Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council election, 1988

Map of the results of the 1988 Wigan council election.

Elections to the Wigan council were held on Thursday, 5 May 1988, with one third of the seats up for election as well as an extra vacancy in Beech Hill. Following the previous election, two by-elections had taken place, with the Labour Party successfully defending their seats in Ince and Newtown. This year's election seen an improvement in participation, with all wards fought and five parties contesting in some form, by way of the Greens fielding their first ever slate of four candidates and the return of long-time Communist contender H. Kedward in Leigh Central. Despite this, the number of candidates contesting actually fell by five from the previous year's 64, as the turbulent new merger of the old SDP-Liberal Alliance, Social and Liberal Democrats, fielded just half the number of candidates they'd managed in 1987 and, at 11, the lowest since 1980.

This was reflected by the results on the night as the SLD suffered a large drop in their vote, returning them to third place behind the Conservatives and reducing their vote total to four figure for the first time since the aforementioned 1980 election. The overwhelming beneficiary of SLD losses were the Labour, helping their vote share hit a record high of 68.6% and the highest vote figure gained - beyond the anomaly of 1979 - since the council's creation. Seat wise, Labour made two gains of the night, one in the SLD-Labour marginal of Aspull-Standish and the other in the more significant SLD bastion of Langtree, which until this point had only elected SLD candidates, where Labour managed to equal SLD votes and draw the larger straw. Labour achieved a record capture of seats, with opposition wins curtailed to an exceptional SLD performance - and gain - of one of the seats fought in Beech Hill and a Conservative hold in their bastion of Swinley. Overall turnout fell from 37.1% to 32.4%.^[1]

Election result

Wigan Local Election Result 1988
Party		Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
	Labour	23	2	1	+1	92.0	68.6	52,325	+9.3%
	Conservative	1	0	0	0	4.0	17.1	13,083	+1.8%
	Social and Liberal Democrats	1	1	2	-1	4.0	12.6	9,640	-10.5%
	Green	0	0	0	0	0.0	1.5	1,155	+1.5%
	Communist	0	0	0	0	0.0	0.1	62	+0.1%

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

Party		Previous council	New council
	Labour	62	63
	Social and Liberal Democrats	6	5
	Conservatives	3	3
	Independent Labour	1	1
	Green	0	0
	Communist	0	0
Total		72	72
Working majority		52	54

Ward results

Abram^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	A. Bennett	2,094	86.8	+6.8
	Green	P. Tarleton	319	13.2	+13.2
Majority			1,775	73.5	+4.8
Turnout			2,413	25.2	-9.6
	Labour hold		Swing	-3.2

Ashton-Golborne^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	T. Jones	2,140	78.1	+12.8
	Conservative	S. Edwards	598	21.8	+0.6
Majority			1,542	56.3	+12.2
Turnout			2,738	27.9	-6.6
	Labour hold		Swing	+6.1

Aspull-Standish^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	A. Durkin	2,201	47.9	+6.6
	Social and Liberal Democrats	P. Wilson	1,645	35.8	-6.2
	Conservative	K. Hart	751	16.3	-0.4
Majority			556	12.1	+11.4
Turnout			4,597	43.5	-5.9
	Labour gain from Social and Liberal Democrats		Swing	+6.4

Atherton^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	J. Clark	2,755	81.8	+5.6
	Conservative	M. Hatton	613	18.2	-5.6
Majority			2,142	63.6	+11.3
Turnout			3,368	35.9	+0.9
	Labour hold		Swing	+5.6

Bedford-Astley^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	J. Jones	1,954	62.5	+4.0
	Conservative	D. Angell	861	27.5	+27.5
	Green	S. Philbrock	310	9.9	+9.9
Majority			1,093	35.0	+18.0
Turnout			3,125	31.5	-2.7
	Labour hold		Swing	-11.7

Beech Hill^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Social and Liberal Democrats	J. McGarty	1,725	47.7	+18.8
	Labour	T. Bishop	1,621	44.9	-12.3
	Social and Liberal Democrats	L. Marshall	1,603
	Labour	S. Turner	1,437
	Conservative	E. Bispham	266	7.4	-6.4
	Conservative	J. Whitehead	194
Majority			104	2.9	-25.3
Turnout			3,612	40.9	+4.8
	Social and Liberal Democrats gain from Labour		Swing	+15.5
	Labour hold		Swing

Bryn^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	C. Brown	2,532	82.0	+9.1
	Conservative	R. Clayton	557	18.0	+3.0
Majority			1,975	63.9	+6.1
Turnout			3,089	31.3	-6.2
	Labour hold		Swing	+3.0

Hindley^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	A. Robinson	2,394	87.2	+54.5
	Green	A. Wood	352	12.8	+12.8
Majority			2,042	74.3	+52.8
Turnout			2,746	28.5	-7.9
	Labour hold		Swing	+20.8

Hindley Green^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	S. Murphy	2,198	80.6	+8.4
	Social and Liberal Democrats	J. Cranfield	530	19.4	-8.4
Majority			1,668	61.1	+16.9
Turnout			2,728	24.1	-4.1
	Labour hold		Swing	+8.4

Hindsford^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	W. Smith	2,543	78.6	+14.6
	Conservative	M. Sharland	691	21.4	+21.4
Majority			1,852	57.3	+29.3
Turnout			3,234	30.2	-1.7
	Labour hold		Swing	-3.4

Hope Carr^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	A. Roberts	2,013	63.0	+7.1
	Conservative	E. Manson	1,183	37.0	+5.8
Majority			830	26.0	+1.3
Turnout			3,196	32.1	-4.0
	Labour hold		Swing	+0.6

Ince^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	J. Horrocks	2,074	89.0	+1.2
	Conservative	D. Edwards	165	7.1	+1.1
	Social and Liberal Democrats	S. Cairns	92	3.9	-2.4
Majority			1,909	81.9	+0.5
Turnout			2,331	29.3	-4.7
	Labour hold		Swing	+0.0

Langtree^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	J. Ball	1,924	41.8	+2.9
	Social and Liberal Democrats	K. White	1,924	41.8	-2.5
	Conservative	J. Wolstenholme	753	16.4	-0.4
Majority			0	0.0	-5.5
Turnout			4,601	42.0	-4.3
	Labour gain from Social and Liberal Democrats		Swing	+2.9

Leigh Central^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	G. Macdonald	2,032	82.1	N/A
	Conservative	M. Turner	380	15.3	N/A
	Communist	H. Kedward	62	2.5	N/A
Majority			1,652	66.8	N/A
Turnout			2,474	27.6	N/A
	Labour hold		Swing	N/A

Leigh East^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	J. Riley	1,973	70.9	+9.2
	Conservative	M. Stewart	810	29.1	+5.1
Majority			1,163	41.8	+4.1
Turnout			2,783	27.0	-2.3
	Labour hold		Swing	+2.0

Lightshaw^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	N. Holt	2,857	73.3	+14.7
	Conservative	J. Wright	721	18.5	-7.6
	Social and Liberal Democrats	J. Wilson	318	8.2	-7.1
Majority			2,136	54.8	+22.3
Turnout			3,896	36.8	-2.1
	Labour hold		Swing	+11.1

Newtown^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	C. Hitchen	2,352	86.5	+9.5
	Conservative	I. Nicholson	368	13.5	+0.1
Majority			1,984	72.9	+9.3
Turnout			2,720	29.9	-4.6
	Labour hold		Swing	+4.7

Norley^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	E. Maddocks	2,337	88.5	+3.0
	Conservative	J. Carrington	167	6.3	-0.4
	Social and Liberal Democrats	R. Richardson	136	5.1	-2.6
Majority			2,170	82.2	+4.4
Turnout			2,640	33.5	-4.0
	Labour hold		Swing	+1.7

Orrell^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	E. Swift	2,262	59.9	+13.5
	Conservative	W. Smith	1,515	40.1	+8.0
Majority			747	19.8	+5.5
Turnout			3,777	37.0	-3.8
	Labour hold		Swing	+2.7

Swinley^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	W. Chadwick	2,019	48.3	+8.3
	Labour	M. Gallagher	1,627	38.9	+1.9
	Social and Liberal Democrats	W. Claypole	359	8.6	-14.4
	Green	G. Wood	174	4.1	+4.1
Majority			392	3.4	+6.4
Turnout			4,179	46.7	-6.3
	Conservative hold		Swing	+3.2

Tyldesley East^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	A. Stephenson	2,086	67.5	+11.5
	Social and Liberal Democrats	A. Shaw	1,003	32.5	-11.5
Majority			1,083	35.0	+23.0
Turnout			3,089	28.7	-6.9
	Labour hold		Swing	+11.5

Whelley^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	A. Coyle	2,174	81.4	+4.4
	Conservative	F. Sidebotham	310	11.6	-0.6
	Social and Liberal Democrats	L. Peet	185	6.9	-3.8
Majority			1,864	69.8	+5.0
Turnout			2,669	30.3	-5.7
	Labour hold		Swing	+2.5

Winstanley^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	R. Winkworth	2,031	54.1	+11.8
	Social and Liberal Democrats	C. Hilton	1,723	45.9	+1.1
Majority			308	8.2	+5.7
Turnout			3,754	32.1	-10.1
	Labour hold		Swing	+5.3

Worsley Mesnes^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	W. Brogan	2,151	85.8	+12.1
	Conservative	J. Grimshaw	355	14.2	+4.8
Majority			1,796	71.7	+14.9
Turnout			2,506	25.3	-6.2
	Labour hold		Swing	+3.6

References

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 "Wigan Council results from 1973 to 2008" (PDF). wigan.gov.uk. Retrieved 2012-01-30.

(1987 ←) United Kingdom local elections, 1988 (→ 1989)

Metropolitan boroughs	Barnsley Birmingham Bradford Bolton Bury Calderdale Coventry Doncaster Dudley Gateshead Kirklees Knowsley Leeds Liverpool Manchester Newcastle North Tyneside Oldham Rochdale Rotherham Salford Sandwell Sefton Sheffield Solihull South Tyneside St Helens Stockport Sunderland Tameside Trafford Wakefield Walsall Wigan Wirral Wolverhampton

District councils (England)	Adur Amber Valley Barrow-in-Furness Basildon Basingstoke and Deane Bassetlaw Blackburn Brentwood Bristol Broadland Broxbourne Burnley Cambridge Cannock Chase Carlisle Cheltenham Cherwell Chester Chorley Colchester Congleton Craven Crawley Crewe and Nantwich Daventry Derby Eastbourne Eastleigh Ellesmere Port and Neston Elmbridge Epping Forest Exeter Fareham Gloucester Gosport Great Yarmouth Halton Harlow Harrogate Hartlepool Hart Hastings Havant Hertsmere Hull Huntingdonshire Hyndburn Ipswich Lincoln Macclesfield Maidstone Milton Keynes Mole Valley Newcastle-under-Lyme North Bedfordshire North Hertfordshire Norwich Nuneaton and Bedworth Oadby and Wigston Oxford Pendle Penwith Peterborough Portsmouth Preston Purbeck Reading Redditch Reigate and Banstead Rochford Rossendale Rugby Runnymede Rushmoor Shrewsbury and Atcham Slough South Bedfordshire South Cambridgeshire South Lakeland Southampton Southend-on-Sea St Albans Stevenage Stoke-on-Trent Stratford-on-Avon Stroud Swale Tamworth Tandridge Thamesdown Three Rivers Thurrock Tonbridge and Malling Torbay Tunbridge Wells Watford Waveney Welwyn Hatfield West Lancashire West Lindsey West Oxfordshire Weymouth and Portland Winchester Woking Wokingham Worcester Worthing Wyre Forest York

District councils (Scotland)	Aberdeen Angus Annandale and Eskdale Argyll and Bute Badenoch and Strathspey Banff and Buchan Bearsden and Milngavie Berwickshire Caithness Clackmannan Clydebank Clydesdale Cumbernauld and Kilsyth Cumnock and Doon Valley Cunninghame Dumbarton Dundee Dunfermline East Kilbride East Lothian Eastwood Edinburgh Ettrick and Lauderdale Falkirk Glasgow Gordon Hamilton Inverclyde Inverness Kilmarnock and Loudoun Kincardine and Deeside Kirkcaldy Kyle and Carrick Lochaber Midlothian Monklands Moray Motherwell Nairn Nithsdale North East Fife Perth and Kinross Renfrew Ross and Cromarty Roxburgh Skye and Lochalsh Stewartry Stirling Strathkelvin Sutherland Tweeddale West Lothian Wigtown

Council elections in Greater Manchester

Bolton	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

Bury	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

Manchester	1945 1946 1947 1949 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

Oldham	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

Rochdale	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

Salford	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

Stockport	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

Tameside	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

Trafford	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

Wigan	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

Greater Manchester	1973 1977 1981 Abolished

See also: Wards Boundary changes

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