The second Guildford Borough Council full-council elections were held on 6 May 1976. The Conservatives retained control of the council with an increased majority, winning 35 of the 45 seats.
When Guildford Borough Council was created under the Local Government Act 1972 the electoral wards used were largely based on the wards and parish boundaries which had existed under the two previous councils - Guildford Municipal Borough Council (the town council) and Guildford Rural District Council, which together had been merged to form the new Guildford Borough Council.
There had been a slight degree of rewarding in the run up to the 1973 council election.[1] For example, the pre 1973 Friary ward and pre 1973 St Nicolas ward were merged into a new Friary & St Nicolas ward.
Complete rewarding though would only be completed in time for the 1976 elections.[2] The main changes to the electoral wards in the run up to the 1976 elections were as follows -
Ash ward (5 councillors) was split into two wards Ash (3 councillors) plus Ash Vale (2 councillors);
A new Christchurch ward (2 councillors) was created from part of the Stoke ward and part of the Merrow & Burpham ward;[3]
As a result of this Merrow & Burpham ward reduced from 5 councillors to 3. However the geographically reduced Stoke ward still retained its 3 councillors;
Artington, Compton, Puttenham, Seale and Tongham, Shackleford and Wanborough ward (2 councillors) was split into two wards Tongham (1 councillor), plus Pilgrims (2 councillors). This represented a gain of one councillor for this area;
Stoughton saw the number of councillors represent it increase from 2 to 3;
Worplesdon also saw the number of councillors represent it increase from 2 to 3;
Albury, Shere and St Martha's ward (2 councillors) was renamed Tillingbourne (2 councillors);
East Clandon, West Clandon, East Horsley and West Horsley ward (3 councillors) was renamed Clandon and Horsley (3 councillors); and
Ripley, Wisley and Ockham ward (1 councillor) was renamed Lovelace (1 councillor).
In the 1976 election the Liberals lost three seats reducing their representation from 5 to 2. They lost one councillor in Clandon & Horsley (previously called East Clandon, West Clandon, East Horsley and West Horsley). They lost 2 of their 3 councillors in Friary & St Nicolas.
Labour retained all 6 councillors in its two strongholds Stoke and Westborough.
The Conservatives increased their number of councillors from 29 to 35, a figure which up to and including 2011 still remained a record for any party in a full Guildford Borough Council election.
The Conservatives 6 gains included 3 gains from the Liberals - 2 in Friary & St Nicolas and 1 in Clandon & Horsley. The Conservatives gained 1 seat from an Independent in Tillingbourne (previously known as Aldbury, Shere and St Martha's) and made 2 gains as a result of an increase in the number of councillors representing the Stoughton and Worplesdon wards.
A total of 2 independents were elected. Independents lost one councillor in Tillingbourne, but gained one in the new Tongham ward where the elected candidate was described as an Independent Conservative. That Independent Conservative then went on to stand at the next full council election, in 1979, as the official Conservative candidate for the Tongham ward.
^See Guildford Borough Council - A Compendium of Municipal Election Results 1835 to 1974 by Roger Ottewill.
^The Borough of Guildford (Electoral Arrangements) Order 1975
^From 1904 to 1933 there had been an electoral ward in this area of Guildford Municipal Borough Council called Christchurch. From 1933 to 1951 its successor ward was known as Merrow & Christchurch. In 1951 the Christchurch ward name disappeared for what would be 25 years - see Twentieth Century Local Election Results Vol 5 Guildford compiled by Roger Ottewill, published by University of Plymouth.
^GR Bellerby was more commonly known as Bill Bellerby. He appears in every Surrey Advertiser summary of Guildford BC election results from 1973 to 1991 as either B Bellerby or Bill Bellerby. For example both the 1973 and 1976 results list all other candidates in all the wards in Guildford by initials except one who they list as 'Bill Bellerby'. "Guildford Borough Council - A Compendium of Municipal Election results 1835 to 1974" by Roger Ottewill repeated lists his initials as 'GR Bellerby' and that form is used herein.
^Mr Laurence has the description "(Lab)" printed next to his name in the Surrey Advertiser results of 7/8 May 1976. It is believed that this is a misprint and should read "(Con)". The reason why Mr Laurence is believed to be a Conservative candidate rather than Labour candidate are - a) there are already three other Labour candidates listed in the newspaper for this three ward seat and any party putting up more candidates than positions available would only reduce their average vote and consequently reduce their chance of election which is highly unlikely; b) the number of votes Mr Laurence received fell between the numbers received by the two candidates described in the newspaper as Conservatives, but around 900 fewer votes than would have been expected if he had been a Labour candidate in this ward in this election; and c) there are only two candidates described as Conservatives in the newspaper for this ward in this election and it would be highly unusual in this era in Guildford for the Conservative not to challenge either the Liberals or Labour with their full quota of candidates, although the Conservatives on a number of occasions did not oppose Independents seeking election in Guildford during this era.
