The 2004 Halton Borough Council election took place on 10 June 2004 to elect members of Halton

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Council in

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...

, England. The whole council was up for election with boundary changes since the last election in 2002. The Labour Party stayed in overall control of the council.

Campaign

All 56 seats were being contested after boundary changes had taken place, with 119 candidates competing for election. Labour contested all 56 seats, compared to 32 for the

Conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilizati ...

, 19 Liberal Democrats, 3

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, 2

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, 1

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and 1

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. There were also 4 candidates from the new Citizens Party of Halton, with 3 of them being former Labour

councillor A councillor, alternatively councilman, councilwoman, councilperson, or council member, is someone who sits on, votes in, or is a member of, a council. This is typically an elected representative of an electoral district in a municipal or re ...

s. The election in Halton, along with the rest of

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, was held with all

postal voting Postal voting is voting in an election where ballot papers are distributed to electors (and typically returned) by Mail, post, in contrast to electors voting in person at a polling place, polling station or electronically via an electronic voti ...

as part of an attempt to increase turnout. Before the election Labour dominated the council with 47 of the 56 seats. As a result, the Liberal Democrats and Conservatives were aiming just to reduce Labour's majority to provide a better opposition, with the Conservatives standing in every

ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

. A major issue in the election was the attempt by the council to secure funding for a second crossing over the

River Mersey The River Mersey () is a major river in North West England. Its name derives from Old English and means "boundary river", possibly referring to its having been a border between the ancient kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria. For centuries it h ...

. The Labour Party defended their record in control of the council, pointing to the regeneration of the town centres of

Widnes Widnes ( ) is an Industrial city, industrial town in the Borough of Halton, Cheshire, England, which at the 2021–2022 United Kingdom censuses, 2021 census had a population of 62,400. Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, ...

and

Runcorn Runcorn is an industrial town and Runcorn Docks, cargo port in the Borough of Halton, Cheshire, England. Runcorn is on the south bank of the River Mersey, where the estuary narrows to form the Runcorn Gap. It is upstream from the port of Live ...

and improvements in services.

Results

The results saw both the Liberal Democrats and Conservatives make significant gains against Labour, but with Labour keeping a safe majority on the council. The Liberal Democrats made gains in Halton Brook, Norton North and Windmill Hill wards, while the Conservatives picked up seats in Birchfield and

Farnworth Farnworth is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, southeast of Bolton, 4 miles south-west of Bury (7 km), and northwest of Manchester. Within the historic county of Lancashire, Farnworth lies on ...

wards. Windmill Hill required 2 recounts before the Liberal Democrat, Kelly Marlow, was declared the winner by a single vote over the Labour candidate. Labour councillors who failed to be re-elected included the deputy mayor, Dennis Middlemass, who lost in Mersey ward to the Liberal Democrats after 12 years on the council. Overall turnout in the election was 38%, almost double what was seen at the last election in 2002. Labour's leader of the council, Tony McDermott, blamed national policies and mid term votes against the government for the losses, but was pleased at preserving a good majority which he said demonstrated "a welcome level of support".

Ward results

References

{{United Kingdom local elections, 2004 2004 English local elections

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2000s in Cheshire