2011 Hertsmere Borough Council election

2011 Hertsmere Borough Council election

←  2010 5 May 2011 (2011-05-05) 2012  →
13 out of 39 seats to Hertsmere Borough Council 20 seats needed for a majority
Registered	65,115
Turnout	39.9% (26.6%)
First party Second party Third party   Party Conservative Labour Liberal Democrats Seats won 11 2 0 Seats after 35 4 0 Seat change 1 1 2 Popular vote 15,493 7,549 2,691 Percentage 59.7% 29.1% 10.4% Swing 1.2% 2.4% 0.5%
Winner of each seat at the 2011 Hertsmere Borough Council election. Wards in white were not contested.
Control before election Conservative Control after election Conservative

The 2011 Hertsmere Borough Council election took place on 5 May 2011 to elect members of Hertsmere Borough Council in Hertfordshire, England. ^[1] This was on the same day as other local elections.

One third of the council was up for election and the Conservative Party stayed in overall control of the council. ^[2]

Summary

Background

13 of the 39 seats on the council were being contested, with 2 sitting councillors standing down at the election, Conservative Darren Solomons and Liberal Democrat Anita Gamble. ^[3] Meanwhile, the Liberal Democrat leader on the council Roger Kutchinsky contested Bushey Heath, instead of the ward he had previously held Bushey North. ^[3]

Election result

The Conservatives gained 2 seats from the Liberal Democrats, but lost a seat to Labour, thus winning 11 of the 13 seats contested. ^{[4] [5]} This meant the Conservatives stayed in control of the council with 35 seats compared to 4 for Labour. ^[5] Meanwhile, the defeats for the Liberal Democrats meant they no longer had any seats on Hertsmere council for the first time ever. ^[6] Overall turnout at the election was 40.49%. ^[7]

The Conservatives gained Bushey North and Bushey St James from the Liberal Democrats, while the Liberal Democrat leader came third in Bushey Heath. ^[8] Labour candidate Richard Butler gained Borehamwood Kenilworth from the Conservatives, at the same election that his father Ernie Butler held Borehamwood Cowley Hill for Labour. ^[4] The gain by 25-year-old Richard Butler meant Labour finished the election with more councillors than before the election for the first time since 1996. ^[9]

2011 Hertsmere Borough Council election [10] [11] [7]
Party		This election			Full council			This election
		Seats	Net	Seats %	Other	Total	Total %	Votes	Votes %	+/−
	Conservative	11	1	84.6	24	35	89.7	15,493	59.7	–1.2
	Labour	2	1	15.4	2	4	10.3	7,549	29.1	+2.4
	Liberal Democrats	0	2	0.0	0	0	0.0	2,691	10.4	+0.5
	UKIP	0		0.0	0	0	0.0	236	0.9	N/A

Ward results

Incumbent councillors standing for re-election are marked with an asterisk (*). Changes in seats do not take into account by-elections or defections.

Aldenham East

Aldenham East ^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Charles Goldstein*	1,410	75.2	–5.4
	Liberal Democrats	Ruth Irwin	250	13.3	N/A
	Labour	Richard Kirk	214	11.4	+3.1
Majority			1,160	61.9	–7.5
Turnout			1,874	51.4	+11.3
Registered electors			3,713
	Conservative hold

Aldenham West

Aldenham West ^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Dan Griffin*	1,122	72.4	–2.1
	Labour	Sandra Huff	270	17.4	+4.3
	Liberal Democrats	Robert Gamble	158	10.2	N/A
Majority			852	55.0	–6.3
Turnout			1,550	44.2	+9.5
Registered electors			3,607
	Conservative hold		Swing	3.2

Borehamwood Brookmeadow

Borehamwood Brookmeadow ^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Sam Dobin	995	50.1	+4.1
	Labour	Susan Maughan	860	43.3	+16.9
	Liberal Democrats	Judith Sear	133	6.7	–8.9
Majority			135	6.8	–12.8
Turnout			1,988	36.9	–22.7
Registered electors			5,440
	Conservative hold		Swing	6.4

Borehamwood Cowley Hill

Borehamwood Cowley Hill ^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Ernie Butler*	1,125	60.9	+18.7
	Conservative	Alan Plancey	723	39.1	+2.6
Majority			402	21.8	+16.1
Turnout			1,848	30.7	–23.4
Registered electors			6,051
	Labour hold		Swing	8.1

Borehamwood Hillside

Borehamwood Hillside ^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Jean Heywood*	1,302	58.2	–4.3
	Labour	Lee Petar	936	41.8	+4.3
Majority			366	16.4	–8.6
Turnout			2,238	33.9	–25.2
Registered electors			6,733
	Conservative hold		Swing	4.3

Borehamwood Kenilworth

Borehamwood Kenilworth ^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Richard Butler	859	56.8	+8.1
	Conservative	Penny Swallow*	652	43.2	–8.1
Majority			207	13.6	N/A
Turnout			1,511	37.4	–22.5
Registered electors			4,193
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	8.1

Bushey Heath

Bushey Heath ^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Paul Morris	1,845	75.3	–1.8
	Labour	David Bearfield	322	13.1	+2.2
	Liberal Democrats	Roger Kutchinsky*	282	11.5	–0.5
Majority			1,523	62.2	–2.9
Turnout			2,449	48.1	–26.0
Registered electors			5,123
	Conservative hold		Swing	2.0

Bushey North

Bushey North ^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Leslie Winters	841	45.4	+1.0
	Liberal Democrats	Eddie Sheridan	583	31.5	–9.7
	Labour	Sam Russell	427	23.1	+8.7
Majority			258	13.9	+10.7
Turnout			1,851	39.3	–26.2
Registered electors			4,739
	Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats		Swing	5.4

Bushey St. James

Bushey St. James ^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Carey Keates	1,238	51.8	+2.3
	Labour	Tony Breslin	662	27.7	+14.1
	Liberal Democrats	Kim Elliott	491	20.5	–16.4
Majority			576	24.1	+11.4
Turnout			2,391	44.6	–23.6
Registered electors			5,478
	Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats		Swing	5.9

Elstree

Elstree ^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Morris Bright*	1,116	77.6	–0.1
	Labour	Ian Feeney	322	22.4	+0.1
Majority			794	55.2	–0.2
Turnout			1,438	40.2	–27.3
Registered electors			3,620
	Conservative hold		Swing	0.1

Potters Bar Furzefield

Potters Bar Furzefield ^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Ronald Morris*	1,281	61.4	–6.6
	Labour	Jim Fisher	532	25.5	–6.5
	Liberal Democrats	Susan Oatway	275	13.2	N/A
Majority			749	35.9	±0.0
Turnout			2,088	43.4	–25.9
Registered electors			4,871
	Conservative hold		Swing	0.0

Potters Bar Oakmere

Potters Bar Oakmere ^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Robert Calcutt*	1,092	54.1	–12.5
	Labour	John Doolan	566	28.0	–6.4
	UKIP	David Rutter	236	11.7	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	Michael Willett	125	6.2	N/A
Majority			526	26.1	–5.1
Turnout			2,019	37.0	–24.4
Registered electors			5,558
	Conservative hold		Swing	3.1

Potters Bar Parkfield

Potters Bar Parkfield ^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Paul Hodgson-Jones*	1,876	68.9	–7.9
	Labour	Derek Marcus	454	16.7	–6.5
	Liberal Democrats	Peter Bonner	394	14.5	N/A
Majority			1,422	52.2	–1.4
Turnout			2,724	46.0	–21.8
Registered electors			5,989
	Conservative hold		Swing	0.7

References

1. "Hertsmere Borough Council Election Results 1973-2012" (PDF). Colin Rallings & Michael Thrasher . The Elections Centre, Plymouth University . Retrieved 12 January 2026.
2. "England council elections". BBC News Online. 10 May 2011. Retrieved 27 October 2011.
3. Darlington, Josh (6 April 2011). "Two Hertsmere Borough councillors to stand down in elections in May". Borehamwood & Elstree Times. Retrieved 28 October 2011.
4. Kirk, Tristan (6 May 2011). "Richard Butler elected for Labour in Borehamwood Kenilworth". This is Local London . Archived from the original on 21 April 2013. Retrieved 28 October 2011.
5. "Tories hold Potters Bar seats on Hertsmere Council". Times Series. 6 May 2011. Retrieved 28 October 2011.
6. Hewett, Chris (6 May 2011). "Lib Dems suffer crushing defeat in Hertsmere". Borehamwood & Elstree Times. Retrieved 28 October 2011.
7. "Election results - 2011". Hertsmere Borough Council. Archived from the original on 13 June 2011. Retrieved 27 October 2011.
8. Kirk, Tristan (6 May 2011). "Tories take two seats off Lib Dems on Hertsmere Council". Borehamwood & Elstree Times. Retrieved 28 October 2011.
9. "Young councillors change the political map". This is Local London . 19 May 2011. Archived from the original on 21 April 2013. Retrieved 28 October 2011.
10. "Composition calculator". Colin Rallings & Michael Thrasher . The Elections Centre, Plymouth University . Retrieved 12 January 2026.
11. "Election results 2011: English council summary results". The Guardian. 6 May 2011. Retrieved 27 October 2011.