1978 Southend-on-Sea Borough Council election

1978 Southend-on-Sea Borough Council election

←  1976 4 May 1978 (1978-05-04) 1979  →
14 out of 39 seasts to Southend-on-Sea Borough Council 20 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party Third party   Party Conservative Liberal Labour Seats won 12 1 1 Seats after 29 5 5 Seat change 1 1 Popular vote 28,568 10,624 9,629 Percentage 58.2% 21.6% 19.6% Swing 2.9% 5.4% 2.8%
Winner of each seat at the 1978 Southend-on-Sea Borough Council election.
Council control before election Conservative Council control after election Conservative

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

Summary

Election result

1978 Southend-on-Sea Borough Council election [2]
Party		This election			Full council			This election
		Seats	Net	Seats %	Other	Total	Total %	Votes	Votes %	+/−
	Conservative	12		85.7	17	29	74.4	28,568	58.2	+2.9
	Liberal	1	1	7.1	4	5	12.8	10,624	21.6	–5.4
	Labour	1	1	7.1	4	5	12.8	9,629	19.6	+2.8
	National Front	0		0.0	0	0	0.0	277	0.6	N/A

Ward results

Incumbent councillors standing for re-election are marked with an asterisk (*). Changes in seats do not take into account by-elections or defections.

Belfairs

Belfairs

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	G. Heath	2,472	69.3	+9.8
	Liberal	E. Griggs	671	18.8	–10.2
	Labour	A. Francis	422	11.8	+0.4
Majority			1,801	50.5	N/A
Turnout			3,565	36.5	–7.5
Registered electors			9,756
	Conservative hold		Swing	10.0

Blenheim

Blenheim

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	P. Bone	2,133	62.4	+1.7
	Liberal	T. Ray	658	19.2	–20.1
	Labour	C. Newman	505	14.8	N/A
	National Front	P. Twomey	125	3.7	N/A
Majority			1,475	43.1	N/A
Turnout			3,421	34.5	–3.8
Registered electors			9,917
	Conservative hold		Swing	10.9

Chalkwell

Chalkwell

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	T. Murphy	2,581	67.9	+8.4
	Liberal	J. Keith	947	24.9	–6.5
	Labour	K. Leaman	275	7.2	–2.0
Majority			1,634	43.0	N/A
Turnout			3,803	40.1	–2.6
Registered electors			9,485
	Conservative hold		Swing	7.5

Eastwood

Eastwood (2 seats due to by-election)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	I. Downie	2,295	56.8
	Conservative	V. Kaye	2,222	55.0
	Liberal	F. Heaffey	1,383	34.2
	Liberal	N. Goodman	1,362	33.7
	Labour	P. Griffiths	363	9.0
	Labour	B. Buitekant	254	6.3
Turnout			~4,039	44.1
Registered electors			9,159
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Leigh

Leigh

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	C. Titman*	2,519	49.2	–2.2
	Conservative	P. Bohling	2,391	46.7	+2.8
	Labour	P. Harrison	208	4.1	–0.6
Majority			128	2.5	N/A
Turnout			5,118	53.1	+2.4
Registered electors			9,635
	Liberal hold		Swing	2.5

Milton

Milton

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	K. Cater	1,580	65.9	+7.9
	Labour	D. Waring	819	34.1	+7.8
Majority			761	31.8	N/A
Turnout			2,399	31.7	+3.0
Registered electors			8,973
	Conservative hold		Swing	0.1

Prittlewell

Prittlewell

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	L. Myers	1,845	43.5	–3.0
	Liberal	J. Hugill*	1,836	43.3	–10.2
	Labour	E. Wilson	557	13.1	N/A
Majority			9	0.2	N/A
Turnout			4,238	42.0	+0.5
Registered electors			10,083
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	3.6

Shoebury

Shoebury

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	R. Levy	1,868	55.5	–4.8
	Labour	D. Jeffrey	1,138	33.8	–5.9
	Liberal	J. O'Neill	362	10.7	N/A
Majority			730	21.7	N/A
Turnout			3,368	32.4	–4.0
Registered electors			10,400
	Conservative hold		Swing	0.6

Southchurch

Southchurch

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	S. Bull*	2,096	74.0	–3.8
	Labour	H. Mapp	735	26.0	+3.8
Majority			1,361	48.1	N/A
Turnout			2,831	29.2	–9.1
Registered electors			9,698
	Conservative hold		Swing	3.8

St Lukes

St Lukes

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	R. Richmond*	1,234	48.0	+14.9
	Labour	N. Boorman	1,186	46.1	+10.8
	National Front	E. Jones	152	5.9	N/A
Majority			48	1.9	N/A
Turnout			2,572	29.2	–3.1
Registered electors			8,803
	Conservative hold		Swing	2.1

Thorpe

Thorpe

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	N. Moss*	2,741	84.7	+16.8
	Labour	K. Redmond	495	15.3	+3.7
Majority			2,246	69.4	N/A
Turnout			3,236	34.4	–3.9
Registered electors			9,409
	Conservative hold		Swing	6.6

Victoria

Victoria

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	R. Kennedy	1,298	50.6	+8.2
	Conservative	A. Fuller	1,265	49.4	+10.4
Majority			33	1.3	N/A
Turnout			2,563	26.3	–3.4
Registered electors			9,754
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	1.1

Westborough

Westborough

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	P. Winkley*	1,845	44.9	–2.0
	Labour	A. Hurst	1,374	33.5	+9.9
	Liberal	M. Lubel	886	21.6	–8.0
Majority			471	11.5	N/A
Turnout			4,105	44.7	+1.9
Registered electors			9,190
	Conservative hold		Swing	6.0

References

1. "Southend-on-Sea Borough Council Election Results 1973-1996" (PDF). Colin Rallings & Michael Thrasher . Elections Centre, Plymouth University . Retrieved 9 September 2025.
2. "Composition calculator". Colin Rallings & Michael Thrasher . Elections Centre, Plymouth University . Retrieved 9 September 2025.