1987 North Hertfordshire District Council election

1987 North Hertfordshire District Council election

7 May 1987 (1987-05-07)
17 of 50 seats on North Hertfordshire District Council 26 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party   Con Lab Leader Bob Flatman Party Conservative Labour Seats before 26 14 Seats after 26 13 Seat change 1   Third party Fourth party   All RA Party Alliance Ratepayers Seats before 7 3 Seats after 8 3 Seat change 1
Leader before election Bob Flatman Conservative Leader after election Bob Flatman Conservative

The 1987 North Hertfordshire District Council election was held on 7 May 1987, 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 Conservatives retained their narrow majority on the council.[2]

Overall results

The overall results were as follows:[3]

1987 North Hertfordshire District Council election
Party		This election			Full council			This election
		Seats	Net	Seats %	Other	Total	Total %	Votes	Votes %	+/−
	Conservative	10		58.8	16	26	52.0	14,822	39.5	+7.2
	Alliance	3	1	17.6	5	8	16.0	11,872	31.6	-2.0
	Labour	3	1	17.6	10	13	26.0	9,167	24.4	-4.7
	Ratepayers	1		5.9	2	3	6.0	1,523	4.1	+0.6
	Green	0		0.0	0	0	0.0	130	0.3	-0.1

Ward results

The results for each ward were as follows. An asterisk(*) indicates a sitting councillor standing for re-election.[3]

Arbury ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Alliance	Simon Marlow	574	46.1	+2.0
	Conservative	John Sheldrick*	551	44.3	−4.1
	Labour	Marilyn Leete	120	9.6	+2.1
Turnout				68.9
Registered electors			1,810
	Alliance gain from Conservative		Swing	+3.1

Baldock ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Alan Evens*	1,669	46.8	+10.3
	Labour	Michael Donoghue	968	27.1	−6.9
	Alliance	Robert Young (Bob Young)	931	26.1	−3.5
Turnout				55.2
Registered electors			6,483
	Conservative hold		Swing	+8.6

Hitchin Bearton ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Teresa Trangmar	959	39.9	−10.7
	Conservative	Norman Frost	893	37.2	+5.0
	Alliance	Penelope Cunningham (Penny Cunningham)	550	22.9	+5.7
Turnout				52.9
Registered electors			4,554
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	-7.9

Hitchin Highbury ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Beryl Wearmouth*	1,446	49.2	+9.9
	Alliance	Aileen Burford-Mason	1,208	41.1	−5.1
	Labour	David Tizzard	284	9.7	−4.7
Turnout				56.1
Registered electors			5,163
	Conservative hold		Swing	+7.5

Hitchin Oughton ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Audrey Carss*	1,030	51.1	−1.7
	Conservative	Ronald Jack	508	25.2	+7.8
	Alliance	Jennifer Sefton (Jenny Sefton)	479	23.7	−6.1
Turnout				46.1
Registered electors			4,318
	Labour hold		Swing	-4.8

Hitchin Walsworth ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Ratepayers	Ken Logan*	1,523	48.2	+2.6
	Labour	Veronica Sharp	662	20.9	−15.1
	Conservative	Barry West	504	15.9	+15.9
	Alliance	Hazel Kelly (Kay Kelly)	422	13.3	−2.0
	Green	Elizabeth Roberts	52	1.6	−1.5
Turnout				52.0
Registered electors			6,065
	Ratepayers hold		Swing	+8.9

Hitchwood ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Raffell*	565	67.8	+5.8
	Alliance	Richard Canning	134	16.1	−11.9
	Labour	Tony McWalter	134	16.1	+6.2
Turnout				60.5
Registered electors			1,381
	Conservative hold		Swing	+8.9

Hoo ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Jackson*	439	48.9	−1.0
	Labour	Stephen MacDonald	242	27.0	−4.8
	Alliance	William Rodney Hampson (Rodney Hampson)	216	24.1	+5.8
Turnout				59.0
Registered electors			1,523
	Conservative hold		Swing	+1.9

Letchworth East ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	William Charles Bifield* (Charles Bifield)	1,043	41.6	+2.1
	Alliance	Keith Marr	816	32.5	−6.0
	Conservative	John Bush	651	25.9	+3.9
Turnout				60.0
Registered electors			4,192
	Labour hold		Swing	+4.1

Letchworth Grange ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Alliance	Bonita Thomson	1,114	36.4	−1.4
	Labour	Peter Mardell	1,040	34.0	−8.2
	Conservative	James Hannah (Jim Hannah)	827	27.0	+9.3
	Green	Ian Barratt	78	2.5	+0.3
Turnout				58.1
Registered electors			5,275
	Alliance gain from Labour		Swing	+3.4

Letchworth South East ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Alliance	Tony Quinn*	1,743	47.6	−2.2
	Conservative	Michael Muir	1,217	33.2	+6.8
	Labour	Lorna Kercher	702	19.2	−4.7
Turnout				61.0
Registered electors			6,021
	Alliance hold		Swing	-4.5

Letchworth South West ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	David Jones	1,556	51.9	+2.2
	Alliance	Ian Simpson	1,139	38.0	−2.8
	Labour	Jane Newbury	301	10.0	+0.6
Turnout				64.5
Registered electors			4,651
	Conservative gain from Alliance		Swing	+2.5

Letchworth Wilbury ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Keith Emsall	1,072	43.1	+8.3
	Labour	David Evans	944	37.9	−5.3
	Alliance	Derek Hunter	472	19.0	−3.0
Turnout				61.8
Registered electors			4,030
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing	+6.8

Newsells ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Robert Wilkerson* (Bob Wilkerson)	532	62.1	−17.6
	Alliance	Rowena Gardiner	279	32.6	+32.6
	Labour	Christopher Hills (Chris Hills)	45	5.3	−15.0
Turnout				64.0
Registered electors			1,329
	Conservative hold		Swing	-25.1

Offa ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Lynne Faulkner*[a]	451	43.2	−4.7
	Alliance	Michael Jackson (Mike Jackson)	443	42.4	+15.9
	Labour	John Saunders	150	14.4	−11.3
Turnout				68.0
Registered electors			1,522
	Conservative hold		Swing	-10.3

1. Previously elected in 1983 as Lynne Jackson

Royston West ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Leo Doyle*	1,490	48.5	+8.7
	Alliance	Gwyn Hardwicke	1,079	35.1	−5.0
	Labour	Dave Bowles	501	16.3	−3.7
Turnout				55.0
Registered electors			5,593
	Conservative hold		Swing	+6.9

Sandon ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Harold Greenfield	451	58.9	−19.2
	Alliance	Sandra Stainthorpe	273	35.6	+23.6
	Labour	William Adams (Bill Adams)	42	5.5	−4.4
Turnout				67.0
Registered electors			1,144
	Conservative hold		Swing	-21.4

References

1. The District of North Hertfordshire (Electoral Arrangements) Order 1977 (S.I. 1977/1442)
2. "Tories maintain control". Letchworth and Baldock Citizen. 15 May 1987. p. 2.
3. Rallings, Colin; Thrasher, Michael. "North Hertfordshire District Council Election Results 1973–2012" (PDF). The Elections Centre. Plymouth University. Retrieved 18 March 2023.