1983 Epping Forest District Council election

1983 Epping Forest District Council election

←  1982 5 May 1983 (1983-05-05) 1984  →
20 seats to Epping Forest District Council 30 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party Third party   Party Conservative Labour Loughton Residents Last election 42 seats, 47.5% 12 seats, 20.4% 3 seats, 8.8% Seats before 42 12 3 Seats after 39 13 4 Seat change 3 1 1 Popular vote 13,119 7,641 1,482 Percentage 46.6% 27.1% 5.2% Swing 0.9% 6.4% 3.6%   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   Party Independent Ind. Conservative Alliance Last election 2 seats, 0.5% 0 seats, N/A 0 seats, 21.6% Seats before 2 0 0 Seats after 2 1 0 Seat change 1 Popular vote 382 768 4,602 Percentage 1.3% 2.7% 16.3% Swing 0.8% N/A 5.3%
Winner of each seat at the 1983 Epping Forest District Council election
Leader before election Conservative Leader after election Conservative

The 1983 Epping Forest District Council election took place on 5 May 1983 to elect members of Epping Forest District Council in Essex, England. 20 members of Epping Forest District Council in Essex were elected. The council remained under Conservative majority control.

Background

The 1983 Epping Forest District Council election was held on 5 May 1983 to elect members of Epping Forest District Council in Essex, England. The election occurred amid significant political and social developments nationally, including rising unemployment, the continued prominence of the Conservative government led by Margaret Thatcher, and the rise of the Liberal-SDP Alliance, which had formed in 1981 following the split of several moderate Labour MPs. The election was also notable locally for the continued growth of the Loughton Residents Association (LRA), a local political group formed in 1981 to advocate for greater transparency and resident involvement in council decision-making.

The Conservatives retained control of Epping Forest District Council but faced challenges on multiple fronts. In Loughton, the LRA continued to gain seats from the Conservatives, winning an additional seat in Loughton St. Johns, demonstrating the growing influence of residents’ groups in the district. Labour remained a smaller but established presence, while the Liberal-SDP Alliance made significant inroads, coming closest to winning their first council seat in Chipping Ongar, where they finished just 34 votes behind the Conservative candidate.

Another highlight of the election was the election of Richard Morgan in Moreton and Matching, beginning a 40-year tenure on the council that would last until 2027. Morgan’s victory marked the start of one of the longest continuous periods of service by a single councillor in Epping Forest’s history, the other being Cllr Stephen Murray (elected in 1982)

Nationally, the election took place during a period of political tension and social change. The United Kingdom was experiencing record unemployment, the introduction of new economic measures by the Thatcher government, and debates over the one-pound coin and other fiscal policies.

Results summary

Source: ^[1]

1983 Epping Forest District Council election
Party		This election			Full council			This election
		Seats	Net	Seats %	Other	Total	Total %	Votes	Votes %	+/−
	Conservative	13	3	72.2	26	39	66.1	13,119	46.6	0.9
	Labour	4	1	6.7	9	13	22.0	7,641	27.1	6.4
	Loughton Residents	1	1	1.6	3	4	6.7	1,482	5.2	3.6
	Independent	0		0.0	2	2	3.3	382	1.3	0.8
	Ind. Conservative	1	1	1.6	1	1	1.6	768	2.7	N/A
	Liberal	0		0.0	0	0	0.0	4,602	16.3	5.3
	Ecology	0		0.0	0	0	0.0	104	0.4	0.1

Ward results

Buckhurst Hill East

Buckhurst Hill East

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	C. Perry*	752	52.4	2.6
	Labour	L. Baddock	351	24.4	6.2
	Alliance	A. Hall	333	23.2	8.8
Majority			401	27.9	10.1
Turnout			1,436	37.3	9.0
Registered electors			3,853
	Conservative hold		Swing

Buckhurst Hill West

Buckhurst Hill West

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	I. Beattie*	1,264	70.3	5.2
	Alliance	R. Eveling	355	19.7	6.5
	Labour	T. Green	179	10.0	1.3
Majority			909	50.6	11.7
Turnout			1,798	38.6	0.3
Registered electors			4,658
	Conservative hold		Swing

Chipping Ongar

Chipping Ongar

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	F. Love*	366	52.4	16.1
	Alliance	D. James	332	47.6	N/A
Majority			34	4.9	32.2
Turnout			698	55.0	17.9
Registered electors			1,270
	Conservative hold		Swing

Debden Green

Debden Green

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	R. Cornell	891	65.9	19.9
	Conservative	J. Phillips	267	19.7	1.7
	Alliance	R. Millett	194	14.3	2.9
Majority			624	46.2	18.9
Turnout			1,352	35.9	0.8
Registered electors			3,762
	Labour hold		Swing

Epping Hemnall

Epping Hemnall

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	B. Carpenter	1,049	53.8	5.5
	Alliance	J. Eves	458	23.5	9.5
	Labour	P. Speake	390	20.0	2.9
	Ecology	R. Boenke	52	2.7	1.1
Majority			591	30.3	15.0
Turnout			1,949	43.1	2.7
Registered electors			4,522
	Conservative hold		Swing

Epping Lindsey

Epping Lindsey

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	A. O'Brien*	1,080	48.9	4.7
	Alliance	A. Payne	625	28.3	1.6
	Labour	F. Davy	431	19.5	3.7
	Ecology	T. Broughton	72	3.3	1.0
Majority			455	20.6	6.2
Turnout			2,208	45.2	0.1
Registered electors			4,880
	Conservative hold		Swing

Grange Hill

Grange Hill

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	A. Bryant*	1,019	62.2	4.3
	Alliance	A. Thompson	474	29.0	4.4
	Labour	I. Prince	144	8.8	0.1
Majority			545	33.3	8.6
Turnout			1,637	36.7	1.2
Registered electors			4,456
	Conservative hold		Swing

Greensted & Marden Ash

Greensted & Marden Ash

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	C. Maclennan	503	56.5	10.4
	Labour	F. Barnes	195	21.9	11.2
	Alliance	L. Searl	192	21.6	N/A
Majority			308	34.6	0.7
Turnout			890	49.0	30.6
Registered electors			1,815
	Conservative hold		Swing

High Beech

High Beech

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	H. Taylor*	419	54.6
	Alliance	F. Little	176	22.9	N/A
	Ind. Conservative	R. Knibb	172	22.4	2.9
Majority			243	31.7	2.3
Turnout			767	35.2	37.6
Registered electors			2,181
	Conservative hold		Swing

Lambourne

Lambourne

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	R. Amanet*	541	57.6	2.8
	Labour	C. Huckle	398	42.4	2.8
Majority			143	15.2	5.6
Turnout			939	64.8	8.6
Registered electors			1,450
	Conservative hold		Swing

Loughton Broadway

Loughton Broadway

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	J. Davis*	1,019	57.6	13.2
	Alliance	M. Pettman	404	22.8	14.6
	Conservative	I. Holman	346	19.6	1.2
Majority			615	34.8	4.9
Turnout			1,769	40.4	0.7
Registered electors			4,380
	Labour hold		Swing

Loughton Roding

Loughton Roding

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	M. Newman	652	32.3	1.2
	Conservative	T. Swallow	591	29.2	14.1
	Loughton Residents	C. Johnson	536	26.5	N/A
	Alliance	J. Lowe	242	12.0	11.2
Majority			61	3.0	6.8
Turnout			2,021	49.8	4.4
Registered electors			4,056
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing

Loughton St. Johns

Loughton St. Johns

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Loughton Residents	R. Curtis	946	49.6	6.1
	Conservative	R. Brady*	755	39.6	2.0
	Labour	J. Markham	155	8.1	1.4
	Alliance	P. Richardson	50	2.6	8.6
Majority			191	10.0	N/A
Turnout			1,906	45.8	0.3
Registered electors			4,161
	Loughton Residents gain from Conservative		Swing

Moreton & Matching

Moreton & Matching

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Ind. Conservative	Richard Morgan	596	73.9	N/A
	Alliance	J. Carter	211	26.1	N/A
Majority			385	47.7	N/A
Turnout			807	86.7	N/A
Registered electors			931
	Ind. Conservative gain from Conservative		Swing

Nazeing

Nazeing

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	E. Downes	1,012	70.2	4.4
	Labour	I. Brent	430	29.8	4.4
Majority			582	40.4	8.8
Turnout			1,442	39.1	3.4
Registered electors			3,689
	Conservative hold		Swing

North Weald Bassett

North Weald Bassett

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	I. Abbey*	988	58.2	2.0
	Independent	R. Wyness	382	22.5	11.7
	Labour	D. Grenville-Brown	328	19.3	9.7
Majority			606	35.7	4.5
Turnout			1,698	41.9	0.4
Registered electors			4,055
	Conservative hold		Swing

Shelley

Shelley

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	R. Barnes*	562	78.3	17.3
	Conservative	M. Docherty	156	21.7	17.3
Majority			406	56.5	34.6
Turnout			718	51.5	25.7
Registered electors			1,393
	Labour hold		Swing

Waltham Abbey East

Waltham Abbey East

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	D. Esau*	864	57.4	0.3
	Labour	F. Harewood	379	25.2	1.0
	Alliance	G. Pettman	261	17.4	1.3
Majority			485	32.2	0.7
Turnout			1,504	32.0	7.4
Registered electors			4,693
	Conservative hold		Swing

Waltham Abbey Paternoster

Waltham Abbey Paternoster

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	C. Hewins*	763	55.4	10.1
	Conservative	K. Bellamy	503	36.5	5.5
	Alliance	J. Fuller	111	8.1	15.5
Majority			260	18.9	4.6
Turnout			1,377	38.4	1.4
Registered electors			3,588
	Labour hold		Swing

Waltham Abbey West

Waltham Abbey West

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	H. Smith*	644	49.2	7.5
	Labour	D. Murray	481	36.7	8.0
	Alliance	J. Jenkinson	184	14.1	15.5
Majority			163	12.5	0.4
Turnout			1,309	35.4	0.6
Registered electors			3,694
	Conservative hold		Swing

References

1. Colin Rallings; Michael Thrasher (2013). "Epping Forest District Council Election Results 1973-2012" (PDF). The elections centre. Plymouth University. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2 February 2025.