
The2008 St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council election took place on 1 May 2008 to elect members ofSt HelensMetropolitan Borough Council inMerseyside, England. One third of the council was up for election and the council stayed underno overall control.[1]
After the election, the composition of the council was:
At thelast election in 2007,Labour remained the largest party with 21 seats, theLiberal Democrats has 20,Conservatives 6 and there was 1independent.[3] However soon after the election the independent councillor, Bessie Griffin, joined the Liberal Democrats.[4] Since the2006 election the Liberal Democrats and Conservatives had run the council together, while Labour was in opposition.[5]
16 seats were contested in 2008 and as well as candidates from Labour, Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives, there were 10 candidates from theBritish National Party.[6][7]
Labour gained 2 seats to have 23 councillors, but fell 2 short of regaining a majority on the council, as the Liberal Democrats had 19 seats and the Conservatives 6.[8] The Labour gains from the Liberal Democrats came inBillinge andSeneley Green and in West Park, while they held marginal seats inHaydock andBold, with the result in Bold only coming after 3 recounts.[9] The Labour gain in Billinge and Seneley Green meant the party regained the seat they had lost when councillor Bessie Griffin had left Labour to become an independent and then later joined the Liberal Democrats.[10]
Following the election the Liberal Democrat and Conservative parties continued to run the council together, with Liberal Democrat Brian Spencer remaining leader of the council.[11]
| Party | Seats | Gains | Losses | Net gain/loss | Seats % | Votes % | Votes | +/− | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | 9 | 2 | 0 | +2 | 56.3 | 37.0 | 16,730 | -0.7 | |
| Liberal Democrats | 5 | 0 | 2 | -2 | 31.3 | 37.7 | 17,052 | -3.7 | |
| Conservative | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12.5 | 19.7 | 8,908 | +2.7 | |
| BNP | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 5.6 | 2,528 | +3.8 | |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Richard Ward | 1,335 | 41.7 | −0.8 | |
| Conservative | Michael Hodgson | 1,292 | 40.4 | +10.7 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Richard Gadsden | 574 | 17.9 | +0.2 | |
| Majority | 43 | 1.3 | −11.5 | ||
| Turnout | 3,201 | 35.5 | +1.5 | ||
| Labourgain fromLiberal Democrats | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Eric Smith | 1,207 | 46.4 | −17.3 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Ruth Smith | 1,016 | 39.0 | +24.0 | |
| Conservative | Judith Collins | 381 | 14.6 | +1.6 | |
| Majority | 191 | 7.3 | −41.3 | ||
| Turnout | 2,604 | 31.8 | +2.9 | ||
| Labourhold | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Tom Hargreaves | 984 | 41.4 | −1.5 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Marise Roberts | 974 | 41.0 | −2.9 | |
| BNP | Carl Telford | 218 | 9.2 | +9.2 | |
| Conservative | Charmian Pyke | 198 | 8.3 | +0.5 | |
| Majority | 10 | 0.4 | −0.6 | ||
| Turnout | 2,374 | 31.6 | +2.9 | ||
| Labourhold | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Leon McGuire | 1,242 | 52.0 | +7.2 | |
| Liberal Democrats | David Smith | 951 | 39.8 | −1.3 | |
| Conservative | Brian Honey | 196 | 8.2 | −1.4 | |
| Majority | 291 | 12.2 | +8.5 | ||
| Turnout | 2,389 | 31.8 | +1.6 | ||
| Labourhold | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal Democrats | Teresa Sims | 2,606 | 69.1 | −0.7 | |
| Conservative | Kathleen Barton | 549 | 14.6 | −0.6 | |
| Labour | Pat Ireland | 417 | 11.1 | −3.8 | |
| BNP | Harry Berridge | 197 | 5.2 | +5.2 | |
| Majority | 2,057 | 54.6 | +0.0 | ||
| Turnout | 3,769 | 40.5 | −0.9 | ||
| Liberal Democratshold | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | James Caunce | 1,390 | 45.5 | +12.0 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Stephen Broughton | 1,087 | 35.6 | −24.0 | |
| Conservative | Anthony Rigby | 299 | 9.8 | +2.9 | |
| BNP | Karen Smith | 278 | 9.1 | +9.1 | |
| Majority | 303 | 9.9 | |||
| Turnout | 3,054 | 33.7 | +0.1 | ||
| Labourhold | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal Democrats | Carole Kavanagh | 1,911 | 62.5 | +8.3 | |
| Labour | Jeffrey Fletcher | 864 | 28.2 | −9.5 | |
| Conservative | Elizabeth Black | 285 | 9.3 | +1.2 | |
| Majority | 1,047 | 34.2 | +17.8 | ||
| Turnout | 3,060 | 35.3 | −0.5 | ||
| Liberal Democratshold | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal Democrats | Suzanne Knight | 2,028 | 69.3 | −0.4 | |
| Labour | Graham Barr | 605 | 20.7 | −0.6 | |
| Conservative | Margaret Harvey | 293 | 10.0 | +1.1 | |
| Majority | 1,423 | 48.6 | +0.2 | ||
| Turnout | 2,926 | 35.2 | +0.3 | ||
| Liberal Democratshold | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Ken Pinder | 1,251 | 63.5 | −5.7 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Josephine Ellison | 506 | 25.7 | +2.3 | |
| Conservative | Madeleine Wilcock | 212 | 10.8 | +3.4 | |
| Majority | 745 | 37.8 | −8.0 | ||
| Turnout | 1,969 | 23.0 | −0.2 | ||
| Labourhold | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Betty Lowe | 1,938 | 67.2 | −4.5 | |
| Labour | David Wood | 562 | 19.5 | −2.2 | |
| BNP | Mathew Berridge-James | 202 | 7.0 | +7.0 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Frederick Barrett | 184 | 6.4 | −0.2 | |
| Majority | 1,376 | 47.7 | −2.4 | ||
| Turnout | 2,886 | 43.1 | +0.2 | ||
| Conservativehold | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Michael Doyle | 1,740 | 51.6 | +5.7 | |
| Conservative | Helen Smith | 877 | 26.0 | −0.5 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Christina Duncan | 455 | 13.5 | −5.6 | |
| BNP | Frances Chesney | 299 | 8.9 | +0.4 | |
| Majority | 863 | 25.6 | +6.3 | ||
| Turnout | 3,371 | 37.6 | +1.8 | ||
| Labourhold | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal Democrats | Brian Spencer | 1,826 | 62.0 | ||
| Labour | Derek Maylor | 686 | 23.3 | ||
| BNP | John Chesney | 273 | 9.3 | ||
| Conservative | Pauline Wilcock | 158 | 5.4 | ||
| Majority | 1,140 | 38.7 | |||
| Turnout | 2,943 | 31.8 | +1.5 | ||
| Liberal Democratshold | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Sheila Seddon | 1,328 | 53.2 | +4.9 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Carol Pearl | 581 | 23.3 | −6.8 | |
| Conservative | Barbara Woodcock | 301 | 12.1 | +4.5 | |
| BNP | Paul Telford | 284 | 11.4 | +4.3 | |
| Majority | 747 | 30.0 | +11.8 | ||
| Turnout | 2,494 | 28.1 | −1.1 | ||
| Labourhold | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal Democrats | John Beirne | 1,193 | 48.9 | +3.7 | |
| Labour | Geoff Almond | 876 | 35.9 | −3.5 | |
| BNP | Damian Smith | 237 | 9.7 | +1.7 | |
| Conservative | Jill Jones | 134 | 5.5 | +0.2 | |
| Majority | 317 | 13.0 | +7.2 | ||
| Turnout | 2,440 | 29.7 | +0.2 | ||
| Liberal Democratshold | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Robbie Ayres | 1,493 | 50.3 | −1.9 | |
| Liberal Democrats | David Evans | 814 | 27.4 | −7.1 | |
| BNP | Eric Swindells | 331 | 11.2 | +4.6 | |
| Conservative | Richard Barton | 329 | 11.1 | +5.9 | |
| Majority | 679 | 22.9 | +5.2 | ||
| Turnout | 2,967 | 33.2 | −3.9 | ||
| Labourgain fromLiberal Democrats | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Wally Ashcroft | 1,466 | 52.9 | +3.2 | |
| Labour | Lynn Glover | 750 | 27.1 | −7.5 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Noreen Knowles | 346 | 12.5 | −3.2 | |
| BNP | Keith Davies | 209 | 7.5 | +7.5 | |
| Majority | 716 | 25.8 | +10.7 | ||
| Turnout | 2,771 | 34.9 | −0.3 | ||
| Conservativehold | Swing | ||||
Aby-election took place inParr on 12 March 2009 after the death of Labour councillor Ken Pinder.[13] The seat was held for Labour by Andy Bowden with a majority of 340 votes over Liberal Democrat Barry Dodd.[13]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Andy Bowden | 851 | 49.3 | −14.2 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Barry Dodd | 511 | 29.6 | +3.9 | |
| BNP | Paul Telford | 183 | 10.6 | +10.6 | |
| Independent | Mark Arnold | 98 | 5.7 | +5.7 | |
| Conservative | Madeleine Wilcock | 55 | 3.2 | −7.6 | |
| Green | Andrea Pennington | 27 | 1.6 | +1.6 | |
| Majority | 340 | 19.7 | −18.1 | ||
| Turnout | 1,725 | 20.1 | −2.9 | ||
| Labourhold | Swing | ||||
A by-election took place inRainhill on 12 March 2009 after the death of Labour councillor Mike Doyle.[13] The seat was held for Labour by Barrie Grunewald with a majority of 503 votes over Liberal Democrat Denise Aspinall.[13]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Barrie Grunewald | 1,562 | 45.6 | −6.0 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Denise Aspinall | 1,059 | 30.9 | +17.4 | |
| Conservative | Stephen Bligh | 512 | 14.9 | −11.1 | |
| BNP | Eric Swindells | 215 | 6.3 | −2.6 | |
| Green | David Rothwell | 80 | 2.3 | +2.3 | |
| Majority | 503 | 14.7 | −10.9 | ||
| Turnout | 3,428 | 38.2 | +0.6 | ||
| Labourhold | Swing | ||||
A by-election was held in Moss Bank on 16 July 2009 after the death of Liberal Democrat councillor Anna Heyes.[15] The seat was held for Liberal Democrats by David Kent with a majority of 469 votes over Labour's Jeffrey Fletcher.[15]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal Democrats | David Kent | 1,480 | 53.9 | −8.6 | |
| Labour | Jeffrey Fletcher | 1,011 | 36.8 | +8.6 | |
| Conservative | Madeleine Wilcock | 111 | 4.0 | −5.3 | |
| Green | David Rothwell | 73 | 2.7 | +2.7 | |
| Independent | Christopher Hackett | 71 | 2.6 | +2.6 | |
| Majority | 469 | 17.1 | −17.1 | ||
| Turnout | 2,746 | 31.8 | −3.5 | ||
| Liberal Democratshold | Swing | ||||