2004 Harlow District Council election

10 June 2004
11 of the 33 seats to Harlow District Council 17 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party Third party   Party Conservative Labour Liberal Democrats Last election 12 9 12 Seats before 13 9 10 Seats won 4 5 2 Seats after 13 11 9 Seat change 2 1 Popular vote 6,531 6,812 4,494 Percentage 31.7% 33.1% 21.8%   Fourth party   Party Independent Last election 0 Seats before 1 Seats won 0 Seats after 0 Seat change 1 Popular vote 2,399 Percentage 11.6%
Map showing the results of contested wards in the 2004 Harlow District Council elections.
Council control before election No overall control Council control after election No overall control

The 2004 Harlow District Council election took place on 10 June 2004 to elect members of Harlow District Council in Essex, England. One third of the council was up for election and the council stayed under no overall control.^[1]

After the election, the composition of the council was

• Conservative 13
• Labour 11
• Liberal Democrats 9^[2]

Background

After the last election in 2003 both the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats had 12 seats, while Labour had 9 councillors.^[3] However, in July 2003 councillor Jane Steer defected from the Liberal Democrats to the Conservatives, making the Conservatives the largest group on the council for the first time in almost 50 years with 13 seats.^[4] The joint administration between the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats continued to run the council.^[4]

Meanwhile, in January 2004 the Liberal Democrat group on the council expelled Matthew Shepherd from the party's group on the council.^[5]

Election result

Overall turnout at the election was 37%.^[6]

Harlow local election result 2004^[2][6]

Party		Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
	Labour	5	2	0	2	45.5	33.1	6,812	5.2
	Conservative	4	0	0		36.4	31.7	6,531	1.0
	Liberal Democrats	2	0	1	1	18.2	21.8	4,494	6.0
	Independent	0	0	1	1	0	11.6	2,399	11.6
	UKIP	0	0	0		0	1.8	364	1.8

Ward results

Bush Fair

Location of Bush Fair ward

Bush Fair^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Robert Eschle	751	34.9	-8.8
	Liberal Democrats	Christopher Robins	690	32.1	-14.4
	Conservative	Guy Mitchinson	383	17.8	+8.0
	Independent	William Henderson	325	15.1	+15.1
Majority			61	2.8
Turnout			2,149	40.2	+8.9
	Labour gain from Liberal Democrats		Swing

Church Langley

Location of Church Langley ward

Church Langley^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Simon Carter	1,073	61.6	-6.6
	Liberal Democrats	Linda Pailing	400	22.9	+5.6
	Labour	Kenneth Lawrie	270	15.5	+1.0
Majority			683	38.7	-12.2
Turnout			1,743	30.5	+8.0
	Conservative hold		Swing

Great Parndon

Location of Great Parndon ward

Great Parndon^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Edward Johnson	775	40.0	-9.3
	Labour	Suzanne Ennifer	612	31.6	-4.3
	Independent	Raymond Statham	332	17.1	+17.1
	Liberal Democrats	Ian Rideout	220	11.3	-3.4
Majority			163	8.4	-5.0
Turnout			1,939	38.9	+8.0
	Conservative hold		Swing

Harlow Common

Location of Harlow Common ward

Harlow Common^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Gregory Peck	785	39.1	-15.4
	Conservative	Pamela Norton	654	32.6	+2.2
	Independent	Gary Roberts	308	15.3	+15.3
	Liberal Democrats	Clive Enders	262	13.0	-2.1
Majority			131	6.5	-17.6
Turnout			2,009	38.1	+9.0
	Labour hold		Swing

Little Parndon & Hare Street

Location of Little Parndon and Hare Street ward

Little Parndon & Hare Street^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	John Jesse	869	46.7	-2.5
	Conservative	Lee Dangerfield	589	31.6	+11.2
	Liberal Democrats	John Steer	404	21.7	-4.2
Majority			280	15.1	-8.2
Turnout			1,862	37.2	+6.2
	Labour hold		Swing

Mark Hall

Location of Mark Hall ward

Mark Hall^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Sean Folan	800	38.9	+0.7
	Liberal Democrats	Nicholas Macy	584	28.4	-16.4
	Conservative	Christopher Lane	381	18.5	+5.1
	Independent	Katrina Ray	290	14.1	+14.1
Majority			216	10.5
Turnout			2,055	42.9	+9.3
	Labour gain from Independent		Swing

Netteswell

Location of Netteswell ward

Netteswell^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Ian Jackson	627	34.1	-15.7
	Labour	Feroz Khan	448	24.3	-8.2
	UKIP	Anthony Bennett	364	19.8	+19.8
	Conservative	Andrew Shannon	260	14.1	+1.8
	Independent	Dean Weston	141	7.7	+7.7
Majority			179	9.8	-7.5
Turnout			1,840	36.4	+7.2
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Old Harlow

Location of Old Harlow ward

Old Harlow^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Muriel Jolles	748	37.7	-18.6
	Independent	Colleen Morrison	534	26.9	+26.9
	Labour	Paul Sztumpf	496	25.0	-4.9
	Liberal Democrats	Simon MacNeill	208	10.5	-3.3
Majority			214	10.8	-15.6
Turnout			1,986	42.4	+7.9
	Conservative hold		Swing

Staple Tye

Location of Staple Tye ward

Staple Tye^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Susan Lawton	583	38.2	-17.0
	Labour	Caroline Carter	402	26.3	+0.1
	Conservative	Peter Dobson	361	23.7	+5.1
	Independent	David Lambert	180	11.8	+11.8
Majority			181	11.9	-17.1
Turnout			1,526	32.4	+9.7
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Sumners and Kingsmoor

Location of Summers and Kingsmoor ward

Sumners and Kingsmoor^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Goddard	783	46.0	-2.2
	Labour	Robert Long	623	36.6	-1.5
	Liberal Democrats	Kuzna Jackson	295	17.3	+3.6
Majority			160	9.4	-0.7
Turnout			1,701	33.5	+8.1
	Conservative hold		Swing

Toddbrook

Location of Toddbrook ward

Toddbrook^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Kevin Brooks	756	42.2	-6.6
	Conservative	Paul Richardson	524	29.3	-7.3
	Independent	Rex Amor	289	16.1	+16.1
	Liberal Democrats	Paul Westlake	221	12.3	-2.3
Majority			232	12.9	+0.7
Turnout			1,790	35.4	+5.8
	Labour hold		Swing

References