1979 St Edmundsbury Borough Council election

1979 St Edmundsbury Borough Council election

←  1976 3 May 1979 (1979-05-03) 1983  →
All 44 seats to St Edmundsbury Borough Council 23 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party   Party Conservative Labour Seats won 32 8 Seat change 2 1 Popular vote 23,838 15,460 Percentage 54.8% 35.5% Swing 6.9% 0.0%   Third party Fourth party   Party Independent Liberal Seats won 3 1 Seat change 2 1 Popular vote 2,532 1,277 Percentage 5.8% 2.9% Swing 4.7% 2.5%
Winner of each seat at the 1979 St Edmundsbury Borough Council election.
Council control before election Conservative Council control after election Conservative

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

The whole council was up for election under new ward boundaries, but the number of seats remained the same.

Summary

Election result

1979 St Edmundsbury Borough Council election [2]
Party		Candidates	Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
	Conservative	38	32	N/A	N/A	2	72.7	54.8	23,838	+6.9
	Labour	30	8	N/A	N/A	1	18.2	35.5	15,460	±0.0
	Independent	4	3	N/A	N/A	2	6.8	5.8	2,532	–4.7
	Liberal	3	1	N/A	N/A	1	2.3	2.9	1,277	–2.5
	Ind. Conservative	1	0	N/A	N/A		0.0	1.0	419	N/A

11 Conservatives and 2 Labour were elected unopposed.

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.

Abbeygate

Abbeygate (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	F. Jepson	1,256	69.5
	Conservative	A. Biggs	1,153	63.8
	Labour	M. O'Hanlon	552	30.5
Turnout			~1,808	73.9
Registered electors			2,605
	Conservative win
	Conservative win

Barningham

Barningham

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	C. Hatten*	Unopposed
Registered electors			1,419
	Conservative hold

Barrow

Barrow

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	P. English*	Unopposed
Registered electors			1,358
	Conservative hold

Cangle

Cangle (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	G. Rushbrook	1,033	45.7
	Conservative	J. Savage*	973	43.0
	Labour	E. Elkins	911	40.3
	Labour	J. Hartley	878	38.8
	Liberal	C. Parker	317	14.0
Turnout			~2,261	76.9
Registered electors			3,033
	Conservative gain from Labour
	Conservative hold

Castle

Castle

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	W. Elkins*	636	63.3
	Conservative	M. Richards	368	36.7
Majority			268	26.6
Turnout			1,004	70.5
Registered electors			1,442
	Labour hold		Swing

Cavendish

Cavendish

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	J. Wayman	Unopposed
Registered electors			1,259
	Conservative gain from Independent

Chalkstone

Chalkstone (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	B. Easteal	1,022	54.5
	Labour	R. King	869	46.4
	Conservative	P. Shaul	853	45.5
Turnout			~1,875	72.7
Registered electors			2,723
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

Chevington

Chevington

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	J. Roberts*	Unopposed
Registered electors			1,400
	Conservative hold

Clare

Clare

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	G. Cruickshank	469	42.9
	Independent	E. Soulsby*	419	38.3
	Labour	G. Hatchett	206	18.8
Majority			50	4.6
Turnout			1,094	79.9
Registered electors			1,408
	Conservative gain from Independent		Swing

Clements

Clements (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	H. Eves*	870	55.3
	Labour	M. Manning	717	45.6
	Conservative	A. Ford	702	44.7
Turnout			~1,572	68.4
Registered electors			2,301
	Labour hold
	Labour hold

Eastgate

Eastgate (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	B. Jennings*	924	72.8
	Conservative	R. Self*	868	68.4
	Labour	P. Khan	346	27.2
Turnout			~1,270	73.5
Registered electors			1,860
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Fornham

Fornham

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	M. Orsler	578	50.3
	Conservative	J. Warren*	570	49.7
Majority			8	0.6
Turnout			1,148	80.4
Registered electors			1,442
	Independent gain from Conservative		Swing

Great Barton

Great Barton

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	C. Winsor*	Unopposed
Registered electors			1,345
	Conservative hold

Honington

Honington

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	G. Starling*	504	68.1
	Labour	J. Cooper	236	31.9
Majority			268	36.2
Turnout			740	71.6
Registered electors			1,048
	Conservative hold		Swing

Horringer

Horringer (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	P. Underwood	Unopposed
	Conservative	V. Roth*	Unopposed
Registered electors			2,427
	Conservative hold
	Conservative win (new seat)

Hundon

Hundon

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	K. Williams*	Unopposed
Registered electors			1,520
	Conservative hold

Ixworth

Ixworth

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	D. Cross*	Unopposed
Registered electors			1,626
	Conservative hold

Kedington

Kedington

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	A. Sharpe	656	67.1
	Labour	J. Jackson	322	32.9
Majority			334	34.2
Turnout			978	79.1
Registered electors			1,250
	Conservative hold		Swing

Northgate

Northgate (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	E. Steele*	927	55.8
	Conservative	E. Spooner*	734	44.2
	Conservative	T. Jenkins	647	39.0
	Labour	R. Nowak	625	37.7
Turnout			~1,661	72.7
Registered electors			2,460
	Labour hold
	Conservative hold

Pakenham

Pakenham

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	N. Whitwell*	747	74.0
	Labour	L. Aers	262	26.0
Majority			485	48.1
Turnout			1,009	72.4
Registered electors			1,407
	Independent hold		Swing

Risby

Risby

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	W. Conran*	Unopposed
Registered electors			1,362
	Conservative hold

Risbygate

Risbygate (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	A. Davies*	1,059	66.4
	Conservative	H. Marsh*	1,025	64.3
	Labour	J. Gallagher	535	33.6
	Labour	L. Robertson	470	29.5
Turnout			~1,594	74.4
Registered electors			2,462
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Rougham

Rougham

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	T. May*	788	72.6
	Labour	B. Eustace	297	27.4
Majority			491	45.3
Turnout			1,085	77.7
Registered electors			1,403
	Independent hold		Swing

Sextons

Sextons (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	J. Knight*	1,192	61.2
	Conservative	M. Lacey*	1,148	58.9
	Labour	A. Bumpstead	757	38.8
	Labour	R. Cockle	679	34.9
Turnout			~1,949	80.0
Registered electors			2,684
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Southgate

Southgate (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	S. Pott	956	34.6
	Liberal	J. Williams	840	30.4
	Conservative	L. Sewell*	784	28.4
	Labour	A. Robertson	549	19.9
	Ind. Conservative	R. Elliott*	419	15.2
	Labour	E. Bradin	382	13.8
Turnout			~2,763	76.7
Registered electors			2,949
	Conservative hold
	Liberal gain from Conservative

St. Marys & Helions

St. Marys & Helions

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	A. Horrigan	494	55.6
	Labour	R. Bambury	274	30.9
	Liberal	M. Beith	120	13.5
Majority			220	24.8
Turnout			888	75.9
Registered electors			1,189
	Conservative gain from Independent		Swing

St. Olaves

St. Olaves (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	W. Cownley*	Unopposed
	Labour	S. Wormleighton*	Unopposed
Registered electors			2,492
	Labour hold
	Labour hold

Stanton

Stanton

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	P. Rudge*	892	66.2
	Labour	D. Pollard	455	33.8
Majority			437	32.4
Turnout			1,347	78.1
Registered electors			1,736
	Conservative hold		Swing

Westgate

Westgate (2 seats)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	W. Cutting*	1,496	73.2
	Conservative	D. Kempson	1,406	68.8
	Labour	D. Bartlett	548	26.8
	Labour	V. Bartlett	464	22.7
Turnout			~2,044	79.1
Registered electors			2,774
	Conservative hold
	Conservative hold

Whelnetham

Whelnetham

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	K. Green*	796	64.1
	Labour	D. Bird	445	35.9
Majority			351	28.3
Turnout			1,241	83.6
Registered electors			1,504
	Conservative hold		Swing

Wickhambrook

Wickhambrook

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	J. Long*	848	79.0
	Labour	A. Inch	226	21.0
Majority			622	57.9
Turnout			1,074	77.7
Registered electors			1,395
	Conservative hold		Swing

Withersfield

Withersfield

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	J. Mowbray*	Unopposed
Registered electors			1,251
	Conservative hold

References

1. Rallings, Colin; Thrasher, Michael. "St Edmundsbury Borough Council Election Results 1973-2011" (PDF). electionscentre.co.uk. Plymouth: The Elections Centre, Plymouth University. pp. 4–5. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 September 2025. Retrieved 26 January 2026.
2. "Composition calculator". Colin Rallings & Michael Thrasher . The Elections Centre, Plymouth University . Retrieved 23 September 2025.