Broxbourne Council election, 1976
Encyclopedia
The Broxbourne Council election, 1976 was held to elect council members of the Broxbourne Borough Council
, the local government authority
of the borough of Broxbourne
, Hertfordshire
, England
.
This was an "all out" election as a result of significant ward boundary changes since the June 1973 election.
The warding pattern was now of 14 wards each returning 3 Councillors. This meant that the Council had expanded to 42 elected members - an increase of 2 Councillors.
A new ward had been created to cover the Rosedale estate.
This warding pattern was to remain in effect until 1999.
Following this election Borough Councillors would retire in thirds starting from the 1978 election.
The Councillor polling the lowest number of votes in each ward would stand for re-election in 1978. The Councillor who polled the next highest number of votes would stand in 1979 and the Councillor with the highest number of votes would stand in 1980.
This arrangement resulted in an electoral curiosity in Rosedale Ward where 2 of the successful candidates at this election polled exactly the same number of votes.
To determine who would "retire" in 1978 after a 2 year term of office, the successful candidates cut a pack of playing cards with the lowest card "losing"
Councillor Robert Donoghue (Conservative) drew a 6 and Councillor Mark Farrington (Labour) drew a 5.
Accordingly Councillor Farrington was determined to have been placed 3rd in the election and stood for re-election in 1978 after a 2 year term of office.
The new political balance of the Borough Council was
Shortly after the election Councillor Dan Hickman (Goffs Oak Ward) left the Conservative Group and sat as an Independent Member resulting in a revised political balance of:
Broxbourne Borough Council
Broxbourne Borough Council is the local authority for the Broxbourne non-metropolitan district of Hertfordshire, England. Broxbourne is located in the south-east of Hertfordshire, in the East of England region. The Council itself is based in Cheshunt, the largest settlement in the district.The...
, the local government authority
Local government
Local government refers collectively to administrative authorities over areas that are smaller than a state.The term is used to contrast with offices at nation-state level, which are referred to as the central government, national government, or federal government...
of the borough of Broxbourne
Broxbourne (borough)
Broxbourne is a local government district and borough in Hertfordshire, England. Its council is based in Cheshunt, other towns include Broxbourne, Hoddesdon and Waltham Cross. The eastern boundary of the district is the River Lea...
, Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
Election results
Results summary
The second election to Broxbourne Borough Council took place on Thursday 6th May 1976.This was an "all out" election as a result of significant ward boundary changes since the June 1973 election.
The warding pattern was now of 14 wards each returning 3 Councillors. This meant that the Council had expanded to 42 elected members - an increase of 2 Councillors.
A new ward had been created to cover the Rosedale estate.
This warding pattern was to remain in effect until 1999.
Following this election Borough Councillors would retire in thirds starting from the 1978 election.
The Councillor polling the lowest number of votes in each ward would stand for re-election in 1978. The Councillor who polled the next highest number of votes would stand in 1979 and the Councillor with the highest number of votes would stand in 1980.
This arrangement resulted in an electoral curiosity in Rosedale Ward where 2 of the successful candidates at this election polled exactly the same number of votes.
To determine who would "retire" in 1978 after a 2 year term of office, the successful candidates cut a pack of playing cards with the lowest card "losing"
Councillor Robert Donoghue (Conservative) drew a 6 and Councillor Mark Farrington (Labour) drew a 5.
Accordingly Councillor Farrington was determined to have been placed 3rd in the election and stood for re-election in 1978 after a 2 year term of office.
The new political balance of the Borough Council was
- ConservativeConservative Party (UK)The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
36 seats - LabourLabour Party (UK)The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
6 seats
Shortly after the election Councillor Dan Hickman (Goffs Oak Ward) left the Conservative Group and sat as an Independent Member resulting in a revised political balance of:
- ConservativeConservative Party (UK)The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
35 seats - LabourLabour Party (UK)The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
6 seats - IndependentIndependent (politician)In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...
1 seat