1978 Rochford District Council election

1978 Rochford District Council election

←  1976 4 May 1978 (1978-05-04) 1979  →
14 out of 40 seats to Rochford District Council 21 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party Third party   Party Conservative Independent Residents Seats won 9 0 1 Seats after 27 5 2 Seat change 2 Popular vote 8,230 did not stand 1,203 Percentage 60.8% did not stand 8.9% Swing 4.5% 7.4% 4.5%   Fourth party Fifth party   Party Labour Liberal Seats won 1 1 Seats after 2 2 Seat change 1 Popular vote 2,649 1,465 Percentage 19.6% 10.8% Swing 0.1% 1.6%
Council control before election Conservative Council control after election Conservative

The 1978 Rochford District Council election took place on 4 May 1978 to elect members of Rochford District Council in Essex, England. ^[1] This was on the same day as other local elections.

Summary

Election result

1978 Rochford District Council election
Party		This election			Full council			This election
		Seats	Net	Seats %	Other	Total	Total %	Votes	Votes %	+/−
	Conservative	9	2	64.3	18	27	67.5	8,230	60.8	+4.5
	Independent	0		0.0	6	5	12.5	N/A	N/A	–3.6
	Residents	3	1	21.4	1	4	10.0	1,203	8.9	+4.5
	Labour	1	1	7.1	1	2	5.0	2,649	19.6	+0.1
	Liberal	1		7.1	1	2	5.0	1,465	10.8	–1.6

Ward results

Incumbent councillors standing for re-election are marked with an asterisk (*).

Downhall

Downhall

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	L. Cope*	1,015	91.4	+14.4
	Liberal	J. Ralph	95	8.6	–14.4
Majority			920	82.9	N/A
Turnout			1,110	45.8	–7.3
Registered electors			2,458
	Conservative hold		Swing	14.4

Grange & Rawreth

Grange & Rawreth

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	K. Bowen	799	54.8	–5.2
	Labour	C. Gowlett	659	45.2	+5.2
Majority			140	9.6	N/A
Turnout			1,458	45.1	–4.3
Registered electors			3,268
	Conservative hold		Swing	5.2

Hawkwell East

Hawkwell East

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	J. Sheaf*	Unopposed
Registered electors			4,101
	Conservative hold

Hockley East

Hockley East

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Residents	S. Barnard*	673	51.7	–17.4
	Conservative	M. Anderson	628	48.3	+17.4
Majority			45	3.5	N/A
Turnout			1,117	43.3	+5.2
Registered electors			3,046
	Residents hold		Swing	17.4

Hullbridge Riverside

Hullbridge Riverside

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Residents	J. Nokes	530	55.9	N/A
	Conservative	R. Moody	418	44.1	–7.5
Majority			112	11.8	N/A
Turnout			948	36.5	–8.0
Registered electors			2,627
	Residents gain from Conservative

Hullbridge South

Hullbridge South

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Residents	L. Campbell-Daley*	Unopposed
Registered electors			2,066
	Residents hold

Lodge

Lodge

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	J. Murison	1,153	70.3	+17.3
	Labour	W. Campbell	488	29.7	+5.2
Majority			665	40.5	N/A
Turnout			1,641	37.9	–9.8
Registered electors			4,385
	Conservative hold		Swing	6.1

Rayleigh Central

Rayleigh Central

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	R. Foster*	750	70.2	+31.7
	Labour	S. Andre	318	29.8	+14.5
Majority			432	40.4	N/A
Turnout			1,068	40.0	–9.3
Registered electors			2,720
	Conservative hold		Swing	8.6

Rochford Eastwood

Rochford Eastwood

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	W. Budge	409	64.6	+6.2
	Labour	E. Spearman	224	35.4	–6.2
Majority			185	29.2	+12.5
Turnout			633	48.0	–6.2
Registered electors			1,327
	Conservative hold		Swing	6.2

Rochford Roche

Rochford Roche

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	C. Stephenson	424	54.4	+5.4
	Conservative	N. Heard*	356	45.6	–5.4
Majority			68	8.7	N/A
Turnout			780	55.3	–1.0
Registered electors			1,451
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	5.4

Rochford St Andrews

Rochford St Andrews

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	M. Garlick*	553	65.1	+9.4
	Labour	J. Chittenden	297	34.9	–9.4
Majority			256	30.1	N/A
Turnout			850	33.8	–8.4
Registered electors			2,551
	Conservative hold		Swing	9.4

Trinity

Trinity

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	R. Boyd*	867	56.6	+9.7
	Conservative	J. Gibson	664	43.4	–9.7
Majority			203	13.3	N/A
Turnout			1,531	59.1	+8.0
Registered electors			2,633
	Liberal hold		Swing	9.7

Wheatley

Wheatley

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	B. Lovett*	752	81.9	+12.0
	Liberal	C. Elsey	166	18.1	–12.0
Majority			586	63.8	N/A
Turnout			918	38.3	–9.0
Registered electors			2,448
	Conservative hold		Swing	12.0

Whitehouse

Whitehouse

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	B. Taylor	733	56.0	–14.8
	Liberal	D. Helson	337	25.7	–3.5
	Labour	G. Wade	239	18.3	N/A
Majority			396	30.3	N/A
Turnout			1,309	50.3	+11.4
Registered electors			2,636
	Conservative hold		Swing	5.7

References

1. "Rochford District Council Election Results 1973-2012" (PDF). Colin Rallings & Michael Thrasher . Elections Centre, Plymouth University . Retrieved 8 September 2025.