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The 2004 Gateshead Borough Council election was held on 10 June 2004 to elect members of Gateshead Council in Tyne and Wear, England. The whole council was up for election with boundary changes since the last election in 2003.^[1] The Labour Party stayed in overall control of the council.^[1]

Campaign

The boundary changes kept the number of wards and seats on the council unchanged while changing many of the wards. In total 216 candidates stood in the election, with the Labour and Conservative parties standing for all of the seats. The Liberal Democrats stood in all but two wards where the Liberal Party stood instead. There were also 17 British National Party candidates and one Independent.^[2]

The council was expected to remain under Labour control as it had been for the previous 30 years but the Liberal Democrats hoped to make gains. Labour called on voters to re-elect them in order to keep the services provided by the council improving.^[2] The Liberal Democrats claimed that a local maternity unit and library were under threat of being closed but Labour accused them of scaremongering.^[3] Local businessman Sir John Hall called on voters to re-elect the Labour council in order that a partnership with Newcastle council could continue.^[4]

Printing problems meant that ballot papers for the election, which was held with all postal voting, were about a week late in being sent out with 150,000 ballots having to be reprinted.^[5]^[6] As a result, extra printers were used and ballot boxes were placed in local libraries.^[6]

Election result

Gateshead Local Election Result 2004^[7]
	Seats	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
Labour	43	-3	65.2	48.5	89,861	-5.7
Liberal Democrats	22	+3	33.3	34.4	63,801	+4.7
Liberal	1	0	1.5	3.4	6,272	+0.4
Conservative	0	0	0.0	10.1	18,719	+1.7
BNP	0	0	0.0	2.9	5,315	-0.8
Independent	0	0	0.0	0.4	651	+0.4

Resulting Council Composition

Party	Seats			Council Composition 10 June 2004
Party	2002	2003	2004	Council Composition 10 June 2004
Labour	46	46	43
Liberal Democrats	19	19	22
Liberal	1	1	1

Ward results

Birtley (3)^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal	Sarah King	1,694
	Labour	Neil Weatherley	1,305
	Labour	Paul Foy	1,237
	Liberal	Betty Gallon	1,227
	Liberal	Henry Reid	1,175
	Labour	Mary Foy (politician)	1,117
	Conservative	Karen Sludden	230
	Conservative	Henry Justice	222
	Conservative	Angela Monaghan	204
Turnout			8,411	48.0

Blaydon (3)^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	Elsdon Watson	1,484
	Labour	Malcolm Brain	1,461
	Labour	Kathryn Ferdinand	1,355
	Liberal Democrats	June McFarling	865
	Liberal Democrats	Richard Rook	768
	Liberal Democrats	Maxine Thompson	743
	Conservative	Mark Watson	295
	BNP	James Lovatt-McLeish	248
	Conservative	Elizabeth Wraith	233
	Conservative	John Wraith	219
Turnout			7,671	41.9

Bridges (3)^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	John Eagle	968
	Labour	Patricia Murray	949
	Labour	Kenneth Childs	925
	Liberal Democrats	Bernard Shepherd	413
	Liberal Democrats	Claire Cowie	391
	Liberal Democrats	Colin Ball	346
	BNP	Kevin Bell	277
	Conservative	Diana Moore	206
	Conservative	Ruth Fearby	195
	Conservative	Joan Weihe	172
Turnout			4,842	38.1

Chopwell and Rowlands Gill (3)^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	John Hamilton	2,096
	Labour	Michael McNestry	2,073
	Labour	Maureen Chaplin	1,939
	Liberal Democrats	Raymond Callender	1,050
	Liberal Democrats	Eileen Blythe	1,016
	Liberal Democrats	Mary Heslop	821
	Conservative	James Arthur	358
	Conservative	Lilian Arthur	341
	Conservative	Jeanne Waton	339
	BNP	Kenneth Hutton	245
Turnout			10,278	53.3

Chowdene (3)^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	John McElroy	2,014
	Labour	Keith Wood	1,908
	Labour	Maureen Goldsworthy	1,749
	Conservative	Michael Crossman	710
	Liberal Democrats	Susan Craig	644
	Liberal Democrats	Glenys Goodwill	587
	Liberal Democrats	Ian Ball	532
	Conservative	Peter Lennon	512
	BNP	Peter Stewart	343
	Conservative	June Murray	204
Turnout			9,203	50.3

Crawcrook and Greenside (3)^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal Democrats	Noel Rippeth	1,751
	Liberal Democrats	Derek Anderson	1,704
	Liberal Democrats	Sally Danys	1,635
	Labour	Jack Graham	1,200
	Labour	Judith Brown	1,173
	Labour	Paul Mitchinson	1,091
	Conservative	Leonard Davidson	246
	Conservative	Daniel Duggan	229
	Conservative	Lynda Duggan	219
Turnout			9,248	51.0

Deckham (3)^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	Brian Coates	1,276
	Labour	June Joyce	1,244
	Labour	Martin Gannon	1,180
	Liberal Democrats	Ann McCarthy	626
	Liberal Democrats	Grace Purdie	517
	Liberal Democrats	George Conder	477
	BNP	Kevin Scott	448
	Conservative	Allan Davidson	344
	Conservative	David Moor	328
	Conservative	Maureen Moor	291
Turnout			6,731	39.9

Dunston and Teams (3)^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	David Bollands	1,252
	Labour	Maureen Clelland	1,198
	Labour	Patrick Rice	1,180
	Liberal Democrats	Samantha Harrison	455
	BNP	Michael Dafter	444
	Liberal Democrats	Anne Murray	342
	Liberal Democrats	Elizabeth Robson	308
	Conservative	Margaret Bell	238
	Conservative	Peter Callanan	216
	Conservative	Charles Heslop	169
Turnout			5,785	39.8

Dunston Hill and Whickham East (3)^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal Democrats	Peter Maughan	1,620
	Liberal Democrats	Yvonne McNicol	1,552
	Liberal Democrats	Allison Chatto	1,512
	Labour	Frank Earl	1,392
	Labour	Pauline Dillon	1,377
	Labour	Margaret Duddin	1,343
	Conservative	John Callanan	326
	BNP	David Dafter	315
	Conservative	George Walker	294
	Conservative	Josephine Walker	259
Turnout			9,990	54.2

Felling (3)^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	Raymon Napier	1,532
	Labour	John Hird	1,528
	Labour	William Dick	1,416
	Liberal Democrats	David Lucas	411
	Liberal Democrats	Madeleine Jevon	353
	Liberal Democrats	Jean Callender	334
	Conservative	John Wraith	252
	BNP	Terence Jopling	246
	Conservative	Suzanna Crossman	222
	Conservative	Trevor Murray	218
Turnout			6,512	42.2

High Fell (3)^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	Jean Lee	1,455
	Labour	Malcolm Graham	1,401
	Labour	Brian Richmond	1,363
	Liberal Democrats	Elizabeth Bird	548
	Liberal Democrats	Shakuntala Beadle	444
	Liberal Democrats	Philip Allen	413
	BNP	Ronald Fairlamb	311
	Conservative	Shirley McNall	279
	Conservative	Edward Parker	221
	Conservative	Elizabeth Parker	204
Turnout			6,639	40.4

Lamesley (3)^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	Joseph Hattam	1,507
	Labour	Nicholas O'Neil	1,491
	Labour	Craig Harrison	1,461
	Liberal	Robert Murphy	731
	Liberal	Edwina Leedale	726
	Liberal	Brian Bailey	719
	Independent	Brian Weatherburn	651
	BNP	Allan Burns	352
	Conservative	Charles Sludden	302
	Conservative	Alfred Sterling	238
	Conservative	Audrey Sterling	214
Turnout			8,392	48.7

Lobley Hill and Bensham (3)^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	Catherine Donovan	1,520
	Labour	Francis Donovan	1,468
	Labour	Kevin Dodds	1,465
	Liberal Democrats	Alexander Simpson	641
	Liberal Democrats	Audrey Horton	566
	Liberal Democrats	Phyllis Callender	539
	BNP	George Bainbridge	397
	Conservative	Ada Callanan	379
	Conservative	Josaph Sharp	341
	Conservative	Alan Newton	305
Turnout			7,621	41.6

Low Fell (3)^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal Democrats	Frank Hindle	2,279
	Liberal Democrats	Ronald Beadle	2,198
	Liberal Democrats	Charles Jevon	2,173
	Labour	Peter Gannon	961
	Labour	Paul McNally	884
	Labour	Peter Wilson	870
	Conservative	Raymond Swadling	567
	Conservative	Cheryle Walker	558
	Conservative	Paul Sterling	524
Turnout			11,014	56.0

Pelaw and Heworth (3)^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal Democrats	Ian Patterson	1,725
	Liberal Democrats	Doreen Boyes	1,561
	Liberal Democrats	Robinson Stanaway	1,526
	Labour	Robert Goldsworthy	1,296
	Labour	Lee Daniels	1,198
	Labour	Noor Mian	1,081
	BNP	Terence Armstrong	240
	Conservative	Alice Irving	169
	Conservative	Eleanor Justice	164
	Conservative	Eleanor Steeley	125
Turnout			9,085	51.7

Ryton, Cookhill and Stella (3)^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal Democrats	Ione Rippeth	2,166
	Liberal Democrats	Norman Callender	1,863
	Liberal Democrats	Christine McHatton	1,845
	Labour	Valerie Murray	960
	Labour	Dane Roberts	883
	Labour	Brenda Graham	806
	BNP	Diane Young	186
	Conservative	Antoinette Sterling	164
	Conservative	Karl Gatiss	154
	Conservative	Andrea Gatiss	148
Turnout			9,175	53.8

Saltwell (3)^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	Ian Mearns	1,554
	Labour	Michael Henry	1,525
	Labour	Joseph Mitchinson	1,458
	Liberal Democrats	Paul Cowie	507
	Liberal Democrats	Herbert Anderson	423
	Liberal Democrats	Walter Danys	393
	Conservative	Lily Pearse	332
	Conservative	Edward Bohill	322
	BNP	Keith McFarlane	240
	Conservative	Brett Stephenson	239
Turnout			6,993	40.3

Wardley and Leam Lane (3)^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	Linda Green	1,602
	Labour	John Green	1,558
	Labour	Peter Mole	1,454
	Liberal Democrats	Susan Walker	596
	Liberal Democrats	John Diston	565
	Liberal Democrats	Celia Wraith	548
	BNP	Brian Lindsay	315
	Conservative	John McNeil	280
	Conservative	Mary Peart	268
	Conservative	Thomas Peart	229
Turnout			7,415	45.6

Whickham North (3)^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal Democrats	Mary Wallace	1,819
	Liberal Democrats	Christopher Ord	1,803
	Liberal Democrats	Peter Craig	1,743
	Labour	Thomas Herring	1,196
	Labour	James Hewson	1,157
	Labour	Jennifer Peace	1,135
	Conservative	Elaine Robertson	339
	Conservative	John Robertson	323
	Conservative	Beryl Bennison	300
Turnout			9,815	53.7

Whickham South and Sunniside (3)^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal Democrats	Alan Ord	2,240
	Liberal Democrats	Jonathan Wallace	2,238
	Liberal Democrats	Marilynn Ord	2,208
	Labour	Gary Haley	949
	Labour	Peter De-Vere	896
	Labour	Patricia Todd	894
	Conservative	Sheila Everatt	508
	Conservative	Peter Ross	437
	Conservative	Eric Young	398
Turnout			10,768	54.0

Windy Nook and Whitehills (3)^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	Patricia Ronan	1,939
	Labour	James Turnbull	1,925
	Labour	Thomas Graham	1,888
	Liberal Democrats	Helen Robson	675
	Liberal Democrats	Norman Spours	645
	Liberal Democrats	Amanda Smith	619
	BNP	Michael Cassidy	417
	Conservative	Malcolm Campbell	271
	Conservative	George Walker	246
	Conservative	Ann Wheatley	243
Turnout			8,868	45.5

Winlaton and High Spen (3)^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	David Lynn	1,667
	Liberal Democrats	Brenda Osborne	1,632
	Labour	Julie Simpson	1,517
	Labour	Lynn Caffrey	1,515
	Liberal Democrats	Andrew Graham	1,465
	Liberal Democrats	Joanne Smith	1,422
	BNP	Joanne Paylor	291
	Conservative	Alan Bond	230
	Conservative	Valerie Bond	215
	Conservative	Dawn Wraith	192
Turnout			10,146	54.9

References

^ ^a ^b "Gateshead council". BBC Online. Retrieved 10 May 2009.
^ ^a ^b Richards, Linda (15 May 2004). "Marginal seats in sights of Lib Dems". Evening Chronicle. p. 9.
^ "Party blasts back in row". Evening Chronicle. 31 May 2004. p. 8.
^ Young, Peter (1 June 2004). "Toon tycoon in votes row". Evening Chronicle. p. 3.
^ Smith, Ross (28 May 2004). "Boxing clever as wait goes on". The Journal. p. 2.
^ ^a ^b Hetherington, Peter (29 May 2004). "Postal vote chaos could put back election date". The Guardian. p. 1.
^ "Elections 2004: Results at a glance". The Guardian. 12 June 2004. p. 10.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v "Local Election Results 2004". Gateshead Council. Retrieved 10 May 2009.