1999 Guildford Borough Council election

The eighth full elections for Guildford Borough Council took place on 6 May 1999.^[1]

The Liberal Democrats had won control of the council in May 1995 with a majority of 1. However the first half of 1997 had seen the Liberal Democrats lose their majority as a result of three councillors (2 Stoughton councillors and 1 from Tongham) resigning from the party and a by election defeat in Merrow & Burpham ward.^[2]

Going into the election there were 19 Liberal Democrats, 14 Conservatives, 6 Labour and 6 independents. These 6 independents formed three distinct groups. There were 3 councillors for Ash and Tongham wards (two of whom were former Liberal Democrat councillors, one having resigned from the party in the 1991-95 session and one during the 1995-1999 session) who classed themselves as the "Independent Group". Two former Liberal Democrat councillors representing Stoughton ward classed themselves as Liberals. The councillor for Tillingbourne classed himself as an independent councillor.

The May 1999 election saw 20 Liberal Democrats, 17 Conservatives, 6 Labour and 2 Independents elected. The council remained hung.

The Liberal Democrats gained 1 net seat (3 losses and 4 gains) on the position they held going into the election. The Liberal Democrats lost 3 seats to the west of the borough, 2 in Ash ward and 1 in Normandy. The Liberal Democrats retook the Merrow & Burpham seat which they had lost to the Conservatives in a by election in May 1997, plus they retook the 2 Stoughton seats which they had lost to resignations in February 1997. The Liberal Democrats also gained Effingham ward from the Conservatives.

The Conservatives made 3 net gains (2 losses and 5 gains) on the position which they held going into the election. The Conservatives lost the Merrow & Burpham seat which they had taken in the May 1997 by election. The Conservative also lost Effingham to the Liberal Democrats. The Conservatives gained 2 Ash Vale seats from the Independent Group, plus they gained from the Liberal Democrats 3 of the other seats in the west of the borough, 2 in Ash and 1 in Normandy.

The Independent Group did not contest its 2 seats in Ash Vale. These were gained by the Conservatives. The one member of the Independent Group who did contest his seat held on to it in Tongham. Neither councillor belonging to the Liberal Group sought reelection in Stoughton and the Liberal Democrats regained these two seats.

Relative to 1995, the changes were not as dramatic as they were relative to the position going into the election. Overall there was a shift to the Conservatives in the Ash and Normandy region to the west of the borough, but much less change between the parties elsewhere in the borough. The Liberal Democrats lost all their remaining seats in the Ash, Tongham and Normandy region, having won all 7 of the seats there as recently as 1991. After the election the Ash, Tongham and Normandy area had 1 independent and 6 Conservative councillors. Elsewhere in the borough the only seat to change hands relative to 1995 was Effingham, where a Conservative marginal, was captured by the Liberal Democrats.

Results

Ash (top 3 candidates elected)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	John Ades	1325
	Conservative	John Cassar	1100
	Conservative	Nick Sutcliffe	1009
	Liberal Democrats	Alan Hilliar	901
	Liberal Democrats	Christine Frampton	790
	Liberal Democrats	Peter Morgan	725
	Labour	Kevin Jenkinson	267
	Labour	Kazimierz Jaskinski	237
	Labour	Donald Hirsch	212
Majority			108
Turnout				30.47
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats		Swing
	Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats		Swing

Ash Vale (top 2 candidates elected)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Chris Lawson	752
	Conservative	Marsha Moseley	729
	Liberal Democrats	Denise Smith	665
	Liberal Democrats	Geraldine Pettitt	624
	Labour	Alex MacDonald	124
	Labour	Brian Stace	113
Majority			64
Turnout				32
	Conservative gain from Independent		Swing
	Conservative gain from Independent		Swing

Christchurch (top 2 candidates elected)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Andrew Hodges	1102
	Liberal Democrats	Vivienne Johnson	945
	Conservative	David Hunter	912
	Liberal Democrats	Tom Sharp	792
	Labour	Vijay Luthra	126
	Labour	Carole Barber	119
Majority			33
Turnout				52.56
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Clandon & Horsley (top 3 candidates elected)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Jennifer Powell	1705^[3]
	Conservative	Andrew French	1604
	Conservative	Jennifer Wicks	1568
	Liberal Democrats	Margaret Burnham	404
	Liberal Democrats	Clive Wicks	384
	Liberal Democrats	Philip Palmer	340
	Labour	Meriel Beynon	305
	Labour	Carolyn Fiddes	274
	Labour	Julie Roxburgh	253
Majority			1164
Turnout				36.49
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

Effingham (only 1 candidate elected)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal Democrats	Elizabeth Hogger	573
	Conservative	Valerie Chapman	459
	Labour	Carol Hayton	25
Majority			114
Turnout				53.47
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative		Swing

Friary & St. Nicolas (top 3 candidates elected)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal Democrats	Richard Marks	1226
	Liberal Democrats	Robert Blundell	1224
	Liberal Democrats	David Goodwin	1152
	Conservative	Mark Hoban	454
	Conservative	Philip Hooper	449
	Conservative	John Fairley	442
	Labour	Tristan Brown	320
	Labour	Helen Ayscough	302
	Labour	Alexander Ayscough	278
Majority			698
Turnout				31.60
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Holy Trinity (top 2 candidates elected)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal Democrats	Tamsy Baker	842
	Liberal Democrats	Gordon Bridger	792
	Conservative	Sarah Creedy	758
	Conservative	Peter Le Cheminant	710
	Labour	Racheal Chesterton	106
	Labour	Barry Hall	105
Majority			34
Turnout				36.9
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Lovelace (only 1 candidate elected)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Margaret Fenston	558
	Labour	David Hide	146
	Liberal Democrats	John Telfer	104
Majority			412
Turnout				44.06
	Conservative hold		Swing

Merrow & Burpham (top 3 candidates elected)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal Democrats	Charles Shepperd	2134
	Liberal Democrats	Andrew Allan	2050
	Liberal Democrats	Anne Lee	1960
	Conservative	Jennifer Jordan	1628
	Conservative	Nicholas Brougham	1600
	Conservative	Sheridan Westlake	1576
	Labour	Malcolm Hill	413
	Labour	William Scott	367
	Labour	Mary Wu	359
Majority			332
Turnout				41.52
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative		Swing

Normandy (only 1 candidate elected)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Diana Lockyer-Nibbs	498
	Liberal Democrats	Robert Rendell	454
	Labour	Peter Newmark	61
Majority			44
Turnout				43.09
	Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats		Swing

Onslow (top 3 candidates elected)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal Democrats	Lynda Strudwick	1046
	Liberal Democrats	Tony Phillips	1003
	Liberal Democrats	Steven Freeman	895
	Conservative	Bernard Parke	847
	Conservative	Adrian Chandler	746
	Conservative	Simon Anglim	705
	Labour	Florence Flynn	382
	Labour	Carmel Rogers	358
	Labour	Raymond Rogers	346
Majority			48
Turnout				33.3
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Pilgrims (top 2 candidates elected)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Robert Rolfe	700
	Conservative	Alan Dewhurst	671
	Liberal Democrats	Marliyn Merryweather	234
	Liberal Democrats	Peter Dyer	222
	Labour	Elizabeth Bullock	115
	Labour	Kathleen Parfitt	100
Majority			437
Turnout				34.93
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

Pirbright (only 1 candidate elected)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Michael Nevins	440
	Liberal Democrats	May Laker	285
	Labour	Caroline Lloyd	30
Majority			155
Turnout				41.96
	Conservative hold		Swing

Send (top 2 candidates elected)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Keith Taylor	694
	Conservative	Jason Dobson	611
	Liberal Democrats	Dee Appardurai	349
	Liberal Democrats	Rupert Sheard	334
	Labour	Benedict Marlow	142
	Labour	Shelia Bean	141
Majority			262
Turnout				38.23
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

Shalford (only 1 candidate elected)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Vasilis Kapsalis	634
	Liberal Democrats	David Thomson	501
	Labour	Michael Jeram	169
Majority			133
Turnout				43.52
	Conservative hold		Swing

Stoke (top 3 candidates elected)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	Sallie Thornberry	1091
	Labour	Keith Chesterton	1057
	Labour	Angela Gunning	1015
	Liberal Democrats	Alan Lawrence	297
	Liberal Democrats	Stephen Wright	294
	Liberal Democrats	William Plaskett	267
	Conservative	Michael Dale	258
	Conservative	David Quelch	239
	Conservative	Paul Newman	235
Majority			718
Turnout				30.56
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing

Stoughton (top 3 candidates elected)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal Democrats	Pauline Searle	973
	Liberal Democrats	Jayne Marks	965
	Liberal Democrats	Fiona White	846
	Labour	Gary Hills	540
	Labour	Stella Payne	445
	Labour	Susan Pickering	439
	Conservative	Roger Majoribanks	358
	Conservative	Paul Johnson	355
	Conservative	Caroline Newman	338
Majority			306
Turnout				27.3
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing
	Liberal Democrats gain from Independent		Swing
	Liberal Democrats gain from Independent		Swing

Tillingbourne (top 2 candidates elected)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independent	Keith Childs	1144
	Liberal Democrats	Patricia Gumbrell	904
	Conservative	John Foster	848
	Labour	Edward Williams	169
	Labour	James Farrell	86
Majority			56
Turnout				45.48
	Independent hold		Swing
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Tongham (only 1 candidate elected)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Tongham Independent	Michael Pooley	208
	Conservative	George Grundy	182
	Liberal Democrats	Patricia Hughes	123
	Labour	Frank Gunning	62
Majority			26
Turnout				33.21
	Independent hold		Swing

Westborough (top 3 candidates elected)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	John Woodhatch	954
	Labour	Peter Jennings	826
	Labour	Joan O'Byrne	822
	Liberal Democrats	Kenneth Briggs	367
	Liberal Democrats	Andrew Bevan	328
	Liberal Democrats	Joanna Hazelwood	323
	Conservative	Mary Johns	216
	Conservative	Barbara Dale	213
	Conservative	Pamela Parke	208
Majority			455
Turnout				25.46
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing

Worplesdon (top 3 candidates elected)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal Democrats	Terry King	1256
	Liberal Democrats	Auriol Earle	1207
	Liberal Democrats	Nigel Sutcliffe	1192
	Conservative	Ken Johns	739
	Conservative	Jonny Scriven	713
	Conservative	Bev Thomas	674
	Farmer Bob, Burpham Court Farm Conservationist	Bob Dearnley	379
	Labour	Alan Ritchie	224
	Labour	Ron Medlow	189
	Labour	Saiful Islam	158
Majority			453
Turnout				38.2
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

References

^ Results were published in the Surrey Advertiser 13 May 1999 edition.
^ For the loss of the Liberal Democrat majority on Guildford Borough Council during 1997 see a) 2 Liberal Democrat councillors for Stoughton quit the party to be Independent Liberals in February 1997 reducing the number of LD councillors from 23 to 21: http://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/s/80053_leading_lib_dem_couple_quit_party b) Liberal Democrats lose Merrow & Burpham by-election to Conservatives in May 1997 reducing number of LD councillors from 21 to 20. Fuller details of this by-election are listed at [Guildford local elections]; and c) 1 Liberal Democrat councillor for Tongham quit the party to join the Put Ash Vale First Group (which was then renamed the Independent Group) in May 1997 reducing the number of LD councillors from 20 to 19. See: http://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/s/80321_borough_chaos_as_councillor_defects . At the time 23 seats were needed for a majority.
^ The Surrey Advertiser 14 May 1999 lists Jennifer Powell's vote as "705". As Jennifer Powell topped the poll in 1987, 1991, 1995, 2003, 2007 and 2011 elections in Clandon & Horsley, clearly beating her Conservative co candidates in the process, it is highly unlikely that in the 1999 election she polled less than half the votes of her Conservative co candidates. It therefore has been assumed that a "1" was mistakenly omitted from the front of this number when published in the newspaper and the correct figure is actually 1705.

[1] Results were published in the Surrey Advertiser 13 May 1999 edition.

[2] For the loss of the Liberal Democrat majority on Guildford Borough Council during 1997 see a) 2 Liberal Democrat councillors for Stoughton quit the party to be Independent Liberals in February 1997 reducing the number of LD councillors from 23 to 21: http://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/s/80053_leading_lib_dem_couple_quit_party b) Liberal Democrats lose Merrow & Burpham by-election to Conservatives in May 1997 reducing number of LD councillors from 21 to 20. Fuller details of this by-election are listed at [Guildford local elections]; and c) 1 Liberal Democrat councillor for Tongham quit the party to join the Put Ash Vale First Group (which was then renamed the Independent Group) in May 1997 reducing the number of LD councillors from 20 to 19. See: http://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/s/80321_borough_chaos_as_councillor_defects . At the time 23 seats were needed for a majority.

[3] The Surrey Advertiser 14 May 1999 lists Jennifer Powell's vote as "705". As Jennifer Powell topped the poll in 1987, 1991, 1995, 2003, 2007 and 2011 elections in Clandon & Horsley, clearly beating her Conservative co candidates in the process, it is highly unlikely that in the 1999 election she polled less than half the votes of her Conservative co candidates. It therefore has been assumed that a "1" was mistakenly omitted from the front of this number when published in the newspaper and the correct figure is actually 1705.

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