Tuesday 04-08-2026 - 08:47

When reflecting on the elections nationally, it is evident that Reform is growing in popularity while Labour is losing voters' support. So, is this trend mirrored in the election results closer to home?

Let’s take a look at election results local to EHU...

The district of West Lancashire turned out no overall party majority; this differs from previous results in 2024 and 2023, which saw a Labour majority. The Labour Party lost 9 seats, with zero councillors elected overall; similarly, the Conservatives lost 2 seats, with 3 councillors elected overall. Reform UK found more success in West Lancashire, gaining 7 seats, whilst independent councillors gained 4 seats, with 5 councillors elected. Reform’s victories throughout West Lancs reflect the national trend in this local election, which saw Reform gaining more seats than any other party.

In Ormskirk East and West, candidates from the independent Our West Lancashire party were elected to the council seats, with Michael Crompton taking the Ormskirk East seat and Charles Berry taking the Ormskirk West seat.

What do these new policies mean for students and the local community? 

Our West Lancashire’s campaign was focused on their ability and dedication, as independent politicians’, to prioritise local residents first.  

Presently, the group’s policy focuses for Ormskirk include:  

• Completing the long-delayed Borough Council Ormskirk-Burscough linear park to provide greater safe opportunities for walking and cycling. 

• Increasing the flood risk team at the County Council by 25% to speed up work on flooding in Skelmersdale, Ormskirk, Aughton, Parbold and other parts of West Lancashire. 

• Campaigning for a new approach to repairing roads/potholes by the County Council, which holds the responsibility for this area. 

• Scrapping Labour’s plan to spend more than £11 million on relocating the council offices from Ormskirk to Skelmersdale.

• Investing in new play areas for Stanley Coronation Park in Skelmersdale, Richmond Park in Burscough and Coronation Park in Ormskirk. 

• Relaunching the Ormskirk Town Centre business group, ensuring good representation of the different business types in the town, including independent retailers. 

• Giving preference to renting empty units in the council-owned Wheatsheaf Walks to shop types that Ormskirk lacks. 

• Ensuring the completion of the paving and lighting improvements to Ormskirk town centre alleyways, including features to highlight Ormskirk’s heritage. 

• Supporting greater opportunities to expand the market and ensure its long-term presence as a facility and tourist attraction for the town centre. 

Only time will tell if these policies ever come to fruition in Ormskirk, but there are certainly a lot of promising initiatives that would be of great benefit to the community. However, Our West Lancashire will have to overcome many hurdles to get there, perhaps the biggest being the council’s lack of a majority. This may slow their plans if no unanimous policy consensus can be reached, which would result in political gridlock.

 

In Summary: 

• Within the West Lancashire council, the results had no major change overall, with Labour losing 9 seats, Conservatives losing 2 seats, Reform UK gaining 7 seats and independents gaining 4 seats. 

• This reflects the nationwide trend of Reform seeing the most success out of any party. 

• In the Ormskirk East and West seats, candidates from the independent Our West Lancashire party were elected.  

• Our West Lancashire’s primary focus as an independent party is to put the residence first, with the party having multiple local infrastructure policies focusing on improving Ormskirk’s local area. 

• These plans, while promising, could be curtailed by the party’s lack of a majority to swing policy decisions. 

 

Election Reflections: Authored by EHU Alum Ella Weatherburn, Law with Politics LLB (Hons)