nancy!". Cheshire, Greater Manchester, and Merseyside Counties Publications. NewsBank.
^ Woodhead, Jane (10 April 2002). "Election candidates prepare to do battle". Liverpool Echo. NewsBank.
^ Kelly, Andy (11 April 2002). "Town halls may have new leaders in weeks". Liverpool Daily Post. NewsBank.
^ Kelly, Andy (2 May 2002). "Can e-voting shift balance of power?". Liverpool Daily Post. NewsBank.
^ ^a ^b Beard, Elizabeth (2 May 2002). "Floating voters!". Cheshire, Greater Manchester, and Merseyside Counties Publications. NewsBank.
^ Woodhead, Jane; Hernon, Ian (2 May 2002). "Hi-tech voting to boost Mersey poll". Liverpool Echo. NewsBank.
^ "Election results - Local Elections". The Times. NewsBank. 3 May 2002. p. 6.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s "Local Election Results 2002". Local Elections Archive Project. Retrieved 22 February 2015.
^ ^a ^b ^c Magill, Pete (3 May 2002). "Newton Local Election Results 2002". Cheshire, Greater Manchester, and Merseyside Counties Publications. NewsBank.
^ "Tories make shock gain from SNP". The Guardian. 20 September 2002. Retrieved 22 February 2015.

[vote2002-1] "St Helens". BBC News Online. Retrieved 22 February 2015.

[family-2] "Local Elections: Town keeps it in the family". Liverpool Echo. NewsBank. 3 May 2002.

[nancy-3] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u Bianchi, Stefania (10 May 2002). "Triumph for Nancy!". Cheshire, Greater Manchester, and Merseyside Counties Publications. NewsBank.

[battle-4] Woodhead, Jane (10 April 2002). "Election candidates prepare to do battle". Liverpool Echo. NewsBank.

[halls-5] Kelly, Andy (11 April 2002). "Town halls may have new leaders in weeks". Liverpool Daily Post. NewsBank.

[evoting-6] Kelly, Andy (2 May 2002). "Can e-voting shift balance of power?". Liverpool Daily Post. NewsBank.

[floating-7] Beard, Elizabeth (2 May 2002). "Floating voters!". Cheshire, Greater Manchester, and Merseyside Counties Publications. NewsBank.

[hitech-8] Woodhead, Jane; Hernon, Ian (2 May 2002). "Hi-tech voting to boost Mersey poll". Liverpool Echo. NewsBank.

[elections-9] "Election results - Local Elections". The Times. NewsBank. 3 May 2002. p. 6.

[results-10] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s "Local Election Results 2002". Local Elections Archive Project. Retrieved 22 February 2015.

[newton-11] Magill, Pete (3 May 2002). "Newton Local Election Results 2002". Cheshire, Greater Manchester, and Merseyside Counties Publications. NewsBank.

[shock-12] "Tories make shock gain from SNP". The Guardian. 20 September 2002. Retrieved 22 February 2015.

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