The 2024 Harlow District Council election was held on Thursday 2 May 2024, alongside the other local elections in the United Kingdom being held on the same day. All 33 members of Harlow District Council in Essex were elected following boundary changes.
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All 33 seats to Harlow District Council 17 seats needed for a majority | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Winner of each seat at the 2024 Harlow District Council election | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Conservatives retained their majority on the council, but lost four seats to Labour, reducing the Conservative majority to just one seat.
Background
editHistorically, Harlow was a Labour council. Labour held a majority on the council from its creation until 2002, when the district fell into no overall control.[1] The Conservatives held a majority for the first time following the 2008 election, but Labour retook control in 2012.
The Conservative won a majority on the council in 2021,[2] and have governed as a majority since then. In the most recent election, the Conservatives gained 1 seat with 41.5% of the vote, and Labour lost 1 seat with 43.8%.
In the build up to the May 2024 election, Conservative candidate James Leppard was suspended from the party pending investigation,[3] following a Hope Not Hate allegation of Islamophobia.[4] He remained listed as a Conservative on the ballot paper, and he was re-elected. His suspension from the party was lifted a few weeks after the election, after an investigation concluded that his comments which had triggered the complaint had been selectively edited and taken out of context.[5]
Boundary changes
editHarlow usually elects its councillors in thirds, on a 4-year cycle. However, following boundary changes, all councillors will be elected to the new wards.[6] All wards have 3 councillors.
| Old wards[7] | New wards |
|---|---|
| Bush Fair | Bush Fair |
| Church Langley | Church Langley North and Newhall |
| Great Parndon | Church Langley South and Potter Street |
| Harlow Common | Great Parndon |
| Little Parndon and Hare Street | Latton Bush and Stewards |
| Mark Hall | Little Parndon and Town Centre |
| Netteswell | Mark Hall |
| Old Harlow | Netteswell |
| Staple Tye | Old Harlow |
| Sumners and Kingsmoor | Passmores |
| Toddbrook | Sumners and Kingsmoor |
Summary
editThe Conservatives lost four seats, but retained a one-seat majority over Labour.[8][9]
Council composition
edit| After 2023 election | Before 2024 election[10] | After 2024 election | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Seats | Party | Seats | Party | Seats | |||
| Conservative | 21 | Conservative | 21 | Conservative | 17 | |||
| Labour | 12 | Labour | 12 | Labour | 16 | |||
Election result
edit| 2024 Harlow District Council election | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidates | Seats | Gains | Losses | Net gain/loss | Seats % | Votes % | Votes | +/− | |
| Conservative | 33 | 17 | 0 | 0 |  4
|
51.5 | 43.8 | 21,900 | +2.3 | |
| Labour | 33 | 16 | 0 | 0 |  4
|
48.5 | 43.8 | 21,928 | ±0.0 | |
| Green | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 
|
0.0 | 8.6 | 4,314 | –0.9 | |
| Harlow Alliance Party | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
|
0.0 | 2.0 | 993 | –0.8 | |
| Liberal Democrats | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
|
0.0 | 0.7 | 351 | –0.8 | |
| UKIP | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
|
0.0 | 0.6 | 325 | N/A | |
| Independent | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
|
0.0 | 0.3 | 141 | N/A | |
| TUSC | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
|
0.0 | 0.1 | 55 | –0.2 | |
Ward results
editStatement of Persons Nominated:[11]
Bush Fair
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour Co-op | Jodi Dunne* | 778 | 43.0 | ||
| Labour Co-op | Kay Morrison* | 769 | 42.5 | ||
| Labour Co-op | Mark Ingall | 737 | 40.7 | ||
| Conservative | Colleen Morrison | 589 | 32.5 | ||
| Conservative | Nidhi Hindocha | 575 | 31.8 | ||
| Conservative | Brian Kasule | 550 | 30.4 | ||
| Green | Hannah Bolton | 177 | 9.8 | ||
| Green | David Margetts | 175 | 9.7 | ||
| Green | Jennifer Steadman | 175 | 9.7 | ||
| UKIP | Daniel Long | 141 | 7.8 | ||
| Liberal Democrats | William Tennison | 89 | 4.9 | ||
| Turnout | 1,811 | 28.3 | |||
| Registered electors | 6,397 | ||||
| Labour Co-op hold | |||||
| Labour Co-op hold | |||||
| Labour Co-op gain from Conservative | |||||
Church Langley North & Newhall
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Andrew Johnson* | 831 | 62.8 | ||
| Conservative | Michael Hardware* | 779 | 60.3 | ||
| Conservative | Dan Swords* | 798 | 58.9 | ||
| Labour | Edna Stevens | 437 | 33.0 | ||
| Labour | Simon O'Dell | 418 | 31.6 | ||
| Labour | John Solomon | 384 | 29.0 | ||
| Green | Michelle Margetts | 185 | 14.0 | ||
| Green | Bengeman White | 136 | 10.3 | ||
| Turnout | 1,453 | 27.3 | |||
| Registered electors | 5,318 | ||||
| Conservative win (new seat) | |||||
| Conservative win (new seat) | |||||
| Conservative win (new seat) | |||||
Church Langley South & Potter Street
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Nicky Purse* | 939 | 61.7 | ||
| Conservative | Danielle Brown* | 890 | 58.4 | ||
| Conservative | James Leppard* | 826 | 54.2 | ||
| Labour | Christine Gallacher | 568 | 37.3 | ||
| Labour | Emma Mullard-Toal | 513 | 33.7 | ||
| Labour | Jeff Mace | 505 | 33.2 | ||
| Green | Tina Richardson | 187 | 12.3 | ||
| Independent | Gary Roberts | 141 | 9.3 | ||
| Turnout | 1,773 | 26.6 | |||
| Registered electors | 6,669 | ||||
| Conservative win (new seat) | |||||
| Conservative win (new seat) | |||||
| Conservative win (new seat) | |||||
Great Parndon
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | David Carter* | 932 | 59.4 | ||
| Conservative | Hannah Ellis | 825 | 52.6 | ||
| Conservative | Matthew Saggers* | 791 | 50.4 | ||
| Labour | Rosie Jackson | 581 | 37.0 | ||
| Labour | Allan Jolley | 527 | 33.6 | ||
| Labour | Harry Tennison | 490 | 31.2 | ||
| Harlow Alliance | Nicholas Taylor | 289 | 18.4 | ||
| Green | Vicki O'Brien | 149 | 9.5 | ||
| Green | Liz Pike | 121 | 7.7 | ||
| Turnout | 1,711 | 30.6 | |||
| Registered electors | 5,601 | ||||
| Conservative hold | |||||
| Conservative hold | |||||
| Conservative hold | |||||
Latton Bush & Stewards
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Luke Howard | 890 | 47.1 | ||
| Conservative | Alastair Gunn* | 881 | 46.6 | ||
| Conservative | Stacy Seales | 859 | 45.4 | ||
| Conservative | John Steer* | 836 | 44.2 | ||
| Labour | Phil Waite | 805 | 42.6 | ||
| Labour | Peiyee O'Dell | 781 | 41.3 | ||
| Harlow Alliance | Karen James | 221 | 11.7 | ||
| Green | Tina Higginson | 215 | 11.4 | ||
| Green | Jack Margetts | 183 | 9.7 | ||
| Turnout | 2,100 | 30.8 | |||
| Registered electors | 6,815 | ||||
| Labour win (new seat) | |||||
| Conservative win (new seat) | |||||
| Conservative win (new seat) | |||||
Little Parndon & Town Centre
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Chris Vince* | 761 | 62.7 | ||
| Labour | Tony Durcan* | 710 | 58.5 | ||
| Labour | Maggie Hulcoop* | 671 | 55.3 | ||
| Conservative | Dan Brown | 388 | 32.0 | ||
| Conservative | Geoffrey Longster | 349 | 28.8 | ||
| Conservative | Anne Richards | 332 | 27.4 | ||
| Green | Klara Bow | 187 | 15.4 | ||
| Green | Caroline Schellin-Jolley | 133 | 11.0 | ||
| Green | Danielle Kemm | 108 | 8.9 | ||
| Turnout | 1,365 | 26.1 | |||
| Registered electors | 5,228 | ||||
| Labour win (new seat) | |||||
| Labour win (new seat) | |||||
| Labour win (new seat) | |||||
Mark Hall
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Michael Houlihan | 722 | 50.3 | ||
| Labour | Aiden O'Dell* | 685 | 47.7 | ||
| Labour | Lanie Shears* | 682 | 47.5 | ||
| Conservative | Simon Carter* | 408 | 28.4 | ||
| Green | Julie Taylor | 370 | 23.5 | ||
| Conservative | Fahreday Purse | 337 | 22.9 | ||
| Conservative | John Purse | 329 | 22.9 | ||
| Green | Ernesto Johnson | 240 | 16.7 | ||
| Green | Paul King | 233 | 16.2 | ||
| UKIP | Mark Gough | 184 | 12.8 | ||
| Liberal Democrats | Lesley Rideout | 117 | 8.1 | ||
| Turnout | 1,571 | 27.7 | |||
| Registered electors | 5,679 | ||||
| Labour gain from Conservative | |||||
| Labour hold | |||||
| Labour hold | |||||
Netteswell
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | James Griggs* | 871 | 67.2 | ||
| Labour | Nancy Watson* | 710 | 54.8 | ||
| Labour | Stefan Mullard-Toal | 705 | 54.4 | ||
| Conservative | Wendy Carter | 420 | 32.4 | ||
| Conservative | Elena Hardware | 403 | 31.1 | ||
| Conservative | Vic Petch | 367 | 28.3 | ||
| Green | Milly Judd | 147 | 11.3 | ||
| Liberal Democrats | Robert Thurston | 145 | 11.2 | ||
| Green | Adam Margetts | 122 | 9.4 | ||
| Turnout | 1,432 | 24.9 | |||
| Registered electors | 5,749 | ||||
| Labour hold | |||||
| Labour hold | |||||
| Labour gain from Conservative | |||||
Old Harlow
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Joel Charles* | 1,042 | 58.8 | ||
| Conservative | Michael Garnett* | 957 | 54.0 | ||
| Conservative | Sue Livings* | 943 | 53.2 | ||
| Labour | Michael Danvers | 665 | 37.5 | ||
| Labour | Liam Kerrigan | 563 | 31.8 | ||
| Labour | Anita Schultschik | 559 | 31.6 | ||
| Green | Yasmin Gregory | 247 | 13.9 | ||
| Green | Jacklyn Stansfield | 168 | 9.5 | ||
| Green | Jacobus Van Der Poel | 115 | 6.5 | ||
| TUSC | Paul Lenihan | 55 | 3.1 | ||
| Turnout | 1,907 | 30.4 | |||
| Registered electors | 6,269 | ||||
| Conservative hold | |||||
| Conservative hold | |||||
| Conservative hold | |||||
Passmores
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Tony Edwards* | 799 | 62.3 | ||
| Labour | Daniella Pritchard* | 753 | 58.7 | ||
| Labour | Jake Shepherd | 748 | 58.3 | ||
| Conservative | Amanda Maison | 427 | 33.3 | ||
| Conservative | Michelle Field | 422 | 32.9 | ||
| Conservative | Ash Malik | 337 | 26.3 | ||
| Harlow Alliance | Steve Barnes | 198 | 15.4 | ||
| Green | Gareth Williams | 166 | 12.9 | ||
| Turnout | 1,439 | 27.0 | |||
| Registered electors | 5,339 | ||||
| Labour win (new seat) | |||||
| Labour win (new seat) | |||||
| Labour win (new seat) | |||||
Sumners & Kingsmoor
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Russel Perrin* | 886 | 49.8 | ||
| Conservative | Clive Souter* | 864 | 48.5 | ||
| Conservative | Emma Ghaffari | 788 | 44.3 | ||
| Labour | Robert Davis | 752 | 42.3 | ||
| Labour | Cara Dunne | 719 | 40.4 | ||
| Labour | Simon Vincent | 670 | 37.6 | ||
| Harlow Alliance | Alan Leverett | 285 | 16.0 | ||
| Green | Julie Bull | 205 | 11.5 | ||
| Green | Dean Bull | 170 | 9.6 | ||
| Turnout | 1,909 | 31.1 | |||
| Registered electors | 6,135 | ||||
| Conservative hold | |||||
| Conservative hold | |||||
| Conservative hold | |||||
By-elections
editLittle Parndon and Town Centre
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Linda Clark | 513 | 50.3 | ||
| Conservative | Colleen Morrison | 227 | 22.3 | ||
| Reform UK | Peter Lamb | 201 | 19.7 | ||
| Green | Ernesto Johnson | 56 | 5.5 | ||
| UKIP | Mark Gough | 23 | 2.3 | ||
| Majority | 286 | 28.0 | |||
| Turnout | 1,020 | ||||
| Labour hold | Swing | ||||
References
edit- ^ "Harlow District Council Election Results 1973-2012" (PDF). Elections Centre. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
- ^ "Local elections 2021: Conservatives take Harlow from Labour". BBC News. 7 May 2021. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
- ^ Casey, Michael (18 April 2024). "Harlow Conservative councillor suspended after claims he made series of "Islamophobic comments"". Your Harlow. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
- ^ Davis, Gregory (18 April 2024). "Revealed: Islamophobia from Conservative Councillor in Harlow". Hope Not Hate. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
- ^ "Tory councillor James Leppard has suspension lifted following investigation". Your Harlow. 15 June 2024. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
- ^ "The Harlow (Electoral Changes) Order 2023", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 2023/797, retrieved 16 March 2024
- ^ "The District of Harlow (Electoral Changes) Order 2001", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 2001/2437, retrieved 16 March 2024
- ^ "Council leader appoints new Cabinet team to transform and rebuild Harlow". Your Harlow. 24 May 2024. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
- ^ "Harlow election result". BBC News. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
- ^ "Your Councillors". Harlow District Council. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
- ^ "Candidates announced for Harlow District Council Election 2024". Your Harlow. 2024-04-08. Retrieved 2024-04-08.
- ^ "Local Elections Archive Project — Little Parndon and Town Centre Ward". www.andrewteale.me.uk. Retrieved 9 November 2024.