Easington District Council elections

Easington District Council elections were generally held every four years between the council's creation in 1974 and its abolition in 2009. Easington was a non-metropolitan district in County Durham, England. On 1 April 2009 the council's functions passed to Durham County Council, which became a unitary authority.

Political control

The first election to the council was held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority before coming into its powers on 1 April 1974. Throughout the council's existence from 1974 to 2009, Labour held a majority of the seats on the council. ^[1]

Party in control		Years
	Labour	1974–2009

Leadership

The leaders of the council from 1999 until the council's abolition 2009 were:

Councillor	Party		From	To
Derek Thompson [2]		Labour		May 1999
Alan Napier [3] [4]		Labour	1999	2009

Council elections

Election	Labour	Liberal Democrat [a]	Conservative	Independent	Total	Notes
1973 [5]	56	0	0	4 [b]	60
1976 [6]	45	4	1	10 [c]	60
1979 [7]	33	8	0	10	51	New ward boundaries [8]
1983 [9]	34	9 [d]	0	8 [e]	51
1987 [10]	43	3 [f]	0	5	51	District boundary changes took place but the number of seats remained the same [11]
1991 [12]	38	4	0	9 [g]	51
1995 [13]	44	3	0	4	51	District boundary changes took place but the number of seats remained the same [14] [15]
1999 [16]	45	1	0	5	51
2003 [17]	44	2	0	5	51	New ward boundaries [18]
2007 [19]	47	2	0	2	51

Results maps

• 
  2003 results map
• 
  2007 results map

By-election results

The following is an incomplete list of by-elections to Easington District Council.

2003-2007

Passfield By-Election 19 October 2006 ^[20]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Donald Milsom	480	69.3	+26.8
	Independent	Edward Hall	213	30.7	−26.8
Majority			267	38.6
Turnout			693	15.2
	Labour gain from Independent		Swing

Notes

1. Liberal Party prior to 1983, SDP-Liberal Alliance in 1983 and 1987.
2. Including one Independent Labour
3. Including five Independent Labour
4. 7 Liberal, 2 SDP
5. Including two Independent Labour
6. 3 Liberal, 0 SDP
7. Including four Independent Labour

References

1. "Compositions Calculator". The Elections Centre. University of Exeter. Retrieved 21 May 2025. (Put "Easington" in search box to see specific results.)
2. "Easington District". Sunderland Echo. 4 May 1999. p. 18. Retrieved 30 June 2025. Six councillors, including council leader Derek Thompson, will be standing down at the elections.
3. "I'm not over disaster yet". Hartlepool Mail. 3 July 1999. p. 4. Retrieved 30 June 2025.
4. "Tributes to community champion". Northern Echo. 29 September 2009. Retrieved 30 June 2025.
5. "Final poll result may lie with Independents". The Times . 8 June 1973.
6. "Heavy Labour losses in district polls". The Times . 8 May 1976.
7. Local elections in Britain: a statistical digest, edited by Colin Rallings and Michael Thrasher. 1993
8. legislation.gov.uk - The District of Easington (Electoral Arrangements) Order 1978. Retrieved on 19 November 2015.
9. "How votes were cast in local government elections". The Times . 7 May 1983. p. 4.
10. "Results in Thursday's local elections". The Times . 9 May 1987.
11. The Durham and Easington (Areas) Order 1985
12. "Complete round-up of results from Thursday's local council elections". The Times . 4 May 1991.
13. "Complete list of results from Thursday's council elections". The Times . 6 May 1995. p. 10.
14. legislation.gov.uk - The Durham and Tyne and Wear (County and District Boundaries) Order 1992. Retrieved on 5 November 2015.
15. legislation.gov.uk - The Durham and Tyne and Wear (County and District Boundaries) (Variation) Order 1993. Retrieved on 5 November 2015.
16. "Easington". BBC News. Retrieved 13 April 2013.
17. "Easington". Andrew Teale. Retrieved 13 April 2013.
18. legislation.gov.uk - The District of Easington (Electoral Changes) Order 1999. Retrieved on 4 October 2015.
19. "Easington". BBC News. 5 May 2007. Retrieved 13 April 2013.
20. "Local Elections Archive Project — Passfield Ward". www.andrewteale.me.uk. Retrieved 10 January 2025.