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All 48 seats on North Hertfordshire District Council 25 seats needed for a majority | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 1973 North Hertfordshire District Council election was held on 7 June 1973. It was the first election to North Hertfordshire District Council, and was held at the same time as other local elections across England for the new non-metropolitan district councils that were created under the Local Government Act 1972. The elected councillors initially formed a shadow authority to oversee the transition to the new system, operating alongside the five outgoing district councils until 1 April 1974 when the new district formally came into being.
The election saw the Conservatives form the largest party on the council, albeit falling a couple of seats short of having a majority, leaving the council under no overall control. The Conservatives formed a minority administration, with their group leader, Bob Flatman, becoming the first leader of the council.
Overall results
The overall results were as follows:
Party | Seats | Gains | Losses | Net gain/loss | Seats % | Votes % | Votes | +/− | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | 23 | 47.9 | 42.7 | 14,958 | |||||
Labour | 17 | 35.4 | 32.8 | 11,492 | |||||
Independent | 7 | 14.6 | 19.6 | 6,862 | |||||
Ratepayers | 1 | 2.1 | 3.1 | 1,099 | |||||
Liberal | 0 | 0.0 | 1.8 | 616 |
Ward results
The new district was divided into 18 numbered wards, electing between one and four councillors each to give a total of 48 councillors:
- Ward 1 was the Baldock Urban District.
- Wards 2–6 were the wards of Hitchin Urban District.
- Wards 7–11 were the wards of Letchworth Urban District.
- Ward 12 was the Royston Urban District.
- Wards 13–18 were all groups of civil parishes from Hitchin Rural District.
The results for each ward were as follows:
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Independent | Nora M. Burgess | 1,212 | 40.4 | ||
Labour | George A. York | 813 | 27.1 | ||
Conservative | John Barton | 769 | 25.6 | ||
Labour | Stanley Watson | 687 | |||
Labour | Roger McFall | 639 | |||
Conservative | Richard E. Harrison | 605 | |||
Liberal | John C. Whelan | 207 | 6.9 | ||
Turnout | 62.7 | ||||
Registered electors | 4,785 | ||||
Independent win (new seat) | |||||
Labour win (new seat) | |||||
Conservative win (new seat) |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Audrey Carss | 683 | 52.8 | ||
Labour | James Reilly (Jim Reilly) |
666 | |||
Labour | Charles Rowe (Jim Rowe) |
624 | |||
Conservative | John Parfitt | 338 | 26.1 | ||
Independent | Tony Elliott | 272 | 21.0 | ||
Turnout | 27.1 | ||||
Registered electors | 4,094 | ||||
Labour win (new seat) | |||||
Labour win (new seat) | |||||
Labour win (new seat) |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | John Ballantyne | 949 | 57.0 | ||
Conservative | Dorothy Jenkinson | 917 | |||
Labour | Andrew McQuillan | 716 | 43.0 | ||
Labour | John Seabrook | 705 | |||
Turnout | 46.2 | ||||
Registered electors | 3,682 | ||||
Conservative win (new seat) | |||||
Conservative win (new seat) |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Robert Stanley Flatman (Bob Flatman) |
1,013 | 59.6 | ||
Conservative | Keith Crook | 989 | |||
Conservative | Derek Doel | 960 | |||
Liberal | Bill Williams | 409 | 24.0 | ||
Labour | Derek Massey | 279 | 16.4 | ||
Labour | Jean Gentle | 267 | |||
Labour | Athelstan Herbert | 253 | |||
Turnout | 33.7 | ||||
Registered electors | 4,469 | ||||
Conservative win (new seat) | |||||
Conservative win (new seat) | |||||
Conservative win (new seat) |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | John Goldsmith | 880 | 36.7 | ||
Labour | Peter Clarke | 833 | |||
Ratepayers | Ken Logan | 769 | 32.1 | ||
Conservative | David Ingram | 750 | 31.3 | ||
Ratepayers | Ted Morton | 720 | |||
Labour | Crystal Toleman | 708 | |||
Turnout | 46.3 | ||||
Registered electors | 4,023 | ||||
Labour win (new seat) | |||||
Labour win (new seat) | |||||
Ratepayers win (new seat) |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Beryl Wearmouth | 1,152 | 53.3 | ||
Conservative | Les Ford | 988 | |||
Conservative | Michael Hillman | 891 | |||
Independent | Don Bache | 748 | 34.6 | ||
Independent | Ron Hartless | 447 | |||
Independent | George Jackson | 387 | |||
Labour | Walter Patrick Guymer | 261 | 12.1 | ||
Labour | David Wilson | 230 | |||
Labour | Doris Reilly | 223 | |||
Independent | Peter Hull | 159 | |||
Turnout | 45.7 | ||||
Registered electors | 4,211 | ||||
Conservative win (new seat) | |||||
Conservative win (new seat) | |||||
Conservative win (new seat) |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | William Miller (Bill Miller) |
1,513 | 62.9 | ||
Labour | Christopher Derek Stockwell (Chris Stockwell) |
1,396 | |||
Labour | Gerard Devlin (Gerry Devlin) |
1,384 | |||
Labour | Edith Badstevener | 1,309 | |||
Conservative | James McGinlay | 894 | 37.1 | ||
Conservative | Brian J. Down | 866 | |||
Turnout | 37.0 | ||||
Registered electors | 6,285 | ||||
Labour win (new seat) | |||||
Labour win (new seat) | |||||
Labour win (new seat) | |||||
Labour win (new seat) |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | David A. Griffiths | 1,178 | 75.3 | ||
Labour | Reginald S. Hall (Reg Hall) |
1,163 | |||
Labour | Ernest M. Brown (Ernie Brown) |
1,149 | |||
Conservative | William Charles Bifield (Charles Bifield) |
387 | 24.7 | ||
Turnout | 32.9 | ||||
Registered electors | 5,057 | ||||
Labour win (new seat) | |||||
Labour win (new seat) | |||||
Labour win (new seat) |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | David Gallard | 1,144 | 59.5 | ||
Labour | Mary B. Briercliffe (Mamie Briercliffe) |
1,107 | |||
Labour | Ian Mantle | 1,102 | |||
Conservative | John Cole | 779 | 40.5 | ||
Conservative | Barry C. Jackson | 755 | |||
Turnout | 47.0 | ||||
Registered electors | 4,243 | ||||
Labour win (new seat) | |||||
Labour win (new seat) | |||||
Labour win (new seat) |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Clifford J. Marshall (Cliff Marshall) |
832 | 54.5 | ||
Conservative | John G. McKenna | 782 | |||
Labour | Donald Kitchiner (Don Kitchiner) |
696 | 45.5 | ||
Labour | Edna Patricia Watson-Blake (Pat Watson-Blake) |
679 | |||
Turnout | 62.2 | ||||
Registered electors | 2,519 | ||||
Conservative win (new seat) | |||||
Conservative win (new seat) |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Robert Saunders (Bob Saunders) |
962 | 59.9 | ||
Conservative | Margaret Gavin Jones | 941 | |||
Independent | Douglas C. Squirrell | 417 | 26.0 | ||
Labour | Florence Wiggs | 226 | 14.1 | ||
Labour | Leslie Pulham (Les Pulham) |
165 | |||
Turnout | 40.7 | ||||
Registered electors | 3,574 | ||||
Conservative win (new seat) | |||||
Conservative win (new seat) |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Independent | George William Stevens | 1,559 | 42.7 | ||
Independent | Patricia Alison Rule | 1,544 | |||
Conservative | Francis John Smith (John Smith) |
1,336 | 36.6 | ||
Independent | Philip Leslie Gray | 1,298 | |||
Conservative | Christopher McMichael | 852 | |||
Labour | Robert Douglas Beckwith | 760 | 20.8 | ||
Labour | Brian William Cavanagh | 673 | |||
Labour | Alan Evans | 666 | |||
Labour | Anthony Clive Pettit | 600 | |||
Turnout | 58.2 | ||||
Registered electors | 6,279 | ||||
Independent win (new seat) | |||||
Independent win (new seat) | |||||
Conservative win (new seat) | |||||
Independent win (new seat) |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Independent | Eric James Gurney | 971 | 51.5 | ||
Conservative | Robert Peter Evans | 649 | 34.4 | ||
Conservative | Nellie Laura Thompson | 642 | |||
Labour | William Watson | 266 | 14.1 | ||
Labour | Willie Page | 243 | |||
Turnout | 67.4 | ||||
Registered electors | 2,800 | ||||
Independent win (new seat) | |||||
Conservative win (new seat) |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Esther Mary Brookes | 710 | 55.5 | ||
Conservative | Ian Smith Rose | 558 | |||
Independent | John Joseph Crumpholt | 414 | 32.4 | ||
Labour | Pamela Marjorie Toorchen | 155 | 12.1 | ||
Labour | Brian Douglas Miller | 118 | |||
Turnout | 55.5 | ||||
Registered electors | 2,304 | ||||
Conservative win (new seat) | |||||
Conservative win (new seat) |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Ivan Wren | 1,457 | 77.5 | ||
Conservative | Margaret Jane McMurtrie (Jane McMurtrie) |
1,383 | |||
Conservative | John Raffell | 1,312 | |||
Labour | David Kendall | 422 | 22.5 | ||
Labour | Christina Evans | 405 | |||
Labour | Philip Leslie Dicks | 348 | |||
Turnout | 42.6 | ||||
Registered electors | 4,547 | ||||
Conservative win (new seat) | |||||
Conservative win (new seat) | |||||
Conservative win (new seat) |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Denis Winch | 614 | 71.8 | ||
Labour | Anthony Gentle | 241 | 28.2 | ||
Turnout | 43.2 | ||||
Registered electors | 1,986 | ||||
Conservative win (new seat) |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Gordon Dumelow | 659 | 40.1 | ||
Conservative | Alfred Grosse | 555 | |||
Labour | Martin Lisles | 355 | 21.6 | ||
Ratepayers | Dennis Bols | 330 | 20.1 | ||
Independent | Ernest Grosse | 298 | 18.1 | ||
Turnout | 46.5 | ||||
Registered electors | 2,675 | ||||
Conservative win (new seat) | |||||
Conservative win (new seat) |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Independent | Ron Lodge | 971 | 37.6 | ||
Labour | Gilbert Kendall | 904 | 35.0 | ||
Independent | David Stedman | 894 | |||
Independent | James Holden | 847 | |||
Labour | Ronald Hawkes (Ron Hawkes) |
770 | |||
Labour | Raymond Cousins (Ray Cousins) |
742 | |||
Conservative | Howard Swann | 708 | 27.4 | ||
Conservative | Arthur Baines | 679 | |||
Conservative | Ian Little | 638 | |||
Turnout | 52.7 | ||||
Registered electors | 4,736 | ||||
Independent win (new seat) | |||||
Labour win (new seat) | |||||
Independent win (new seat) |
Changes 1973–1976
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Donald Kitchiner (Don Kitchiner) |
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Conservative | Geoffrey Peter Woods (Geoff Woods) |
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Turnout | 38.4 | ||||
Majority | 35 | ||||
Labour hold | Swing | -10 |
The Letchworth Norton by-election was triggered by the resignation of Labour councillor Chris Stockwell on 18 August 1975. The seat was retained for Labour by Don Kitchiner. The precise number of votes cast was not reported, only the majority, turnout and swing.
References
- "Local Government Act 1972", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 1972 c. 70, retrieved 19 March 2023
- "Tories take North Herts". The Comet. Hitchin. 14 June 1973. p. 2.
- ^ Rallings, Colin; Thrasher, Michael. "North Hertfordshire District Council Election Results 1973–2012" (PDF). The Elections Centre. Plymouth University. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
- The County of Hertfordshire (District Wards) Order 1973
- "The district council polling figures in detail". Cambridge Daily News. 9 June 1973. p. 7. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
- "How they voted in the rest of the region". Cambridge Daily News. 8 June 1973. p. 23. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
- "Election round-up". Letchworth and Baldock Citizen Gazette. 14 June 1973. pp. 8–9.
- "Tories name by-election candidate". Letchworth and Baldock Citizen Gazette. 21 August 1975. p. 1.
- "Labour scrape in despite 10% Tory swing". Letchworth and Baldock Citizen Gazette. 2 October 1975. p. 16.