Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council elections

Seat totals, 1973-2012

Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council elections are generally held three years out of every four, with a third of the council being elected each time. Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council, generally known as Wigan Council, is the local authority for the metropolitan borough of Wigan in Greater Manchester, England. Since the last boundary changes in 2004, 75 councillors have been elected from 25 wards.[1]

Political control

From 1889 to 1974 Wigan was a county borough, independent of any county council.[2] Under the Local Government Act 1972 it had its territory enlarged and became a metropolitan borough, with Greater Manchester County Council providing county-level services. The first election to the reconstituted borough council was held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority before coming into its revised powers on 1 April 1974. Greater Manchester County Council was abolished in 1986 and Wigan became a unitary authority. Political control of the council since 1973 has been held by the following parties:[3][4]

Party in control Years
Labour 1973–present

Leadership

The leaders of the council since 1991 have been:[5]

Councillor Party From To
Peter Smith Labour 1991 23 May 2018
David Molyneux Labour 23 May 2018

Council elections

Summary of the council composition after council elections, click on the year for full details of each election. Boundary changes took place for the 1980 election, and more recently the 2004 election – which increased the number of seats by three. Both needed the whole council to be elected in those years.[1]

Popular vote shares, 1973-2012
Popular vote figures, 1973-2012


Year Labour Conservative Liberal Democrats Community Action Independent
1973 66 5 0 0 1
1975 61 10 1 0 0
1976 56 14 1 0 1
1978 51 19 1 0 1
1979 56 14 1 0 1
1980 64 5 3 0 0
1982 61 5 6 0 0
1983 60 5 7 0 0
1984 60 4 8 0 0
1986 64 3 5 0 0
1987 62 3 6 0 1
1988 63 3 5 0 1
1990 64 2 5 0 1
1991 63 2 6 0 1
1992 61 2 8 0 1
1994 61 2 8 0 1
1995 66 1 4 0 1
1996 69 0 2 0 1
1998 70 0 1 0 1
1999 70 0 2 0 0
2000 69 1 2 0 0
2002 65 2 3 2 0
2003 60 3 4 5 0
2004 42 7 8 18 0
2006 43 9 8 15 0
2007 46 10 6 12 1
2008 42 14 4 8 7
2010 51 8 3 4 9
2011 58 5 2 2 8
2012 63 1 2 0 9
2014 62 2 0 0 11
2015 64 3 0 0 8
2016 65 5 0 0 5
2018 60 7 0 0 8
2019 57 8 0 0 10
2021 57 8 0 0 10

Borough result maps

By-election results

By-election Date Incumbent party Winning party
Orrell by-election[6] 1984 Conservative Labour
Bedford and Astley by-election 21 February 1985 Labour Labour
Swinley by-election[6] 28 March 1985 Conservative Labour
Orrell by-election 17 October 1985 Labour Labour
Beech Hill by-election[6] 1994 Liberal Democrats Labour
Aspull-Standish by-election 13 March 1997 Labour Labour
Ince by-election 26 June 1997 Labour Labour
Hope Carr by-election 6 November 1997 Labour Labour
Beech Hill by-election 5 November 1998 Labour Liberal Democrats
Hindsford by-election 2 December 1999 Labour Liberal Democrats
Atherton by-election 5 April 2001 Labour Liberal Democrats
Hope Carr by-election 7 June 2001 Labour Labour
Hindsford by-election 25 October 2001 Liberal Democrats Labour
Leigh Central by-election 26 September 2002 Labour Labour
Douglas by-election 16 June 2005 Labour Labour
Tyldesley by-election 28 June 2007 Liberal Democrats Liberal Democrats
Wigan West by-election 20 September 2007 Labour Labour
Wigan Central by-election 18 October 2007 Conservative Conservative
Wigan West by-election 10 July 2008 Labour Labour
Wigan Central by-election 3 March 2011 Conservative Labour
Pemberton by-election 4 April 2013 Labour Labour
Winstanley by-election 24 October 2013 Labour Labour
Douglas by-election 13 November 2014 Labour Labour
Astley Mosley Common by-election 19 October 2017 Labour Labour
Shevington with Lower Ground by-election 14 December 2017 Labour Labour
Leigh West by-election 14 October 2021 Labour Labour
Bryn by-election 25 November 2021 Independent Labour

References

  1. ^ a b "The Borough of Wigan (Electoral Changes) Order 2004", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 2004/365, retrieved 30 August 2022
  2. ^ "Wigan Municipal Borough / County Borough". A Vision of Britain through Time. GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
  3. ^ "Compositions calculator". The Elections Centre. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
  4. ^ "Wigan". BBC News Online. 19 April 2008. Retrieved 14 March 2010.
  5. ^ "Council minutes". Wigan Council. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
  6. ^ a b c "Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council results from 1973 to 2008" (PDF). wigan.gov.uk. Retrieved 30 January 2012. Pgs 50, 55, 82. Asterisks denote sitting councillors, however these candidates are different from that elected the last time the seats were up for election (pgs 35, 40, 67), suggesting the candidate was a victor of an intermediate by-election.

External links

  • Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council
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