1991 Epping Forest District Council election

1991 Epping Forest District Council election

←  1990 2 May 1991 (1991-05-02) 1992  →
20 out of 59 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 36 seats, 39.7% 13 seats, 31.4% 7 seats, 8.9% Seats before 33 13 7 Seats after 30 14 7 Seat change 6 1 Popular vote 10,500 8,722 1,509 Percentage 36.9% 30.6% 5.3% Swing 2.5% 0.8% 1.3%   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   Party Liberal Democrats SDP Epping Residents Last election 0 seat, 11.9% 1 seat, 3.5% (as the old SDP) N/A Seats before 0 1 2 [a] Seats after 2 2 1 Seat change 2 1 1 Popular vote 4,508 1,340 1,163 Percentage 15.8% 4.7% 4.0% Swing 3.9% 1.2% N/A   Seventh party Eighth party   Party Independent Ind. Conservative Last election N/A N/A Seats before 2 [b] 1 Seats after 2 1 Seat change 1 Popular vote 1,119 N/A Percentage 3.9% N/A Swing N/A N/A
Winner of each seat at the 1991 Epping Forest District Council election
Leader before election Conservative Leader after election Conservative

The 1991 Epping Forest District Council election took place on 2 May 1991 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 1991 Epping Forest District Council election took place during a period of ongoing economic difficulty and political transition in the United Kingdom. The country remained in recession, with unemployment reaching 2,175,000 by May, the highest level since late 1988, and exceeding the European average for the first time since 1987. Many voters were concerned about job security, particularly in manufacturing and financial services, as redundancies continued to rise.

Nationally, the Conservative government, now led by Prime Minister John Major, was managing the unpopular legacy of the Community Charge, or "poll tax," which had sparked protests, non-payment campaigns, and riots in the previous year. The government had announced plans to replace it with the Council Tax in 1993, an effort to mitigate public dissatisfaction while maintaining local government finance. Opinion polls in the months leading up to the election showed Labour gaining ground, with one MORI poll in May placing Labour six points ahead of the Conservatives. The Liberal Democrats were also consolidating support, having trebled their national vote share in the fifteen months prior.

Local political issues also reflected these national trends. Voters in Epping Forest were presented with competitive contests across multiple wards, with seats contested by Conservatives, Labour, Liberal Democrats, the remnants of the Social Democrats, and local Residents or Ratepayers groups.

Summary

^[1]

1991 Epping Forest District Council election
Party		This election			Full council			This election
		Seats	Net	Seats %	Other	Total	Total %	Votes	Votes %	+/−
	Conservative	8	6	40.0	22	30	50.8	10,500	36.9	2.5
	Labour	5	1	25.0	8	13	22.0	8,722	30.6	0.8
	Loughton Residents	1		5.0	6	7	11.8	1,509	5.3	1.3
	Liberal Democrats	2	2	10.0		3	5.0	4,508	15.8	3.9
	SDP	1	1	5.0	1	2	3.3	1,340	4.7	1.2
	Epping Residents	1	1	0	0	0	0.0	1,163	4.0	N/A
	Independent	1	1	5.0	1	2	1.6	1,119	3.9	N/A
	Ind. Conservative	1		5.0	0	1	1.6	N/A	N/A	N/A

Results ^[2]

Buckhurst Hill East

Buckhurst Hill East

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	SDP	G. Dunseath	802	43.0	1.2
	Conservative	M. Bell*	496	26.6	2.1
	Liberal Democrats	P. Spencer	368	19.7	2.7
	Labour	Ms L. Baddock	201	10.8	3.6
Majority			306	16.4	3.3
Turnout			1,867	47.3	10.7
Registered electors			3,947
	SDP gain from Conservative		Swing

Buckhurst Hill West

Buckhurst Hill West

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	I. Beattie*	940	48.4	10.4
	SDP	P. Mason	538	27.7	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	D. Jenkinson	337	17.3	10.2
	Labour	B. Mooney	129	6.6	7.1
Majority			402	20.7	10.6
Turnout			1,944	40.4	6.8
Registered electors			4,812
	Conservative hold		Swing

Chipping Ongar

Chipping Ongar

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	K. Wright	409	52.9	11.8
	Conservative	F. Love*	280	36.2	13.7
	Labour	R. Gross	84	10.9	1.8
Majority			129	16.7	5.0
Turnout			773	58.1	1.7
Registered electors			1,330
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative		Swing

Debden Green

Debden Green

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Ms C. Baggarley	924	66.8	4.4
	Conservative	L. Daniel	309	22.3	1.3
	Liberal Democrats	D. Weldon	151	10.9	N/A
Majority			615	44.4	3.2
Turnout			1,384	35.5	10.6
Registered electors			3,899
	Labour hold		Swing

Epping Hemnall

Epping Hemnall

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Ms D. Collins	890	42.8	0.2
	Epping Residents	Ms J. Jones*	412	19.8	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	Ms S. Mann	403	19.4	8.4
	Labour	B. Green	375	18.0	8.4
Majority			478	23.0	8.2
Turnout			2,080	45.8	1.9
Registered electors			4,541
	Conservative hold		Swing

Epping Lindsey

Epping Lindsey

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Epping Residents	A. O'Brien*	751	34.4	N/A
	Conservative	P. Jones	589	27.0	12.1
	Liberal Democrats	J. Page	444	20.4	1.6
	Labour	D. Shenfield	396	18.2	14.4
Majority			162	7.4	0.9
Turnout			2,180	45.6	3.1
Registered electors			4,781
	Epping Residents gain from Conservative		Swing

Grange Hill

Grange Hill

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Ms C. Barrack	939	49.2	0.8
	Liberal Democrats	I. Gold	811	42.5	2.7
	Labour	A. Wembourne	159	8.3	3.5
Majority			128	6.7	1.8
Turnout			1,909	41.0	8.0
Registered electors			4,656
	Conservative hold		Swing

Greensted & Marden Ash

Greensted & Marden Ash

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	D. Jacobs	628	63.7	24.1
	Conservative	W. White	289	29.3	20.4
	Labour	Ms G. Huckle	69	7.0	3.7
Majority			339	34.4	44.5
Turnout			986	52.0	1.0
Registered electors			1,896
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative		Swing

High Beech

High Beech

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Antony Watts*	629	68.1	14.6
	Labour	P. Chittock	294	31.9	14.6
Majority			335	36.3	29.0
Turnout			923	42.7	0.5
Registered electors			2,162
	Conservative hold		Swing

Lambourne

Lambourne

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	M. Cutler	383	41.2	18.8
	Liberal Democrats	K. Easlea	354	38.1	N/A
	Labour	C. Pereira	193	20.8	4.0
Majority			29	3.1	32.1
Turnout			930	63.7	4.7
Registered electors			1,460
	Conservative hold		Swing

Loughton Broadway

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Ms J. Davis	1,225	71.8	4.8
	Conservative	Ms I. Holman	350	20.5	0.4
	Liberal Democrats	Ms J. Netherclift	131	7.7	N/A
Majority			875	51.3	4.3
Turnout			1,706	41.4	14.2
Registered electors			4,121
	Labour hold		Swing

Loughton Roding

Loughton Roding

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	R. Baddock	760	41.9	0.2
	Loughton Residents	Ms P. Meadows	592	32.6	2.1
	Conservative	T. Morris*	464	25.6	0.5
Majority			168	9.3	2.3
Turnout			1,816	44.6	8.9
Registered electors			4,072
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing

Loughton St. Johns

Loughton St. Johns

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Loughton Residents	R. Curtis*	917	55.5	4.3
	Conservative	Ms S. Creswell	497	30.1	1.9
	Labour	P. Turner	239	14.5	2.3
Majority			420	25.4	6.1
Turnout			1,653	41.0	5.7
Registered electors			4,032
	Loughton Residents hold		Swing

Moreton & Matching

Moreton & Matching

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Ind. Conservative	R. Morgan*	N/A	100.0	21.5
Majority			N/A	N/A	N/A
Turnout			N/A	N/A	N/A
Registered electors			1,566
	Ind. Conservative hold		Swing

Nazeing

Nazeing

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Ms E. Downes*	1,119	72.0	N/A
	Labour	D. Mills	436	28.0	6.6
Majority			683	43.9	N/A
Turnout			1,555	44.8	4.2
Registered electors			3,471
	Independent gain from Conservative		Swing

North Weald Bassett

North Weald Bassett

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	D. Cousins	901	55.8	3.5
	Labour	I. Standfast	417	25.8	7.6
	Liberal Democrats	S. Ward	297	18.4	4.1
Majority			484	30.0	11
Turnout			1,615	37.4	7.6
Registered electors			4,318
	Conservative hold		Swing

Shelley

Shelley

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	R. Barnes*	434	63.1	2.6
	Liberal Democrats	E. Notman	175	25.4	11.6
	Conservative	Ms D. Swann	79	11.5	14.1
Majority			259	37.6	2.7
Turnout			688	48.8	3.4
Registered electors			1,410
	Labour hold		Swing

Waltham Abbey East

Waltham Abbey East

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	D. Spinks*	1,081	55.8	18.3
	Labour	P. Withers	858	44.2	8.4
Majority			223	11.5	9.9
Turnout			1,939	41.5	12.2
Registered electors			4,672
	Conservative hold		Swing

Waltham Abbey Paternoster

Waltham Abbey Paternoster

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	C. Hewins*	887	62.0	5.7
	Conservative	Ms Y. Greensall	544	38.0	15.5
Majority			343	24.0	9.8
Turnout			1,431	41.9	0.6
Registered electors			3,415
	Labour hold		Swing

Waltham Abbey West

Waltham Abbey West

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	H. Taylor	840	56.7	31.0
	Labour	F. Harewood	642	43.3	3.0
Majority			198	13.4	N/A
Turnout			1,482	39.7	10.4
Registered electors			3,733
	Conservative hold		Swing

Footnotes

1. Two Epping councillors, Jones and A. O'Brien resigned the whip earlier that year.
2. Nazeing Councillor Downes resigned from the party earlier that year to sit as an Independent alongside Roydon Councillor Easton.

References

1. Rallings, Colin; Thrasher, Michael. "Epping Forest District Council Election Results 1973-2012" (PDF).
2. https://eppingforest.moderngov.co.uk/Data/Council/19910514/Minutes/Minutes.htm#:~:text=8.%20DISTRICT%20COUNCIL,H%20W%20Taylor