1988 Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council election

Main article: 1988 United Kingdom local elections

1988 Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council election

5 May 1988 (1988-05-05)
22 of 66 seats (One Third) to Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council 34 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	44.5% (4.3%)[1]
First party Second party Third party   Lab SLD Leader Peter Corcoran John Hale Ed Cunniffe Party Labour Conservative SLD Leader's seat Upton Liscard Prenton Last election 10 seats, 33.0% 10 seats, 42.1% 4 seats, 22.3% Seats before 27 29 10 Seats won 13 7 2 Seats after 32 24 10 Seat change 5 5 Popular vote 47,974 47,921 15,451 Percentage 41.9% 41.9% 13.5% Swing 8.9% 0.2% 8.8%
Map of results of 1988 election
Leader of the Council before election None No Overall Control Leader of the Council after election None No Overall Control

The 1988 Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council election took place on 5 May 1988 to elect members of Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council in England.[2] This election was held on the same day as other local elections.

After the election, the composition of the council was:

Party		Seats	±
	Labour	32	5
	Conservative	24	5
	SLD	10

[3]

Election results

Overall election result

Overall result compared with 1987.

Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council election results, 1988
Party		Candidates						Votes
		Stood	Elected	Gained	Unseated	Net	% of total	%	No.	Net %
	Labour	22	13	5	0	5	59.1	41.9	47,974	8.9
	Conservative	22	7	0	5	5	31.8	41.9	47,921	0.2
	SLD	22	2	1	1		9.1	13.5	15,451	8.8
	Green	18	0	0	0		0.0	2.3	2,687	1.1
	SDP	2	0	0	0		0.0	0.3	389	N/A

[1][2]

Ward results

Bebington

Bebington

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Brian Cummings	3,008	54.2	1.6
	Labour	A. Witter	1,909	34.4	8.3
	SLD	Kevin Turner	351	6.3	10.1
	Green	Garnette Bowler	282	5.1	3.4
Majority			1,099	19.8	9.9
Registered electors			11,363
Turnout				48.8	6.6
	Conservative hold		Swing	5.0

[2]

Bidston

Bidston

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	J. Williams	2,815	84.9	3.0
	Conservative	W. Houldin	281	8.5	0.9
	SLD	Stephen Niblock	141	4.3	4.4
	Green	Robert Mitchell	78	2.4	New
Majority			2,534	76.4	3.9
Registered electors			9,256
Turnout				35.8	4.5
	Labour hold		Swing	2.0

[2][4]

Birkenhead

Birkenhead

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	William Lungley	3,035	76.5	7.0
	Conservative	D. Smith	501	12.6	1.0
	SLD	Stuart Kelly	333	8.4	10.5
	Green	A. Harrison	98	2.5	New
Majority			2,534	63.9	13.3
Registered electors			11,005
Turnout				36.0	3.2
	Labour hold		Swing	6.7

[2][5]

Bromborough

Bromborough

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	David Jackson	2,898	58.1	10.2
	Conservative	C. Molyneux	1,638	32.8	5.1
	SLD	Simon Holbrook	364	7.3	6.9
	Green	Perle Sheldricks	87	1.7	New
Majority			1,260	25.3	15.4
Registered electors			11,420
Turnout				43.7	5.2
	Labour hold		Swing	7.7

[2][6]

Clatterbridge

Clatterbridge

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Michael Moore	3,851	61.5	2.5
	Labour	M. Harper	1,507	24.1	7.3
	SLD	S. Dutton	724	11.6	7.6
	Green	S. Birchenough	180	2.9	New
Majority			2,344	37.4	7.3
Registered electors			14,078
Turnout				44.5	7.2
	Conservative hold		Swing	3.7

[2]

Claughton

Claughton

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	George Davies	2,210	41.1	12.5
	Conservative	Ian McKellar	1,903	35.4	3.6
	SLD	Anna Blumenthal	1,114	20.7	17.0
	Green	Pamela Mitchell	146	2.7	0.8
Majority			307	5.7	N/A
Registered electors			10,877
Turnout				49.4	1.4
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	7.4

[2][7]

Eastham

Eastham

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Andrew Dow	1,896	34.5	9.4
	SLD	D. Charles	1,840	33.5	7.8
	Conservative	Mary Jordan	1,647	30.0	3.6
	Green	Nigel Birchenough	107	1.9	New
Majority			56	1.0	N/A
Registered electors			11,917
Turnout				46.1	6.7
	Labour gain from SLD		Swing	4.4

[2][8]

Egerton

Egerton

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Alec Dunn	3,062	66.2	13.8
	Conservative	G. Francomb	1,023	22.1	4.7
	SLD	K. Hughes	396	8.6	10.2
	Green	David Pye	143	3.1	1.1
Majority			2,039	44.1	18.5
Registered electors			11,474
Turnout				40.3	3.4
	Labour hold		Swing	9.3

[2]

Heswall

Heswall

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	M. Banks	4,349	75.8	4.3
	Labour	Michael Sullivan	676	11.8	6.0
	SLD	Robert Wilkins	519	9.0	11.9
	Green	J. Bruce	195	3.4	1.7
Majority			3,673	64.0	13.4
Registered electors			13,362
Turnout				43.0	9.1
	Conservative hold		Swing	6.7

[2][9][10]

Hoylake

Hoylake

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Frank Jones	3,891	69.7	9.5
	Labour	S. Christie	810	14.5	7.7
	SLD	S. Welshman	642	11.5	2.6
	Green	A. Brett	242	4.3	1.4
Majority			3,081	55.2	11.1
Registered electors			12,797
Turnout				43.6	8.4
	Conservative hold		Swing	5.6

[2]

Leasowe

Leasowe

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Jim Edwards	2,805	69.0	8.0
	Conservative	L. Kennedy	1,100	27.0	1.3
	SLD	Susanne Uriel	162	4.0	6.8
Majority			1,705	42.0	9.3
Registered electors			9,865
Turnout				41.2	0.8
	Labour hold		Swing	4.7

[2]

Liscard

Liscard

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	E. Smith	3,321	53.3	13.4
	Conservative	M. Ebbs	2,461	39.5	6.3
	SLD	John Uriel	449	7.2	7.1
Majority			860	13.8	N/A
Registered electors			11,677
Turnout				53.4	0.9
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	9.9

[2]

Moreton

Moreton

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	John Clark	2,665	53.2	10.1
	Conservative	I. Walker	2,048	40.9	0.3
	SLD	B. Thomas	223	4.4	11.3
	Green	George Bowler	76	1.5	New
Majority			617	12.3	10.4
Registered electors			9,233
Turnout				54.3	0.8
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	5.2

[2]

New Brighton

New Brighton

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Colin Penfold	2,438	44.1	11.3
	Conservative	P. Buzzard	2,404	43.5	0.2
	SLD	L. Matthew	337	6.1	17.5
	SDP	R. Curphey	224	4.1	New
	Green	Allen Burton	125	2.3	New
Majority			34	0.6	N/A
Registered electors			11,868
Turnout				46.6	0.8
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	5.8

[2]

Oxton

Oxton

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	SLD	Michael Cooke	2,060	38.2	0.9
	Conservative	Leonard Moore	1,979	36.7	1.2
	Labour	T. Kelly	1,251	23.2	0.2
	Green	A. Tebbs	102	1.9	0.4
Majority			81	1.5	2.1
Registered electors			11,550
Turnout				46.7	1.7
	SLD hold		Swing	1.1

[2]

Prenton

Prenton

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	SLD	Ray Pullen	2,432	39.9	2.3
	Conservative	A. Clement	2,085	34.2	2.6
	Labour	T. Collins	1,452	23.9	4.6
	Green	D. Pye	119	2.0	0.3
Majority			347	5.7	0.2
Registered electors			12,462
Turnout				48.9	6.2
	SLD gain from Conservative		Swing	0.1

[2]

Royden

Royden

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Derek Robinson	3,491	64.9	6.1
	Labour	D. Hughes	893	16.6	5.6
	SLD	Peter Reisdorf	809	15.0	1.1
	Green	K. Cuthbertson	185	3.4	0.4
Majority			2,598	48.3	5.6
Registered electors			12,790
Turnout				42.0	8.2
	Conservative hold		Swing	2.8

[2][11]

Seacombe

Seacombe

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	P. Clee	3,841	75.9	13.8
	Conservative	G. Allen	887	17.5	3.9
	SLD	H. Warner	169	3.3	13.2
	SDP	J. Williams	165	3.3	New
Majority			2,954	58.4	17.7
Registered electors			11,856
Turnout				42.7	2.3
	Labour hold		Swing	8.9

[2]

Thurstaston

Thurstaston

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Sid Dunn	3,469	65.6	3.2
	Labour	W. Gamet	985	18.6	5.5
	SLD	Charles Wall	521	9.9	8.9
	Green	David Burton	314	5.9	0.2
Majority			2,484	47.0	3.3
Registered electors			12,653
Turnout				41.8	7.3
	Conservative hold		Swing	1.7

[2]

Tranmere

Tranmere

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	R. Davies	2,893	79.1	11.8
	Conservative	R. McGunigall	494	13.5	1.0
	SLD	C. Townsend	176	4.8	11.7
	Green	C. Rainsford	95	2.6	0.9
Majority			2,399	65.6	14.8
Registered electors			10,529
Turnout				34.7	3.8
	Labour hold		Swing	7.4

[2]

Upton

Upton

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Keith Rimmer	3,105	55.3	9.9
	Conservative	Geoffrey Caton	1,729	30.8	0.3
	SLD	Elizabeth Brame	664	11.8	10.9
	Green	G. Osler	113	2.0	0.6
Majority			1,376	24.5	9.6
Registered electors			12,731
Turnout				44.1	6.8
	Labour hold		Swing	4.8

[2]

Wallasey

Wallasey

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Kate Wood	3,682	59.3	6.6
	Labour	M. Mannin	1,507	24.3	7.0
	SLD	Moira Gallagher	1,025	16.5	13.4
Majority			2,175	35.0	12.2
Registered electors			12,200
Turnout				50.9	3.6
	Conservative hold		Swing	6.1

[2][12]

Changes between 1988 and 1990

Date	Ward	Name	Previous affiliation		New affiliation		Circumstance
October 1988	Egerton	Alec Dunn		Labour		Independent Labour	Expelled.[13]
October 1988	Leasowe	Jim Edwards		Labour		Independent Labour	Expelled.[13]
October 1988	Leasowe	Ken Fox		Labour		Independent Labour	Expelled.[13]

Notes

• italics denote the sitting councillor • bold denotes the winning candidate

References

1. "Local Election Summaries 1988". The Elections Centre. Retrieved 7 January 2019.
2. "Metropolitan Borough of Wirral Election Results 1973-2012 (Pg. 9 and 10)" (PDF). The Elections Centre. Retrieved 7 January 2019.
3. "Council compositions". The Elections Centre. Retrieved 27 July 2018.
4. "Councillor Steve Niblock". Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council.
5. "Councillor Stuart Kelly". Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council.
6. "Councillor Simon Holbrook". Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council.
7. "Councillor George Davies". Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council.
8. "Councillor Mary Jordan". Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council.
9. "Councillor Michael Sullivan". Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council.
10. "Councillor Bob Wilkins". Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council. Archived from the original on 5 July 2018. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
11. "Councillor Peter Reisdorf". Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council.
12. "Councillor Mrs Kate Wood". Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council.
13. Harrison, Anne (4 May 1990). "Trouble ahead as voters split Wirral down middle". Liverpool Echo.

Mellows-Facer, Adam (10 May 2006). "Local election 2006". parliament.uk. Retrieved 29 December 2018.
"BBC NEWS VOTE 2003 WIRRAL". BBC News. 1 May 2003. Retrieved 29 December 2018.