1976 North Hertfordshire District Council election

← 1973

6 May 1976 (1976-5-6)

1979 →

All 48 seats on North Hertfordshire District Council
25 seats needed for a majority

	First party	Second party
	Con	Lab
Leader	Bob Flatman	John Goldsmith
Party	Conservative	Labour
Seats before	23	17
Seats after	30	11
Seat change	7	6

	Third party	Fourth party
	Ind	RA
Leader		Ken Logan
Party	Independent	Ratepayers
Seats before	7	1
Seats after	5	2
Seat change	2	1

Leader before election

Bob Flatman
Conservative
No overall control

Leader after election

Bob Flatman
Conservative

The 1976 North Hertfordshire District Council election was held on 6 May 1976, at the same time as other local elections across England and Wales. All 48 seats on North Hertfordshire District Council were up for election.

The election saw the Conservatives take a majority of the seats on the council, which had previously been under no overall control, being led by a Conservative minority administration. The Conservative group leader, Bob Flatman, continued to serve as leader of the council after the election.^[1] The Labour group leader, John Goldsmith, lost his seat and was replaced as group leader by Bill Miller.^[2]

The overall results were as follows:^[3]

North Hertfordshire District Council Election, 1976
	Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
Conservative	30	7	0	+7	62.5	49.8	19,994	+7.1
Labour	11	0	6	-6	22.9	28.8	11,566	-4.0
Independent	5	0	2	-2	10.4	12.3	4,938	-7.3
Ratepayers	2	1	0	+1	4.2	5.2	2,082	+2.1
Liberal	0				0.0	3.9	1,545	+2.1

Ward results

Ward 1: Baldock
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Nora Burgess*	1,240	40.3	−0.1
	Conservative	Roger Gazely	873	28.4	+2.7
	Conservative	John Barton*	839
	Labour	George York*	716	23.3	−3.8
	Labour	Stanley Watson	628
	Labour	Roger McFall	607
	Conservative	Alfred Bickell	511
	Liberal	Ronald Littleford (Ron Littleford)	248	8.1	+1.2
Turnout		46.4
Registered electors	6,631
	Independent hold	Swing	-1.4
	Conservative gain from Labour	Swing
	Conservative hold	Swing

Ward 2: Hitchin Oughton
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Audrey Carss*	1,038	55.2	+2.4
	Labour	Jim Reilly*	957
	Labour	David Kendall	902
	Conservative	Raymond Shanks	841	44.8	+18.6
	Conservative	John Wallace	836
	Conservative	Andree Boddington	714
Turnout		49.0
Registered electors	3,835
	Labour hold	Swing	-8.1
	Labour hold	Swing
	Labour hold	Swing

Ward 3: Hitchin Bearton
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	David Ingram	1,063	64.0	+7.0
	Conservative	David Roberts	1,048
	Labour	Keith Ruff	450	27.1	−15.9
	Labour	Brian Abrahams	408
	Liberal	George Fisher	148	8.9	+8.9
	Liberal	Christopher Freel	115
Turnout		47.0
Registered electors	3,534
	Conservative hold	Swing	+11.5
	Conservative hold	Swing

Ward 4: Hitchin Priory
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Robert Stanley Flatman* (Bob Flatman)	1,372	74.3	+14.8
	Conservative	Derek Alfred Doel*	1,272
	Conservative	Michael John Frederick Hillman ‡	1,212
	Labour	William Edward Harmer	322	17.4	+1.0
	Labour	Doris Marian Reilly	311
	Labour	Crystal Anne Toleman	294
	Liberal	Jane Elizabeth Brine	152	8.2	−15.8
	Liberal	Handel Thomas Robert Leonard	152
Turnout		41.9
Registered electors	4,406
	Conservative hold	Swing	+6.9
	Conservative hold	Swing
	Conservative hold	Swing

Ward 5: Hitchin Walsworth
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Ratepayers	Kenneth William Logan* (Ken Logan)	1,555	42.5	+10.4
	Ratepayers	Brian Robert Worbey	1,276
	Labour	Frederick George Peacock (Fred Peacock)	1,106	30.2	−6.5
	Conservative	Frederick Stanley Scott (Fred Scott)	1,001	27.3	−3.9
	Labour	John Henry Goldsmith*	812
	Labour	Martin John Stears	726
Turnout		57.4
Registered electors	6,380
	Ratepayers hold	Swing	+8.5
	Ratepayers gain from Labour	Swing
	Labour hold	Swing

Ward 6: Hitchin Highbury
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Beryl Faith Wearmouth*	1,726	80.2	+26.9
	Conservative	Stephen Arthur Whaley	1,597
	Conservative	Betty May Goble	1,594
	Labour	Walter Patrick Guymer	425	19.8	+7.7
	Labour	Stewart Patrick Faulkner	360
	Labour	Harold Alexander Smith	336
Turnout		52.0
Registered electors	4,137
	Conservative hold	Swing	+9.6
	Conservative hold	Swing
	Conservative hold	Swing

Ward 7: Letchworth Norton
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Bill Miller*	1,467	47.1	−15.7
	Labour	David Evans	1,461
	Labour	Donald Kitchiner* (Don Kitchiner)	1,458
	Labour	Rodney Playford	1,435
	Conservative	William Charles Bifield (Charles Bifield)	1,288	41.4	+4.2
	Conservative	Walter Gurney	1,276
	Conservative	Barry Jackson	1,196
	Conservative	Dominic Alphonsus Murphy	1,091
	Independent	Roger Leach	358	11.5	+11.5
Turnout		48.9
Registered electors	6,366
	Labour hold	Swing	-10.0
	Labour hold	Swing
	Labour hold	Swing
	Labour hold	Swing

Ward 8: Letchworth Pixmore
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Ernest Brown* (Ernie Brown)	1,374	67.5	−7.8
	Labour	David Arthur Griffiths*	1,322
	Labour	Reginald Hall*	1,301
	Conservative	Jean May Sherwood	662	32.5	+7.8
	Conservative	Pauline Margaret Wood	637
	Conservative	Richard Edward Markiewicz	619
Turnout		44.9
Registered electors	4,535
	Labour hold	Swing	-7.8
	Labour hold	Swing
	Labour hold	Swing

Ward 9: Letchworth Wilbury
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Raynor Bloxham (Ray Bloxham)	1,182	53.2	+12.7
	Conservative	Roland Baker	1,156
	Conservative	Paul Shipman	1,136
	Labour	Mamie Briercliffe*	1,041	46.8	−12.7
	Labour	David Gallard*	1,020
	Labour	Ian Mantle*	933
Turnout		57.8
Registered electors	3,846
	Conservative gain from Labour	Swing	+12.7
	Conservative gain from Labour	Swing
	Conservative gain from Labour	Swing

Ward 10: Letchworth Westbury
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Clifford John Marshall*	1,011	65.5	+11.0
	Conservative	Geoffrey Peter Woods (Geoff Woods)	921
	Labour	Headley Valentine Parkins	533	34.5	−11.0
	Labour	Ormond Paul Simpson	517
Turnout		66.8
Registered electors	2,311
	Conservative hold	Swing	+11.0
	Conservative hold	Swing

Ward 11: Letchworth Central and Willian
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Anthony Gregory Burrows	1,786	83.0	+23.1
	Conservative	Robert Saunders* (Bob Saunders)	1,742
	Labour	Henry Fuller	366	17.0	+2.9
Turnout		55.1
Registered electors	3,906
	Conservative hold	Swing	+10.1
	Conservative hold	Swing

Ward 12: Royston
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Francis John Smith* (John Smith)	1,998	39.2	+2.6
	Independent	George William Stevens*	1,673	32.8	−9.9
	Independent	Patricia Rule* (Pat Rule)	1,672
	Independent	Phillip Leslie Gray*	1,350
	Conservative	Terence Botfield	1,258
	Conservative	Christopher McMichael	1,124
	Conservative	Howard Marshall	1,095
	Labour	Robert Douglas Beckwith	815	16.0	−4.8
	Labour	Alan Evans	767
	Labour	Peter Ball	675
	Liberal	Hazel Priscilla Lord	615	12.1	+12.1
	Labour	Michael William Kernaghan	603
	Liberal	Anthony Perkins	406
Turnout		52.8
Registered electors	9,661
	Conservative hold	Swing	+6.3
	Independent hold	Swing
	Independent hold	Swing
	Independent hold	Swing

Ward 13: Ashwell, Bygrave, Caldecote, Clothall, Graveley, Hinxworth, Newnham, Radwell and Weston
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Robert Evans*	950	69.3	+34.9
	Conservative	John Stapleton	926
	Labour	John Schofield	420	30.7	+16.6
	Labour	John Summers	307
Turnout		53.2
Registered electors	2,575
	Conservative hold	Swing	+9.2
	Conservative gain from Independent	Swing

Ward 14: Barkway, Barley, Kelshall, Nuthampstead, Reed, Rushden, Sandon, Therfield and Wallington
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Esther Brookes*	781	55.1	−0.4
	Conservative	Ian Rose*	662
	Independent	Fraser William Field	511	36.1	+3.7
	Labour	Nigel Pratt	125	8.8	−3.3
	Labour	Anthony Pettit (Tony Pettit)	108
Turnout		55.0
Registered electors	2,576
	Conservative hold	Swing	-2.1
	Conservative hold	Swing

Ward 15: Ippollitts, Kimpton, Langley, Preston, St Paul's Walden and Wymondley
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	David Gilbert	1,542	76.8	−0.7
	Conservative	Leslie Rabbitts	1,523
	Conservative	John Raffell*	1,523
	Labour	Pauline Oakley	466	23.2	+0.7
	Labour	Frances Mary Polly	464
	Labour	Jennifer Fitzpatrick	387
Turnout		49.5
Registered electors	4,057
	Conservative hold	Swing	-0.7
	Conservative hold	Swing
	Conservative hold	Swing

Ward 17: Knebworth
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Gordon Cartwright Dumelow*	727	48.0	+7.8
	Conservative	Alfred James Grosse*	555
	Ratepayers	Anthony Tomlinson	527	34.8	+14.7
	Ratepayers	Ronald Charles Gilbert	309
	Labour	Martin Harvey Lisles	262	17.3	−4.3
Turnout		53.6
Registered electors	2,828
	Conservative hold	Swing	-3.5
	Conservative hold	Swing

Ward 18: Hexton, Holwell, Ickleford, King's Walden, Lilley, Offley and Pirton
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Brian Feaver	1,191	35.4	+7.9
	Independent	Ronald Alfred Lodge* (Ron Lodge)	1,156	34.3	−3.3
	Conservative	John Charles Jackson	1,038
	Conservative	Mary Middleton	972
	Labour	Raymond Cousins	640	19.0	−16.0
	Labour	Clive Hugh Godfrey	549
	Labour	Anthony James Brown	518
	Liberal	Sarah Ann Lowe	382	11.3	+11.3
Turnout		53.6
Registered electors	6,285
	Conservative gain from Independent	Swing	+5.6
	Independent hold	Swing
	Conservative gain from Labour	Swing

Changes 1976–1979

Five by-elections were held on 6 April 1978, following the simultaneous resignations of five Conservative councillors on 13 February 1978. All five seats were retained by the Conservatives.^[5]^[6]^[7]

Ward 3: Hitchin Bearton by-election, 6 April 1978
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Fred Scott	787	48.9	−15.1
	Labour	Martin Stears	659	40.9	+13.8
	National Party	Bob Aylott	63	3.9	+3.9
	Liberal	Sarah Low	55	3.4	−5.5
	Ratepayers	Jack Swain	46	2.9	+2.9
Turnout				46.3
	Conservative hold		Swing	-14.5

The Hitchin Bearton by-election was triggered by the resignation of Conservative councillor David Ingram, citing business reasons.

Ward 6: Hitchin Highbury by-election, 6 April 1978
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Stuart Grantham	1,036	59.0	−21.3
	Ratepayers	Bert Moore	448	25.5	+25.5
	Labour	John Joshua	273	15.5	−4.2
Turnout				41.8
	Conservative hold		Swing	-23.4

The Hitchin Highbury by-election was triggered by the resignation of Conservative councillor Stephen Arthur Whaley, who had moved away from the district.

Ward 9: Letchworth Wilbury by-election, 6 April 1978
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Keith Emsall	1,091	48.7	−4.4
	Labour	Ian Mantle	1,039	46.4	−0.4
	Liberal	Ian McGinlay	109	4.9	+4.9
Turnout				54.9
	Conservative hold		Swing	-2.0

The Letchworth Wilbury by-election was triggered by the resignation of Conservative councillor Roland Baker, who also resigned from the party citing disillusionment with Conservative party policy.

Ward 13: Ashwell, Bygrave, Caldecote, Clothall, Graveley, Hinxworth, Newnham, Radwell and Weston by-election, 6 April 1978
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Sheldrick	841	74.8	+5.5
	Labour	John Schofield	283	25.2	−5.5
Turnout				40.1
	Conservative hold		Swing	+5.5

The Ward 13 by-election was triggered by the resignation of Conservative councillor John Stapleton, who had moved away from the district.

Ward 14: Barkway, Barley, Kelshall, Nuthampstead, Reed, Rushden, Sandon, Therfield and Wallington by-election, 6 April 1978
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Bob Wilkerson	922	89.6	+34.5
	Labour	Peter Ball	107	10.4	+1.6
Turnout				46.5
	Conservative hold		Swing	+16.5

The Ward 14 by-election was triggered by the resignation of Conservative councillor Ian Rose, citing business reasons.

v t e Council elections in Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire County Council	1889 1892 1895 1898 1901 1904 1907 1910 1913 1919 1922 1925 1928 1931 1934 1937 1946 1949 1952 1955 1958 1961 1964 1967 1970 1973 1977 1981 1985 1989 1993 1997 2001 2005 2009 2013 2017 2021 2025
Broxbourne Borough Council	1973 1976 1978 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015 2016 2018 2019 2021 2022 2023 2024
Dacorum Borough Council	1973 1976 1979 1983 1987 1991 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 2015 2019 2023
East Hertfordshire District Council	1973 1976 1979 1983 1987 1991 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 2015 2019 2023
Hertsmere Borough Council	1973 1976 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015 2019 2023
North Hertfordshire District Council	1973 1976 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015 2016 2018 2019 2021 2022 2023 2024
St Albans City and District Council	1973 1976 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015 2016 2018 2019 2021 2022 2023 2024
Stevenage Borough Council	1973 1976 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015 2016 2018 2019 2021 2022 2023 2024
Three Rivers District Council	1973 1976 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015 2016 2018 2019 2021 2022 2023 2024
Watford Borough Council	1973 1976 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015 2016 2018 2019 2021 2022 2023 2024
Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council	1973 1976 1978 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015 2016 2018 2019 2021 2022 2023 2024
See also: Wards Boundary changes Middlesex County Council elections

v t e (1975 ←) 1976 United Kingdom local elections (→ 1977)
Metropolitan boroughs	Barnsley Birmingham Bolton Bradford Bury Calderdale Coventry Doncaster Dudley Gateshead Kirklees Knowsley Leeds Liverpool Manchester Newcastle North Tyneside Oldham Rochdale Rotherham Salford Sandwell Sefton Sheffield Solihull South Tyneside St Helens Stockport Sunderland Tameside Trafford Wakefield Walsall Wigan Wirral Wolverhampton
District councils (England)	Adur Allerdale Alnwick Amber Valley Arun Ashfield Ashford Aylesbury Vale Babergh Barrow-in-Furness Basildon Basingstoke Bassetlaw Bath Beaconsfield Berwick-upon-Tweed Beverley Blaby Blackburn Blackpool Blyth Valley Bolsover Boothferry Boston Bournemouth Bracknell Braintree Breckland Brentwood Bridgnorth Brighton Bristol Broadland Bromsgrove Broxbourne Broxtowe Burnley Cambridge Cannock Chase Canterbury Caradon Carlisle Carrick Castle Morpeth Castle Point Charnwood Chelmsford Cheltenham Cherwell Chester Chesterfield Chester-le-Street Chichester Chiltern Chorley Christchurch Cleethorpes Colchester Congleton Copeland Corby Cotswold Craven Crawley Crewe and Nantwich Dacorum Darlington Dartford Daventry Derby Derwentside Dover Durham Easington East Cambridgeshire East Devon East Hampshire East Hertfordshire East Lindsey East Northamptonshire East Staffordshire Eastbourne Eastleigh Eden Ellesmere Port Elmbridge Epping Forest Epsom and Ewell Erewash Exeter Fareham Fenland Forest Heath Forest of Dean Fylde Gedling Gillingham Glanford Gloucester Gosport Gravesham Great Yarmouth Grimsby Guildford Halton Hambleton Harborough Harlow Harrogate Hart Hartlepool Hastings Havant Hereford Hertsmere High Peak Hinckley and Bosworth Holderness Horsham Hove Hull Huntingdon Hyndburn Ipswich Kennet Kerrier Kettering Kingswood Lancaster Langbaurgh Leicester Leominster Lewes Lichfield Lincoln Langbaurgh Macclesfield Maidstone Maldon Malvern Hills Mansfield Medina Medway Melton Mendip Mid Bedfordshire Mid Suffolk Mid Sussex Middlesbrough Milton Keynes Mole Valley New Forest Newbury Newark Newcastle-under-Lyme North Bedfordshire North Cornwall North Devon North Dorset North East Derbyshire North Hertfordshire North Kesteven North Norfolk North Shropshire North Warwickshire North West Leicestershire North Wiltshire North Wolds Northampton Northavon Norwich Nottingham Nuneaton Oadby and Wigston Oswestry Oxford Pendle Penwith Peterborough Plymouth Poole Portsmouth Preston Purbeck Reading Redditch Reigate and Banstead Restormel Ribble Valley Richmondshire Rochford Rossendale Rother Rugby Runnymede Rushcliffe Rushmoor Rutland Ryedale Salisbury Scarborough Scunthorpe Sedgefield Sedgemoor Selby Sevenoaks Shepway Shrewsbury and Atcham Slough South Bedfordshire South Cambridgeshire South Derbyshire South Hams South Herefordshire South Holland South Kesteven South Lakeland South Norfolk South Northamptonshire South Oxfordshire South Ribble South Staffordshire South Shropshire South Wight Southampton Southend-on-Sea Spelthorne St Albans St Edmundsbury Stafford Staffordshire Moorlands Stevenage Stockton-on-Tees Stoke-on-Trent Stratford-on-Avon Stroud Suffolk Coastal Surrey Heath Swale Tamworth Tandridge Taunton Deane Teesdale Teignbridge Tendring Test Valley Tewkesbury Thamesdown Thanet The Wrekin Three Rivers Thurrock Tiverton Tonbridge and Malling Torbay Torridge Tunbridge Wells Tynedale Uttlesford Vale of White Horse Vale Royal Wansbeck Wansdyke Warrington Warwick Watford Waveney Waverley Wealden Wear Valley Wellingborough Welwyn Hatfield West Derbyshire West Devon West Dorset West Lancashire West Lindsey West Norfolk West Oxfordshire West Somerset West Wiltshire Weymouth and Portland Wimborne Winchester Windsor and Maidenhead Woking Wokingham Woodspring Worcester Worthing Wychavon Wycombe Wyre Wyre Forest Yeovil York
District councils (Wales)	Aberconwy Afan Alyn and Deeside Anglesey - Ynys Môn Arfon Blaenau Gwent Brecknock Cardiff Carmarthen Ceredigion Colwyn Cynon Valley Delyn Dinefwr Dwyfor Glyndŵr Islwyn Llanelli Lliw Valley Meirionnydd Merthyr Tydfil Monmouth Montgomery Neath Newport Ogwr Preseli Radnor Rhondda Rhuddlan Rhymney Valley South Pembrokeshire Swansea Taff-Ely Torfaen Vale of Glamorgan Wrexham Maelor

1976 North Hertfordshire District Council election

Ward results

Changes 1976–1979

References

Related Articles

Party		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	Denis Wallace Charles Winch*	unopposed
Registered electors			2,052
	Conservative hold		Swing