1988 Epping Forest District Council election

1988 UK local government election September 2025 1988 Epping Forest District Council election Essex parliamentary 1987 Epping Forest District Council election 1987 1988 5 5 y 1990 Epping Forest District Council election 1990 20 seats to Epping Forest District Council1 by-election to Epping Hemnall 30 95x50px|Blank Conservative Party (UK) 34 seats, 52.0% 35 37 3 10,620 48.1% 3.9% 95x50px|Blank Labour Party (UK) 12 seats, 23.8% 12 11 1 6,481 29.3% 5.5% 95x50px|Blank Loughton Residents Association 6 seats, 3.4% 6 7 1 2,434 11.0% 7.6% 95x50px|Blank Social and Liberal Democrats 4 seats, 18.6%(as Alliance) 4 2 2 2,373 10.7% 7.9% 95x50px|Blank Independent (politician) 2 seats 1 1 1 0 0.0% N/A 95x50px|Blank Social Democratic Party (UK, 1988–1990) N/A 0 0 168 0.7% N/A 1988 Epping Forest District Council local election results map.png 400px Winner of each seat at the 1988 Epping Forest District Council election Rectangular inset (Epping Hemnall): By-election result Leader Leader after election Conservative Party (UK) Conservative Party (UK) The 1988 Epping Forest District Council election took place on 5 May 1988 to elect members of Epping Forest District Council in Essex, England. 20 members of Epping Forest District Council in Essex were elected. The council remained under Conservative majority control. Background The 1988 Epping Forest District Council election was held on 5 May 1988 to elect members of Epping Forest District Council in Essex, England. The Conservatives strengthened their control of the council, increasing their majority from the previous year. Labour suffered notable declines across the district, while the newly-formed Social and Liberal Democrats (SLD) - emerging from the recent merger of the Liberal Party and the Social Democratic Party - lost two of their existing seats and suffered a heavy fall in their vote share. Independent Councillor Ridgewell of Sheering joined the Conservatives ahead of these elections, retaining his seat at the election, which left Councillor Easton as the sole independent on the council. Nationally, 1988 was a year of political consolidation and socio-economic change. Margaret Thatcher became the longest-serving prime minister of the century, while her government continued to oversee economic growth and declining unemployment, which fell to just over 2.5 million by March. The Social and Liberal Democrats emerged from the merger of the Liberal Party and the SDP, uniting centrist opposition forces but struggling to make major breakthroughs in local elections such as Epping Forest. The government implemented major tax cuts in the March budget and pursued inner-city regeneration schemes, while social issues, including public sector strikes and welfare debates, remained prominent. The Conservative success in Epping Forest mirrored the national trend of growing support for the Tories in suburban and rural districts, consolidating their political dominance and leaving Labour and the SLD to contend with eroding influence at the local level. Overall, the 1988 council election reinforced Conservative control, reflecting both national political trends and local electoral realities. Just 7 months after these elections, Epping Forest would see a by-election following the death of incumbent MP Sir John Biggs-Davison, who had served Epping Forest as its MP since 1974, and its predecessor seat of Chigwell since 1955. The Conservatives would hold the seat with 39.5% of the vote (a fall of 21.5% in 1987), with the Social and Liberal Democrats gaining 26.0%, coming just over 4,500 behind Steven Norris, who would serve as the MP for Epping Forest until 1997. Results summary 1988 Epping Forest District Council electionSource:Colin Rallings Michael Thrasher Epping Forest District Council Election Results 1973-2012 https://www.electionscentre.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Epping-Forest-1973-2012.pdf The elections centre Plymouth University https://web.archive.org/web/20250202104615/https://www.electionscentre.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Epping-Forest-1973-2012.pdf 2025-02-02 en 2013 live Conservative Party (UK) 14 3 73.6 23 37 62.7 10,620 48.1 3.9 Labour Party (UK) 3 1 5.0 8 11 18.6 6,481 29.3 5.5 Loughton Residents Association 3 1 5.0 4 7 11.8 2,434 11.0 7.6 Liberal Party (UK) 0 2 0.0 2 2 3.3 2,373 10.7 7.9 Independent (politician) 1 1 1.6 0 1 1.6 0 0.0 N/A Independent Conservative 0 0.0 1 1 1.6 N/A N/A N/A Social Democratic Party (UK, 1988–1990) 0 0.0 0 0 0.0 168 0.7 N/A Buckhurst Hill East Buckhurst Hill East Conservative Party (UK) P. Yearley 708 45.8 0.2 Social and Liberal Democrats S. Anderson 571 36.9 5.6 Labour Party (UK) S. Goodwin 268 17.3 5.8 137 8.9 5.4 1,547 39.8 10.0 3,887 Conservative Party (UK) Social and Liberal Democrats Buckhurst Hill West Buckhurst Hill West Conservative Party (UK) L. Welch* 1,017 64.8 0.8 Social and Liberal Democrats R. Eveling 391 24.9 4.1 Labour Party (UK) R. Baddock 162 10.3 4.9 626 39.9 3.3 1,570 33.2 11.1 4,729 Conservative Party (UK) Chigwell Village Chigwell Village Conservative Party (UK) J. Gilliham 701 79.5 20.9 Social and Liberal Democrats C. Bartrip 99 11.2 13.6 Labour Party (UK) B. Mooney 82 9.3 1.9 602 68.3 34.4 882 27.1 8.1 3,255 Conservative Party (UK) Debden Green Debden Green Labour Party (UK) C. Huckle* 1,020 75.1 13.7 Conservative Party (UK) J. Yates 338 24.9 13.7 682 50.2 27.3 1,358 34.6 3.4 3,925 Labour Party (UK) Epping Hemnall Epping Hemnall Conservative Party (UK) M. Aldworth* 872 59.1 0.9 Conservative Party (UK) A. Rose 840 Labour Party (UK) D. Tetlow 358 24.3 7.9 Labour Party (UK) D. Wing 339 Social and Liberal Democrats J. Gent 245 16.6 8.8 Social and Liberal Democrats S. Mann 234 514 32.5 0.3 1,579 33.0 9.0 4,376 Conservative Party (UK) Conservative Party (UK) Epping Lindsey Epping Lindsey Conservative Party (UK) R. Brady 880 52.8 4.8 Labour Party (UK) D. Sturrock 471 28.3 12.6 Social and Liberal Democrats D. Gent 315 18.9 17.5 409 24.5 12.9 1,666 34.1 12.6 4,886 Conservative Party (UK) Grange Hill Grange Hill Conservative Party (UK) M. Tomkins 867 54.6 0.8 Social and Liberal Democrats G. West 557 35.1 5.0 Labour Party (UK) G. Easter 165 10.4 4.3 310 19.5 5.8 1,589 33.7 12.8 4,715 Conservative Party (UK) Social and Liberal Democrats High Ongar High Ongar Conservative Party (UK) D. Morton* 249 55.2 0.1 Social Democratic Party (UK, 1988–1990) S. Ormsby 168 37.3 N/A Labour Party (UK) L. Horgan 34 7.5 14.2 81 18.0 13.9 451 51.1 8.1 883 Conservative Party (UK) Loughton Broadway Loughton Broadway Labour Party (UK) H. Worby* 1,258 79.7 12.3 Conservative Party (UK) A. Swallow 320 20.3 12.3 938 59.4 24.6 1,578 37.9 1.6 4,164 Labour Party (UK) Loughton Forest Loughton Forest Loughton Residents Association K. Ellis 741 63.2 2.9 Conservative Party (UK) L. Pugh 350 29.9 2.4 Labour Party (UK) H. McSweeney 81 6.9 0.5 391 33.4 5.4 1,172 39.4 6.3 2,975 Loughton Residents Association Loughton Roding Loughton Roding Conservative Party (UK) J. Fairbanks 911 55.2 2.8 Labour Party (UK) J. Ormston 739 44.8 11.0 172 10.4 8.3 1,650 39.6 5.7 4,167 Conservative Party (UK) Labour Party (UK) Loughton St. Johns Loughton St. Johns Loughton Residents Association R. Wilmot 877 52.6 4.0 Conservative Party (UK) C. Finn 658 39.4 3.9 Labour Party (UK) C. Wardell 133 8.0 0.1 219 13.1 N/A 1,668 39.9 5.8 4,180 Loughton Residents Association Conservative Party (UK) Loughton St. Marys Loughton St. Marys Loughton Residents Association D. Paddon* 816 69.7 13.4 Conservative Party (UK) G. Best 222 19.0 11.3 Labour Party (UK) A. Bryant 133 11.4 2.0 594 50.7 24.7 1,171 39.6 2.0 2,957 Loughton Residents Association Passingford Passingford Conservative Party (UK) J. Pledge* N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 1,457 Conservative Party (UK) Roothing Country Roothing Country Conservative Party (UK) G. Green* 391 66.7 18.9 Social and Liberal Democrats D. Kelly 195 33.3 N/A 196 33.4 37.7 586 48.7 10.3 1,203 Conservative Party (UK) Roydon Roydon Independent (politician) W. Easton* N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 2,140 Independent (politician) Sheering Sheering Conservative Party (UK) M. Ridgewell* N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 1,857 Conservative Party (UK) Independent (politician) Theydon Bois Theydon Bois Conservative Party (UK) W. Axon* 819 82.0 18.1 Labour Party (UK) J. Davy 180 18.0 7.5 639 64.0 25.7 999 31.6 9.7 3,161 Conservative Party (UK) Waltham Abbey East Waltham Abbey East Conservative Party (UK) D. Demetriou 845 56.0 10.5 Labour Party (UK) D. Sherman 663 44.0 10.5 182 12.1 20.9 1,508 31.8 11.3 4,742 Conservative Party (UK) Waltham Abbey Paternoster Waltham Abbey Paternoster Labour Party (UK) P. Bourn 734 60.9 10.4 Conservative Party (UK) A. Day 472 39.1 10.5 262 21.7 20.7 1,206 35.1 6.2 3,436 Labour Party (UK) References Epping Forest District Council election Epping Forest District Council election, 1988 Category:Epping Forest District Council elections