Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council election, 2012

Map of the results of the 2012 Sefton council election. Labour in red, Liberal Democrats in yellow and Conservatives in blue.

The 2012 Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council election took on 3 May 2012 to elect members of Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council in England, as part of the United Kingdom local elections, 2012.^[1] 22 seats, representing one third of the total Council membership, were up for election in single-member wards. Ten - nearly half - of the members elected were newcomers to the Council; five of these defeated sitting Councillors seeking re-election, whilst in the other five wards, the incumbent retired. Two incumbents stood under different labels to those they were elected under in 2008; both were defeated in their wards.

The election resulted in a landslide for the Labour Party, which won 48% of the popular vote and 15 of the seats up for election - more than double the seven it went into the election with. Labour won a clean sweep in the southern constituencies of Sefton Central and Bootle. This brought the total number of seats controlled by Labour on the Council up to 36 giving the party an overall majority of six. As a result, the Sefton Labour Group formed a majority administration for the first time since the Council's creation in 1973.^[2] Although the party failed to make a breakthrough in the northern town of Southport, it did win more than 20% of the popular vote there, a feat it has not achieved at a general election since 1966. The party also out-polled Conservative Party in three of Southport's seven wards and out-polled a sitting Councillor (in Duke's Ward) for the first time in years.

The election representing a serious defeat for the other three parties defending seats. All incumbent Conservatives seeking re-election were defeated, including group leader Paula Parry who lost her Blundellsands ward to Labour on a swing of nearly 22%. Only one Conservative was elected; newcomer Ted Hartill successfully defended outgoing deputy leader Brenda Porter's seat of Ainsdale, though the Conservative margin of victory was cut from 45 in 2008 to just 15 points. They lost a third of the support they had attained in the 2011 borough election, falling into third place in terms of votes and being left with just eight seats on the Council. Their 17% share of the vote was well below the national party's 31%.

For the Liberal Democrats, the result was slightly better but still represented a crushing defeat for a party that only two years previously had been the largest on Sefton Council. They gained two seats in Southport from the Conservatives (including one Independent Conservative) and retained all the seats they were defending there but lost all five they were defending in the south of the borough to Labour, reducing their overall strength from 23 to 20. Their share of the vote was only 19% across all of Sefton however, scarcely more than the party's national average of 16% and leaving them nearly thirty points behind Labour. In roughly a third of the seats up for election the Lib Dems won less than 100 votes.

Additionally, the United Kingdom Independence Party lost its sole seat on the Council. Former Conservative Councillor and mayor Alf Doran, who had crossed the floor to join UKIP in 2011,^[3] was defeated in his bid to be re-elected. He finished a close third, just 77 votes behind the Conservatives and 85 behind the victorious Labour Party. No other party was able to return members to the Council; only the local issues Southport Party came remotely close in Norwood, where its candidate finished a distant third behind Labour and the Lib Dems. The only independent, a former Conservative Councillor seeking re-election, was defeated.

Ward results

Asterisk (*) denotes an incumbent seeking re-election.

Ainsdale
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Ted Hartill	1,446	38
	Liberal Democrat	Lynne Thompson	869	23
	Labour	Stephen Jowett	653	17
	UKIP	Jim Doyle	624	17
	Green	Barbara Dutton	180	5
Majority			577
Turnout			3,772	39
	Conservative hold		Swing	3% Con to Lib Dem

Birkdale
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrat	Richard Hands*	1,225	39
	UKIP	Terry Durrance	707	22
	Labour	Ged Wright	688	22
	Conservative	Nigel Ball	555	17
Majority			518
Turnout			3,175	33
	Liberal Democrat hold		Swing	6.5% Con to Lib Dem

Blundellsands
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Veronica Bennett	2,117	53
	Conservative	Paula Parry*	1,448	36
	UKIP	Tony Ledgerton	179	5
	Green	Laurence Rankin	138	3
	Liberal Democrat	Kris Brown	87	2
Majority			669
Turnout			3,969	45
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing

Cambridge
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrat	Pat Keith*	1,459	42
	Conservative	Cath Regan	734	21
	UKIP	Gordon Ferguson	720	21
	Labour	Muriel Langley	566	16
Majority			725
Turnout			3,479	37
	Liberal Democrat gain from Conservative		Swing	11.5% Con to Lib Dem

Church
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Paul Cummins*	1,930	73
	UKIP	Joseph Hedgecock	265	10
	Conservative	Helen Barber	187	7
	Green	Julia Thorne	185	7
	Liberal Democrat	Sylvia Mainey	75	3
Majority			1,665
Turnout			2,642	30
	Labour hold		Swing

Derby
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Carol Gustafson*	1,809	81
	UKIP	John Rice	302	14
	Conservative	Alex McIvor	64	3
	Liberal Democrat	Jennifer Robertson	56	3
Majority			1,507
Turnout			2,231	25
	Labour hold		Swing

Dukes
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrat	Tony Dawson	996	30
	Conservative	Bob Ayres	827	25
	Labour	Peter Gaffney	473	14
	UKIP	John Lyon-Taylor	390	12
	Southport Party	Harry Forster	359	11
	Independent	David Pearson*^[4]	288	9
Majority			169
Turnout			2,387
	Liberal Democrat gain from Independent		Swing	6.5% Con to Lib Dem

Ford
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Paulette Lappin	1,872	81
	UKIP	Philip Wordley	307	13
	Conservative	Veronica Murphy	84	4
	Liberal Democrat	Winifred Maher	54	2
Majority			1,565
Turnout			2,317	26
	Labour hold		Swing

Harington
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Nina Killen	1,146	31
	Conservative	Simon Jamieson	1,138	31
	UKIP	Alf Doran*^[5]	1,061	29
	Liberal Democrat	Dru Haydon	321	9
Majority			8
Turnout			3,666	38
	Labour gain from UKIP		Swing

Kew
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrat	Maureen Fearn*	1,028	37
	Labour	Janet Harrison	800	29
	UKIP	Michael Lewtas	578	21
	Conservative	Chris Cross	390	14
Majority			228
Turnout			2,796	30
	Liberal Democrat hold		Swing

Linacre
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Doreen Kerrigan*	1,682	92
	Liberal Democrat	James Murray	74	4
	Conservative	Marika Jenkins	73	4
Majority			1,608
Turnout			1,829	23
	Labour hold		Swing

Litherland
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Patricia Hardy*	1,705	80
	UKIP	Sheila Grace	174	8
	Conservative	Jessamine Hounslea	159	7
	Liberal Democrat	Daniel Lewis	95	4
Majority			1,531
Turnout			2,133	26
	Labour hold		Swing

Manor
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	John Kelly	1,908	59
	Conservative	Sharon Hutchinson	749	23
	UKIP	Craig Hughes	362	11
	Liberal Democrat	Carol Tonkiss	235	7
Majority			1,159
Turnout			3,254	33
	Labour gain from Liberal Democrat		Swing

Meols
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrat	John Dodd*	1,327	40
	Conservative	Sarah Jackson	600	18
	Labour	Maureen Stoker	560	17
	Southport Party	Margaret Brown	489	15
	UKIP	Patricia Shanks	372	11
Majority			727
Turnout			3,348	35
	Liberal Democrat hold		Swing	10% Con to Lib Dem

Molyneux
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Paula Murphy	1,888	59
	Liberal Democrat	Peter Gill	659	20
	UKIP	Peter Harper	405	13
	Conservative	Nigel Barber	201	6
	Green	Tony Christian	69	2
Majority			1,229
Turnout			3,222	33
	Labour gain from Liberal Democrat		Swing

Netherton & Orrell
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Robert Brennan*	1,804	74
	UKIP	Pat Gaskell	241	10
	TUSC	Peter Glover	227	9
	Conservative	Viv Becker	108	4
	Liberal Democrat	Carol Hill	59	2
Majority			1,503
Turnout			2,439	28
	Labour hold		Swing

Norwood
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrat	Ronnie Fearn*	1,215	39
	Labour	Lesley Delves	820	27
	Southport Party	Jacqueline Barlow	555	18
	Conservative	Graham Campbell	343	11
	Green	Neville Grundy	147	5
Majority			395
Turnout			3,080	31
	Liberal Democrat hold		Swing

Park
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Stephen Kermode	2,027	53
	Liberal Democrat	Robbie Fenton*	1,145	30
	UKIP	Peter Gannon	304	8
	Conservative	Martyn Barber	295	8
	Green	Roy Greason	81	2
Majority			882
Turnout			3,852	40
	Labour gain from Liberal Democrat		Swing

Ravenmeols
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Peter Maguire	2,163	54
	Conservative	Barry Griffiths	1,260	32
	UKIP	Nicola Ledgerton	380	10
	Green	Richard Willis	172	4
Majority			903
Turnout			3,975	43
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing

St. Oswald
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	James Mahon*	2,035	91
	Conservative	Michael Dandy	112	5
	Liberal Democrat	James Ludley	79	4
Majority			1,923
Turnout			2,226	27
	Labour hold		Swing

Sudell
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Lynn Gatherer	2,124	59
	Liberal Democrat	Clifford Mainey*	820	23
	UKIP	Gordon Kinread	286	8
	Conservative	Wendy Moore	285	8
	Green	Andrew Rossall	86	2
Majority			1,304
Turnout			3,601	36
	Labour gain from Liberal Democrat		Swing

Victoria
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Michael Roche	2,114	59
	Liberal Democrat	Jack Colbert	889	25
	Conservative	Paul Barber	329	9
	UKIP	Mike Kelly	267	7
Majority			1,225
Turnout			3,599	36
	Labour gain from Liberal Democrat		Swing

References

↑ "Local elections 2012". BBC News. Retrieved 30 April 2012.
↑ "Labour takes control of Sefton Council in the 2012 local elections". Southport Visiter. Retrieved 29 June 2012.
↑ "Another Tory Jumps Ship to UKIP". UKIP Website. Retrieved 29 June 2012.
↑ Originally elected as the Conservative Party candidate, Pearson was one of four Conservatives who resigned the party whip to sit as "Conservative Independent Members". Having last been elected in 2008, he was the incumbent defending his seat in 2012, but as he was elected as the official Conservative candidate, Duke's ward was a notional gain from the Conservative Party.
↑ Alf Doran was elected a Conservative Party candidate in 2008 but subsequently defected to UKIP. As in the case above, his seat was thus a notional Labour gain from the Conservatives rather than UKIP.

Council elections in Merseyside

Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council	1973 1975 1976 1978 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015 2016

Liverpool City Council	1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1945 1946 1947 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1975 1976 1978 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015

Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council	1973 1975 1976 1978 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015

St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council	1973 1975 1976 1978 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015

Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council	1973 1975 1976 1978 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015

Merseyside County Council	1973 1977 1981 Abolished

See also: Wards Boundary changes

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