1983 Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council election

Elections to the Wigan Council were held on Thursday, 5 May 1983, with one third of the council up for election. The election seen only the main three parties contesting for the first time and one gain in Tyldesley East with Alliance winning their seventh seat from Labour. The Conservatives, contesting a low of seventeen wards, managed their lowest voter share since the council's creation. Overall turnout rose to a relative high of 39.1%.

Map of the results of the 1983 Wigan council election.

Election result

Wigan Local Election Result 1983

Party		Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
	Labour	21	0	1	-1	87.5	57.0	49,230	+6.5%
	Alliance	2	1	0	+1	8.3	25.9	22,342	-3.3%
	Conservative	1	0	0	0	4.2	17.1	14,790	-1.8%

This result had the following consequences for the total number of seats on the council after the elections:

Party		Previous council	New council
	Labour	61	60
	SDP-Liberal Alliance	6	7
	Conservatives	5	5
Total		72	72
Working majority		50	48

Ward results

Abram

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	N. Cumberbatch	3,071	84.5	+10.5
	Alliance	M. Belshaw	565	15.5	+0.2
Majority			2,506	68.9	+10.3
Turnout			3,636	36.3	+3.3
	Labour hold		Swing	+5.1

Ashton-Golborne

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	J. Hilton	1,863	63.8	+10.1
	Alliance	A. Jones	1,058	36.2	+12.6
Majority			805	27.6	-2.5
Turnout			2,921	30.7	+1.9
	Labour hold		Swing	-1.2

Aspull-Standish

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	L. Chamberlain	2,189	40.9	+5.4
	Alliance	R. Hewer	2,176	40.7	-1.8
	Conservative	P. Walker	988	18.5	-3.5
Majority			13	0.2	-6.8
Turnout			5,353	52.7	+9.1
	Labour hold		Swing	+3.6

Atherton

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	J. Sumner	2,647	72.9	+18.2
	Conservative	B. France	600	16.5	-3.4
	Alliance	J. Kelsall	384	10.6	-14.8
Majority			2,047	56.4	+27.0
Turnout			3,631	38.3	+4.7
	Labour hold		Swing	+10.8

Bedford-Astley

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	H. Hayes	1,849	47.1	+3.4
	Conservative	J. Davies	1,053	26.8	+0.4
	Alliance	B. Aitken	1,026	26.1	-3.8
Majority			796	20.3	+6.5
Turnout			3,928	40.5	+2.2
	Labour hold		Swing	+1.5

Beech Hill

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	H. Antill	1,989	57.7	+1.7
	Alliance	P. Coleman	943	27.3	-0.7
	Conservative	J. Wolstenholme	517	15.0	-1.0
Majority			1,046	30.3	+2.4
Turnout			3,449	38.7	+6.6
	Labour hold		Swing	+1.2

Bryn

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	J. Foster	2,597	66.1	+15.0
	Alliance	D. Seary	1,333	33.9	+2.0
Majority			1,264	32.2	+13.1
Turnout			3,930	39.9	+4.4
	Labour hold		Swing	+6.5

Hindley

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	T. Isherwood	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Labour hold		Swing	N/A

Hindley Green

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	H. Hayes	1,849	47.1	-1.8
	Conservative	J. Davies	1,053	26.8	+2.2
	Alliance	B. Aitken	1,026	26.1	-0.4
Majority			796	20.3	-2.1
Turnout			3,928	40.5	+13.2
	Labour hold		Swing	-2.0

Hindsford

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	S. Little	2,302	66.2	+19.4
	Alliance	W. Jones	1,176	33.8	-3.9
Majority			1,126	32.4	+23.3
Turnout			3,478	32.6	+0.0
	Labour hold		Swing	+11.6

Hope Carr

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	F. Newton	2,222	54.7	+12.1
	Conservative	E. Manson	1,335	32.9	+2.4
	Alliance	J. Thomson	506	12.5	-14.5
Majority			887	21.8	+9.7
Turnout			4,063	42.6	+2.3
	Labour hold		Swing	+4.8

Ince

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	D. Molyneaux	2,565	82.2	+10.2
	Alliance	P. Coleman	555	17.8	-3.4
Majority			2,010	64.4	+13.6
Turnout			3,120	38.0	+11.2
	Labour hold		Swing	+6.8

Langtree

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Alliance	E. Hill	2,077	48.8	-2.0
	Labour	P. Sawbridge	1,368	32.2	+2.6
	Conservative	M. Clark	809	19.0	-0.6
Majority			709	16.7	-4.7
Turnout			4,254	41.5	+5.5
	Alliance hold		Swing	-2.3

Leigh Central

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	P. Hull	2,179	74.0	+1.6
	Conservative	S. Emerton	462	15.7	+1.6
	Alliance	H. Crook	304	10.3	-3.2
Majority			1,717	58.3	-0.0
Turnout			2,945	32.6	+1.6
	Labour hold		Swing	-0.0

Leigh East

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	D. Caley	1,836	52.7	-9.0
	Conservative	M. Stewart	975	28.0	+28.0
	Alliance	J. Hampson	675	19.4	-19.0
Majority			861	24.7	+1.3
Turnout			3,486	35.2	+7.7
	Labour hold		Swing	-18.5

Lightshaw

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	B. Strett	2,733	64.5	+11.1
	Conservative	M. Sharland	955	22.5	-2.0
	Alliance	M. Beasley	551	13.0	-9.1
Majority			1,778	41.9	+13.1
Turnout			4,239	41.8	+4.4
	Labour hold		Swing	+6.5

Newtown

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	M. Milligan	2,233	72.3	+6.7
	Conservative	J. Lawson	457	14.8	+0.7
	Alliance	P. Gibbons	399	12.9	-7.5
Majority			1,176	57.5	12.4
Turnout			3,089	33.7	+5.3
	Labour hold		Swing	+3.0

Norley

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	J. Smith	2,441	78.6	-1.3
	Alliance	R. Richardson	489	15.7	+2.7
	Conservative	J. Davies	176	5.7	-1.4
Majority			1,952	62.8	-4.0
Turnout			3,106	36.8	+8.0
	Labour hold		Swing	-2.0

Orrell

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	R. Capstick	1,726	41.2	+7.3
	Conservative	A. Carroll	1,631	39.0	-1.1
	Alliance	W. Hudson	828	19.8	-6.1
Majority			95	2.3	-3.9
Turnout			4,185	42.1	+3.7
	Labour hold		Swing	+4.2

Swinley

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	T. Peet	1,864	46.0	-0.9
	Labour	K. Pye	1,366	33.7	+4.1
	Alliance	H. Hughes	819	20.2	-3.1
Majority			498	12.3	-5.0
Turnout			4,049	44.6	+4.7
	Labour hold		Swing	-2.5

Tyldesley East

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Alliance	J. Dean	2,310	54.8	+3.9
	Labour	F. Walker	1,902	45.2	-3.9
Majority			408	9.7	+7.7
Turnout			4,212	43.6	+7.4
	Alliance gain from Labour		Swing	+3.9

Whelley

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	M. Pendleton	2,190	64.0	+7.0
	Alliance	P. Wilson	776	22.7	-8.1
	Conservative	C. Bond	454	13.3	+1.1
Majority			1,414	41.3	+15.1
Turnout			3,420	38.3	+4.6
	Labour hold		Swing	+7.5

Winstanley

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	G. Taberner	1,730	39.6	+8.4
	Alliance	C. Ryan	1,602	36.7	-4.2
	Conservative	J. Michaels	1,038	23.8	-4.3
Majority			128	2.9	-6.8
Turnout			4,370	41.2	+7.9
	Labour hold		Swing	+6.3

Worsley Mesnes

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	J. Baldwin	2,383	66.8	+3.4
	Alliance	C. Hughes	764	21.4	-0.3
	Conservative	J. Unsworth	423	11.8	-3.1
Majority			1,619	45.4	+3.8
Turnout			3,570	36.2	+9.4
	Labour hold		Swing	+1.8