2008 West Lancashire District Council election

[3] The seat in Tanhouse was being contested after the death of Labour councillor Sally Keegan in December 2007,[2] while Conservative Martin Forshaw was unopposed in Hesketh with Becconsall.

[4] The Conservatives were strongly favoured to remain in control and were particularly targeting the last Labour held seat in Burscough.

[3] The results saw the Conservatives increase their control of the council after making 2 gains from Labour.

[2] The results meant the Conservatives had 35 seats compared to 18 for Labour and 1 independent.

[5] The Conservative council leader, Geoff Roberts, saw the results as a sign they could take the parliamentary seat in the next general election, while Labour blamed their defeats on national issues.