2007 St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council election

The 2007 St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council election took place on 3 May 2007 to elect members of St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council in Merseyside, England. One third of the council was up for election and the council stayed under no overall control.[1]

Map of the results of the 2007 St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council election. Liberal Democrats in yellow, Labour in red and Conservatives in blue.

After the election, the composition of the council was

Background

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After the last election in 2006, Labour were the largest party with 23 councillors, compared to 19 for the Liberal Democrats and 6 for the Conservatives.[3] However following the election the Liberal Democrats and Conservatives reached an agreement to run the council together.[4] In June 2006 2 Labour councillors, Bessie Griffin and Pat Robinson, left the party to sit as independent councillors,[5] with Pat Robinson going on to join the Liberal Democrats early in 2007.[6] This meant that before the 2007 election Labour had 21 seats, the Liberal Democrats had 19, the Conservatives 6, there was 1 independent and 1 seat was vacant,[4] after the retirement of Liberal Democrat councillor Julie Jones.[7]

17 seats were contested at the election, including 2 seats in Sutton,[7] with both Labour and the Liberal Democrats defending 7, the Conservatives defended 2 seats, and 1 former Liberal Democrat seat was vacant.[4] Key seats were expected before the election to be in Bold, Haydock, Town Centre and West Park wards.[4] Candidates at the election included four from the British National Party,[8] up from one in 2006, while a former Labour leader of the council in the 1980s, Brian Green, stood for the Community Action Party in Bold.[6]

Election result

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The Labour and Liberal Democrat parties both gained 2 seats from each other to leave the party balance on the council unchanged.[9] Labour gained seats from the Liberal Democrats in Thatto Heath and West Park to leave Labour on 21 seats, with the winner in West Park, Marlene Quinn, being the sister of the Labour group leader Marie Rimmer.[9] However the Liberal Democrats took seats in Haydock and Town Centre from Labour to leave them just one seat behind Labour with 20 councillors.[9] Meanwhile, the Conservatives held the 2 seats they had been defending to remain with 6 seats and the only independent councillor was not defending their seat in 2007.[2]

Following the election the independent councillor Bessie Griffin joined the Liberal Democrats, which meant both the Labour and Liberal Democrat groups had 21 seats.[10] The Liberal Democrats and Conservatives continued to run the council, after agreeing to renew their pact.[10]

St Helens local election result 2007[11]
Party Seats Gains Losses Net gain/loss Seats % Votes % Votes +/−
  Liberal Democrats 8 2 2 0 47.1 41.4 19,781 +1.8%
  Labour 7 2 2 0 41.2 37.7 18,030 -2.7%
  Conservative 2 0 0 0 11.8 17.0 8,146 -0.3%
  BNP 0 0 0 0 0 1.8 879 +1.1%
  Community Action 0 0 0 0 0 1.2 561 -0.7%
  Community Performance First 0 0 0 0 0 0.7 313 +0.7%
  Green 0 0 0 0 0 0.2 110 +0.2%

Ward results

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Billinge and Seneley Green[11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Joe Pearson 1,321 42.5 −5.3
Conservative Michael Hodgson 922 29.7 −1.1
Liberal Democrats Charles Gadsden 551 17.7 −3.7
Community Performance First Vinny Kay 313 10.1 +10.1
Majority 399 12.8 −4.2
Turnout 3,107 34.0 −0.8
Labour hold Swing
Blackbrook[11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Linda Maloney 1,266 63.7 +15.0
Liberal Democrats Ruth Smith 299 15.0 −12.6
Conservative Judith Collins 259 13.0 +4.4
Community Action Janet Smee 164 8.2 −4.5
Majority 967 48.6 +27.5
Turnout 1,988 28.9 −1.4
Labour hold Swing
Bold[11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats Stephen Topping 933 43.9 −4.8
Labour Charlie Preston 911 42.9 −2.0
Conservative Charmian Pyke 165 7.8 +1.4
Community Action Brian Green 117 5.5 +5.5
Majority 22 1.0 −2.8
Turnout 2,126 28.7 −2.2
Liberal Democrats hold Swing
Earlestown[11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Keith Deakin 1,090 44.8 −3.8
Liberal Democrats David Smith 1,000 41.1 +0.9
Conservative Brian Honey 234 9.6 −1.6
Green Andie Pennington 110 4.5 +4.5
Majority 90 3.7 −4.7
Turnout 2,434 30.2 +0.5
Labour hold Swing
Eccleston[11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats Shirley Evans 2,696 69.8 +2.5
Conservative Kathleen Barton 587 15.2 −2.2
Labour Lynn Glover 577 14.9 −0.4
Majority 2,109 54.6 +4.8
Turnout 3,860 41.4 −1.4
Liberal Democrats hold Swing
Haydock[11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats Janet Sheldon 1,820 59.6 +4.5
Labour Ken Cleary 1,022 33.5 −5.6
Conservative Anthony Rigby 211 6.9 +1.1
Majority 798 26.1 +10.1
Turnout 3,053 33.6 −2.9
Liberal Democrats gain from Labour Swing
Moss Bank[11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats Anne Heyes 1,707 54.2 +1.9
Labour Roy Litherland 1,189 37.7 −2.5
Conservative William Highcock 254 8.1 +0.6
Majority 518 16.4 +4.3
Turnout 3,150 35.8 −0.3
Liberal Democrats hold Swing
Newton[11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats Peter Astbury 2,003 69.7 +5.6
Labour Louise Hazelby 613 21.3 −5.8
Conservative Margaret Harvey 257 8.9 +0.1
Majority 1,390 48.4 +11.4
Turnout 2,873 34.9 +0.3
Liberal Democrats hold Swing
Parr[11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Keith Roberts 1,379 69.2 +3.2
Liberal Democrats Gary Pulfer 466 23.4 −5.0
Conservative Madeleine Wilcock 148 7.4 +1.8
Majority 913 45.8 +8.2
Turnout 1,993 23.2 −2.4
Labour hold Swing
Rainford[11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative David Grice 2,099 71.7 +11.8
Labour David Wood 634 21.7 −5.8
Liberal Democrats Frederick Barret 194 6.6 −6.1
Majority 1,465 50.1 +17.7
Turnout 2,927 42.9 +0.2
Conservative hold Swing
Rainhill[11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Joseph De Asha 1,508 45.9 −0.2
Conservative Henry Spriggs 872 26.5 −3.8
Liberal Democrats Christina Duncan 629 19.1 −4.5
BNP Frances Chesney 278 8.5 +8.5
Majority 636 19.3 +3.5
Turnout 3,287 35.8 +1.1
Labour hold Swing
Sutton (2 seats)[11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats Kenneth Knowles 2,198
Liberal Democrats Stephanie Topping 1,797
Labour Mike Glover 817
Labour Derek Maylor 747
Conservative Barbara Johnson 225
Turnout 5,784 30.3 +4.7
Liberal Democrats hold Swing
Liberal Democrats hold Swing
Thatto Heath[11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Patricia Martinez-Williams 1,274 48.3 −7.6
Liberal Democrats Patricia Robinson 794 30.1 +10.7
Conservative Barbara Woodcock 201 7.6 −1.7
BNP Damian Smith 187 7.1 +7.1
Community Action Michael Perry 180 6.8 −8.7
Majority 480 18.2 −18.3
Turnout 2,636 29.2 +2.5
Labour gain from Liberal Democrats Swing
Town Centre[11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats Janet Hennessy 1,099 45.2 +4.2
Labour Martin Bond 959 39.4 +0.2
BNP Kevin Devine 194 8.0 −4.0
Conservative Jill Jones 129 5.3 +0.9
Community Action Leslie Teeling 50 2.1 −1.4
Majority 140 5.8 +4.0
Turnout 2,431 29.5 −1.8
Liberal Democrats gain from Labour Swing
West Park[11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Marlene Quinn 1,741 52.2 +0.4
Liberal Democrats David Evans 1,150 34.5 −4.8
BNP Eric Swindells 220 6.6 +6.6
Conservative Richard Barton 174 5.2 −0.5
Community Action Tracy Lavelle 50 1.5 −1.7
Majority 591 17.7 +5.2
Turnout 3,335 37.1 −4.5
Labour gain from Liberal Democrats Swing
Windle[11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Nancy Ashcroft 1,409 49.7 +0.8
Labour Geoffrey Almond 982 34.6 +0.6
Liberal Democrats Noreen Knowles 445 15.7 −1.3
Majority 427 15.1 +0.2
Turnout 2,836 35.2 −1.3
Conservative hold Swing

References

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  1. ^ "St Helens". BBC News Online. 4 May 2007. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
  2. ^ a b "Results - Election 2007". The Times. NewsBank. 5 May 2007. p. 83.
  3. ^ "Local elections: St Helens". BBC News Online. 5 May 2006. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
  4. ^ a b c d Traynor, Luke (27 April 2007). "Battle for power and for your vote". Liverpool Echo. NewsBank.
  5. ^ Kilmurray, Andrew (15 June 2006). "Two quit Labour". Cheshire, Greater Manchester, and Merseyside Counties Publications. NewsBank.
  6. ^ a b "Can Labour stage comeback or will the Lib Dem/Tory alliance prosper?". St Helens Star. 28 April 2007. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
  7. ^ a b "Election results in full". St Helens Reporter. 4 May 2007. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
  8. ^ Lister, Sam (5 April 2007). "BNP plans poll push". Liverpool Daily Post. NewsBank.
  9. ^ a b c "Labour aims for 2008". Liverpool Echo. NewsBank. 4 May 2007.
  10. ^ a b "St Helens leadership unchanged". Liverpool Daily Post. NewsBank. 17 May 2007.
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q "Declaration of Result of Poll" (PDF). St. Helens Council. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 August 2012. Retrieved 28 February 2015.