1996 Epping Forest District Council election

1996 Epping Forest District Council election

←  1995 2 May 1996 (1996-05-02) 1998  →
20 out of 59 seats to Epping Forest District Council 1 by-election to Loughton Roding 30 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party Third party   Party Labour Liberal Democrats Conservative Last election 18 seats, 37.0% 10 seats, 20.0% 18 seats, 28.2% Seats before 17 10 18 Seats after 19 16 11 Seat change 1 6 7 Popular vote 7,557 5,221 7,091 Percentage 31.7% 21.9% 29.8% Swing 5.3% 1.9% 1.6%   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   Party Loughton Residents Independent Epping Residents Last election 7 seats, 3.7% 3 seats, N/A 3 seats, 4.6% Seats before 7 3 3 Seats after 7 4 2 Seat change 1 1 Popular vote 2,101 1,143 674 Percentage 8.8% 4.8% 2.8% Swing 5.1% N/A 1.8
Winner of each seat at the 1996 Epping Forest District Council election Rectangular inset (Loughton Roding): By-election result
Leader before election Labour-Liberal Democrat coalition Leader after election Labour-Liberal Democrat coalition No overall control

The 1996 Epping Forest District Council election took place on 2 May 1995 to elect members of Epping Forest District Council in Essex, England. 20 members of Epping Forest District Council in Essex were elected, alongside one by-election in Loughton Roding. The council remained in no overall control allowing Labour, as the largest party, to join into a coalition with the Liberal Democrats who had experiences significant gains and beat the Conservatives into third place across the district in terms of seats.

Background

The 1996 Epping Forest District Council election took place against a turbulent national backdrop that was deeply unfavourable to the governing Conservatives. At Westminster, John Major’s government was beset by crisis, its parliamentary majority whittled down to just three seats by spring. A series of scandals, economic troubles, and public discontent had left the party languishing in the polls. In January, Labour surged to 55% in a MORI poll, with a commanding 26-point lead, while defections such as Arthur Scargill’s creation of the Socialist Labour Party underlined broader fractures on the left. Meanwhile, the country was shaken by events including the Docklands and London bus bombings, the Dunblane massacre, and the BSE crisis.

Locally, the Conservatives’ decline was felt more starkly than ever before. For the first time in the history of Epping Forest District Council, the party fell to third place overall, behind both Labour and the Liberal Democrats. The Liberal Democrats enjoyed their strongest performance yet in the district, recording their largest ever gain of seats and making major inroads across the both built up and rural areas. Labour also advanced, taking Epping Lindsey with less than 30% of the vote after a split contest involving the Conservatives and the Epping Residents Association.

The Conservatives, by contrast, suffered heavy reverses. They lost not only traditional marginal wards but also their grip on Theydon Bois, a long-standing stronghold that voted in an Independent candidate. This result boosted the number of Independents on the council to four, further fragmenting the chamber. The Epping Residents Association also lost ground, including the symbolic defeat in Epping Lindsey.

The outcome forced a dramatic reordering of council politics. With no party close to an outright majority, Labour and the Liberal Democrats reached a coalition agreement to administer the authority, sidelining the Conservatives. This election would see the high water mark for both Labour and Liberal Democrats. By 2011, no Labour councillors would sit in the council chamber.

Summary

^[1]

1996 Epping Forest District Council election
Party		This election			Full council			This election
		Seats	Net	Seats %	Other	Total	Total %	Votes	Votes %	+/−
	Labour	6	1	28.5	13	19	32.2	7,557	31.7	5.3
	Liberal Democrats	6	6	28.5	10	16	27.1	5,221	21.9	1.9
	Conservative	4	7	19.0	7	11	18.6	7,091	29.8	1.6
	Loughton Residents	3		14.2	4	7	11.8	2,101	8.8	5.1
	Independent	2	1	9.5	2	2	3.3	1,143	4.8	N/A
	Epping Residents	0	1	9.5	2	2	3.3	674	2.8	1.8

Results ^[2]

Buckhurst Hill East

Buckhurst Hill East

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	L. Martin	865	66.8	2.2
	Labour	J. Croke*	225	17.4	0.5
	Conservative	R. Watts	205	15.8	1.8
Majority			640	49.4	N/A
Turnout			1,295	38.4	0.2
Registered electors			3,377
	Liberal Democrats gain from Labour		Swing

*Croke was elected in 1992 as an SDP councillor but defected during the middle of her term, hence the result is shown as a Labour loss.

Buckhurst Hill West

Buckhurst Hill West

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	A. Haigh	1,032	60.3	2.8
	Conservative	A. Torgut	534	31.2	2.9
	Labour	L. Baddock	146	8.5	0.1
Majority			498	29.1	N/A
Turnout			1,712	33.6	1.5
Registered electors			5,093
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative		Swing

Chigwell Village

Chigwell Village

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	J. Gilliham*	601	64.4	4.4
	Liberal Democrats	M. Spence	185	19.8	6.8
	Labour	D. Wing	147	15.8	2.4
Majority			416	44.6	11.1
Turnout			933	28.4	10.6
Registered electors			3,283
	Conservative hold		Swing

Debden Green

Debden Green

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	C. Huckle*	882	77.7	5.3
	Conservative	C. Flan	253	22.3	4.8
Majority			629	55.4	0.5
Turnout			1,135	29.2	6.7
Registered electors			3,882
	Labour hold		Swing

Epping Hemnall

Epping Hemnall

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Janet Whitehouse	806	43.3	12.2
	Conservative	P. Burns*	529	28.4	2.8
	Labour	B. Johns	272	14.6	1.9
	Epping Residents	L. Barry	254	13.6	8.6
Majority			277	14.9	N/A
Turnout			1,861	38.9	3.4
Registered electors			4,780
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative		Swing

Epping Lindsey

Epping Lindsey

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	T. Norris	455	29.9	4.0
	Conservative	Chris Whitbread	426	28.0	2.6
	Epping Residents	J. Jones*	420	27.6	12.3
	Liberal Democrats	A. Moss	221	14.5	5.8
Majority			29	1.9	N/A
Turnout			1,522	32.1	7.8
Registered electors			4,748
	Labour gain from Epping Residents Association		Swing

Grange Hill

Grange Hill

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	S. Whiteford	846	55.7	4.6
	Conservative	E. Buttling	536	35.3	1.5
	Labour	D. Miller	136	9.0	3.1
Majority			310	20.4	6.1
Turnout			1,518	33.7	2.0
Registered electors			4,511
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative		Swing

High Ongar

High Ongar

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	M. McEwen	263	58.4	3.6
	Labour	K. Tait	187	41.6	30.5
Majority			76	16.9	18.1
Turnout			450	51.9	7.6
Registered electors			867
	Conservative hold		Swing

Loughton Broadway

Loughton Broadway

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	C. Baggarley	1,156	83.8	2.9
	Conservative	I. Locks	224	16.2	2.9
Majority			932	67.6	5.8
Turnout			1,380	34.4	5.2
Registered electors			4,013
	Labour hold		Swing

Loughton Forest

Loughton Forest

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Loughton Residents	K. Ellis*	729	68.8	6.0
	Conservative	J. Cantor	203	19.2	4.7
	Labour	J. Ormston	127	12.0	1.3
Majority			526	49.6	10.8
Turnout			1,059	34.7	8.5
Registered electors			3,051
	Loughton Residents hold		Swing

Loughton Roding

Loughton Roding

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	S. Goodwin*	987	67.1	4.9
	Labour	Ms M. Boatman	917
	Conservative	A. Jones	299	20.3	7.9
	Conservative	L. Daniel	256
	Liberal Democrats	L. Thompson	186	12.6	6.8
	Liberal Democrats	J. Netherclift	180
Majority			688	46.7	4.0
Turnout			1,908	37.1	21.2
Registered electors			3,972
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing

Loughton St. Johns

Loughton St. Johns

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Loughton Residents	R. Pearce	737	50.5	3.4
	Conservative	S. Metcalfe	468	32.1	1.7
	Labour	M. Juniper	254	17.4	5.1
Majority			269	18.4	1.7
Turnout			1,459	34.4	2.1
Registered electors			4,248
	Loughton Residents hold		Swing

Loughton St. Marys

Loughton St. Marys

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Loughton Residents	M. Wardle*	635	58.7	2.2
	Labour	P. Lavin	238	22.0	1.9
	Conservative	P. Gooch	209	19.3	0.3
Majority			397	36.7	4.1
Turnout			1,082	32.4	9.6
Registered electors			3,336
	Loughton Residents hold		Swing

Passingford

Passingford

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	J. Pledge*	N/A	N/A	N/A
Majority			N/A	N/A	N/A
Turnout			N/A	N/A	N/A
Registered electors			1,544
	Conservative hold		Swing

Roothing Country

Roothing Country

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	D. Kelly	287	40.7	0.9
	Conservative	M. Wallis	266	37.7	22.5
	Independent	K. Percy	153	21.7	N/A
Majority			21	3.0	N/A
Turnout			706	56.8	3.1
Registered electors			1,244
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative		Swing

Roydon

Roydon

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	A. Vare	356	46.6	N/A
	Labour	N. Castleden	276	36.1	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	C. Bagnall	132	17.3	N/A
Majority			80	10.5	N/A
Turnout			764	47.3	13.2
Registered electors			1,615
	Independent gain from Independent		Swing

Sheering

Sheering

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	D. Yeo	370	48.3	N/A
	Conservative	M. Ridgewell*	211	27.5	41.1
	Labour	J. Finlay	185	24.2	7.2
Majority			159	20.8	N/A
Turnout			766	34.4	0.9
Registered electors			2,229
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative		Swing

Theydon Bois

Theydon Bois

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	C. Gillam	634	43.9	N/A
	Conservative	J. Axon*	374	25.9	41.0
	Labour	S. Gymer	290	20.1	13.0
	Liberal Democrats	I. Black	147	10.2	N/A
Majority			260	18.0	N/A
Turnout			1,445	45.6	3.8
Registered electors			3,171
	Independent gain from Conservative		Swing

Waltham Abbey East

Waltham Abbey East

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	E. Webster*	934	47.7	7.1
	Labour	A. Liddell	880	44.9	6.9
	Liberal Democrats	P. Brooks	144	7.4	0.2
Majority			54	2.8	8.4
Turnout			1,958	34.1	1.7
Registered electors			5,738
	Conservative hold		Swing

Waltham Abbey Paternoster

Waltham Abbey Paternoster

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	C. Sumner	714	56.2	2.4
	Conservative	L. Rowley	556	43.8	2.4
Majority			158	12.4	4.8
Turnout			1,270	35.6	2.0
Registered electors			3,566
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing

Notes

1. https://www.electionscentre.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Epping-Forest-1973-2012.pdf
2. https://rds.eppingforestdc.gov.uk/Data/Council/19960514/Minutes/Minutes.htm#:~:text=It%20was%20reported,Mrs%20E%20Webster