Map of the results of the 2004 Worcester council election. Conservatives in blue, Labour in red, independent in grey and Liberal Democrats in yellow.

The 2004 Worcester City Council election took place on 10 June 2004 to elect members of Worcester City Council in Worcestershire, England. The whole council was up for election with boundary changes since the last election in 2003 reducing the number of seats by one.[1] The Conservative Party stayed in overall control of the council.[2]

Campaign

Before the election the council was composed of 18 Conservatives, 10 Labour, 4 independents, 2 Liberal Democrats, 1 independent Conservative and 1 vacant seat.[3] Boundary changes saw the number of seats reduced from 36 to 35 for the 2004 election,[4] meaning that the whole council would be up for election for the first time since 1976.[5] This also meant that the number of wards was increased from 12 to 15, with new wards including Cathedral and Rainbow Hill.[6]

All parties were hoping to make gains with the Conservatives defending their record in control of the council, which they said included having a balanced budget and keeping the council tax rise down to 2.5%.[6] Other issues raised in the election included recycling, improving public transport, dealing with traffic congestion and keeping the streets clean.[6]

Election result

The results saw the Conservatives achieve a majority on the council after winning 18 of the 35 seats.[4] Labour remained on 10 seats while the Liberal Democrats gained 1 to hold 3 seats.[4]

Worcester Local Election Result 2004[7][8]
Party Seats Gains Losses Net gain/loss Seats % Votes % Votes +/−
  Conservative 18 -1 51.4 45.6 24,729 +4.3%
  Labour 10 0 28.6 28.8 15,576 -7.1%
  Independent 4 -1 11.4 8.6 4,653 -0.9%
  Liberal Democrats 3 +1 8.6 15.4 8,346 +4.6%
  BNP 0 0 0 1.6 871 +0.4%

Ward results

Arboretum (2)[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Robert Peachey 694
Labour Richard Bird 693
Conservative Jonathon Cunningham 656
Conservative Haris Saleem 524
Liberal Democrats Oliver Orr 471
Turnout 3,038 41
Battenhall (2)[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Robert Rowden 906
Conservative David Tibbutt 833
Liberal Democrats Louis Stephen 456
Labour Andrew Watson 411
Liberal Democrats Paul Griffiths 399
Labour Christopher Winwood 344
Turnout 3,349 44
Bedwardine (3)[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Derek Prodger 1,313
Conservative David Clark 1,112
Conservative Barry Mackenzie-Williams 935
Liberal Democrats Vaughan Hencher 690
Labour Gary Kibblewhite 689
BNP Mark Heaton 410
Turnout 5,149 40
Cathedral (3)[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Francis Lankester 1,302
Conservative Allah Ditta 1,168
Conservative Mohammed Riaz 1,071
Labour Ali Asghar 780
Labour Simon Cronin 777
Labour Patricia Agar 771
Liberal Democrats Iain Macbriar 658
Turnout 6,527 41
Claines (3)[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats Susan Askin 1,709
Liberal Democrats Ruth Smith 1,581
Liberal Democrats Alexander Kear 1,399
Conservative William Elsy 1,228
Conservative Nicola Lynas 1,165
Conservative Robert Campbell 1,138
Labour Clive Andrews 535
Turnout 8,755 51
Gorse Hill (2)[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Roger Berry 709
Labour Geoffrey Williams 601
BNP Martin Roberts 461
Conservative Gordon Hazelton 321
Turnout 2,092 34
Nunnery (3)[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Independent Michael Layland 1,233
Independent Keith Burton 951
Independent Stanley Knowles 747
Labour Nicholas Balsdon 701
Labour Christopher Taylor 604
Conservative James Maguire 482
Turnout 4,718 37
Rainbow Hill (2)[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Adrian Gregson 641
Labour Paul Denham 570
Conservative Nicholas Turner 344
Conservative Sajeeda Begum 275
Turnout 1,830 26
St. Clement (2)[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Simon Geraghty 940
Conservative Ian Imray 734
Labour Allyson Craigan 503
Independent Brian Chadd 435
Independent Paul Coveney 373
Turnout 2,985 39
St. John (3)[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Independent Margaret Layland 914
Labour David Candler 822
Labour Samuel Arnold 795
Labour Matthew Lamb 764
Conservative Alastair Little 584
Conservative Stephen Hall 538
Turnout 4,417 33
St. Peter's (2)[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Roger Knight 1,047
Conservative Frank Tarbuck 790
Labour Reginald Price 423
Turnout 2,260 35
St. Stephen (2)[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Stephen Inamn 832
Conservative Gareth Jones 816
Liberal Democrats Hilary Craig 349
Liberal Democrats Celia Foulger 323
Labour George Squires 311
Turnout 2,631 37
Warndon (2)[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Pamela Clayton 670
Labour Josephine Hodges 586
Conservative Colin Bruton 307
Conservative Martin Hudson 281
Turnout 1,844 26
Warndon Parish North (2)[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Martin Clarke 667
Conservative Stephen Hudgson 592
Labour John Buckley 518
Liberal Democrats Edward Hartley 311
Labour Colin Layland 292
Turnout 2,380 34
Warndon Parish South (2)[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Lucy Hodgson 933
Conservative Rodney Staines 895
Labour Richard Udall 372
Turnout 2,200 34

References

  1. ^ "Worcester council". BBC News Online. Retrieved 5 January 2010.
  2. ^ "Elections 2004: Local authorities in England and Wales (with eight authorities still to declare)". The Independent. 12 June 2004. p. 9.
  3. ^ Elkes, Neil (14 May 2004). "Spitting in the face of God ; Fury as BNP fight 50 Midlands election seats". Birmingham Mail. p. 1.
  4. ^ a b c Blakemore, Sophie (12 June 2004). "Council Elections: Worcester: Boundary changes help seal a majority". Birmingham Post. p. 4.
  5. ^ "Blair holds breath as city goes to the polls". Malvern Gazette. 10 June 2004. Retrieved 6 January 2010.[permanent dead link]
  6. ^ a b c "Let battle commence". Malvern Gazette. 14 May 2004. Retrieved 6 January 2010.[permanent dead link]
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p "Worcester council elections: 10th June 2004". Political Science Resources. Archived from the original on 16 May 2012. Retrieved 5 January 2010.
  8. ^ "Elections 2004: Results at a glance". The Guardian. 12 June 2004. p. 10.
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