2000 Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council election

File:Wigan95.png

Map of the results of the 2000 Wigan council election.

Elections to Wigan Borough Council were held on 4 May 2000. One-third of the council was up for election, as well as an extra vacancy in Norley - both of which were uncontested. Since the election, there had been a by-election in which the Liberal Democrats gained the seat being fought in Hindsford from Labour.

The previous year had seen a peak in candidates contesting, but with the absence of the Greens, who had fielded a full slate last time around, candidates returned to a normal level. Some of those who'd stood for the Greens decided to run on an independent list, covering a quarter of the wards. There were a further handful of Independent candidates elsewhere, including the return of John Vickers in Hindley Green after an eight-year absence, and a second attempt of Jack Sumner in Leigh East, to produce the highest number of Independents contesting since 1973. The Conservatives fielded their highest amount, at 21, since 1982, and the Lib Dems - whilst still much reduced from their Alliance years - produced a stronger showing than recent years of ten candidates. Labour, as usual, contested every seat.

Turnout followed recent trends, at a slightly improved 19.5%, although the three wards that trailed postal voting seen marked increases. Similarities ended there, as the Conservatives seen a dramatic recovery in their fortunes, with their voter share rising to the highest since 1980, and their vote near double recent years figures. Labour, in turn, suffered double-digit swings against them in most wards, with a sharp fall in their vote share to pre-peak levels and their lowest vote figure since the council's inception, narrowly surpassing the previous figure set in 1975. The Lib Dems seen another year of modest improvement in their vote, and the two returning Independents, as well as a third in Hindley garnered large swings towards them.

In all, there were two gains on the night, with Labour gaining in Beech Hill to return it to full Labour representation after a decade of Lib Dem inroads, and a loss to the Conservatives who won back representation on the council by way of their first win in Orrell since 1982. The Lib Dems narrowly held onto their newly won seat in Hindsford, with a 56-vote majority.

Election results

Wigan Local Election Result 2000

Party		Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
		23	1	1	0	92.0	56.9	25,190	-10.8
		1	1	0	+1	4.0	25.1	11,108	+12.4
		1	0	1	-1	4.0	11.9	5,281	+3.0
		0	0	0	0	0.0	4.4	1,956	+4.1
		0	0	0	0	0.0	1.6	712	+1.6

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

Party		Previous council	New council
style="background-color: Template:Party color; width: 3px;" |	Labour	69	69
style="background-color: Template:Party color; width: 3px;" |	Liberal Democrat	3	2
style="background-color: Template:Party color; width: 3px;" |	Conservative	0	1
style="background-color: Template:Party color; width: 3px;" |	Independent	0	0
style="background-color: Template:Party color; width: 3px;" |	EIE	0	0
Total		72	72
Working majority		66	66

Ward results

Abram

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		A. Bennett	769	68.8
		M. Parr	348	31.1
Majority			421	37.7
Turnout			1,117	12.4
	hold		Swing	-13.8

Ashton-Golborne

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		N. Ash	1,065	64.4
		R. Rees	588	35.6
Majority			477	28.8
Turnout			1,653	15.7
	hold		Swing	-11.8

Aspull-Standish

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		C. Ready	1,256	50.2
		T. Peet	671	26.8
		J. Beswick	493	19.7
		D. Schanzl	82	3.3
Majority			585	23.4
Turnout			2,502	21.4
	hold		Swing	-10.1

Atherton

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		J. Clarke	1,108	63.4
		C. Thomson	363	20.8
		R. Oxley	276	15.8
Majority			745	42.6
Turnout			1,747	20.3
	hold		Swing	-16.0

Bedford-Astley

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		C. Rigby	1,230	54.4
		N. Dugmore	656	29.0
		F. Graham	281	12.4
		L. Maile	94	4.1
Majority			574	25.4
Turnout			2,261	26.8
	hold		Swing	-14.1

Beech Hill

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		T. Halliwell	1,286	55.1
		T. Beswick	918	39.3
		J. Pietre	130	5.6
Majority			368	15.8
Turnout			2,334	26.1
	gain from Template:Yesno		Swing	+0.2

Bryn

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		M. Millington	1,178	69.4
		M. Green	518	30.5
Majority			660	38.9
Turnout			1,696	17.2
	hold		Swing	-11.7

Hindley

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		A. Robinson	877	49.5
		B. Worthington	683	38.6
		S. Isherwood	210	11.9
Majority			194	11.0
Turnout			1,770	17.5
	hold		Swing	-27.8

Hindley Green

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		S. Murphy	843	48.4
		J. Vickers	566	32.5
		A. Davies	331	19.0
Majority			277	15.9
Turnout			1,740	16.0
	hold		Swing	-30.6

Hindsford

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		G. Lingings	1,163	46.5
		M. Aldred	1,107	44.2
		D. Angell	124	4.9
		T. Norris	108	4.3
Majority			56	2.2
Turnout			2,502	23.7
	hold		Swing	-5.7

Hope Carr

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		L. Liptrot	946	39.1
		A. Oxley	672	27.8
		P. Hough	511	21.1
		C. Maile	289	11.9
Majority			274	11.3
Turnout			2,418	23.7
	hold		Swing	-8.8

Ince

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		K. Baldwin	864	75.1
		A. Eccles	165	14.3
		N. Maile	121	10.5
Majority			699	60.8
Turnout			1,150	14.9
	hold		Swing	-9.5

Langtree

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		D. Brown	1,129	47.9
		J. Peet	789	33.5
		H. Wagner	438	18.6
Majority			340	14.4
Turnout			2,356	20.2
	hold		Swing	-25.5

Leigh Central

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		K. Thomas	877	70.2
		N. Isherwood	372	29.8
Majority			505	40.4
Turnout			1,249	14.7
	hold		Swing	-14.1

Leigh East

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		B. Jarvis	877	54.7
		J. Sumner	416	26.0
		D. Davies	309	19.3
Majority			361	28.8
Turnout			1,602	15.0
	hold		Swing	-15.4

Lightshaw

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		D. Kelly	1,552	60.2
		J. Grundy	1,024	39.8
Majority			528	20.5
Turnout			2,576	21.5
	hold		Swing	-11.6

Newtown

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		M. Coghlin	758	68.9
		M. McGowan	250	22.7
		N. Bird	92	8.4
Majority			508	46.2
Turnout			1,100	13.0
	hold		Swing	-12.6

Norley

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		B. Bourne	Unopposed	N/A
		J. Prescott	Unopposed	N/A
	hold		Swing	N/A
	hold		Swing	N/A

Orrell

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		M. Winstanley	1,003	51.6
		E. Swift	940	48.4
Majority			63	3.2
Turnout			1,943	21.3
	gain from Template:Yesno		Swing	+13.1

Swinley

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		G. Walsh	1,020	45.1
		J. Davies	934	41.3
		A. Robinson	272	12.0
		D. Saunders	34	1.5
Majority			86	3.8
Turnout			2,260	26.5
	hold		Swing	-9.2

Tyldesley East

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		A. Stephenson	1,023	56.9
		C. Jones	592	32.9
		A. Vickers	183	10.2
Majority			431	24.0
Turnout			1,798	15.3
	hold		Swing	-25.4

Whelley

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		A. Coyle	1,565	75.1
		E. Mather	518	24.9
Majority			1,047	50.2
Turnout			2,083	25.8
	hold		Swing	-17.9

Winstanley

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		R. Winkworth	2,059	65.3
		J. Cartwright	1,094	34.7
Majority			965	30.6
Turnout			3,153	25.4
	hold		Swing	-9.4

Worsley Mesnes

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		W. Brogan	861	69.6
		T. Sutton	376	30.4
Majority			485	39.2
Turnout			1,237	13.1
	hold		Swing	-15.2

By-elections between 2000 and 2002

Atherton By-Election 5 April 2001

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Bob Splaine	830	49.1
		Mark Aldred	796	47.0
		Rosina Oxley	66	3.9
Majority			34	2.1
Turnout			1,692	19.9
	gain from Template:Yesno		Swing	+22.3

Hope Carr By-Election 7 June 2001

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		John O'Brien	2,569	46.4
		Peter Hough	1,887	34.1
		James Grundy	1,002	18.1
		Keith Fry	82	1.5
Majority			682	12.3
Turnout			5,540	53.4
	hold		Swing	-2.8

Hindsford By-Election 25 October 2001

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
		Mark Aldred	1,059	50.9
		Neil Hogg	945	45.5
		Nigel Dugmore	75	3.6
Majority			114	5.4
Turnout			2,079	19.5
	gain from Template:Yesno		Swing	+3.8