2004 Hertsmere Borough Council election

The 2004 Hertsmere Borough Council election took place on 10 June 2004 to elect members of Hertsmere Borough Council in Hertfordshire, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Conservative Party stayed in overall control of the council.[1]

Map of the results of the 2004 Hertsmere council election. Conservatives in blue, Liberal Democrats in yellow and Labour in red. Wards in grey were not contested in 2004.

After the election, the composition of the council was:

Background

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Before the election the Conservatives controlled the council with 25 councillors, compared to 8 for Labour and 6 Liberal Democrats.[3] 39 candidates stood for the 13 seats being contested, with 13 each from the Conservative and Labour parties, 12 Liberal Democrats and 1 from the Socialist Labour Party.[3]

Election result

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The Conservative party remained on 25 seats, after both gaining and losing 2 seats.[4] Labour finished 1 down on 7 seats, to be level with the Liberal Democrats for the first time, after the Liberal Democrats picked up a seat.[4]

The Conservative gains from Labour came in Borehamwood Hillside where they won by 235 votes and in the former Labour stronghold of Borehamwood Brookmeadow, which had been held by Tim Sandle since 1995 (the area had been subject to a recent boundary change, with the main Labur voting part of the ward being reallocated to Cowley ward).[4] Labour did take one seat back from the Conservatives in Borehamwood Cowley Hill by 87 votes, after the sitting Conservative councillor for Cowley Hill, Martin Heywood, contested and held Potters Bar Oakmere instead with a 709-vote majority for the Conservatives.[4] Meanwhile, the Liberal Democrats picked up a seat from the Conservatives in Bushey St James by 59 votes.[5]

Following the election the Labour and Liberal Democrat parties shared the main opposition role as both parties were on the same number of seats.[6] Meanwhile, Labour chose a new leader, Leon Reefe, after Len Silverstone stood down as leader of the group.[6]

Hertsmere Local Election Result 2004[2][7]
Party Seats Gains Losses Net gain/loss Seats % Votes % Votes +/−
  Conservative 10 2 2 0 76.9 56.5 13,358 +3.7%
  Liberal Democrats 2 1 0 +1 15.4 22.8 5,396 +2.3%
  Labour 1 1 2 -1 7.7 19.9 4,704 -5.5%
  Socialist Labour 0 0 0 0 0 0.8 181 -0.3%

Ward results

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Aldenham East[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative John Graham 1,319 77.5 −1.7
Liberal Democrats Mark Silverman 199 11.7 +1.3
Labour Brian Levy 185 10.9 +0.5
Majority 1,120 65.8 −3.0
Turnout 1,703 44.0 +9.7
Conservative hold Swing
Aldenham West[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Hugh Saunders 882 65.2 −3.8
Liberal Democrats David Bird 242 17.9 +2.3
Labour Sandra Huff 228 16.9 +1.5
Majority 640 47.3 −6.1
Turnout 1,352 38.0 +6.5
Conservative hold Swing
Borehamwood Brookmeadow[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Jeremy Segall 758 47.5 +15.6
Labour Tim Sandle 548 34.4 −21.8
Liberal Democrats Audrey McCracken 289 18.1 +6.2
Majority 210 13.2
Turnout 1,595 33.0 +10.0
Conservative gain from Labour Swing
Borehamwood Cowley Hill[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Ann Harrison 654 38.8 −28.1
Conservative Howard Rosen 567 33.6 +15.4
Liberal Democrats Andrew Brass 284 16.8 +16.8
Socialist Labour James Dry 181 10.7 −4.2
Majority 87 5.2 −43.6
Turnout 1,686 30.5 +8.8
Labour gain from Conservative Swing
Borehamwood Hillside[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Hannah David 1,055 48.2 +0.3
Labour Peter Hedges 820 37.4 −5.1
Liberal Democrats Zissis Kakoulakis 316 14.4 +4.7
Majority 235 10.7 +5.3
Turnout 2,191 38.1 +4.6
Conservative gain from Labour Swing
Bushey Heath[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Seamus Quilty 1,425 68.8 −3.6
Liberal Democrats Roger Kutchinsky 423 20.4 +3.1
Labour David Bearfield 222 10.7 +0.5
Majority 1,002 48.4 −6.7
Turnout 2,070 40.0 +17.0
Conservative hold Swing
Bushey North[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats Robert Gamble 905 56.8 −12.0
Conservative John Slade 520 32.7 +11.6
Labour George Bath 167 10.5 +3.6
Majority 385 24.2 −23.5
Turnout 1,592 35.4 +6.5
Liberal Democrats hold Swing
Bushey Park[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Spencer Pitfield 842 56.0 +10.8
Liberal Democrats Vincent Turner 550 36.6 −10.3
Labour James Sowerbutts 111 7.4 −0.5
Majority 292 19.4
Turnout 1,503 46.0 +5.4
Conservative hold Swing
Bushey St James[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats Kim Boughton 1,058 46.4 −6.8
Conservative Carey Keates 999 43.8 +4.3
Labour Dinah Hoeksma 223 9.8 +2.4
Majority 59 2.6 −11.1
Turnout 2,280 42.1 +8.1
Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative Swing
Potters Bar Furzefield[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Rebecca Foy 1,080 57.9 −0.2
Liberal Democrats Colin Dean 443 23.7 +1.5
Labour James Fisher 343 18.4 −1.4
Majority 637 34.1 −1.8
Turnout 1,866 38.4 +12.4
Conservative hold Swing
Potters Bar Oakmere[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Martin Heywood 1,311 68.5 −0.4
Labour Russell Ramshaw 602 31.5 +0.4
Majority 709 37.1 −0.6
Turnout 1,913 35.7 +10.8
Conservative hold Swing
Potters Bar Parkfield[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative John Donne 1,661 68.1 −2.4
Liberal Democrats John Bonner 445 18.3 −0.5
Labour Elizabeth Savage 332 13.6 +3.0
Majority 1,216 49.9 −1.8
Turnout 2,438 40.2 +8.2
Conservative hold Swing
Shenley[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Rodney Saunders 939 64.8 +9.0
Labour Anthony Scott-Norman 269 18.6 −25.6
Liberal Democrats Anita Ownsworth 242 16.7 +16.7
Majority 670 46.2 +34.5
Turnout 1,450 36.6 +2.6
Conservative hold Swing

References

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  1. ^ "Hertsmere council". BBC News Online. 11 June 2004. Retrieved 22 October 2011.
  2. ^ a b "Local elections 2004" (PDF). House of Commons Library. Retrieved 23 October 2011.
  3. ^ a b Kent, Martyn (2 June 2004). "Make your votes count in the borough elections". Borehamwood & Elstree Times. Retrieved 23 October 2011.
  4. ^ a b c d Compton, Louise (16 June 2004). "Voters go back to polls". Borehamwood & Elstree Times. Retrieved 23 October 2011.
  5. ^ "Hertsmere Tory loses to Lib Dems". Borehamwood & Elstree Times. 11 June 2004. Retrieved 23 October 2011.
  6. ^ a b Whitney, Charles (16 June 2004). "Level parties to share opposition". Borehamwood & Elstree Times. Retrieved 23 October 2011.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "Borough Council elections - 10/06/2004". Hertsmere Borough Council. Political Science Resources. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 22 October 2011.