1982 North Hertfordshire District Council election

1982 North Hertfordshire District Council election
16 of 50 seats on North Hertfordshire District Council; 26 seats needed for a majority
Leader before election; Bob Flatman; Conservative	Leader after election ; Bob Flatman; Conservative

The 1982 North Hertfordshire District Council election was held on 6 May 1982, at the same time as other local elections across England and Scotland. There were 16 out of 50 seats on North Hertfordshire District Council up for election, being the usual third of the council.^[1]

Only one seat changed party, being a Conservative win from Labour in Letchworth South East ward. The council remained under Conservative control. The new SDP–Liberal Alliance took over 26% of the vote but did not secure any seats. The Labour vote fell by over 20% compared to the 1980 election.

Overall results

The overall results were as follows:^[2]

1982 North Hertfordshire District Council election
Party		This election			Full council			This election
Party		Seats	Net	Seats %	Other	Total	Total %	Votes	Votes %	+/−
	Conservative	11	1	68.8	21	32	64.0	13,436	41.3	-0.9
	Labour	3	1	18.8	11	14	28.0	8,892	27.3	-20.4
	Alliance	0		0.0	0	0	0.0	8,477	26.1	+22.3
	Ratepayers	1		6.3	1	2	4.0	1,159	3.6	+0.9
	Independent	1		6.3	1	2	4.0	518	1.6	+0.1
	Ecology	0		0.0	0	0	0.0	58	0.2	-1.9

Ward results

The results for each ward were as follows. An asterisk(*) indicates a sitting councillor standing for re-election.^[2]^[3]^[4]

Baldock ward
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Peter Clarke	986	40.5	+5.9
	Labour	Roger McFall	766	31.5	−25.1
	Alliance	Michael Pritchett	625	25.7	+25.7
	Ecology	Stephen Toogood	58	2.4	−6.5
Turnout				46.8
Registered electors			5,203
	Conservative hold		Swing	+15.5

Codicote ward
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Denis Winch*	744	76.2	+3.3
	Labour	Andrew Wright (Andy Wright)	233	23.8	−3.3
Turnout				43.1
Registered electors			2,267
	Conservative hold		Swing	+3.3

Hitchin Bearton ward
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Norman Frost	877	39.9	−7.2
	Labour	Harold Smith (Harry Smith)	796	36.2	−16.7
	Alliance	Harry Shipley	524	23.9	+23.9
Turnout				49.7
Registered electors			4,421
	Conservative hold		Swing	+4.8

Hitchin Highbury ward
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Archie Kingston-Splatt (Bill Kingston-Splatt)^[5]	1,298	54.9	−11.8
	Alliance	Brian Abrahams	785	33.2	+33.2
	Labour	Keith Ruff	283	12.0	−11.6
Turnout				46.7
Registered electors			5,066
	Conservative hold		Swing	-22.5

Hitchin Oughton ward
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Jim Reilly*	919	48.1	−21.4
	Conservative	Derrick Ashley	595	31.2	+3.8
	Alliance	Sarah Hall	396	20.7	+20.7
Turnout				42.1
Registered electors			4,537
	Labour hold		Swing	-12.6

Hitchin Priory ward
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Bob Flatman*	936	65.0	−18.6
	Alliance	Wilfred Aspinall	406	28.2	+28.2
	Labour	Liz Billing	98	6.8	−9.6
Turnout				51.4
Registered electors			2,802
	Conservative hold		Swing	-23.4

Hitchin Walsworth ward
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Ratepayers	Brian Worbey*	1,130	44.9	+11.3
	Labour	Barry Sharp	756	30.1	−22.0
	Alliance	Robert Lord (Bob Lord)	629	25.0	+14.1
Turnout				43.9
Registered electors			5,729
	Ratepayers hold		Swing	+16.7

Kimpton ward
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Francis Thompson	518	81.3	+27.3
	Labour	Owen Swain	119	18.7	+11.7
Turnout				38.5
Registered electors			1,655
	Independent hold		Swing	+7.8

Knebworth ward
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Gordon Dumelow*	927	58.0	−0.5
	Alliance	Derek Scott	324	20.3	+20.3
	Labour	Kay Kelly	318	19.9	−21.6
	Ratepayers	Dennis Bols	29	1.8	+1.8
Turnout				50.6
Registered electors			3,158
	Conservative hold		Swing	-10.4

Letchworth East ward
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Stan Wilmer*	901	40.4	−21.5
	Alliance	William Armitage	713	32.0	+32.0
	Conservative	David Langridge	617	27.7	−10.5
Turnout				53.6
Registered electors			4,162
	Labour hold		Swing	-26.8

Letchworth Grange ward
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Don Kitchiner*	912	38.4	−25.9
	Alliance	James Bray	822	34.7	+34.7
	Conservative	Jean Sherwood	638	26.9	−8.7
Turnout				45.8
Registered electors			5,179
	Labour hold		Swing	-30.3

Letchworth South East ward
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Norman Prior	1,121	35.9	+5.9
	Alliance	Tony Quinn	1,028	32.9	+5.0
	Labour	Joan Kirby*	974	31.2	−10.9
Turnout				52.6
Registered electors			5,949
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing	+0.5

Letchworth South West ward
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Anthony Burrows*	1,566	63.6	+19.6
	Liberal	Patrick Short	581	23.6	−5.3
	Labour	Ahmad Khawaja	316	12.8	−14.3
Turnout				57.0
Registered electors			4,321
	Conservative hold		Swing	+12.5

Letchworth Wilbury ward
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Keith Emsall*	947	40.9	+4.5
	Labour	Stuart Murray	905	39.1	−15.6
	Alliance	William Gore	462	20.0	+11.1
Turnout				57.4
Registered electors			4,031
	Conservative hold		Swing	+10.1

Royston East ward
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Pat Rule*	1,027	55.1	−6.3
	Liberal	Hazel Lord	634	34.0	+16.7
	Labour	Jessie Etheridge	204	10.9	−10.5
Turnout				48.8
Registered electors			3,822
	Conservative hold		Swing	-11.5

Royston West ward
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Harold Greenfield*	1,157	55.2	+12.5
	SDP	Martin Castle	548	26.1	+1.4
	Labour	Mick Kernaghan	392	18.7	−13.9
Turnout				44.1
Registered electors			4,755
	Conservative hold		Swing	+5.6

References

^ The District of North Hertfordshire (Electoral Arrangements) Order 1977 (S.I. 1977/1442)
^ ^a ^b Rallings, Colin; Thrasher, Michael. "North Hertfordshire District Council Election Results 1973–2012" (PDF). The Elections Centre. Plymouth University. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
^ "Alliance challenges Tory hold on Royston". Cambridge Daily News. 6 April 1982. p. 4. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
^ "District Council Election Results". Letchworth and Baldock Citizen Gazette. 13 May 1982. p. 16.
^ "Council minutes, 10 November 2011". North Hertfordshire District Council. Retrieved 24 March 2023.

[1977order-1] The District of North Hertfordshire (Electoral Arrangements) Order 1977 (S.I. 1977/1442)

[electionscentre-2] Rallings, Colin; Thrasher, Michael. "North Hertfordshire District Council Election Results 1973–2012" (PDF). The Elections Centre. Plymouth University. Retrieved 18 March 2023.

[3] "Alliance challenges Tory hold on Royston". Cambridge Daily News. 6 April 1982. p. 4. Retrieved 24 March 2023.

[4] "District Council Election Results". Letchworth and Baldock Citizen Gazette. 13 May 1982. p. 16.

[5] "Council minutes, 10 November 2011". North Hertfordshire District Council. Retrieved 24 March 2023.

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