1979 Hertsmere Borough Council election

1979 Hertsmere Borough Council election

←  1978 3 May 1979 (1979-05-03) 1980  →
13 out of 39 seats to Hertsmere Borough Council 20 seats needed for a majority
Registered	43,030
Turnout	76.8% (29.2%)
First party Second party Third party   Party Conservative Labour Liberal Seats won 5 7 1 Seats after 24 11 4 Seat change 1 1 Popular vote 15,898 12,166 4,997 Percentage 48.1% 36.8% 15.1% Swing 9.3% 16.1% 6.1%
Control before election Conservative Control after election Conservative

The 1979 Hertsmere Borough Council election took place on 3 May 1979 to elect members of Hertsmere Borough Council in Hertfordshire, England. ^[1] This was on the same day as the 1979 general election and other local elections.

Summary

Election result

1979 Hertsmere Borough Council election [2]
Party		This election			Full council			This election
		Seats	Net	Seats %	Other	Total	Total %	Votes	Votes %	+/−
	Conservative	5	1	38.5	19	24	61.5	15,898	48.1	–9.3
	Labour	7	1	53.8	4	11	28.2	12,166	36.8	+16.1
	Liberal	1		7.7	3	4	10.3	4,997	15.1	–6.1

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.

Aldenham East

Aldenham East

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Jordan*	2,101	78.0	–8.7
	Liberal	Mallack	371	13.8	+7.8
	Labour	Holland	221	8.2	+0.9
Majority			1,730	64.2	–15.2
Turnout			2,693	78.7	+28.4
Registered electors			3,423
	Conservative hold		Swing	8.3

Aldenham West

Aldenham West

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	G. Nunn	1,726	63.5	–13.2
	Labour	Stapley	528	19.4	–3.9
	Liberal	Chadwick	465	17.1	N/A
Majority			1,198	44.1	N/A
Turnout			2,719	75.5	+28.1
Registered electors			3,602
	Conservative hold		Swing	4.7

Brookmeadow

Brookmeadow

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	D. Button*	1,727	72.9	–7.5
	Conservative	Bouma	643	27.1	+7.5
Majority			1,084	45.8	–15.0
Turnout			2,370	75.4	+29.1
Registered electors			3,143
	Labour hold		Swing	7.5

Campions

Campions

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	J. Nolan*	896	69.7	–12.8
	Conservative	Lockwood	389	30.3	+12.8
Majority			507	39.4	–25.6
Turnout			1,285	70.1	+15.8
Registered electors			1,834
	Labour hold		Swing	12.8

Cowley

Cowley

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	A. Rosier*	1,700	64.1	–4.0
	Conservative	Watts	953	35.9	+4.0
Majority			747	28.2	–8.0
Turnout			2,653	72.3	+40.5
Registered electors			3,670
	Labour hold		Swing	4.0

Elstree

Elstree

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Thomas*	2,017	65.1	–7.3
	Labour	Bara	653	21.1	–1.3
	Liberal	Crombie	429	13.8	+8.5
Majority			1,364	44.0	–6.0
Turnout			3,099	79.6	+29.1
Registered electors			3,891
	Conservative hold		Swing	3.0

Hillside

Hillside

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	P. Rose	1,211	48.7	–4.1
	Conservative	H. Stevens	934	37.6	–2.5
	Liberal	Mackay	342	13.8	+6.7
Majority			277	11.1	N/A
Turnout			2,487	76.3	+34.5
Registered electors			3,259
	Labour hold		Swing	0.8

Kenilworth

Kenilworth

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Hoare	1,244	50.2	–8.6
	Conservative	Upton	929	37.5	+1.1
	Liberal	Saunders	306	12.3	+7.5
Majority			315	12.7	–9.7
Turnout			2,479	75.3	+26.0
Registered electors			3,293
	Labour hold		Swing	4.9

Lyndhurst

Lyndhurst

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Coe	1,305	50.02	+1.4
	Conservative	Hinc*	1,304	49.98	–1.4
Majority			1	0.04	N/A
Turnout			2,609	78.9	+29.4
Registered electors			3,306
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	1.4

Mill

Mill

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	M. Colne*	1,963	70.8	+14.3
	Conservative	Kirby	517	18.6	–10.7
	Labour	Squires	294	10.6	–3.6
Majority			1,446	52.2	+25.0
Turnout			2,774	80.8	+31.1
Registered electors			3,434
	Liberal hold		Swing	12.5

Potters Bar East

Potters Bar East

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	B. Watson	2,244	59.1	–4.9
	Labour	Ford	1,017	26.8	+4.0
	Liberal	Byworth	537	14.1	+5.2
Majority			1,227	32.3	–8.9
Turnout			3,798	78.1	+29.0
Registered electors			4,861
	Conservative hold		Swing	4.5

Potters Bar West

Potters Bar West

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	E. Muddle*	1,563	55.9	–0.8
	Labour	J. McCarthy	650	23.2	+7.6
	Liberal	Shannon	584	20.9	–6.8
Majority			913	32.7	N/A
Turnout			2,797	77.8	+23.3
Registered electors			3,595
	Conservative hold		Swing	4.2

Shenley

Shenley

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	E. Broadley*	720	55.5	+0.9
	Conservative	Wild	578	44.5	–0.9
Majority			142	11.0	+1.8
Turnout			1,298	75.5	+14.6
Registered electors			1,719
	Labour hold		Swing	0.9

References

1. "Hertsmere District Council Election Results 1973-2012" (PDF). Colin Rallings & Michael Thrasher . The Elections Centre, Plymouth University . Retrieved 10 January 2026.
2. "Composition calculator". Colin Rallings & Michael Thrasher . The Elections Centre, Plymouth University . Retrieved 5 January 2026.