2014 St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council election

The 2014 St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council election took place on 22 May 2014 to elect members of St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council in Merseyside, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Labour party stayed in overall control of the council.[1]

Map of the results of the 2014 St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council election. Labour in red, Conservatives in blue and Liberal Democrats in yellow.

After the election, the composition of the council was

Background

After the last election in 2012 Labour controlled the council with 40 seats, compared to 5 for the Liberal Democrats and 3 for the Conservatives.[3] Despite the large majority for Labour the leader of St Helens council, Marie Rimmer, was replaced by her deputy, Barrie Grunewald, in May 2013 after a 22 to 18 vote of the Labour group on the council.[4]

At the 2014 election the leader of the Conservative group on the council, David Monk, stood down as a councillor, along with a Liberal Democrat former mayor Neil Taylor and Labour councillor Carole Gill.[5] However the former Labour leader of the council, Marie Rimmer did defend her seat in West Park at the election, despite being selected as the Labour candidate for St Helens South and Whiston at the 2015 general election.[5]

16 seats were contested in 2014, with candidates from 7 political parties standing for election.[6] The candidates included the Liberal Democrat group leader Stephanie Topping in Sutton, while a former Liberal Democrat mayor John Beirne stood for the UK Independence Party in Town Centre ward.[7]

Election result

Labour gained 2 seats from the Liberal Democrats in Newton and Sutton to have 42 of the 48 councillors on St Helens council.[2] The Liberal Democrat group leader Stephanie Topping was defeated in Sutton, coming third behind the UK Independence Party in the ward, but the Liberal Democrats did hold Eccleston to have 3 councillors after the election.[2] Most of the 13 UK Independence Party candidates came second in the wards they stood in, but the party failed to win any seats on the council, with for instance John Beirne taking 667 votes for the party in Town Centre ward, compared to 1,470 for Labour candidate Lisa Preston.[2] Meanwhile, the Conservatives held the only seat the party had been defending in Rainford to remain with 3 councillors.[2]

St Helens local election result 2014[2][8]
Party Seats Gains Losses Net gain/loss Seats % Votes % Votes +/−
  Labour 14 2 0 +2 87.5 52.1 21,961 -10.0%
  Conservative 1 0 0 0 6.3 13.1 5,508 +0.2%
  Liberal Democrats 1 0 2 -2 6.3 10.1 4,234 -2.4%
  UKIP 0 0 0 0 0 18.1 7,628 +18.1%
  Green 0 0 0 0 0 5.7 2,418 -2.3%
  BNP 0 0 0 0 0 0.5 202 -0.4%
  TUSC 0 0 0 0 0 0.4 168 +0.4%

Ward results
Billinge and Seneley Green[8][9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Sue Murphy 1,443 47.6 -15.7
UKIP Peter Peers 873 28.8 +28.8
Conservative Wally Ashcroft 433 14.3 -4.5
Green Sue Rahman 157 5.2 +0.3
Liberal Democrats Frederick Barrett 64 2.1 +2.1
BNP Alan Brindle 64 2.1 +2.1
Majority 570 18.8 -25.6
Turnout 3,034 34.3 +2.5
Labour hold Swing
Blackbrook[8][9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Paul McQuade 1,562 62.2 -15.4
UKIP Jean Denny 626 24.9 +24.9
Conservative Judith Collins 179 7.1 -2.9
Liberal Democrats Brian Bonney 145 5.8 +5.8
Majority 936 37.3 -27.9
Turnout 2,512 30.4 -0.4
Labour hold Swing
Bold[8][9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Gareth Cross 1,224 56.7 -17.6
UKIP Nicholas Bartlett 497 23.0 +23.0
Conservative Barbara Woodcock 179 8.3 +1.4
Green Dave Parr 139 6.4 -2.0
Liberal Democrats Marise Roberts 119 5.5 -5.0
Majority 727 33.7 -30.1
Turnout 2,158 28.7 +1.7
Labour hold Swing
Earlestown[8][9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Dave Banks 1,559 69.0 -3.1
Conservative Elizabeth Black 264 11.7 +2.3
Green Elizabeth Ward 253 11.2 +2.9
Liberal Democrats Peter Astbury 183 8.1 -2.2
Majority 1,295 57.3 -4.5
Turnout 2,259 27.5 -0.7
Labour hold Swing
Eccleston[8][9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats Geoff Pearl 1,630 47.4 -4.6
Labour Paul Roberts 762 22.2 -7.6
UKIP Laurence Allen 520 15.1 +15.1
Conservative Robert Reynolds 340 9.9 +0.2
Green Andrew Brownlow 186 5.4 -3.2
Majority 868 25.2 +3.0
Turnout 3,438 37.1 -3.5
Liberal Democrats hold Swing
Haydock[6][8][9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Bill Anderton 1,542 60.0 -18.6
UKIP Philip Wrigley 592 23.0 +23.0
Conservative Mark Collins 259 10.1 -1.3
Green Paul Finnigan 128 5.0 -5.0
TUSC Sean Marsh 51 2.0 +2.0
Majority 950 36.9 -30.3
Turnout 2,572 28.6 -1.4
Labour hold Swing
Moss Bank[8][9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Jeffrey Fletcher 1,445 51.5 -2.4
UKIP Pat Shannon 680 24.2 +24.2
Liberal Democrats David Kent 263 9.4 +9.4
Conservative Margaret Harvey 234 8.3 +4.5
Green Brian Hart 184 6.6 +1.8
Majority 765 27.3 +11.0
Turnout 2,806 33.4 -1.6
Labour hold Swing
Newton[8][9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Jeanie Bell 1,237 44.9 -1.9
Liberal Democrats David Smith 978 35.5 -7.9
Conservative Brian Honey 322 11.7 +6.3
Green Ann Shacklady-Smith 216 7.8 +3.4
Majority 259 9.4 +6.1
Turnout 2,753 31.8 -4.3
Labour gain from Liberal Democrats Swing
Parr[8][10]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Terry Shields 1,444 70.9 -13.3
UKIP Mark Hitchen 497 24.4 +24.4
Conservative Pat Wilcock 95 4.7 +0.7
Majority 947 46.5 -31.4
Turnout 2,036 23.8 +2.8
Labour hold Swing
Rainford[8][9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Linda Mussell 1,312 53.5 -0.2
Labour Keith Aspinall 836 34.1 -4.0
Green Ian Fraser 188 7.7 -0.5
TUSC Tracy Heaton 117 4.8 +4.8
Majority 476 19.4 +3.8
Turnout 2,453 37.5 -1.0
Conservative hold Swing
Rainhill[8][9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Stephen Glover 1,612 52.3 -14.8
Conservative Katie Smith 700 22.7 +0.7
UKIP Daniel Guest 560 18.2 +18.2
Green Ian Donnelly 211 6.8 -4.2
Majority 912 29.6 -15.5
Turnout 3,083 34.4 -0.6
Labour hold Swing
Sutton[8][9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Pat Jackson 1,418 50.8 -8.9
UKIP John Fairhurst 607 21.7 +21.7
Liberal Democrats Steph Topping 545 19.5 -11.0
Conservative Daniel Whitehouse 145 5.2 +3.1
Green Alexander Brodie 78 2.8 -0.8
Majority 811 29.0 -0.2
Turnout 2,793 31.6 -0.9
Labour gain from Liberal Democrats Swing
Thatto Heath[8][10]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Richard McCauley 1,510 61.3 -13.5
UKIP Alan Dutton 483 19.6 +19.6
Conservative Anthony Rigby 194 7.9 +0.7
Green Karen Atherton 140 5.7 -1.8
Liberal Democrats Carol Pearl 85 3.5 -1.5
BNP Paul Telford 51 2.1 -3.4
Majority 1,027 41.7 -25.6
Turnout 2,463 25.8 +0.1
Labour hold Swing
Town Centre[8][9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Lisa Preston 1,470 59.7 -10.6
UKIP John Beirne 667 27.1 +27.1
Conservative Nancy Ashcroft 131 5.3 +0.5
Green Freda Brodie 107 4.3 -0.2
BNP Peter Clayton 87 3.5 -2.6
Majority 803 32.6 -26.5
Turnout 2,462 31.3 +5.4
Labour hold Swing
West Park[8][9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Marie Rimmer 1,693 61.7 -11.8
UKIP Paul Bosworth 528 19.2 +19.2
Conservative Henry Spriggs 220 8.0 -1.1
Green Alison Donnelly 192 7.0 -3.5
Liberal Democrats Ruth Watmough 113 4.1 -2.7
Majority 1,165 42.4 -20.5
Turnout 2,746 31.9 +1.3
Labour hold Swing
Windle[8][9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Lynn Glover 1,204 47.2 -9.7
Conservative John Cunliffe 501 19.6 -8.0
UKIP Maria Parr 498 19.5 +19.5
Green Francis Williams 239 9.4 -6.1
Liberal Democrats Noreen Knowles 109 4.3 +4.3
Majority 703 27.6 -1.7
Turnout 2,551 31.8 +1.0
Labour hold Swing

References
  1. "St Helens". BBC News Online. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
  2. Hughes, Lorna (24 May 2014). "Labour increases majority as UKIP fails to make major inroads - St Helens". Liverpool Echo. NewsBank.
  3. "Vote 2012". BBC News Online. 4 May 2012. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
  4. Kilmurray, Andrew (8 May 2013). "Marie Rimmer ousted as St Helens Council leader and replaced by Barrie Grunewald". St Helens Star. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
  5. "St Helens Conservative leader to step down ahead of election". St Helens Star. NewsBank. 22 April 2014.
  6. "Candidates published for local election 2014". St Helens Star. NewsBank. 29 April 2014.
  7. "It's decision day for voters". St Helens Star. NewsBank. 22 May 2014.
  8. "Election results by wards". St Helens Council. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
  9. "Election results 2014". St Helens Council. Archived from the original on 15 April 2015. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
  10. Mather, Stephen (23 May 2014). "Live: Election results". St Helens Star. NewsBank.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.