2016 North Hertfordshire District Council election

2016 North Hertfordshire District Council election
15 of 49 seats on North Hertfordshire District Council; 25 seats needed for a majority
Leader before election; Lynda Needham; Conservative	Leader after election ; Lynda Needham; Conservative

The 2015 North Hertfordshire Council election was held on 5 May 2016, at the same time as other local elections across England. Of the 49 seats on North Hertfordshire District Council, 15 were up for election.^[1]^[2]

The Conservatives lost two seats, one to Labour and one to the Liberal Democrats, but retained their overall majority on the council.^[3]

Overall results

The overall results were as follows:^[4]

2016 North Hertfordshire District Council election
Party		This election			Full council			This election
Party		Seats	Net	Seats %	Other	Total	Total %	Votes	Votes %	+/−
	Conservative	7	2	46.7	27	34	69.4	10,383	40.1	-7.7
	Labour	6	1	40.0	6	12	24.5	7,087	27.3	+5.5
	Liberal Democrats	2	1	13.3	1	3	6.1	3,893	15.0	+3.5
	Green	0		0.0	0	0	0.0	2,224	8.6	-0.9
	UKIP	0		0.0	0	0	0.0	2,035	7.9	-1.6
	Independent	0		0.0	0	0	0.0	291	1.1	N/A

Ward results

The results for each ward were as follows. Where the previous incumbent was standing for re-election they are marked with an asterisk(*).^[5]

Baldock East ward
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Valentine Shanley	471	45.9%	−1.0
	Liberal Democrats	Richard William Winter	272	26.5%	−12.2
	Labour	Gillian Anne Tyler	121	11.8%	+3.3
	UKIP	Brian George Alderton	109	10.6%	+10.6
	Green	Jane Louise Turner	48	4.7%	−0.7
Turnout			1,027	45.2%
	Conservative hold		Swing	+5.6

Baldock Town ward
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Michael Edwin Weeks*	896	48.7%	−6.2
	Labour	Geraldine Dobson	377	20.5%	+0.2
	UKIP	Brian Cyril Munnery	251	13.6%	−0.4
	Green	Emily Charlotte Beswarick	169	9.2%	−1.4
	Liberal Democrats	Marcus Eric Keighley	138	7.5%	+7.5
Turnout			1,841	31.7%
	Conservative hold		Swing	-3.2

Chesfield ward
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Terry Tyler	668	42.3%	+26.4
	Conservative	James Terence Henry	545	34.5%	−12.8
	Labour	John Hayes	266	16.8%	−1.4
	Green	Felicity Ann Power	93	5.9%	+1.7
Turnout			1,581	30.6%
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing	+19.6

Hitchin Bearton ward
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Ian Clive Albert	1,036	48.1%	+5.3
	Conservative	Serena Farrow	580	26.9%	−2.9
	Liberal Democrats	Stuart Alder	272	12.6%	+2.1
	Green	William Barry Lavin	243	11.3%	+1.1
Turnout			2,154	33.9%
	Labour hold		Swing	+4.1

Hitchin Highbury ward
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Paul Clark	1,144	44.8%	+14.0
	Conservative	David Leal-Bennett*	836	32.7%	−6.4
	Labour	Martin Burke	401	15.7%	+0.7
	Green	Rosamund Brigid McGuire	151	5.9%	−1.2
Turnout			2,556	41.2%
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative		Swing	+10.2

Hitchin Oughton ward
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Simon Peter Watson	505	48.8%	+9.4
	Conservative	Pauline Anne Scully	328	31.7%	+9.6
	Green	George Winston Howe	102	9.9%	+2.1
	Liberal Democrats	Louise Peace	89	8.6%	+3.8
Turnout			1,034	28.1%
	Labour hold		Swing	-0.1

Hitchin Priory ward
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Richard Arthur Charles Thake*	684	44.1%	−4.7
	Labour	David James Winstanley	281	18.1%	+4.3
	Liberal Democrats	Ewan Wilkie	164	10.6%	+1.4
	Independent	Jacqueline Mary McDonald	155	10.0%	+10.0
	Green	Des Stephens	142	9.1%	−2.3
	UKIP	Allan Newey	119	7.7%	−8.9
Turnout			1,552	42.3%
	Conservative hold		Swing	-4.5

Hitchin Walsworth ward
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Elizabeth Dennis	806	38.5%	+7.5
	Conservative	Ray Shakespeare-Smith*	668	31.9%	−8.0
	Green	Richard Alexander Cano	278	13.3%	+0.9
	UKIP	Peter Croft	193	9.2%	+0.2
	Liberal Democrats	Andrew Ircha	133	6.4%	−0.9
Turnout			2,091	34.6%
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	-8.2

Hitchwood, Offa and Hoo ward
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Claire Patricia Annette Strong*	1,157	55.8%	−2.2
	UKIP	Gary John Jones	262	12.6%	0.0
	Labour	David Liam O'Brien	251	12.1%	−0.7
	Liberal Democrats	Peter Johnson	212	10.2%	+2.2
	Green	Alex Longmore	186	9.0%	+0.7
Turnout			2,074	36.5%
	Conservative hold		Swing	-1.1

Knebworth ward
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Stephen J. Deakin-Davies	904	62.4%	+5.4
	Labour	Ed Smith	310	21.4%	+7.7
	Liberal Democrats	Charlie Wilson	142	9.8%	+9.8
	Green	Claire Helen Taylor	81	5.6%	−4.8
Turnout			1,448	36.4%
	Conservative hold		Swing	-1.2

Letchworth East ward
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Ian Mantle*	505	38.3%	−2.5
	Conservative	David Peter John Wakelin	347	26.3%	−0.2
	Independent	Paul Ross	136	10.3%	+10.3
	Green	Rosemary Bland	126	9.6%	−2.0
	UKIP	Mark James Hughes	111	8.4%	−12.2
	Liberal Democrats	Jane Fae	86	6.5%	+6.5
Turnout			1,319	29.9%
	Labour hold		Swing	-1.1

Letchworth Grange ward
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Clare Billing*	685	34.9%	+1.7
	Conservative	Matthew Berman	654	33.3%	−7.1
	UKIP	Tyler James Davis	334	17.0%	+4.6
	Liberal Democrats	Martin Geoffrey Penny	153	7.8%	+1.9
	Green	Elizabeth Susan Hancock	125	6.4%	−1.4
Turnout			1,963	34.9%
	Labour hold		Swing	+4.4

Letchworth South East ward
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	David Charles Levett*	737	38.7%	−7.2
	Labour	Martin Stears-Handscomb	609	32.0%	+0.1
	UKIP	Sidney Arthur Start	309	16.2%	+1.9
	Liberal Democrats	Barry Peter Neale	134	7.0%	+7.0
	Green	Dean Lee Cartwright	99	5.2%	−2.0
Turnout			1,902	34.2%
	Conservative hold		Swing	-3.7

Letchworth South West ward
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Terry Hone*	1,096	48.8%	+0.2
	Labour	Jean Andrews	441	19.6%	+1.9
	Green	Mario May	212	9.4%	−3.3
	UKIP	Gemma Margaret Rosina Hughes	198	8.8%	−1.0
	Liberal Democrats	Ursula Winder	86	3.8%	−6.6
Turnout			2,246	36.5%
	Conservative hold		Swing	-0.9

Letchworth Wilbury ward
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Deepak Sangha*	493	38.1%	−4.2
	Conservative	Andy Frankland	480	37.1%	+3.4
	Green	Maryla Josephine Hart	169	13.1%	+4.8
	UKIP	Andrew Scuoler	149	11.5%	−3.7
Turnout			1,295	32.1%
	Labour hold		Swing	-3.8

Changes 2016–2018

A by-election was held in Hitchin Oughton ward on 10 November 2016 following the resignation of Labour councillor Simon Watson. Labour retained the seat.^[6]

Hitchin Oughton ward by-election, 10 November 2016
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Martin Stears-Handscomb	258	31.9%	−17.0
	Independent	Jackie McDonald	200	24.7%	+24.7
	Conservative	Serena Elizabeth Farrow	158	19.5%	−12.2
	Liberal Democrats	Louise Peace	150	18.5%	+9.9
	Green	George Winston Howe	42	5.2%	−4.7
Turnout			810
	Labour hold		Swing	-20.8

Two by-elections were held on 4 May 2017, at the same time as the 2017 Hertfordshire County Council election. The by-election in Royston Heath ward was triggered by the death of Conservative councillor Peter Burt.^[7] The by-election in Hitchin Priory ward was triggered by the resignation of Conservative councillor Allison Ashley.^[8] The Conservatives retained both seats.^[9]

Hitchin Priory ward by-election, 4 May 2017
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Raymond Shakespeare-Smith	717	41.5%	−2.6
	Liberal Democrats	John Hefford	394	22.8%	+12.2
	Independent	Jacqueline McDonald	277	16.0%	+6.1
	Labour	Dave Winstanley	219	12.7%	−5.4
	Green	Des Stephens	114	6.6%	−2.5
Turnout			1,727	46.4%
	Conservative hold		Swing	-7.4

Royston Heath ward by-election, 4 May 2017
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Sarah Dingley	844	50.2%	−0.6
	Liberal Democrats	Carol Stanier	470	28.0%	+14.6
	Labour	Vaughan West	196	11.7%	−4.6
	Green	Katherine Shann	97	5.8%	−1.3
	UKIP	Christopher Arquati	68	4.0%	−8.0
Turnout			1,680	39.0%
	Conservative hold		Swing	-7.6

References

^ "The District of North Hertfordshire (Electoral Changes) Order 2006", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 2006/3112, retrieved 4 March 2023
^ "Guide to May 2016 elections in Scotland, Wales, England and Northern Ireland". BBC News. Retrieved 21 April 2016.
^ Yousif, Layth; Asher, J. P. (6 May 2016). "North Herts District Council elections 2016 round-up: Labour and Lib Dems gain at Conservatives' expense". The Comet. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
^ Andrew, Teale. "Local Election Results 2016: North Hertfordshire". Local Elections Archive Project. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
^ "Election Results 2016". North Hertfordshire District Council. Archived from the original on 6 May 2019. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
^ "Declaration of result of poll" (PDF). North Hertfordshire District Council. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
^ Wild, Bianca (16 March 2017). "Prominent member of North Herts District Council dies aged 68". The Comet. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
^ Boothroyd, David (17 March 2017). "Mass resignation week". Local Councils. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
^ "Election Results 2017". North Hertfordshire District Council. Retrieved 9 March 2023.

[1] "The District of North Hertfordshire (Electoral Changes) Order 2006", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 2006/3112, retrieved 4 March 2023

[BBC-2] "Guide to May 2016 elections in Scotland, Wales, England and Northern Ireland". BBC News. Retrieved 21 April 2016.

[3] Yousif, Layth; Asher, J. P. (6 May 2016). "North Herts District Council elections 2016 round-up: Labour and Lib Dems gain at Conservatives' expense". The Comet. Retrieved 9 March 2023.

[Teale-4] Andrew, Teale. "Local Election Results 2016: North Hertfordshire". Local Elections Archive Project. Retrieved 9 March 2023.

[5] "Election Results 2016". North Hertfordshire District Council. Archived from the original on 6 May 2019. Retrieved 9 March 2023.

[6] "Declaration of result of poll" (PDF). North Hertfordshire District Council. Retrieved 9 March 2023.

[7] Wild, Bianca (16 March 2017). "Prominent member of North Herts District Council dies aged 68". The Comet. Retrieved 9 March 2023.

[8] Boothroyd, David (17 March 2017). "Mass resignation week". Local Councils. Retrieved 9 March 2023.

[9] "Election Results 2017". North Hertfordshire District Council. Retrieved 9 March 2023.

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