1980 Rochford District Council election

1980 Rochford District Council election

←  1979 1 May 1980 (1980-05-01) 1982  →
12 out of 40 seats to Rochford District Council 21 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party Third party   Party Conservative Residents Labour Seats won 9 1 2 Seats after 26 5 3 Seat change 1 2 Popular vote 6,182 589 2,757 Percentage 53.3% 5.1% 23.8% Swing 3.2% 0.5% 7.4%   Fourth party Fifth party   Party Liberal Independent Seats won 0 0 Seats after 3 3 Seat change 1 Popular vote 1,685 393 Percentage 14.5% 3.4% Swing 0.8% 3.8%
Council control before election Conservative Council control after election Conservative

The 1980 Rochford District Council election took place on 1 May 1980 to elect members of Rochford District Council in Essex, England. ^[1] This was on the same day as other local elections.

Summary

Election result

1980 Rochford District Council election
Party		This election			Full council			This election
		Seats	Net	Seats %	Other	Total	Total %	Votes	Votes %	+/−
	Conservative	9	1	75.0	17	26	65.0	6,182	53.3	–3.2
	Residents	1		8.3	4	5	12.5	589	5.1	+0.5
	Labour	2	2	16.7	1	3	7.5	2,757	23.8	+7.4
	Liberal	0		0.0	3	3	7.5	1,685	14.5	–0.8
	Independent	0	1	0.0	3	3	7.5	393	3.4	–3.8

Ward results

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

Ashingdon

Ashingdon

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	T. Fawell	496	54.0	+9.6
	Liberal	N. Drayton-Thomas	422	46.0	–9.6
Majority			74	8.0	N/A
Turnout			918	42.0	–35.3
Registered electors			2,186
	Conservative hold		Swing	9.6

Downhall

Downhall

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	R. Stephens	650	67.8	–23.6
	Labour	J. Foley	169	17.6	N/A
	Liberal	M. Menning	139	14.5	+5.9
Majority			481	50.2	–32.7
Turnout			958	39.0	–6.8
Registered electors			2,459
	Conservative hold

Grange & Rawreth

Grange & Rawreth

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	N. Blyther	571	43.3	–21.9
	Labour	S. Andre	552	41.9	+7.1
	Liberal	D. Ward	195	14.8	N/A
Majority			19	1.4	–29.0
Turnout			1,318	35.8	–39.3
Registered electors			3,678
	Conservative hold		Swing	14.5

Hawkwell East

Hawkwell East

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	E. Maton*	681	53.2	–4.1
	Labour	D. Weir	599	46.8	N/A
Majority			82	6.4	–8.3
Turnout			1,280	30.5	–46.8
Registered electors			4,208
	Conservative hold

Hawkwell West

Hawkwell West

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	A. Tate*	602	44.1	–3.2
	Residents	N. Finlay	589	43.1	–9.6
	Labour	P. Marshall	175	12.8	N/A
Majority			13	1.0	N/A
Turnout			1,366	48.7	–32.6
Registered electors			2,904
	Conservative hold		Swing	3.2

Hockley Central

Hockley Central

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	M. Anderson	418	77.0	+18.8
	Liberal	C. Pohl	125	23.0	–18.8
Majority			293	54.0	+37.7
Turnout			543	35.7	–5.5
Registered electors			1,533
	Conservative hold		Swing	18.8

Hockley East

Hockley East

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Residents	E. Whitworth*	Unopposed
Registered electors			3,143
	Residents hold

Hockley West

Hockley West

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	J. Jones*	549	66.9	–18.3
	Liberal	G. Skinner	272	33.1	+18.3
Majority			277	33.7	–36.6
Turnout			821	51.3	+7.3
Registered electors			1,639
	Conservative hold		Swing	18.3

Hullbridge Riverside

Hullbridge Riverside

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	T. Madden	555	59.8	N/A
	Conservative	R. Moody	373	40.2	–3.9
Majority			182	19.6	N/A
Turnout			928	35.6	–0.9
Registered electors			2,684
	Labour gain from Conservative

Lodge

Lodge

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	P. Elliott	840	61.2	–11.2
	Liberal	K. Saunders	532	38.8	N/A
Majority			308	22.4	N/A
Turnout			1,372	31.8	–46.4
Registered electors			4,312
	Conservative hold

Rayleigh Central

Rayleigh Central

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	T. Warner	551	47.6	–22.6
	Independent	S. Silva*	393	34.0	N/A
	Labour	V. Foley	213	18.4	–11.4
Majority			158	13.7	–26.7
Turnout			1,157	42.5	+2.5
Registered electors			2,725
	Conservative gain from Independent

Rochford St Andrews

Rochford St Andrews

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	C. Alger	494	52.3	+17.4
	Conservative	D. Mears*	451	47.7	–17.4
Majority			43	4.6	N/A
Turnout			945	37.2	+3.4
Registered electors			2,602
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	17.4

References

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