Sedgefield Borough Council elections

Sedgefield Borough Council elections were generally held every four years between the council's creation in 1974 and its abolition in 2009. Sedgefield 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 were: ^[2]

Councillor	Party		From	To
Warren McCourt [3]		Labour	1974	1986
Brian Stephens [4] [5]		Labour	1986	May 2003
Bob Fleming [6] [7]		Labour	16 May 2003	2007
Agnes Armstrong [8] [9]		Labour	18 May 2007	31 Mar 2009

Council elections

Election	Labour	Liberal Democrat [a]	Conservative	Independent	Total	Notes
1973 [10]	40	4	1	8	53
1976 [11]	36	1	1	15	53	District boundary changes took place but the number of seats remained the same [12]
1979 [13]	40	3	1	9	53
1983 [14]	40	4 [b]	2	3	49	New ward boundaries & district boundary changes also took place [15] [16]
1987 [17]	37	7 [c]	2	3 [d]	49	District boundary changes took place but the number of seats remained the same [18]
1991 [19]	33	8	1	7	49	District boundary changes took place but the number of seats remained the same [20]
1995 [21]	44	0	0	2	49 [e]
1999 [22]	43	2	0	4	49
2003 [23]	35	7	1	7	50	New ward boundaries [24]
2007 [25]	28	6	1	15	50

Results maps

• 
  2003 results map
• 
  2007 results map

By-election results

The following is an incomplete list of by-elections to Sedgefield Borough Council.

1995-1999

Tudhoe By-Election 21 November 1996

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour		425	55.8
	Independent		216	28.4
	Liberal Democrats	Benjamin May Ord	88	11.6
	Conservative		32	4.2
Majority			209	27.4
Turnout			761	28
	Labour hold		Swing

1999-2003

Tudhoe By-Election 25 November 1999

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Agnes Armstrong	373	60.2
	Liberal Democrats	Martin Jones	247	39.8
Majority			126	20.4
Turnout			620	23
	Labour hold		Swing

Tudhoe By-Election 7 June 2001

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour		1,129	52.2	+5.2
	Independent		1,033	47.8	−5.2
Majority			96	4.4
Turnout			2,162
	Labour gain from Independent		Swing

Middlestone By-Election 21 March 2002

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Kevin Thompson	528	51.7	+21.4
	Labour		493	48.3	−21.4
Majority			35	3.4
Turnout			1,021
	Liberal Democrats gain from Labour		Swing

Notes

1. Liberal Party prior to 1983, SDP-Liberal Alliance in 1983 and 1987.
2. 0 Liberal, 4 SDP
3. 1 Liberal, 6 SDP
4. Including three Independent Labour
5. 3 vacant after election

References

1. "Compositions Calculator". The Elections Centre. University of Exeter. Retrieved 21 May 2025. (Put "Sedgefield" in search box to see specific results.)
2. "Council minutes". Durham County Council. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
3. "Councillors join celebration as couple mark golden anniversary". Northern Echo. 14 February 2005. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
4. "Sedgefield". Hartlepool Mail. 2 May 2003. p. 4. Retrieved 30 June 2025. Brian Stephens, 62, leader of Sedgefield council since 1986...
5. "Council chief loses as party clings to power". Northern Echo. 3 May 2003. Retrieved 30 June 2025.
6. "Council minutes, 16 May 2003". Sedgefield Borough Council. Retrieved 30 June 2025.
7. "History made as council agrees to capital spend". Northern Echo. 28 February 2007. Retrieved 30 June 2025.
8. "Council minutes, 18 May 2007". Sedgefield Borough Council. Retrieved 30 June 2025.
9. "Council bestows Honorary Aldermen title on 22 members". Northern Echo. 16 March 2009. Retrieved 30 June 2025.
10. "Liberals capture Eastbourne and exceed ambition to win 1,000 loval government seats". The Times . 9 June 1973.
11. "Heavy Labour losses in district polls". The Times . 8 May 1976.
12. The Darlington and Sedgefield (Areas) Order 1976
13. Local elections in Britain: a statistical digest, edited by Colin Rallings and Michael Thrasher. 1993
14. "How votes were cast in local government elections". The Times . 7 May 1983. p. 4.
15. The District of Sedgefield (Electoral Arrangements) Order 1979
16. The Cleveland and Durham (Areas) Order 1982
17. "Results in Thursday's local elections". The Times . 9 May 1987.
18. The Durham (District Boundaries) Order 1986
19. "Complete round-up of results from Thursday's local council elections". The Times . 4 May 1991.
20. legislation.gov.uk - The Cleveland and Durham (County Boundaries) Order 1988. Retrieved on 5 November 2015.
21. "Complete list of results from Thursday's council elections". The Times . 6 May 1995. p. 10.
22. "Sedgefield". BBC News. Retrieved 13 April 2013.
23. "Sedgefield". BBC News. Retrieved 13 April 2013.
24. legislation.gov.uk - The Borough of Sedgefield (Electoral Changes) Order 1999. Retrieved on 4 October 2015.
25. "Sedgefield". BBC News. 4 May 2007. Retrieved 13 April 2013.