1987 Epping Forest District Council election

1987 Epping Forest District Council election

←  1986 7 May 1987 (1987-05-07) 1988  →
19 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 34 seats, 40.6% 12 seats, 28.8% 6 seats, 10.5% Seats before 34 12 6 Seats after 34 12 6 Seat change Popular vote 16,453 7,538 1,092 Percentage 52.0% 23.8% 3.4% Swing 11.4% 5.0% 7.1%   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   Party Alliance Independent Ind. Conservative Last election 4 seats, 19.3% 2 seats, 0.3% N/A Seats before 4 2 1 Seats after 4 2 1 Seat change Popular vote 5,896 N/A 666 Percentage 18.6% N/A 2.1% Swing 0.7% N/A N/A
Winner of each seat at the 1987 Epping Forest District Council election
Leader before election Conservative Leader after election Conservative

The 1987 Epping Forest District Council election took place on 7 May 1987 to elect members of Epping Forest District Council in Essex, England. 19 members of Epping Forest District Council in Essex were elected. The council remained under Conservative majority control.

Background

The 1987 Epping Forest District Council election was held on 7 May 1987 to elect members of Epping Forest District Council in Essex, England. These were held against a backdrop of political turbulence and shifting national fortunes. Britain entered the year under the grip of the January cold wave, one of the most severe in decades, which left much of the country paralysed by snow and sub-zero temperatures. Meanwhile, the Conservative government continued its programme of privatisation, with British Airways floated on the stock exchange in February, signalling the pace of economic change. National politics was also shaken by tragedy and controversy: the capsizing of the Herald of Free Enterprise in March, the IRA bombing in Rheindahlen, and a string of by-elections that revealed fluctuating fortunes for the opposition parties, particularly the SDP–Liberal Alliance.

Locally, the Conservatives managed to hold overall control of the council, consolidating their strength in several key wards. They made notable gains in the vote share in Paternoster, Loughton Broadway, and Debden Green, taking advantage of a decline in Labour support across the district. In some areas, the party's dominance was overwhelming, with margins of over 60% of the vote, reflecting both the national economic optimism of early 1987 and the strong organisational base the Conservatives enjoyed in Essex.

The SDP–Liberal Alliance, despite retaining a solid vote share, was unable to convert this support into additional seats. Their position remained largely static, with respectable second-place finishes in wards such as Buckhurst Hill East and Grange Hill, but without the breakthroughs that had been seen in neighbouring authorities earlier in the decade.

Labour, by contrast, endured a difficult election. Their vote share fell by more than five percentage points across the district, leaving them struggling to defend seats outside traditional strongholds such as Shelley and Debden. The results underlined the party's weakness in suburban Essex on the eve of the 1987 general election, where similar patterns would be repeated on a national scale.

Summary

Source: ^[1]

1987 Epping Forest District Council election
Party		This election			Full council			This election
		Seats	Net	Seats %	Other	Total	Total %	Votes	Votes %	+/−
	Conservative	14		73.6	20	34	57.6	16,453	52.0	11.4
	Labour	4		21.0	8	12	20.3	7,538	23.8	5.0
	Loughton Residents	1		5.2	5	6	10.1	1,092	3.4	7.2
	Liberal	0		0.0	4	4	6.6	5,896	18.6	0.7
	Independent	0		0.0	2	2	3.3	N/A	N/A	N/A
	Ind. Conservative	1		5.2	1	1	1.6	666	2.1	N/A

Results

Buckhurst Hill East

Buckhurst Hill East

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	M. Bell	890	46.0	7.3
	Alliance	J. Lowe	822	42.5	0.9
	Labour	S. Goodwin	223	11.5	6.4
Majority			68	3.5	1.2
Turnout			1,935	49.8	0.4
Registered electors			3,885
	Conservative hold		Swing

Buckhurst Hill West

Buckhurst Hill West

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	I. Beattie*	1,378	65.6	14.9
	Alliance	L. Eveling	610	29.0	9.8
	Labour	L. Baddock	114	5.4	5.0
Majority			768	36.6	24.7
Turnout			2,102	44.3	5.4
Registered electors			4,744
	Conservative hold		Swing

Chipping Ongar

Chipping Ongar

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	F. Love*	396	49.9	2.5
	Alliance	D. Jacobs	326	41.1	6.5
	Labour	R. Gross	72	9.1	N/A
Majority			70	8.8	3.9
Turnout			794	59.8	4.8
Registered electors			1,328
	Conservative hold		Swing

Debden Green

Debden Green

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	D. Martin	935	61.4	4.5
	Conservative	C. Finn	587	38.6	18.5
Majority			348	22.9	22.9
Turnout			1,522	38.0	3.5
Registered electors			4,009
	Labour hold		Swing

Epping Hemnall

Epping Hemnall

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	P. Jones	1,150	58.2	13.1
	Alliance	S. Mann	501	25.4	2.0
	Labour	I. Bell	325	16.4	11.1
Majority			649	32.8	5.4
Turnout			1,976	42.0	3.8
Registered electors			4,709
	Conservative hold		Swing

Epping Lindsey

Epping Lindsey

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	A. O'Brien*	1,125	48.0	6.2
	Alliance	D. Gent	853	36.4	5.7
	Labour	D. Sturrock	367	15.7	11.8
Majority			272	11.6	0.5
Turnout			2,345	46.7	5.4
Registered electors			5,017
	Conservative hold		Swing

Grange Hill

Grange Hill

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	A. Bryant*	1,187	53.8	14.0
	Alliance	G. West	884	40.1	11.3
	Labour	K. Dracott	134	6.1	2.7
Majority			303	13.7	2.1
Turnout			2,205	46.5	9.0
Registered electors			4,747
	Conservative hold		Swing

Greensted & Marden Ash

Greensted & Marden Ash

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	C. Henson	524	49.7	6.8
	Alliance	S. Ormsby	417	39.6	18.0
	Labour	P. Hughes	113	10.7	11.2
Majority			107	10.2	24.4
Turnout			1,054	54.0	5.0
Registered electors			1,951
	Conservative hold		Swing

High Beech

High Beech

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	A. Watts	782	82.7	28.1
	Labour	H. McSweeney	164	17.3	N/A
Majority			618	65.3	33.6
Turnout			946	43.2	8.0
Registered electors			2,189
	Conservative hold		Swing

Lambourne

Lambourne

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	R. Amanet*	621	60.0	2.4
	Labour	G. Huckle	257	24.8	17.6
	Alliance	K. Easlea	157	15.2	N/A
Majority			364	35.2	20.0
Turnout			1,035	68.4	4.6
Registered electors			1,514
	Conservative hold		Swing

Loughton Broadway

Loughton Broadway

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	J. Davis*	1,125	67.4	3.4
	Conservative	A. Swallow	545	32.6	18.5
Majority			580	34.7	22.0
Turnout			1,670	39.5	4.3
Registered electors			4,230
	Labour hold		Swing

Loughton Roding

Loughton Roding

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	T. Morris	1,003	52.4	6.8
	Labour	G. Owen	646	33.8	0.1
	Alliance	A. Humphris	264	13.8	5.7
Majority			357	18.7	7.0
Turnout			1,913	45.3	3.6
Registered electors			4,223
	Conservative hold		Swing

Loughton St. Johns

Loughton St. Johns

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Loughton Residents	R. Curtis*	1,092	56.6	2.1
	Conservative	J. Manning	685	35.5	1.8
	Labour	C. Wardell	153	7.9	4.0
Majority			407	21.1	0.3
Turnout			1,930	45.7
Registered electors			4,222
	Loughton Residents hold		Swing

Moreton & Matching

Moreton & Matching

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Ind. Conservative	R. Morgan*	666	78.5	4.6
	Alliance	S. Ormsby	182	21.5	4.6
Majority			484	57.1	9.4
Turnout			848	51.2	35.5
Registered electors			1,657
	Ind. Conservative hold		Swing

Nazeing

Nazeing

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	E. Downes*	1,148	64.3	35.7
	Alliance	G. Wigoder	319	17.9	N/A
	Labour	I. Brent	318	17.8	N/A
Majority			829	46.4	53.6
Turnout			1,785	48.5	N/A
Registered electors			3,677
	Conservative hold		Swing

North Weald Bassett

North Weald Bassett

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	I. Abbey*	1,263	67.9	32.1
	Alliance	J. Whitehouse	343	18.4	N/A
	Labour	D. Tetlow	255	13.7	N/A
Majority			920	49.4	50.6
Turnout			1,861	42.2	N/A
Registered electors			4,412
	Conservative hold		Swing

Shelley

Shelley

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	R. Barnes*	446	60.5	17.8
	Conservative	J. Innocent	189	25.6	3.9
	Alliance	G. Harmon	102	13.8	N/A
Majority			257	34.9	21.6
Turnout			737	52.2	0.7
Registered electors			1,412
	Labour hold		Swing

Waltham Abbey East

Waltham Abbey East

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	D. Spinks	1,387	66.5	16.1
	Labour	A. Davidson	699	33.5	5.1
Majority			688	33.0	21.2
Turnout			2,086	43.1	2.5
Registered electors			4,843
	Conservative hold		Swing

Waltham Abbey Paternoster

Waltham Abbey Paternoster

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	C. Hewins*	737	50.5	15.5
	Conservative	J. Day	722	49.5	15.5
Majority			15	1.0	30.0
Turnout			1,459	41.3	5.6
Registered electors			3,533
	Labour hold		Swing

Waltham Abbey West

Waltham Abbey West

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	W. Weiland	871	56.9	3.5
	Labour	D. Sherman	455	29.7	16.9
	Alliance	R. Dunstan	206	13.4	N/A
Majority			416	27.2	20.5
Turnout			1,532	40.9	3.0
Registered electors			3,750
	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 2025-02-02.