1986 North Hertfordshire District Council election

The 1986 North Hertfordshire District Council election was held on 8 May 1986, 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.

1986 North Hertfordshire District Council election

8 May 1986 (1986-05-08)
16 of 50 seats on North Hertfordshire District Council 26 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party Third party   Con Lab All Leader Bob Flatman Audrey Carss Tony Quinn Party Conservative Labour Alliance Seats before 31 12 3 Seats after 26 14 7 Seat change 5 2 4   Fourth party Fifth party   RA Ind Party Ratepayers Independent Seats before 3 1 Seats after 3 0 Seat change 1
Leader before election Bob Flatman Conservative Leader after election Bob Flatman Conservative

The Conservatives lost five seats and only narrowly retained their majority on the council. The SDP–Liberal Alliance took the most votes across the district, gaining four extra seats.

Overall results

The overall results were as follows:

1986 North Hertfordshire District Council election
Party		This election			Full council			This election
		Seats	Net	Seats %	Other	Total	Total %	Votes	Votes %	+/−
	Alliance	4	4	25.0	3	7	14.0	12,343	33.7	+9.6
	Conservative	6	5	37.5	20	26	52.0	11,852	32.3	-6.7
	Labour	5	2	31.3	9	14	28.0	10,680	29.1	-3.2
	Ratepayers	1		6.3	2	3	6.0	1,273	3.5	+0.4
	Independent	0	1	0.0	0	0	0.0	339	0.9	-0.6
	Green	0		0.0	0	0	0.0	152	0.4	+0.4

Ward results

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

Baldock ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Peter Clarke*	1,146	36.5	−18.9
	Labour	Roger McFall	1,069	34.0	+6.8
	Alliance	Bob Young	929	29.5	+12.1
Turnout				53.8
Registered electors			5,839
	Conservative hold		Swing	-12.9

Codicote ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Denis Winch*	563	43.5	−32.6
	Alliance	Christine Stevenson	418	32.3	+32.3
	Labour	Karry Omer	313	24.2	+0.3
Turnout				55.7
Registered electors			2,324
	Conservative hold		Swing	-32.5

Hitchin Bearton ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Jenny Marr	1,132	50.6	+3.6
	Conservative	Norman Frost*	720	32.2	−7.5
	Alliance	Penny Cunningham	385	17.2	+3.9
Turnout				50.3
Registered electors			4,450
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	+5.6

Hitchin Highbury ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Alliance	Mary Burton	1,204	46.2	+14.1
	Conservative	Bill Kingston-Splatt*	1,025	39.4	−12.5
	Labour	David Tizzard	375	14.4	−1.6
Turnout				51.0
Registered electors			5,105
	Alliance gain from Conservative		Swing	+13.3

Hitchin Oughton ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Harry Smith	1,020	52.7	−7.6
	Alliance	Jenny Sefton	578	29.9	+15.6
	Conservative	Valerie Leeson	336	17.4	−7.9
Turnout				44.2
Registered electors			4,377
	Labour hold		Swing	-11.6

Hitchin Priory ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Bob Flatman*	718	57.1	−10.6
	Alliance	John Seabrook	349	27.7	+6.1
	Labour	Jane Newbury	191	15.2	+4.5
Turnout				45.4
Registered electors			2,769
	Conservative hold		Swing	-8.4

Hitchin Walsworth ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Ratepayers	Jack Swain	1,273	45.5	+9.3
	Labour	Veronica Sharp	1,008	36.0	+5.0
	Alliance	Alison Kelt	429	15.3	+2.2
	Green	Ann Roberts	87	3.1	+3.1
Turnout				47.1
Registered electors			5,941
	Residents hold		Swing	+2.2

Kimpton ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Alliance	Adam Wilkins	363	41.8	+41.8
	Independent	David Wright	339	39.0	−42.3
	Labour	Stephen MacDonald	167	19.2	+0.5
Turnout				52.8
Registered electors			1,645
	Alliance gain from Independent		Swing	+42.1

Knebworth ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Gordon Dumelow*	940	57.6	+5.5
	Alliance	Michael Stiff	422	25.9	−3.2
	Labour	Carole Carter	270	16.5	−2.3
Turnout				49.4
Registered electors			3,302
	Conservative hold		Swing	+4.4

Letchworth East ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Ram Summan	916	39.5	−3.8
	Alliance	Tony Elliott	894	38.5	+3.4
	Conservative	John Bush	511	22.0	+0.4
Turnout				39.7
Registered electors			5,841
	Labour hold		Swing	-3.6

Letchworth Grange ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Don Kitchiner*	1,233	42.2	+1.1
	Alliance	Peter Welch	1,107	37.9	+3.6
	Conservative	Jim Hannah	519	17.7	−6.9
	Green	Ian Barrett	65	2.2	+2.2
Turnout				56.5
Registered electors			5,179
	Labour hold		Swing	-1.3

Letchworth South East ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Alliance	Geoff Williams	1,754	49.8	+16.2
	Conservative	Norman Prior*	931	26.4	−7.8
	Labour	Nigel Agar	840	23.8	−8.4
Turnout				59.2
Registered electors			5,954
	Alliance gain from Conservative		Swing	+12.0

Letchworth South West ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Anthony Burrows*	1,402	49.7	−4.5
	Alliance	Martin Fisher	1,152	40.9	+20.1
	Labour	Michael Jovic	265	9.4	−15.6
Turnout				62.8
Registered electors			4,491
	Conservative hold		Swing	-12.3

Letchworth Wilbury ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Ian Mantle	1,048	43.3	+1.2
	Conservative	Keith Emsall*	842	34.8	−9.6
	Alliance	Hermione Edwards	532	22.0	+8.4
Turnout				60.3
Registered electors			4,016
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	+5.4

Royston East ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Pat Rule*	1,114	52.2	−20.2
	Alliance	Jenny McCann	733	34.3	+34.3
	Labour	Jeffrey Gill	288	13.5	−14.1
Turnout				53.4
Registered electors			3,996
	Conservative hold		Swing	-27.3

Royston West ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Alliance	Frances Bate	1,094	40.2	−6.2
	Conservative	Terry Botfield	1,085	39.8	+2.1
	Labour	Eunice King	545	20.0	+4.1
Turnout				51.2
Registered electors			5,319
	Alliance gain from Conservative		Swing	-4.2