Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council election, 1996

Map of the results of the 1996 Wigan council election.

Elections to Wigan council were held on Thursday, 2 May 1996, with an extra vacancy in Abram to be filled. Going into the election there were noticeably fewer candidates than usual, with the total candidate number and the five uncontested wards only narrowly lower than the all-time lows set at the 1990 election. This was mainly caused by the lack of any minor party candidates, and the Liberal Democrat slate dropping by half upon the previous election, to seven - their scarcest outing since their lowest ebb throughout their merger in 1990, but more reminiscent of their patchy participation of the seventies. Turnout had been consistently poor in recent elections, and this election continued the downward trend, dropping below a quarter of the electorate for the second time (the first being the all-time low set in 1992) to 24.2%.

Labour once again surpassed their vote share high, this time recording a zenith of over three-quarters of votes cast, but simultaneously attained their third lowest vote figure in history (1975 and 1992 being lower). The Conservatives managed to increase modestly upon their rock-bottom standing of the previous year, but on accumulated votes they failed to surpass anything other than their nadir. The Lib Dems figure reflected their seventies-style participation, with their vote share reduced to single figures for the first since 1980, and their lowest vote figure since 1978.

Following Labour's overwhelming victories scored in recent years, both the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives were looking at a wipe-out, or near that for the Lib Dems, if they couldn't vastly improve upon recent performances. The Conservatives, long confined to the ward of Swinley, failed to improve their vote meaningfully and were handily defeated, ending their 23-year representation on the council. The Lib Dems were facing a similarly arduous task, and in their former-bastion of Langtree actually suffered a swing away from them. However, they managed a sizeable swing of 14.4% in Beech Hill to hold on to their second seat in the council by a mere 34 vote majority. This left Labour with the largest majority since the council's creation of 66.^[1]

Election result

Wigan Local Election Result 1996
Party		Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
	Labour	24	3	0	+3	96.0	75.4	33,824	+2.6%
	Liberal Democrat	1	0	2	-2	4.0	9.8	4,408	-4.9%
	Conservative	0	0	1	-1	0.0	14.8	6,627	+4.6%

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

Party		Previous council	New council
	Labour	66	69
	Liberal Democrats	4	2
	Independent Labour	1	1
	Conservatives	1	0
Total		72	72
Working majority		60	66

Ward results

Abram^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	A. Bennett	1,416	90.6	-0.1
	Labour	E. Smethurst	1,243
	Conservative	A. Eccles	147	9.4	+0.1
Majority			1,096	81.2	-0.3
Turnout			1,563	16.7	-3.6
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing	-0.1

Ashton-Golborne^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	P. Kirkwood	1,827	79.9	+3.1
	Conservative	M. Winstanley	459	20.1	+5.4
Majority			1,368	59.8	-2.3
Turnout			2,286	23.4	-2.8
	Labour hold		Swing	-1.1

Aspull-Standish^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	C. Ready	2,027	66.4	+17.4
	Liberal Democrat	T. Beswick	577	18.9	-23.5
	Conservative	J. Davies	449	14.7	+6.0
Majority			1,450	49.5	+40.9
Turnout			3,053	27.1	-4.9
	Labour gain from Liberal Democrat		Swing	+20.4

Atherton^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	J. Clarke	1,914	85.4	N/A
	Conservative	R. Oxley	328	14.6	N/A
Majority			1,586	70.7	N/A
Turnout			2,242	25.1	N/A
	Labour hold		Swing	N/A

Bedford-Astley^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	J. Jones	1,283	64.6	-3.7
	Liberal Democrat	R. Bleakley	703	35.4	+12.2
Majority			580	29.2	-15.9
Turnout			1,986	23.2	-3.7
	Labour hold		Swing	-7.9

Beech Hill^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrat	J. McGarty	1,445	48.8	+14.6
	Labour	J. Dewey	1,411	47.7	-14.2
	Conservative	J. Cartwright	103	3.5	-0.4
Majority			34	1.1	-26.5
Turnout			2,959	33.7	+2.1
	Liberal Democrat hold		Swing	+14.4

Bryn^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	M. Millington	1,969	86.5	-1.0
	Conservative	M. Green	307	13.5	+1.0
Majority			1,662	73.0	-2.0
Turnout			2,276	23.0	-4.8
	Labour hold		Swing	-1.0

Hindley^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	A. Robinson	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Labour hold		Swing	N/A

Hindley Green^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	S. Murphy	1,733	82.2	+1.2
	Conservative	C. Butterworth	375	17.8	+8.5
Majority			1,358	64.4	-6.8
Turnout			2,108	18.8	-1.9
	Labour hold		Swing	-3.6

Hindsford^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	W. Smith	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Labour hold		Swing	N/A

Hope Carr^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	B. Jarvis	1,780	59.6	+2.5
	Liberal Democrat	P. Hough	649	21.7	-11.7
	Conservative	D. Morris	558	18.7	+9.2
Majority			1,131	37.8	+14.2
Turnout			2,987	29.9	-2.6
	Labour hold		Swing	+7.1

Ince^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	K. Baldwin	1,643	92.6	N/A
	Conservative	C. Duffy	131	7.4	N/A
Majority			1,512	85.2	N/A
Turnout			1,774	22.8	N/A
	Labour hold		Swing	N/A

Langtree^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	D. Brown	1,983	68.2	+5.1
	Liberal Democrat	J. Barrington	612	21.0	-6.7
	Conservative	F. Parkinson	313	10.7	+1.6
Majority			1,371	47.1	+11.9
Turnout			2,908	25.2	-3.4
	Labour gain from Liberal Democrat		Swing	+5.9

Leigh Central^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	J. Hession	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Labour hold		Swing	N/A

Leigh East^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	S. Kennedy	1,733	82.6	+11.6
	Conservative	A. Oxley	364	17.3	+7.8
Majority			1,369	62.3	+13.6
Turnout			2,097	20.5	-5.2
	Labour hold		Swing	+1.9

Lightshaw^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	D. Kelly	2,616	82.5	-0.8
	Conservative	J. Gorse	553	17.4	+0.8
Majority			2,063	65.1	-1.6
Turnout			3,169	28.5	-3.3
	Labour hold		Swing	-0.8

Newtown^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	M. Coghlin	1,596	85.9	-4.9
	Conservative	W. Maddocks	152	8.2	+8.2
	Liberal Democrat	J. Beswick	110	5.9	-3.2
Majority			1,444	77.7	-4.0
Turnout			1,858	21.2	-1.7
	Labour hold		Swing	-6.5

Norley^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	B. Bourne	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Labour hold		Swing	N/A

Orrell^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	E. Swift	1,698	71.0	-2.8
	Conservative	F. Rylance	694	29.0	+2.8
Majority			1,004	42.0	-5.5
Turnout			2,392	25.9	-0.8
	Labour hold		Swing	-2.8

Swinley^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	G. Walsh	1,692	58.8	-1.0
	Conservative	E. Cartwright	875	30.4	+1.3
	Liberal Democrat	A. Robinson	312	10.8	-0.3
Majority			817	28.4	-2.3
Turnout			2,879	32.4	+2.1
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	-1.1

Tyldesley East^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	A. Stephenson	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Labour hold		Swing	N/A

Whelley^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	A. Coyle	1,664	89.0	-1.9
	Conservative	T. Sharpe	205	11.0	+1.9
Majority			1,459	78.1	-3.8
Turnout			1,869	23.2	-2.0
	Labour hold		Swing	-1.9

Winstanley^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	R. Winkworth	1,991	83.6	-2.8
	Conservative	G. Whiston	389	16.3	+2.8
Majority			1,602	67.3	-5.5
Turnout			2,380	20.0	-2.7
	Labour hold		Swing	-2.8

Worsley Mesnes^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	W. Brogan	1,848	89.1	-1.2
	Conservative	A. Sutton	225	10.8	+1.2
Majority			1,623	78.3	-2.3
Turnout			2,073	21.0	-0.2
	Labour hold		Swing	-1.2

By-elections between 1996 and 1998

Aspull Standish By-Election 13 March 1997^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	G. Davies	1,287	70.2	+3.8
	Conservative		275	15.0	+0.3
	Liberal Democrat		270	14.7	-4.2
Majority			1,012	55.2	+5.7
Turnout			1,832	16.0	-11.1
	Labour hold		Swing	+1.7

Ince By-Election 26 June 1997^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	J. Hurst	685	92.1	-0.5
	Conservative		59	7.9	+0.5
Majority			626	84.2	-1.0
Turnout			744	9.6	-13.2
	Labour hold		Swing	-0.5

Hope Carr By-Election 6 November 1997^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	C. Hale	1,045	49.7	-9.9
	Green	Chris Maile	636	30.2	+30.2
	Conservative		321	15.3	-3.4
	Liberal Democrat		102	4.8	-16.9
Majority			409	19.5	-18.3
Turnout			2,104	21.0	-8.9
	Labour hold		Swing	-20.0

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.
1 2 3 "Local Authority Byelection Results". gwydir.demon.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-06-13.

(1995 ←) United Kingdom local elections, 1996 (→ 1997)

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

Unitary authorities	Bournemouth Brighton and Hove Darlington Derby Hartlepool Leicester Luton Milton Keynes Poole Portsmouth Rutland Southampton

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

Ad-hoc election	Northern Ireland Forum

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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