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1995 North Hertfordshire District Council election

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1995 North Hertfordshire District Council election
← 1994 4 May 1995 (1995-05-04) 1996 →
17 of 50 seats on North Hertfordshire District Council
26 seats needed for a majority
  First party Second party Third party
 
Con
Lab
LD
Leader Geoff Woods David Kearns Ian Simpson
Party Conservative Labour Liberal Democrats
Seats before 25 18 5
Seats after 22 21 6
Seat change Decrease3 Increase3 Increase1
  Fourth party Fifth party
 
RA
Ind
Party Ratepayers Independent
Seats before 1 1
Seats after 0 1
Seat change Decrease1 Steady
Leader before election

Geoff Woods
Conservative
No overall control

Policy chairman after election

David Kearns
Labour
No overall control

The 1995 North Hertfordshire District Council election was held on 4 May 1995, at the same time as other local elections across England and Wales. There were 17 out of 50 seats on North Hertfordshire District Council up for election, being the usual third of the council.[1]

The council remained under no overall control. Prior to the election the council had been run by a Conservative minority administration, with the Conservative leader, Geoff Woods, being leader of the council. At the election, the Conservatives made a net loss of three seats whilst Labour gained three seats and was able to form a minority administration with the support of the Liberal Democrats, although the two parties did not formally consider their arrangement to be a coalition. At the subsequent annual council meeting on 16 May 1995 the Labour leader, David Kearns, took the council's most senior political role as chairman of the policy and resources committee, although he was not given the title of leader of the council that all previous policy chairmen had held. Immediately after the election the Conservatives changed their group leader from Geoff Woods to F. John Smith.[2][3]

Overall results

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The overall results were as follows:[4]

1995 North Hertfordshire District Council election
Party This election Full council This election
Seats Net Seats % Other Total Total % Votes Votes % +/−
  Labour 9 Increase3 52.9 12 21 42.0 13,640 45.6 +7.6
  Conservative 4 Decrease3 23.5 18 22 44.0 8,080 27.0 -4.7
  Liberal Democrats 3 Increase1 17.6 3 6 12.0 6,544 21.9 -3.9
  Ratepayers 0 Decrease1 0.0 0 0 0.0 1,160 3.9 +1.2
  Independent 0 Steady 0.0 1 1 2.0 482 1.6 +0.5
  Green 0 Steady 0.0 0 0 0.0 34 0.1 -0.6

Ward results

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The results for each ward were as follows. An asterisk(*) indicates a sitting councillor standing for re-election.[4][5]

Arbury ward
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Andrew Young* 671 57.3 +6.4
Liberal Democrats Roger Pritchard 323 27.6 −9.8
Labour Roger McFall 177 15.1 +3.4
Turnout 62.1
Registered electors 1,887
Conservative hold Swing +8.1
Baldock ward
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Brian Derbyshire 1,535 53.2 +18.2
Conservative Michael Muir* 919 31.8 −9.8
Liberal Democrats Vernon Gaskell 433 15.0 −8.4
Turnout 40.5
Registered electors 7,132
Labour gain from Conservative Swing +14.0
Hitchin Bearton ward
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Donald Hitchcock 1,181 71.8 +9.8
Conservative Michael East 271 16.5 −2.3
Liberal Democrats Jonathan Newham 192 11.7 +2.8
Turnout 36.1
Registered electors 4,566
Labour hold Swing +6.1
Hitchin Highbury ward
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats Paul Clark 1,041 44.2 +5.0
Conservative Robin Dartington* 744 31.6 −9.4
Labour April Shelbourn 570 24.2 +4.4
Turnout 46.6
Registered electors 5,066
Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative Swing +7.2
Hitchin Oughton ward
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Audrey Carss* 1,157 76.5 +11.7
Conservative Nigel Brook 184 12.2 −4.6
Liberal Democrats Victoria Walker
(Vicki Walker) 		171 11.3 −7.0
Turnout 37.5
Registered electors 4,038
Labour hold Swing +8.2
Hitchin Walsworth ward
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Peter Terry 1,275 45.9 −4.6
Ratepayers Ken Logan* 1,160 41.8 +11.5
Conservative Bernard Lovewell 212 7.6 −2.7
Liberal Democrats Penelope Cunningham 128 4.6 −4.2
Turnout 46.2
Registered electors 6,018
Labour gain from Ratepayers Swing -8.1
Hitchwood ward
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Rodney Bird* 318 55.4 −7.3
Labour Colin Southward 175 30.5 +12.7
Liberal Democrats Elizabeth Upchurch 81 14.1 −5.4
Turnout 41.2
Registered electors 1,398
Conservative hold Swing -10.0
Hoo ward
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Roger Wood 403 46.4 +8.9
Conservative David Barnard* 400 46.0 −3.0
Liberal Democrats Richard Martin 66 7.6 −5.9
Turnout 59.5
Registered electors 1,464
Labour gain from Conservative Swing +6.0
Letchworth East ward
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Anthony Hartley
(Tony Hartley) 		1,343 65.5 +12.0
Conservative Simon Bloxham 378 18.4 −6.7
Liberal Democrats David Ellis 296 14.4 −3.8
Green Eric Blakeley 34 1.7 −1.5
Turnout 41.9
Registered electors 4,896
Labour hold Swing +9.4

The Letchworth East seat had previously been held by Labour councillor Charles Bifield, but had been vacant since his death on 16 February 1995.[6]

Letchworth Grange ward
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour David Morris 1,668 71.7 +12.6
Conservative Evelyn Mitchell 390 16.8 −3.9
Liberal Democrats Robin Hall 269 11.6 −8.7
Turnout 45.5
Registered electors 5,122
Labour hold Swing +8.3
Letchworth South East ward
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Nigel Agar* 1,439 51.0 +10.2
Liberal Democrats Martin Gammell 738 26.2 −8.2
Conservative Carole McNelliey 642 22.8 −2.0
Turnout 46.0
Registered electors 6,149
Labour hold Swing +9.2
Letchworth South West ward
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats Ian Simpson* 1,141 44.6 +0.5
Conservative Lynda Needham 1,007 39.3 −0.4
Labour Edna Patricia Watson-Blake
(Pat Watson-Blake) 		413 16.1 −0.1
Turnout 56.0
Registered electors 4,579
Liberal Democrats hold Swing +0.5
Letchworth Wilbury ward
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour David Evans* 975 56.3 +3.6
Conservative Jessica Thomson 424 24.5 −0.6
Liberal Democrats Paul Booton 333 19.2 −3.1
Turnout 40.5
Registered electors 4,275
Labour hold Swing +2.1
Newsells ward
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Robert Wilkerson*
(Bob Wilkerson) 		419 54.6 −7.7
Liberal Democrats Frank Christopher East
(Chris East) 		187 24.4 +3.9
Labour Frederick Peacock
(Fred Peacock) 		161 21.0 +3.7
Turnout 59.9
Registered electors 1,290
Conservative hold Swing -5.8
Offa ward
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Claire Strong 310 37.7 −10.0
Liberal Democrats Sally Jarvis
(Sal Jarvis) 		275 33.5 −7.2
Labour Jean Wood 237 28.8 +17.3
Turnout 53.4
Registered electors 1,542
Conservative hold Swing -1.4
Royston West ward
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats Stuart Cook* 870 34.7 −3.0
Labour Kenneth Garland
(Ken Garland) 		844 33.7 +5.8
Conservative Peter Lill 791 31.6 −2.8
Turnout 40.0
Registered electors 6,275
Liberal Democrats hold Swing -4.4
Sandon ward
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Independent Edward Faure Walker*
(Teddy Faure Walker) 		482 84.7 +24.2
Labour Neil Haslam 87 15.3 +11.8
Turnout 49.7
Registered electors 1,151
Independent hold Swing +6.2

References

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  1. ^ The District of North Hertfordshire (Electoral Arrangements) Order 1977 (S.I. 1977/1442)
  2. ^ "Council leader expects Tories to hold their own". Royston and Buntingford Mercury. 28 April 1995. p. 2. Retrieved 6 April 2023.
  3. ^ "Councillors compromise". Letchworth and Baldock Gazette. 19 May 1995. p. 3.
  4. ^ a b Rallings, Colin; Thrasher, Michael. "North Hertfordshire District Council Election Results 1973–2012" (PDF). The Elections Centre. Plymouth University. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  5. ^ "Tories rocked by swing to Labour". Hitchin Comet. 10 May 1995. p. 7.
  6. ^ "Councillor will be sadly missed". Letchworth and Baldock Gazette. 24 February 1995.
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