West Lancashire
District council · North West · 45 seats in 15 wards · A third of seats elected in three years out of four · Next election 6 May 2027
The Conservatives run West Lancashire Council as a minority administration. The council has 45 councillors in 15 wards. Seats by party: Other 13, Labour 12, Conservative 12, Reform 7. The next election is on 6 May 2027.
A government plan to replace the councils in this area with four unitary councils was paused for review on 7 September 2026. Elections due in May 2027 will go ahead on existing council boundaries. Source
Seats by party
Who holds each ward
Winning margin at the last election, in points.
Coloured by the party holding most of the ward's seats today; where seats are split evenly, by the party with the higher share at the last election.
Councillors and last results
Select a ward for its full results, candidates and last by-election.
| Ward and councillors | Last election |
|---|---|
| Aughton & Holborn Gordon Johnson, Sarah Lawton, Anne Hughes | 7 May 2026 Our West Lancashire 39.4% lead 15.2 pts |
| Burscough Bridge & Rufford Paul Hesketh, John Gordon, Alison Jones | 7 May 2026 Reform 28.8% lead 2.4 pts |
| Burscough Town Jess Riding, Judy Abbott, Patricia Burnside | 7 May 2026 Our West Lancashire 40.3% lead 13.3 pts |
| North Meols & Hesketh Bank Thomas De Freitas, Ian Eccles, John Howard | 7 May 2026 Conservative 51.8% lead 22.7 pts |
| Old Skelmersdale Neil Furey, Ella Worthington, Donna West | 7 May 2026 Reform 42.8% lead 16.2 pts |
| Ormskirk East Janet Ingman, Nikki Hennessy, Michael Crompton | 7 May 2026 Our West Lancashire 43.0% lead 23.2 pts |
| Ormskirk West Anne Fennell, Mark Anderson, Charles Berry | 7 May 2026 Our West Lancashire 42.5% lead 20.0 pts |
| Rural North East David Whittington, Robert Bailey, Katie Juckes | 7 May 2026 Conservative 35.8% lead 3.0 pts |
| Rural South Linda Webster, Adrian Owens, Ian Rigby | 7 May 2026 Our West Lancashire 40.6% lead 12.6 pts |
| Rural West Gareth Oakes, Marilyn Westley, Alexander Blundell | 7 May 2026 Reform 46.7% lead 26.0 pts |
| Skelmersdale North Yvonne Gagen, Lizzie Urquhart, Melissa Parlour | 7 May 2026 Reform 38.8% lead 12.3 pts |
| Skelmersdale South Julian Finch, Terry Aldridge, Nigel Hudson | 7 May 2026 Reform 34.1% lead 7.4 pts |
| Tanhouse & Skelmersdale Town Centre Maureen Nixon, Carl Coughlan, Aaron Body | 7 May 2026 Reform 41.9% lead 21.5 pts |
| Tarleton Village John Mee, Joan Witter, Norma Goodier | 7 May 2026 Conservative 45.6% lead 13.3 pts |
| Up Holland Richard Lee, Gaynar Owen, John Fillis | 7 May 2026 Reform 40.0% lead 16.7 pts |
Aughton & Holborn
Last scheduled election, 7 May 2026
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anne Marie Hughes Elected | Our West Lancashire | 1,162 | 39.4% |
| Geoff Courtney | Reform | 713 | 24.2% |
| Paul Hennessy | Labour | 427 | 14.5% |
| Bruce Porteous | Conservative | 397 | 13.5% |
| Simon T. Cockburn | Green | 247 | 8.4% |
Last by-election, 9 October 2025
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gordon Paul Johnson Elected | Our West Lancashire | 704 | 35.5% |
| Aaron Body | Reform | 478 | 24.1% |
| Karl Taraldsen | Labour | 385 | 19.4% |
| Bruce Porteous | Conservative | 295 | 14.9% |
| Charlotte M Houltram | Green | 78 | 3.9% |
| Peter John Chandler | Lib Dem | 42 | 2.1% |
Burscough Bridge & Rufford
Last scheduled election, 7 May 2026
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alison Jones Elected | Reform | 827 | 28.8% |
| Richard Luke Bradshaw | Our West Lancashire | 758 | 26.4% |
| Eddie Pope | Conservative | 627 | 21.8% |
| Swin Purple | Labour | 399 | 13.9% |
| Conor Robert Lyth Edwards | Green | 214 | 7.5% |
| Ruxandra-Mihaela Trandafoiu | Lib Dem | 47 | 1.6% |
Burscough Town
Last scheduled election, 7 May 2026
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jess Riding Elected | Our West Lancashire | 938 | 40.3% |
| Gareth Fairclough | Reform | 629 | 27.0% |
| Andy Fowler | Labour | 407 | 17.5% |
| Richard S. Taylor | Green | 195 | 8.4% |
| Joe De Freitas | Conservative | 159 | 6.8% |
North Meols & Hesketh Bank
Last scheduled election, 7 May 2026
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thomas Andrew De Freitas Elected | Conservative | 1,304 | 51.8% |
| Nigel Swales | Reform | 733 | 29.1% |
| Noel Delaney | Labour | 207 | 8.2% |
| Clare E Edwards | Green | 163 | 6.5% |
| Karen Taylor | Lib Dem | 110 | 4.4% |
Old Skelmersdale
Last scheduled election, 7 May 2026
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ella Worthington Elected | Reform | 883 | 42.8% |
| Karl Taraldsen | Labour | 549 | 26.6% |
| Freya E J Matthews | Green | 523 | 25.4% |
| Richard Patrick Ainsworth | Conservative | 106 | 5.1% |
Ormskirk East
Last scheduled election, 7 May 2026
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Michael John Crompton Elected | Our West Lancashire | 1,151 | 43.0% |
| Simon Evans | Reform | 531 | 19.8% |
| Julie Gibson | Labour | 524 | 19.6% |
| Paul Hamby | Green | 320 | 11.9% |
| Archie Thomas Fitzgerald | Conservative | 153 | 5.7% |
Ormskirk West
Last scheduled election, 7 May 2026
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Charles Robert Berry Elected | Our West Lancashire | 1,105 | 42.5% |
| Graham Gilbert | Reform | 585 | 22.5% |
| Gareth Dowling | Labour | 480 | 18.5% |
| Paul French | Green | 311 | 12.0% |
| Ruth Melling | Conservative | 120 | 4.6% |
Rural North East
Last scheduled election, 7 May 2026
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Katie Juckes Elected | Conservative | 1,093 | 35.8% |
| Nicola Crawford | Reform | 1,001 | 32.8% |
| George Francis Oliver | Labour | 539 | 17.7% |
| Adriana P. Dent | Green | 420 | 13.8% |
Rural South
Last scheduled election, 7 May 2026
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Linda Marjorie Webster Elected | Our West Lancashire | 842 | 40.6% |
| Michael Sharples | Reform | 580 | 28.0% |
| Paul Anthony Rochford | Labour | 259 | 12.5% |
| Caitlyn Madden | Green | 238 | 11.5% |
| Paul Vincent Turpin | Conservative | 154 | 7.4% |
Rural West
Last scheduled election, 7 May 2026
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gareth Oakes Elected | Reform | 1,191 | 46.7% |
| Jane Margaret Marshall | Conservative | 527 | 20.7% |
| Mike Cooper | Labour | 405 | 15.9% |
| Charlotte M Houltram | Green | 297 | 11.6% |
| Jeffrey Christie | Lib Dem | 131 | 5.1% |
Skelmersdale North
Last scheduled election, 7 May 2026
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lizzie Urquhart Elected | Reform | 780 | 38.8% |
| Tom Phillips | Labour | 533 | 26.5% |
| Jay D Lowe | Green | 329 | 16.4% |
| Peter John Chandler | Lib Dem | 146 | 7.3% |
| Paul Hogan | Your Party | 145 | 7.2% |
| Susan Ingrid Janvier | Conservative | 79 | 3.9% |
Skelmersdale South
Last scheduled election, 7 May 2026
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nigel Hudson Elected | Reform | 581 | 34.1% |
| Dave Beeston | Our West Lancashire | 455 | 26.7% |
| Vickie Cummins | Labour | 364 | 21.3% |
| Connor Patrick Scott Rudge | Green | 202 | 11.8% |
| Tom Brown | Lib Dem | 57 | 3.3% |
| Susan Carole Brake | Conservative | 46 | 2.7% |
Tanhouse & Skelmersdale Town Centre
Last scheduled election, 7 May 2026
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aaron Body Elected | Reform | 713 | 41.9% |
| Terry Devine | Labour | 348 | 20.4% |
| Ron Cooper | Your Party | 305 | 17.9% |
| Neil D Jackson | Green | 225 | 13.2% |
| Julie Peel | Conservative | 63 | 3.7% |
| Peter Nicholas Gorrod | Lib Dem | 49 | 2.9% |
Tarleton Village
Last scheduled election, 7 May 2026
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Norma Marjorie Goodier Elected | Conservative | 1,236 | 45.6% |
| Karl Hunter | Reform | 875 | 32.3% |
| Kate Anderson | Labour | 266 | 9.8% |
| Tina Stringfellow | Lib Dem | 197 | 7.3% |
| Suzanne J Smith | Green | 138 | 5.1% |
Up Holland
Last scheduled election, 7 May 2026
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Richard Lee Elected | Reform | 1,028 | 40.0% |
| Suresh Patel | Labour | 597 | 23.3% |
| Neil Ronald Pye | Our West Lancashire | 389 | 15.2% |
| Peter Andrew Cranie | Green | 328 | 12.8% |
| Jayne Louise Rear | Conservative | 225 | 8.8% |
Seats up on 6 May 2027
15 of 45 seats are up. Seats held now, by party:
| Ward | Councillor whose term ends |
|---|---|
| Aughton & Holborn | Sarah Lawton Labour |
| Burscough Bridge & Rufford | John Gordon Conservative |
| Burscough Town | Patricia Burnside Labour |
| North Meols & Hesketh Bank | John Howard Conservative |
| Old Skelmersdale | Neil Furey Our West Lancashire |
| Ormskirk East | Nikki Hennessy Independent |
| Ormskirk West | Mark Anderson Labour |
| Rural North East | Robert Bailey Conservative |
| Rural South | Ian Rigby Our West Lancashire |
| Rural West | Alexander Blundell Conservative |
| Skelmersdale North | Yvonne Gagen Labour |
| Skelmersdale South | Terry Aldridge Labour |
| Tanhouse & Skelmersdale Town Centre | Carl Coughlan Labour |
| Tarleton Village | Joan Witter Conservative |
| Up Holland | John Fillis Labour |
Term end dates from Open Council Data.
Every council by-election since 2021
1 by-election since July 2021, 1 of them gains.
| Date | Ward | Result | Winner's share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9 October 2025 | Aughton & Holborn | Local party gain from Labour |
Parliamentary constituencies
| Constituency | Share of council | 2024 winner | Projected now |
|---|---|---|---|
| West Lancashire | 85% | Labour | Labour 43% |
| Southport | 15% | Labour | Labour 31% |
Share of the council: the proportion of its census neighbourhoods (2021 LSOAs) in each seat. The projection is PollCheck's demographic model at current polling, not a forecast.
Who lives in West Lancashire
117,427 residents in 48,544 households
GB figure. 2021 Census (Scotland: 2022): age as a share of residents aged 15 and over, qualifications of residents aged 16 and over, housing as a share of households. Leave: 2016 EU referendum, Electoral Commission results by counting area.
Councils most like this one
Closest on the measures above: the 2016 Leave vote, age, qualifications and housing. Maps show which party holds each ward.
Sources and method
Seat totals and control: PollCheck council control tracker. Councillors: Open Council Data (CC BY-SA 4.0). Election results: Democracy Club (CC BY 4.0), with some vote counts from DCLEAPIL, Leman (2025) (CC BY-SA 4.0), and corrections checked against councils' official declarations. Ward boundaries: Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v.3.0. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Census: Office for National Statistics and National Records of Scotland.
Councillor lists and DCLEAPIL-derived vote counts on this page are available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
In wards electing more than one councillor, a party's share counts only its leading candidate (the Rallings and Thrasher method). Independents count individually. The lead is the gap between the top two parties' shares.