Our West Lancashire (OWL) is a

localist Localism describes a range of political philosophies which prioritize the local. Generally, localism supports local production and Local purchasing, consumption of goods, local control of government, and promotion of local history, local culture ...

political party in

West Lancashire West Lancashire is a local government district with borough status in Lancashire, England. The council is based in Ormskirk, and the largest town in the borough is Skelmersdale. At the 2011 Census, the population of the borough was 110,685 ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. As of May 2021 it held 7 seats on West Lancashire Borough Council. The party also unsuccessfully contested seats in West Lancashire on

Lancashire County Council Lancashire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Lancashire, England. It consists of 84 councillors. Since the 2017 election, the council has been under Conservative control. Prior to the 2009 La ...

, as well. The group claims to have drawn members from all of the major parties in West Lancashire, and claims to "put residents before the party whip". It is one of two localist parties in West Lancashire, alongside Skelmersdale Independent Party.

History

Our West Lancashire was formed in February 2015 by Adrian Owens, a former

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

councillor, Deputy Leader of West Lancashire Borough Council and candidate for

in the

2010 United Kingdom general election The 2010 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday 6 May 2010, with 45,597,461 registered voters entitled to vote to elect members to the House of Commons. The election took place in 650 constituencies across the United Kingdom unde ...

, coming second with 17,540 votes, after breaking off from the West Lancashire Conservative group on West Lancashire Borough Council. He was joined by Ian Davis in 2017, who won a by-election on Derby Ward. The group gained a further four seats on West Lancashire Borough Council in the 2019 election. In 2021, Our West Lancashire gained a further seat in Burscough West which led to the council going to No Overall Control. As a result, Our West Lancashire councillor, Gordon Paul Johnson became Mayor of West Lancashire and committee chairs were shared between all three political groups with Labour retaining the Leadership of the council.

Policies

Our West Lancashire is a

party, and claims to "put residents before the party whip". Their policies include reducing the number of councillors on West Lancashire Borough Council from 54 to 36, a reduction of a third. They also propose policies such as "revitalising"

Ormskirk Ormskirk is a market town in the West Lancashire district of Lancashire, England, north of Liverpool, northwest of St Helens, southeast of Southport and southwest of Preston. Ormskirk is known for its gingerbread. Geography and administr ...

town centre, replacing the swimming pools in

Skelmersdale Skelmersdale is a town in Lancashire, England, on the River Tawd, west of Wigan, northeast of Liverpool and southwest of Preston. In 2006, it had a population of 38,813. The town is known locally as Skem . While the first record of the tow ...

and Ormskirk and improving West Lancashire Borough Council's free tree scheme. OWL also publish data on councillors' attendance and publish a yearly alternative budget. The group is opposed to the whipping system.

Electoral performance

The group has contested elections successfully on West Lancashire Borough Council and has unsuccessfully contested elections on

. The group has never contested

general elections A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

, although Councillor Adrian Owens, the current Leader of the group, has formerly been a

candidate for

and

South Ribble South Ribble is a borough in the county of Lancashire, England. Its council is based in Leyland. The population, at the 2011 Census, was 109,057. Notable towns and villages include Walton le Dale, Bamber Bridge, Leyland and Penwortham. It ...

in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

. The group contested the

2021 United Kingdom local elections 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

in West Lancashire and Lancashire.

West Lancashire Borough Council

Our West Lancashire's first councillor was Councillor Adrian Owens, who broke away from the

in 2015. He won re-election in 2016 and 2021. The group gained a second councillor, Ian Davis, in a by-election on the

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gai ...

ward in 2017. The group gained a further four councillors – Gordon Johnson, Jane Thompson, Kate Mitchell and Ian Rigby – in the

2019 West Lancashire Borough Council election The 2019 West Lancashire Borough Council election took place on 2 May 2019 to elect members of West Lancashire Borough Council. Results summary Ward results OWL = Our West Lancashire Ashurst Aughton & Downholland ...

. The group has complete control of the Derby ward. In the

2022 West Lancashire Borough Council election The 2022 West Lancashire Borough Council election took place on 5 May 2022 to elect members of West Lancashire Borough Council in Lancashire, England. Results summary Ward results Ashurst Aughton and Downholland A ...

, Ian Davis retained his Derby ward seat but the group failed to win any of the other seats that it contested. Our West Lancashire therefore continues to have seven councillors on West Lancashire Borough Council in 2022/23.

Lancashire County Council

Our West Lancashire has previously contested elections on Lancashire County Council, on seats in the West Lancashire Borough Council area. The group came third on the

and West Lancashire East wards in the 2017 elections. In the 2021 elections, they were second in both wards.

Councillors

References

{{Reflist Politics of the Borough of West Lancashire 2015 establishments in the United Kingdom Locally based political parties in England