1994 Epping Forest District Council election

1994 Epping Forest District Council election
5 May 1994 (1994-05-05)
19 out of 59 seats to Epping Forest District Council
30 seats needed for a majority
  First party Second party Third party
 
Party Conservative Labour Loughton Residents
Last election 28 seats, 44.9% 14 seats, 19.1% 7 seats, 11.1%
Seats before 27 14 7
Seats after 23 15 7
Seat change 5 1
Popular vote 10,719 10,535 2,875
Percentage 33.8% 33.2% 9.0%
Swing 11.1% 14.1% 2.1%
  Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party
 
Party Liberal Democrats Epping Residents SDP
Last election 2 seats, 8.2% 2 seats, 4.9% 3 seats, 8.2%
Seats before 3 [a] 3 [b] 2
Seats after 6 3 2
Seat change 4 1 1
Popular vote 5,419 1,445 111
Percentage 17.0% 4.5% 0.3%
Swing 8.8% 0.4% 7.9%
  Seventh party
 
Party Ind. Conservative
Last election 1 seat, 0.2%
Seats before 1
Seats after 1
Seat change
Popular vote 590
Percentage 1.8%
Swing 1.6%
Winner of each seat at the 1994 Epping Forest District Council election
Leader before election

Conservative minority administration

 Leader after election


No overall control

The 1994 Epping Forest District Council election took place on 5 May 1994 to elect members of Epping Forest District Council in Essex, England. 19 members of Epping Forest District Council in Essex were elected. The council fell into no overall control with no party having control.

Background

The 1994 Epping Forest District Council election took place in May 1994. Nationally, the Conservative government faced its lowest opinion poll ratings since coming to power in 1979, with Labour leading by a significant margin, sometimes of over 30%. The economy was recovering following the early 1990s recession, with unemployment falling to around 2.5 million by April.

Locally, the election marked a historic shift in Epping Forest politics. Labour recorded its best vote share in the district since 1980. The Conservatives suffered their lowest ever share of the vote and number of seats, winning only a handful of wards. For the first time, in no seat did the party win over 1,000 votes. These losses resulted in no overall control of the council, with no party holding a majority. Notably, the only seat that saw the Conservative vote share increase was North Weald Bassett.

The Loughton Residents Association (LRA) held firm, retaining seven seats and maintaining its influence in Loughton wards. Independent and Residents’ candidates also made gains, including June O’Brien in Epping Lindsey, who left the Conservatives to join the Epping Residents Association and retained her seat. Meanwhile, the Liberal Democrats achieved historic swings, particularly in Buckhurst Hill East (70.2%) and Buckhurst Hill West (61.2%), largely at the expense of the collapsing SDP, which fell to just 0.3% of the vote after Cllr Robinson, originally SDP, switched to the Liberal Democrats and successfully defended his seat leaving just Cllr Dunseath and Cllr Croke in the group.

The results reflected broader national trends of declining Conservative support and rising Labour and Liberal Democrat influence, while local parties such as the LRA continued to assert significant control in their wards. Turnout across the district ranged from around 37% to 52%, with some wards, such as Broadway, seeing high levels of engagement at 47.7%.

Overall, the 1994 election reshaped the council chamber, creating a fragmented assembly with Labour’s best performance in over a decade, Conservative losses at historic lows, and record-breaking gains for the Liberal Democrats in Epping Forest.

Results summary

[1]
1994 Epping Forest District Council election
Party This election Full council This election
Seats Net Seats % Other Total Total % Votes Votes % +/−
  Conservative 5 5 26.3 18 23 38.9 10,719 33.8 11.1
  Labour 6 1 31.5 9 15 25.4 10,535 33.2 14.1
  Loughton Residents 3 15.7 4 7 11.8 2,875 9.0 2.1
  Liberal Democrats 4 4 21.0 2 6 10.1 5,419 17.0 8.8
  Epping Residents 1 1 5.2 2 3 5.0 1,445 4.5 0.4
  Independent 0 0.0 2 2 3.2 N/A N/A N/A
  SDP 0 1 0.0 2 2 3.2 111 0.3 7.9
  Ind. Conservative 0 0.0 1 1 1.6 590 1.8 1.6

Ward results

Buckhurst Hill East

Buckhurst Hill East
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats S. Robinson* 1,362 70.2 58.6
Conservative A. Torgut 293 15.1 14.0
Labour D. Wing 209 10.8 1.8
SDP Ms E. Hobbs 76 3.9 46.4
Majority 1,069 55.1 N/A
Turnout 1,940 49.1 5.2
Registered electors 3,952
Liberal Democrats gain from SDP Swing

Buckhurst Hill West

Buckhurst Hill West
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats A. Thompson 1,435 61.2 52.8
Conservative D. Russell 784 33.4 12.9
Labour S. Miller 92 3.9 N/A
SDP R. Arnold 35 1.5 43.8
Majority 651 27.7 26.7
Turnout 2346 47.9 7.8
Registered electors 4,903
Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative Swing

Chigwell Row

Chigwell Row
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats M. Allen 412 51.1 19.5
Conservative R. Pratt* 394 48.9 19.5
Majority 18 2.2 N/A
Turnout 806 47.1 1.1
Registered electors 1,713
Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative Swing

Chigwell Village

Chigwell Village
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative J. Murphy* 755 60.0 19.5
Liberal Democrats D. Jenkinson 334 26.6 12.0
Labour C. Newbury 169 13.4 N/A
Majority 421 33.5 31.4
Turnout 1,258 39.0 8.0
Registered electors 3,227
Conservative hold Swing

Debden Green

Debden Green
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour S. Barnes 1,126 74.2 6.3
Conservative L. Daniel 392 25.8 6.3
Majority 734 48.4 12.6
Turnout 1,518 39.5 9.8
Registered electors 3,848
Labour hold Swing

Epping Hemnall

Epping Hemnall
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats A. Boydon 665 32.0 22.8
Conservative J. Ashbridge* 605 29.1 19.5
Epping Residents J. Solomons 482 23.2 4.6
Labour D. Sturrock 329 15.8 1.5
Majority 60 2.9 N/A
Turnout 2,081 45.0 9.2
Registered electors 4,626
Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative Swing

Epping Lindsey

Epping Lindsey
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Epping Residents J. O'Brien* 963 44.8 6.5
Conservative P. Jones 493 23.0 13.5
Labour B. Johns 411 19.1 4.1
Liberal Democrats S. Mann 281 13.1 3.0
Majority 470 21.9 N/A
Turnout 2,148 44.9 8.7
Registered electors 4,784
Epping Residents Association gain from Conservative Swing

Grange Hill

Grange Hill
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative D. Bateman 818 46.4 14.6
Liberal Democrats P. Spencer 706 40.1 7.7
Labour M. Scott 238 13.5 6.9
Majority 112 6.4 22.2
Turnout 1,762 38.4 5.6
Registered electors 4,591
Conservative hold Swing

Loughton Broadway

Loughton Broadway
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour S. Murray* 1,594 82.1 10.7
Conservative S. Metcalfe 348 17.9 10.7
Majority 1,246 64.2 21.4
Turnout 1942 47.7 11.7
Registered electors 4,072
Labour hold Swing

Loughton Forest

Loughton Forest
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Loughton Residents R. Gow* 792 62.8 7.6
Conservative I. Locks 302 23.9 14.9
Labour J. Ormston 168 13.3 7.4
Majority 490 38.8 22.4
Turnout 1,262 43.2 0.2
Registered electors 2,921
Loughton Residents hold Swing

Loughton Roding

Loughton Roding
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour A. Larner* 973 50.0 3.9
Loughton Residents B. Moore 448 23.0 0.9
Conservative E. Buttling 300 15.4 14.8
Liberal Democrats N. Macy 224 11.5 N/A
Majority 525 27.0 11.2
Turnout 1,945 52.4 8.6
Registered electors 3,710
Labour hold Swing

Loughton St. Johns

Loughton St. Johns
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Loughton Residents F. Silver 855 51.4 1.7
Conservative C. Finn 482 28.9 5.6
Labour R. Larner 328 19.7 7.4
Majority 373 22.4 3.8
Turnout 1,665 40.0 5.1
Registered electors 4,160
Loughton Residents hold Swing

Loughton St. Marys

Loughton St. Marys
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Loughton Residents R. Heath* 780 56.5 1.5
Labour J. Barnett 330 23.9 9.1
Conservative S. Englefield 270 19.6 7.6
Majority 450 32.6 1.8
Turnout 1,380 42.0 5.3
Registered electors 3,287
Loughton Residents hold Swing

Nazeing

Nazeing
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative M. Welch* 700 42.6 22.8
Ind. Conservative D. Borton 590 35.9 N/A
Labour D. Martin 353 21.5 6.5
Majority 110 6.7 42.3
Turnout 1,643 47.0 2.2
Registered electors 3,497
Conservative hold Swing

North Weald Bassett

North Weald Bassett
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative E. Hudspeth* 949 58.5 2.7
Labour I. Standfast 674 41.5 15.7
Majority 275 16.9 13.1
Turnout 1,623 37.3 0.1
Registered electors 4,346
Conservative hold Swing

Theydon Bois

Theydon Bois
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative J. Padfield* 886 66.9 9.8
Labour D. Miller 439 33.1 N/A
Majority 447 33.7 19.7
Turnout 1,325 41.8 7.2
Registered electors 3,168
Conservative hold Swing

Waltham Abbey East

Waltham Abbey East
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour B. Sumner 1,247 57.5 23.7
Conservative W. Ransom 923 42.5 23.7
Majority 324 14.9 N/A
Turnout 2,170 40.2 6.4
Registered electors 5,401
Labour gain from Conservative Swing

Waltham Abbey Paternoster

Waltham Abbey Paternoster
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour S. Riley 882 64.4 7.6
Conservative L. Rowley 488 35.6 7.6
Majority 394 28.8 15.2
Turnout 1,370 39.1 0.1
Registered electors 3,504
Labour hold Swing

Waltham Abbey West

Waltham Abbey West
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour P. Pennell* 973 64.4 21.1
Conservative D. Esau 537 35.6 21.1
Majority 436 28.9 N/A
Turnout 1,510 39.1 0.6
Registered electors 3,865
Labour hold Swing

Notes

  1. ^ Buckhurst Hill East councillor, S. Robinson defected from the SDP to the Liberal Democrats.
  2. ^ Epping Lindsey councillor, June O'Brien resigned the whip earlier that year.

References

  1. ^ "Epping Forest District Council Election Results 1973 to 2012" (PDF).
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.