Pendle Council election, 2004
Encyclopedia
The 2004 Pendle Council election took place on 10 June 2004 to elect members of Pendle
Borough
Council in Lancashire
, England
. One third of the council was up for election and the Liberal Democrats gained overall control of the council from no overall control
.
After the election, the composition of the council was
, 11 Conservative
and 1 independent
councillor
s. The election had 16 seats being contested by a total of 58 candidates. Both the Labour and Conservative parties contested every seat, while the Liberal Democrats had candidates in 15 seats. The other candidates were 8 from the British National Party
, 2 independents and 1 from the United Kingdom Independence Party
. 12 sitting councillors defended their seats, with a further 2, Judith Robinson and Fred Hartley, contesting different wards
to the ones they held. Several previous councillors also attempted to win back seats on the council including Lord
Tony Greaves
for the Liberal Democrats.
The election was held under all postal voting
and took place at the same time as the European election.
which previously had been a strongly Labour area, to hold 30 of the 49 seats on the council. Labour losses included 3 sitting councillors in the wards of Brierfield, Clover Hill and Whitefield, and the party dropped to fourth place in other wards.
Meanwhile the Conservatives held the seats they had been defending and came within 8 votes of defeating the Liberal Democrat leader of the council Alan Davies. No other group won any seats, but the British National Party, standing in half of the wards, won 10% of the vote and came second in some seats.
Following the election the Liberal Democrats took all 10 seats on the council executive.
Pendle
Pendle is a local government district and borough of Lancashire, England. It adjoins the Lancashire boroughs of Burnley and Ribble Valley, the North Yorkshire district of Craven and the West Yorkshire districts of Calderdale and the City of Bradford...
Borough
Borough status in the United Kingdom
Borough status in the United Kingdom is granted by royal charter to local government districts in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The status is purely honorary, and does not give any additional powers to the council or inhabitants of the district...
Council in Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. One third of the council was up for election and the Liberal Democrats gained overall control of the council from no overall control
No overall control
Within the context of local councils of the United Kingdom, the term No Overall Control refers to a situation in which no single party achieves a majority of seats and is analogous to a hung parliament...
.
After the election, the composition of the council was
- Liberal Democrat 30
- ConservativeConservative Party (UK)The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
11 - LabourLabour Party (UK)The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
8
Campaign
Before the election the Liberal Democrats were the largest party on the council with 24 seats, but without a majority as there were 13 LabourLabour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
, 11 Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
and 1 independent
Independent (politician)
In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...
councillor
Councillor
A councillor or councilor is a member of a local government council, such as a city council.Often in the United States, the title is councilman or councilwoman.-United Kingdom:...
s. The election had 16 seats being contested by a total of 58 candidates. Both the Labour and Conservative parties contested every seat, while the Liberal Democrats had candidates in 15 seats. The other candidates were 8 from the British National Party
British National Party
The British National Party is a British far-right political party formed as a splinter group from the National Front by John Tyndall in 1982...
, 2 independents and 1 from the United Kingdom Independence Party
United Kingdom Independence Party
The United Kingdom Independence Party is a eurosceptic and right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. Whilst its primary goal is the UK's withdrawal from the European Union, the party has expanded beyond its single-issue image to develop a more comprehensive party platform.UKIP...
. 12 sitting councillors defended their seats, with a further 2, Judith Robinson and Fred Hartley, contesting different wards
Wards of the United Kingdom
A ward in the United Kingdom is an electoral district at sub-national level represented by one or more councillors. It is the primary unit of British administrative and electoral geography .-England:...
to the ones they held. Several previous councillors also attempted to win back seats on the council including Lord
Lord
Lord is a title with various meanings. It can denote a prince or a feudal superior . The title today is mostly used in connection with the peerage of the United Kingdom or its predecessor countries, although some users of the title do not themselves hold peerages, and use it 'by courtesy'...
Tony Greaves
Tony Greaves, Baron Greaves
Anthony Robert Greaves, Baron Greaves is a UK politician. He is a Liberal Democrat member of the House of Lords.Together with Gordon Lishman, Greaves moved the party's famous Community Politics motion...
for the Liberal Democrats.
The election was held under all postal voting
Postal voting
Postal voting describes the method of voting in an election whereby ballot papers are distributed or returned by post to electors, in contrast to electors voting in person at a polling station or electronically via an electronic voting system....
and took place at the same time as the European election.
Election result
The results saw the Liberal Democrats win a majority on the council, after gaining 5 seats from Labour and 1 from an independent. The Liberal Democrats took 11 of the 16 seats contested, with gains in NelsonNelson, Lancashire
Nelson is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Pendle in Lancashire, England, with a population of 28,998 in 2001. It lies 4 miles north of Burnley on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal....
which previously had been a strongly Labour area, to hold 30 of the 49 seats on the council. Labour losses included 3 sitting councillors in the wards of Brierfield, Clover Hill and Whitefield, and the party dropped to fourth place in other wards.
Meanwhile the Conservatives held the seats they had been defending and came within 8 votes of defeating the Liberal Democrat leader of the council Alan Davies. No other group won any seats, but the British National Party, standing in half of the wards, won 10% of the vote and came second in some seats.
Following the election the Liberal Democrats took all 10 seats on the council executive.