The 1973 Horsham District Council election was the first ever for the council and took place on 7 June 1973 to elect members of Horsham District Council in England.[1] It was held on the same day as other local elections. Independent councillors secured a majority of two with 23 seats, the Conservatives won 17 and the Liberal Party won 2. Labour also took part in the elections, fielding candidates in Horsham South & Horsham North only. The Liberal Party were successful in Broadbridge Heath and they were able to secure a seat in Storrington. The Conservative Party achieved good results in some rural areas but they were able to win the vast amount of their seats in the town. Independent councillors won a majority of seats in the villages in the district, sometimes unopposed, some later stood as a Conservative candidate three years later in the next set of elections for the Council.
 | |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
All seats to Horsham District Council 22 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||||||
Council Composition
editAfter the election, the composition of the council was:
| 23 | 17 | 2 |
| Ind | Con | Lib |
Results summary
edit| Party | Seats | Gains | Losses | Net gain/loss | Seats % | Votes % | Votes | +/− | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | 23 | – | – | - | 54.8 | 27.0 | 8,497 | ||
| Conservative | 17 | – | – | - | 40.5 | 35.2 | 11,085 | ||
| Liberal | 2 | – | – | - | 4.8 | 15.1 | 4,746 | ||
| Labour | 0 | – | – | - | 0.0 | 21.4 | 6,761 | ||
| Other | 0 | – | – | - | 0.0 | 1.4 | 438 | ||
Ward results
editAshington & Washington
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | Rowland T. | 377 | 71.5 | ||
| Independent | Pease P. Ms. | 150 | 28.5 | ||
| Turnout | 25.7 | ||||
| Independent win (new seat) | |||||
Billingshurst
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Griffin C. | 514 | 52.1 | ||
| Independent | Longhurst K. | 472 | 47.9 | ||
| Conservative | Gillingham D. | 467 | |||
| Turnout | 30.8 | ||||
| Conservative win (new seat) | |||||
| Independent win (new seat) | |||||
Bramber & Upper Beeding
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | Emsley D. | 668 | 39.9 | ||
| Independent | Sanford L. | 559 | 33.4 | ||
| Liberal | Callard P. | 446 | 26.7 | ||
| Liberal | Rice M. | 340 | |||
| Turnout | 31.4 | ||||
| Independent win (new seat) | |||||
| Independent win (new seat) | |||||
Broadbridge Heath
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | Michie I. | 281 | 55.2 | ||
| Independent | Dunkerton F. | 228 | 44.8 | ||
| Turnout | 34.0 | ||||
| Liberal win (new seat) | |||||
Cowfold
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | Fowler S. | Unopposed | |||
| Turnout | N/A | ||||
| Independent win (new seat) | |||||
Henfield
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | Atkins A. Ms. | Unopposed | |||
| Conservative | Bishop L. Ms. | Unopposed | |||
| Independent | Coleman B. | Unopposed | |||
| Turnout | N/A | ||||
| Independent win (new seat) | |||||
| Conservative win (new seat) | |||||
| Independent win (new seat) | |||||
Horsham South
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Mauchel E. Ms. | 940 | 41.8 | ||
| Conservative | Roberts W. | 932 | |||
| Conservative | Pinion G. | 921 | |||
| Conservative | Hassall B. | 881 | |||
| Labour | O'Connor T. | 816 | 36.3 | ||
| Labour | Pickup D. | 727 | |||
| Labour | Healy P. | 712 | |||
| Labour | Oakeshott E. Ms. | 709 | |||
| Liberal | Armour-Milne J. Ms. | 494 | 22.0 | ||
| Liberal | Armour-Milne J. | 482 | |||
| Turnout | 38.0 | ||||
| Conservative win (new seat) | |||||
| Conservative win (new seat) | |||||
| Conservative win (new seat) | |||||
| Conservative win (new seat) | |||||
Horsham West
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | Parsons W. | 1,403 | 38.7 | ||
| Conservative | Lane F. | 1,137 | 31.3 | ||
| Independent | Martin G. | 1,090 | 30.0 | ||
| Conservative | Moore B. Ms. | 1,027 | |||
| Conservative | Windrum A. | 984 | |||
| Conservative | Collins M. | 727 | |||
| Turnout | 42.5 | ||||
| Independent win (new seat) | |||||
| Conservative win (new seat) | |||||
| Independent win (new seat) | |||||
| Conservative win (new seat) | |||||
Horsham North
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | West E. Ms. | 1,078 | 37.5 | ||
| Conservative | Murrell A. | 1,066 | |||
| Conservative | Simpson M. | 1,042 | |||
| Conservative | Miller E. | 1,035 | |||
| Conservative | Crighton S. Ms. | 942 | |||
| Labour | Thurston J. Ms. | 822 | 28.6 | ||
| Labour | Thompson D. | 787 | |||
| Labour | Ward G. | 751 | |||
| Labour | Thompson J. Ms. | 722 | |||
| Labour | McCoy J. | 715 | |||
| Liberal | Hobbs G. | 594 | 20.7 | ||
| Hellyer P. | 378 | 13.2 | |||
| Turnout | 38.8 | ||||
| Conservative win (new seat) | |||||
| Conservative win (new seat) | |||||
| Conservative win (new seat) | |||||
| Conservative win (new seat) | |||||
| Conservative win (new seat) | |||||
Nuthurst
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | Mackenzie J. | Unopposed | |||
| Turnout | N/A | ||||
| Independent win (new seat) | |||||
Pulborough & Coldwatham
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Gocher H. | 827 | 79.4 | ||
| Conservative | Cousins B. | 820 | |||
| Liberal | Rudd V. Ms. | 215 | 20.6 | ||
| Liberal | Deadman P. | 208 | |||
| Turnout | 30.5 | ||||
| Conservative win (new seat) | |||||
| Conservative win (new seat) | |||||
Roffey
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | Bosanquet D. | 485 | 38.7 | ||
| Conservative | Sheppard A. | 482 | 38.4 | ||
| Liberal | Lewis D. | 287 | 22.9 | ||
| Turnout | 39.3 | ||||
| Independent win (new seat) | |||||
Rudgwick
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | Henderson P. Ms. | 426 | 73.1 | ||
| Independent | Boyle R. | 157 | 26.9 | ||
| Turnout | 36.1 | ||||
| Independent win (new seat) | |||||
Rusper
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | Phelps A. Ms. | Unopposed | |||
| Turnout | N/A | ||||
| Independent win (new seat) | |||||
Shipley
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | Burrell A. Ms. | Unopposed | |||
| Turnout | N/A | ||||
| Independent win (new seat) | |||||
Slinfold
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | Coxon M. Ms. | 430 | 51.9 | ||
| Independent | Gordon Clark P. Ms. | 398 | 48.1 | ||
| Turnout | 41.8 | ||||
| Independent win (new seat) | |||||
Southwater
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | Cheal J. | 550 | 36.6 | ||
| Independent | Charman M. Ms. | 485 | 32.3 | ||
| Independent | Twelvetrees J. Ms. | 379 | 25.2 | ||
| Independent | Dawson M. Ms. | 88 | 5.9 | ||
| Turnout | 17.8 | ||||
| Independent win (new seat) | |||||
| Independent win (new seat) | |||||
Steyning
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | Dingemans M. Ms. | 943 | 45.6 | ||
| Independent | Mimmack J. | 669 | 32.3 | ||
| Liberal | Campbell J. | 398 | 19.2 | ||
| Avey C. | 60 | 2.9 | |||
| Turnout | 47.8 | ||||
| Independent win (new seat) | |||||
| Independent win (new seat) | |||||
Storrington
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | Marlow D. | 466 | 37.3 | ||
| Conservative | Shepherd F. | 464 | 37.1 | ||
| Liberal | Adsett A. Ms. | 386 | |||
| Conservative | Smallwood C. | 383 | |||
| Independent | Eddolls F. | 321 | 25.7 | ||
| Turnout | 38.7 | ||||
| Liberal win (new seat) | |||||
| Conservative win (new seat) | |||||
Sullington
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Rogers H. | 248 | 62.5 | ||
| Liberal | Jones L. Ms. | 149 | 37.5 | ||
| Turnout | 31.3 | ||||
| Conservative win (new seat) | |||||
Thakeham
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | Skinner H. | 217 | 57.3 | ||
| Conservative | How J. | 162 | 42.7 | ||
| Turnout | 42.5 | ||||
| Independent win (new seat) | |||||
Warnham
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | Hodgson A. | Unopposed | |||
| Turnout | N/A | ||||
| Independent win (new seat) | |||||
West Chiltington
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | Gardner J. | Unopposed | |||
| Turnout | N/A | ||||
| Independent win (new seat) | |||||
West Grinstead
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | Scragg J. | Unopposed | |||
| Turnout | N/A | ||||
| Independent win (new seat) | |||||
References
edit- ^ Colin Rallings; Michael Thrasher. "Horsham District Council Election Results 1973-2011" (PDF). www.electionscentre.co.uk. The Election Centre, Plymouth University. Archived (PDF) from the original on 5 June 2020.