1979 Southend-on-Sea Borough Council election

1979 Southend-on-Sea Borough Council election

←  1978 3 May 1979 (1979-05-03) 1980  →
14 out of 39 seats to Southend-on-Sea Borough Council 20 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party Third party   Party Conservative Liberal Labour Seats won 11 2 1 Seats after 30 5 4 Seat change 1 1 Popular vote 50,821 21,121 23,202 Percentage 53.1% 22.1% 24.3% Swing 5.1% 0.5% 4.7%
Winner of each seat at the 1979 Southend-on-Sea Borough Council election.
Council control before election Conservative Council control after election Conservative

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

Summary

Election result

1979 Southend-on-Sea Borough Council election [2]
Party		This election			Full council			This election
		Seats	Net	Seats %	Other	Total	Total %	Votes	Votes %	+/−
	Conservative	11	1	78.6	19	30	76.9	50,821	53.1	–5.1
	Liberal	2		14.3	3	5	12.8	21,121	22.1	+0.5
	Labour	1	1	7.1	3	4	10.3	23,202	24.3	+4.7
	National Front	0		0.0	0	0	0.0	485	0.5	–0.1

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.

Belfairs

Belfairs

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	V. Smith*	4,000	53.5	–15.8
	Liberal	P. Oxley	2,422	32.4	+13.6
	Labour	E. Newman	892	11.9	+0.1
	National Front	S. McGovern	162	2.2	N/A
Majority			1,578	21.1	–29.4
Turnout			7,476	76.2	+39.7
Registered electors			9,813
	Conservative hold		Swing	14.7

Blenheim

Blenheim

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	E. Watson-Lamb*	3,432	48.2	–14.2
	Liberal	J. Allen	2,333	32.8	+13.6
	Labour	C. Newman	1,252	17.6	+2.8
	National Front	P. Twomey	103	1.4	–2.3
Majority			1,099	15.4	–27.7
Turnout			7,120	71.4	+36.9
Registered electors			9,969
	Conservative hold		Swing	13.9

Chalkwell

Chalkwell (2 seats due to by-election)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	M. Collard*	3,915	61.6
	Conservative	A. Daniels	3,773	59.4
	Liberal	P. Wllletts	1,882	29.6
	Liberal	R. Wood	1,728	27.2
	Labour	D. Bason	713	11.2
	Labour	K. Leaman	695	10.9
Turnout			~7,306	76.9
Registered electors			9,501
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Eastwood

Eastwood

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	V. Kaye	3,856	52.4	–15.5
	Liberal	N. Goodman	2,570	34.9	+10.0
	Labour	N. Boorman	934	12.7	+5.5
Majority			1,286	17.5	N/A
Turnout			7,360	76.9	+32.8
Registered electors			9,571
	Conservative hold		Swing	12.8

Leigh

Leigh

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	A. Crystall*	4,026	53.4	+4.2
	Conservative	L. Woodward	3,090	41.0	–5.7
	Labour	H. Mapp	423	5.6	+1.5
Majority			936	12.4	+9.9
Turnout			7,539	78.4	+25.3
Registered electors			9,622
	Liberal hold		Swing	5.0

Milton

Milton

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	J. Carlile*	3,229	60.1	–5.8
	Labour	A. Scott	2,144	39.9	+5.8
Majority			1,085	20.2	–11.6
Turnout			5,373	61.1	+29.4
Registered electors			8,800
	Conservative hold		Swing	5.8

Prittlewell

Prittlewell

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	J. Armitage	3,201	42.5	–0.8
	Conservative	E. Barham	2,925	38.8	–4.7
	Labour	E. Wilson	1,403	18.6	+5.5
Majority			276	3.7	N/A
Turnout			7,529	74.7	+32.7
Registered electors			10,076
	Liberal hold		Swing	2.0

Shoebury

Shoebury

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	B. Hennessey*	3,998	52.8	–2.7
	Labour	J. Hodgkins	2,555	33.8	±0.0
	Liberal	J. O'Neill	1,016	13.4	+2.7
Majority			1,443	19.1	–2.6
Turnout			7,569	69.3	+36.9
Registered electors			10,927
	Conservative hold		Swing	1.4

Southchurch

Southchurch

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	D. Garston*	4,607	64.4	–9.6
	Labour	P. Harrison	2,550	35.6	+9.6
Majority			2,057	28.7	–19.4
Turnout			7,157	72.0	+42.8
Registered electors			9,938
	Conservative hold		Swing	9.6

St Lukes

St Lukes

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	B. Fowler	2,861	48.5	+0.5
	Labour	G. Caplan*	2,821	47.8	+1.7
	National Front	V. Twomey	220	3.7	–2.2
Majority			40	0.7	–1.2
Turnout			5,902	67.0	+37.8
Registered electors			8,805
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing	0.6

Thorpe

Thorpe

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	B. Scholfield*	5,388	77.3	–7.4
	Labour	M. Hurley	1,579	22.7	+7.4
Majority			3,809	54.7	–14.7
Turnout			6,967	73.5	+39.1
Registered electors			9,482
	Conservative hold		Swing	7.4

Victoria

Victoria

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	G. Elvin*	3,206	50.3	–0.3
	Conservative	D. Hopkins	3,163	49.7	+0.3
Majority			43	0.7	–0.6
Turnout			6,369	65.6	+39.3
Registered electors			9,704
	Labour hold		Swing	0.3

Westborough

Westborough

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	G. Littler	2,584	39.4	–5.5
	Labour	A. Hurst	2,035	31.0	–2.5
	Liberal	R. Price	1,943	29.6	+8.0
Majority			549	8.4	–3.1
Turnout			6,562	72.3	+27.6
Registered electors			9,077
	Conservative hold		Swing	1.5

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.