1995 Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council election

Elections were held on Thursday, 4 May 1995, with one third of the seats set for re-election, with an extra vacancy in Leigh East. Ahead of this election Labour had gained the seat being fought in Beech Hill from the Liberal Democrats, and defended a seat in Worsley Mesnes in by-elections. The major parties marginally increased their number of candidates upon last year's totals, whereas the number of Independent Labour candidates fighting returned to just the incumbent in Hindley. Having been the only party opposing Labour in Atherton, the Independent Labour absence there meant that went uncontested this time round, alongside two of last year's unopposed wards, Ince and Leigh Central. In total unopposed wards were reduced from the previous year's four to three. Turnout fell to 26.4%, the second lowest in the council's history, only surpassing the 1992 nadir.

Map of the results of the 1995 Wigan council election.

The election seen mixed fortunes for the main parties. For the Conservatives, this was undoubtedly their worst performance, with the lowest vote share (and at 10.2%, very close to dropping into single-digits) and vote figure obtained in their 22-year history of contesting for this council. Despite receiving near-two thousand fewer votes from the election the year before, Labour, however, beat the record share they'd recorded then, capturing 72.8% of votes cast. The Lib Dem vote fell further into the four-digit territory seen recently in their tumultuous merger period, but unlike then managed to stay within mid-teens in vote share.

With such an overwhelming vote, Labour captured every seat except the Independent Labour-held Hindley, making a total of four gains, and securing the largest majority since 1973. All but one were at the Lib Dem's expense, with their incumbent in Aspull-Standish standing for his third term ousted, their seat in Bedford-Astley fought and won by their previous incumbent for Labour and being reduced to one in the increasingly marginal, but one-time stronghold, ward of Langtree. The Conservatives suffered a loss to Labour in their only remaining favourable territory of Swinley, reducing their representation to an all-time low of one in both ward and council. The sole non-Labour victor in Hindley, standing under the title as Real Labour, seen her majority reduced.[1]

Election result
Wigan Local Election Result 1995
Party Seats Gains Losses Net gain/loss Seats % Votes % Votes +/−
  Labour 24 4 0 +4 96.0 72.8 39,936 +2.5%
  Independent Labour 1 0 0 0 4.0 2.2 1,207 -0.1%
  Liberal Democrats 0 0 3 -3 0.0 14.7 8,075 -1.3%
  Conservative 0 0 1 -1 0.0 10.2 5,610 -1.1%

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 66
Liberal Democrats 7 4
Conservatives 2 1
Independent Labour 1 1
Total 72 72
Working majority  52   60 

Ward results
Abram[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour B. Hampson 1,746 90.7 +0.9
Conservative A. Eccles 178 9.2 -0.9
Majority 1,568 81.5 +1.8
Turnout 1,924 20.4 -3.5
Labour hold Swing +0.9
Ashton-Golborne[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour J. Hilton 1,965 76.8 -0.5
Conservative M. Winstanley 376 14.7 +3.7
Liberal Democrats S. Cooper 216 8.4 -3.2
Majority 1589 62.1 -3.5
Turnout 2,557 26.1 -3.5
Labour hold Swing -2.1
Aspull-Standish[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour D. Standring 1,726 48.9 +0.4
Liberal Democrats G. Davies 1,494 42.4 +1.7
Conservative J. Davies 306 8.7 -2.1
Majority 232 6.5 -1.3
Turnout 3,526 32.1 -5.2
Labour gain from Liberal Democrats Swing -0.6
Atherton[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour J. Sumner Unopposed N/A N/A
Labour hold Swing N/A
Bedford-Astley[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour J. Lea 1,602 68.3 -0.4
Liberal Democrats R. Bleakley 543 23.1 -8.1
Conservative J. Mosley 200 8.5 +8.5
Majority 1,059 45.1 +7.6
Turnout 2,345 27.0 -1.7
Labour gain from Liberal Democrats Swing +3.8
Beech Hill[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour C. Roscoe 1,744 61.9 +14.0
Liberal Democrats J. Beswick 965 34.2 -13.8
Conservative J. Cartwright 109 3.9 -0.2
Majority 779 27.6 +27.5
Turnout 2,818 31.6 -5.7
Labour hold Swing +13.9
Bryn[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour J. Foster 2,385 87.5 +1.0
Conservative W. Holmes 340 12.5 -1.0
Majority 2,045 75.0 +2.1
Turnout 2,725 27.7 -1.0
Labour hold Swing +1.0
Hindley[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Independent Labour E. Edwardson 1,207 50.3 +50.3
Labour P. Kelly 984 41.0 -40.7
Liberal Democrats F. Graham 206 8.6 -9.6
Majority 223 9.3 -54.2
Turnout 2,397 24.8 -0.0
Independent Labour hold Swing +45.5
Hindley Green[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour R. McAllister 1,893 81.0 -5.1
Liberal Democrats J. Hough 228 9.7 +9.7
Conservative C. Butterworth 217 9.3 -4.7
Majority 1,665 71.2 -0.9
Turnout 2,338 20.7 -3.9
Labour hold Swing -7.4
Hindsford[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour S. Little 1,898 74.2 N/A
Liberal Democrats D. Soye 406 15.9 N/A
Conservative R. Oxley 253 9.9 N/A
Majority 1,492 58.3 N/A
Turnout 2,557 23.7 N/A
Labour hold Swing N/A
Hope Carr[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour G. Brooks 1,859 57.1 +6.6
Liberal Democrats P. Hough 1,090 33.5 -1.4
Conservative D. Morris 307 9.4 -5.2
Majority 769 23.6 +8.1
Turnout 3,256 32.5 -3.0
Labour hold Swing +4.0
Ince[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour D. Molyneux Unopposed N/A N/A
Labour hold Swing N/A
Langtree[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour M. Greenwood 2,067 63.0 +5.8
Liberal Democrats T, Beswick 911 27.8 +0.2
Conservative F. Parkinson 301 9.2 -0.5
Majority 1,156 35.2 +5.6
Turnout 3,279 28.6 -6.1
Labour gain from Liberal Democrats Swing +2.8
Leigh Central[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour B. Thomas Unopposed N/A N/A
Labour hold Swing N/A
Leigh East[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour K. Cunliffe 1,849 71.0 +2.4
Labour S. Kennedy 1,657
Liberal Democrats S. Hide 505 19.4 -12.0
Liberal Democrats G. Waddup 465
Conservative A. Oxley 249 9.6 +9.6
Majority 1,344 51.6 +14.4
Turnout 2,603 25.8 -1.3
Labour hold Swing
Labour hold Swing +7.2
Lightshaw[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour B. Strett 2,923 83.3 +2.6
Conservative C. Duffy 584 16.6 -2.6
Majority 2,339 66.7 +5.3
Turnout 3,507 31.8 -4.0
Labour hold Swing +2.6
Newtown[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour J. Birch 1,827 90.8 +5.7
Liberal Democrats M. Wiswall 184 9.1 +1.2
Majority 1,643 81.7 +4.5
Turnout 2,011 22.8 -3.0
Labour hold Swing +2.2
Norley[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour S. Parker 1,819 92.4 +7.2
Liberal Democrats A. Sudworth 150 7.6 -7.2
Majority 1,669 84.7 +14.4
Turnout 1,969 26.1 -4.3
Labour hold Swing +7.2
Orrell[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour R. Capstick 1,839 73.8 +3.1
Conservative M. Green 654 26.2 -3.1
Majority 1,185 47.5 +6.1
Turnout 2,493 26.7 -5.2
Labour hold Swing +3.1
Swinley[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour J. Ball 1,606 59.7 -3.2
Conservative K. Swift 781 29.0 -8.0
Liberal Democrats A. Robinson 301 11.2 +11.2
Majority 825 30.7 +4.9
Turnout 2,688 30.3 -6.5
Labour gain from Conservative Swing +2.4
Tyldesley East[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour S. Hellier 2,109 70.6 N/A
Liberal Democrats A. Pennington 876 29.3 N/A
Majority 1,233 41.3 N/A
Turnout 2,985 26.5 N/A
Labour hold Swing N/A
Whelley[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour M. Pendleton 1,859 90.9 +2.5
Conservative T. Sharpe 185 9.0 -2.5
Majority 1,674 81.9 +5.1
Turnout 2,044 25.2 -3.7
Labour hold Swing +2.5
Winstanley[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour G. Roberts 2,324 86.4 +22.1
Conservative G. Whiston 365 13.6 -0.7
Majority 1,959 72.8 +29.9
Turnout 2,689 22.7 -5.9
Labour hold Swing +11.4
Worsley Mesnes[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour J. Baldwin 1,912 90.3 +30.5
Conservative T. Sutton 205 9.7 +4.2
Majority 1,707 80.6 +46.2
Turnout 2,117 21.2 -8.5
Labour hold Swing +13.1

References
  1. "Wigan Council results from 1973 to 2008" (PDF). wigan.gov.uk. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 November 2011. Retrieved 30 January 2012.
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