Hertfordshire County Council elections

Hertfordshire County Council in England is elected every four years. Since the last boundary changes took effect in 2017 there have been 78 electoral divisions electing one councillor each.^[1]

Elections

Summary of the council composition, click on the year for full details of each election.

Year	Conservative	Labour	Liberal Democrats	Green	BNP	Independent	Council control after election		Notes
1973[2]	35	33	3	0	0	1		No overall control
1977[2]	65	6	0	0	0	1		Conservative
1981[2]	43	29	4	0	0	1		Conservative	New ward boundaries[3]
1985[2]	36	27	14	0	0	0		No overall control
1989[2]	45	27	5	0	0	0		Conservative
1993[2]	27	30	19	0	0	1		No overall control
1997[2]	38	30	9	0	0	0		No overall control
2001[4]	40	27	10	0	0	0		Conservative	New ward boundaries[5]
2005[6]	46	16	14	1	0	0		Conservative
2009[7]	55	3	17	1	1	0		Conservative
2013[8]	46	15	16	0	0	0		Conservative
2017[9]	51	9	18	0	0	0		Conservative	New ward boundaries[1]
2021[10]	46	7	23	1	0	1		Conservative
2025

Result maps

• 
  2001 results map
• 
  2005 results map
• 
  2009 results map
• 
  2013 results map
• 
  2017 results map
• 
  2021 results map

By-election results

By-elections are held for any vacancies that arise between elections.

1993–1997

Cheshunt West By-Election 18 July 1996

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Gerald Game	1,067	62.0
	Labour	Sylvia Courtnage	424	24.6
	Liberal Democrats	Henry Appiah	231	13.4
Majority			643	37.4
Turnout			1,722	14.83
	Conservative hold		Swing

Kings Langley By-Election 26 September 1996

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative		1,406	50.9
	Labour		1,083	39.2
	Liberal Democrats		273	9.9
Majority			323
Turnout			2,762
	Conservative hold		Swing

1997–2001

South East Hemel Hempstead By-Election 10 June 1999

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative		1,842	47.8	+12.6
	Labour		1,642	42.1	−6.0
	Liberal Democrats		388	10.1	−6.6
Majority			218	5.7
Turnout			3,854	34.0
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing

Hitchin North East By-Election 17 February 2000

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour		1,399	50.6	−4.8
	Conservative		1,106	40.1	+12.4
	Liberal Democrats		166	6.0	−11.0
	Natural Law		95	3.4	+3.4
Majority			293	10.5
Turnout			2,766	24.9
	Labour hold		Swing

Offa By-Election 13 April 2000

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative		1,293	51.7	+11.3
	Labour		941	37.6	−5.5
	Liberal Democrats		240	9.6	−6.9
	Natural Law		27	1.1	+1.1
Majority			352	14.1
Turnout			2,501	27.9
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing

Bushey Heath By-Election 4 May 2000

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative		1,590	60.3	+5.1
	Liberal Democrats		808	30.7	+3.6
	Labour		237	9.0	−8.7
Majority			782	29.6
Turnout			2,635	32.7
	Conservative hold		Swing

Shephall By-Election 4 May 2000

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour		1,434	65.6	+5.1
	Conservative		482	22.0	−1.6
	Liberal Democrats		270	12.4	+0.3
Majority			952	43.6
Turnout			2,186	23.5
	Labour hold		Swing

2001–2005

St. Albans North By-Election 12 July 2001

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour		1,445	41.3	+3.9
	Liberal Democrats		1,113	31.8	−0.2
	Conservative		912	26.1	−4.5
	Independent		25	0.7	+0.7
Majority			332	9.5
Turnout			3,495	34.7
	Labour hold		Swing

Meriden Tudor By-Election 28 November 2002^[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Audrey Oaten	1,413	51.0	+35.1
	Labour	Geoffrey O'Connell	817	29.5	−14.6
	Conservative	Richard Southern	472	17.0	−15.8
	Green	Ian West	70	2.5	−0.7
Majority			596	21.5
Turnout			2,772	27.7
	Liberal Democrats gain from Labour		Swing

Hatfield South By-Election 19 June 2003

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative		1,246	48.8	+11.5
	Labour		933	36.6	−8.5
	Liberal Democrats		372	14.6	−3.0
Majority			313	12.2
Turnout			2,551	26.8
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing

Kings Langley By-Election 18 September 2003

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative		1,851	59.9	+8.8
	Liberal Democrats		625	20.2	+2.3
	Labour		614	19.9	−5.6
Majority			1,226	39.7
Turnout			3,090	30.2
	Conservative hold		Swing

Hertford All Saints By-Election 5 February 2004

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative		1,064	52.5	+11.4
	Labour		559	27.6	−5.6
	Liberal Democrats		403	19.9	−5.8
Majority			505	24.9
Turnout			2,026	21.8
	Conservative hold		Swing

2005–2009

Shephall By-Election 15 September 2005^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	John Lloyd	1,144	45.5	−5.5
	Liberal Democrats	Elisabeth Knight	994	39.6	+18.8
	Conservative	Ralph Dimelow	374	14.9	−13.3
Majority			150	5.9
Turnout			2,512	28.1
	Labour hold		Swing

Knebworth and Codicote By-Election 22 June 2006^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Richard Thake	1,759	69.7	+14.4
	Labour	Joseph McWalter	322	12.7	−5.6
	Liberal Democrats	Debra Wilkins	310	12.3	−7.0
	Green	Stuart Madgin	133	5.2	−1.8
Majority			1,437	57.0
Turnout			2,524	23.0
	Conservative hold		Swing

Harpenden South West By-Election 7 February 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Teresa Heritage	2,161	66.6	+10.4
	Liberal Democrats	Alison Steer	819	25.3	−0.4
	Labour	Linda Spiri	153	4.7	−7.2
	Green	Annette Tate	110	3.4	−2.8
Majority			1,342	41.3
Turnout			3,243	30.2
	Conservative hold		Swing

Bedwell By-Election 27 March 2008^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Sharon Taylor	1,452	56.5	+1.0
	Conservative	Leslie Clark	625	24.3	−0.6
	Liberal Democrats	Len Lambert	329	12.8	−6.8
	UKIP	Rick Seddon	165	6.4	+6.4
Majority			827	32.2
Turnout			2,571	29.0
	Labour hold		Swing

2009–2013

Borehamwood North By-Election 22 October 2009^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Alan Plancey	982	44.5	+5.5
	Labour	Leon Reefe	928	42.1	+13.2
	Liberal Democrats	Robert Gamble	170	7.7	−4.6
	Independent	Frank Ward	125	5.7	−0.1
Majority			54	2.4
Turnout			2,205	18.5
	Conservative hold		Swing

St Albans South By-Election 3 June 2010^[16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Martin Frearson	1,482	42.1	+2.6
	Conservative	Salih Gaygusuz	1,250	35.5	+4.1
	Labour	Iain Grant	540	15.3	−0.1
	Green	Kate Metcalf	249	7.1	−6.7
Majority			232	6.6
Turnout			3,521	33.1
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Bishops Stortford West By-Election 5 May 2011

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Colin Bernard Woodward	2,483	52.7%	+7.6%
	Liberal Democrats	Robert Ian Taylor	1,256	26.6%	+0.6%
	Labour	Alexander Julian Young	977	20.7%	+10.5%
Majority			1,227
Turnout			4,716
	Conservative hold		Swing

At the preceding election there had also been candidates for the British National Party (307 votes, 8.0%) and for the Green Party (392 votes, 10.3%).

Waltham Cross By-Election 22 March 2012^[17][18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Dee Hart	1,389	56.44	+14.54
	Labour	Malcolm Aitken	837	34.01	+6.91
	UKIP	Albert Nicholas	159	6.46	+6.46
	Liberal Democrats	Peter Huse	76	3.09	−10.51
Majority			552	22.43
Turnout			2,461	22.88
	Conservative hold		Swing

Meriden Tudor By-Election 3 May 2012^[19][20]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Kareen Mary Hastrick	1231	40.2	−3.3%
	Labour	Diana Mary Ivory	791	25.8	+13.1%
	Conservative	Richard Lloyd Vaughan Southern	534	17.4	−10.2%
	UKIP	Nicholas Richard Lincoln	351	11.5	n/a
	Green	Paula Mary Evelyn Broadhurst	154	5.0	−2.5%
Majority			440	12.6%
Turnout			3061	33.5
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Election caused by the resignation of previous incumbent.

Hemel Hempstead Town By-Election 21 June 2012^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	William Wyatt-Lowe	1413	47.8	−3.0
	Labour	Mike Bromberg	693	23.5	+8.8
	Liberal Democrats	Chris Angell	456	15.4	−5.8
	Green	Paul Harris	180	6.1	−7.2
	UKIP	Howard Koch	151	5.1	+5.1
	Independent	Rodney Tucker	61	2.1	+2.1
Majority			720
Turnout				23.8
	Conservative hold		Swing

Election caused by the resignation of previous incumbent.^[22] Percentage change is since June 2009.

2013–2017

Hitchin North By-Election 12 September 2013^[23][24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour Co-op	Judi Candida BILLING	1250	47.8	+1.8
	Conservative	Alan MILLARD	673	25.7	−7.0
	Liberal Democrats	Lisa Victoria COURTS	246	9.4	+2.8
	UKIP	John Finbarr BARRY	235	9.0	+9.0
	Green	Gavin NICHOLSON	212	8.1	−6.6
Majority			577
Turnout			2621	22.42
	Labour Co-op hold		Swing

Caused by the death of the previous incumbent.

2017–2021

Council leader and Conservative councillor Robert Gordon CBE (Goffs Oak and Bury Green) died in October 2017.^[25] The seat was held for the Conservatives by Lesley Greensmith in the by-election on 22 February 2018.^[26]

Goffs Oak & Bury Green By Election 22 February 2018

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Lesley Greensmyth	1,390	59.6	−5.3
	Liberal Democrats	David Payne	482	20.7	+14.9
	Labour	Selina Norgrove	393	16.8	−0.8
	Green	Sally Kemp	69	3.0	N/A
Majority			1,536
Turnout			2,334	19	−8
	Conservative hold		Swing

Liberal Democrat councillor Charlotte Hogg (St Albans North) resigned from the council in March 2018.^[27] A by-election was held on 3 May, where Roma Mills from the Labour Party captured the seat from the Liberal Democrats.^[26]

St Albans North By-Election 3 May 2018

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Roma Mills	1,779	36.6	+2.8
	Liberal Democrats	Karen Young	1,460	30.1	−5.2
	Conservative	Salih Gaygusuz	1,361	28.0	+1.9
	Green	Simon Grover	258	5.3	+2.2
Majority			319	6.5
Turnout			4,858	48
	Labour gain from Liberal Democrats		Swing

Three Rivers Rural By-Election 25 October 2018

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Phil Williams	1,846	53.4	+9.6
	Conservative	Angela Killick	1,315	38.0	−9.0
	Labour	Jenni Gillet	144	4.2	±0.0
	UKIP	David Bennett	86	2.5	+0.6
	Green	Roan Alder	68	2.0	−1.0
Majority
Turnout			3,463	30
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative		Swing

2021–2025

Hitchin South: 10 March 2022^[28]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Keith Hoskins	2,401	71.7	+34.0
	Conservative	Claire Strong	690	20.6	−16.3
	Green	Deolinda Eltringham	223	6.7	−2.2
	CPA	Leigh Smith	35	1.0	±0.0
Majority			1,711	51.1
Turnout			3,363	31.4
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing	25.2

The by-election was caused by the death of the incumbent Liberal Democrat, Paul Clark in December 2021. The Lib Dems won with an increased majority with Labour opting not to nominate a candidate.

Hitchin North: 9 February 2023^[29]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Ian Clive Albert	1,992	65.8	+12.7
	Conservative	Ralph Gerald Muncer	526	17.4	−9.5
	Green	Deolinda Maria Eltringham	415	13.7	+3.3
	CPA	Leigh Smith	93	3.1	+3.1
Majority			1466	48.4
Turnout			3036	26.4	−17
	Labour hold		Swing

The by-election was caused by the death of the Labour incumbent, Judi Billing in November 2022. Labour won with an increased majority with the Lib Dems opting not to nominate a candidate.

Harpenden Rural: 7 December 2023^[30]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Allison Wren	1,474	58.2	+32.9
	Conservative	Claudio Duran	766	30.3	−26.8
	Labour	Symon Vegro	168	6.7	−4.0
	Green	Mario May	119	4.8	−2.1
Majority			708	27.9	N/A
Turnout			2,538	22.6	−21.6
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative		Swing	29.8

This by-election was caused by the resignation of the incumbent Conservative, Annie Brewster.

Bedwell: 29 August 2024^[31]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Ellie Plater	962	46.9	−0.6
	Conservative	Harry Curtis	470	22.9	−11.7
	Reform UK	Janet Bainbridge	352	17.2	+17.2
	Liberal Democrats	Riad Mannan	134	6.5	−3.2
	Green	Balgiisa Ahmed	133	6.5	+0.5
Majority			492	24.0
Turnout			2,051
	Labour hold		Swing

This by-election was caused by the resignation of the Labour incumbent, Baroness Taylor of Stevenage.

References

1. "The Hertfordshire (Electoral Changes) Order 2015", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 2015/1873, retrieved 11 May 2023
2. "Council compositions by year". Elections Centre.
3. "The County of Hertfordshire (Electoral Arrangements) Order 1980". legislation.gov.uk. 9 November 1980. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
4. "Local Election 2001". BBC News.
5. "The County of Hertfordshire (Electoral Changes) Order 2000". legislation.gov.uk. 11 September 2000. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
6. "Local election results: Hertfordshire". BBC News.
7. "Elections 2009". BBC News.
8. "Local elections 2013". BBC News.
9. "Hertfordshire County Council". BBC News. Archived from the original on 17 September 2020. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
10. "Hertfordshire County Council". BBC News. Archived from the original on 24 March 2022. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
11. "Election Results - County By-election 28 November 2002". Watford Borough Council. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 23 October 2009.
12. "Labour and lucky Tories make council gains". guardian.co.uk. London. 16 September 2005. Retrieved 23 October 2009.
13. "Result of poll" (PDF). North Hertfordshire District Council. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 December 2008. Retrieved 23 October 2009.
14. "Election Results - Bedwell Division and Pin Green Ward". Stevenage Borough Council. Archived from the original on 7 September 2008. Retrieved 23 October 2009.
15. "Tory victory in by-elections". This Is Local London. 23 October 2009. Retrieved 23 October 2009.
16. "Liberal Democrats retain both seats in by election". St Albans & Harpenden Review. 4 June 2010. Retrieved 4 June 2010.
17. "Waltham Cross County Electoral Division Election". Archived from the original on 1 April 2012. Retrieved 23 March 2012.
18. "Hertsdirect.org Waltham Cross By-Election 22 March 2012". Archived from the original on 1 August 2012. Retrieved 23 March 2012.
19. "Hertsdirect.org Results of the Meriden Tudor By-Election 03 May 2012". Archived from the original on 1 August 2012. Retrieved 18 May 2012.
20. "County by-election: Lib Dems retain Tudor and Meriden".
21. "Archived copy" (PDF). www.dacorum.gov.uk. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 August 2012. Retrieved 13 January 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
22. "By-elections date is set after former mayor's shock 'porn' arrest - Local - Hemel Gazette". Archived from the original on 6 September 2012. Retrieved 18 May 2012.
23. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 July 2014. Retrieved 18 July 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
24. "English Elections :: Hitchin North By-Election 2013 - election result". Archived from the original on 17 December 2013. Retrieved 14 September 2013.
25. "Death of Robert Gordon". Retrieved 10 April 2018.
26. "County Council elections". Retrieved 10 April 2018.
27. Whieldon, Fraser. "St Albans North councillor Charlotte Hogg resigns". Herts Advertiser. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
28. "Local Elections Archive Project — Hitchin South Division". www.andrewteale.me.uk. Retrieved 31 March 2024.
29. "Local Elections Archive Project — Hitchin North Division". www.andrewteale.me.uk. Retrieved 31 March 2024.
30. "Local Elections Archive Project — Harpenden Rural Division". www.andrewteale.me.uk. Retrieved 31 March 2024.
31. "Local Elections Archive Project — Bedwell Division". www.andrewteale.me.uk. Retrieved 11 November 2024.

• By-election results Archived 29 March 2010 at the Wayback Machine

External links

• Hertfordshire County Council