Watford Borough Council election, 2012

Elections to Watford Borough Council were held on 3 May 2012. Three years in every four, a third of the council (12 councillors) retires and elections are held (in the fourth year, elections are held for county councillors).

In this council election, the Labour Party gained two seats from the Liberal Democrats; the Liberal Democrats gained one from the Conservatives. However, the Liberal Democrats remained firmly in control of the council. Four parties, Liberal Democrats, Labour, Conservative and Green, all put up candidates in every seat. There were also three UKIP candidates.

In the year following this election there will not be elections to the Borough Council (apart from by-elections) and Hertfordshire County elections will be held in May 2013. In the years 2010 to 2012, although the Labour Party recovered from its worst position, in 2010, it has only won seats in its three strongest wards and has yet to challenge the Liberal Democrats grip on votes and power. Labour has, however, supplanted the Conservatives as the main opposition party (albeit still 15 seats short of the Liberal Democrats) and the Greens continue to hold their own in Callowland ward, pushing the Conservatives into the smallest party position.

After the election, the composition of the council was:[1]

Council election result

Watford Local Election Result 2012
Party Seats Gains Losses Net gain/loss Seats % Votes % Votes +/−
  Liberal Democrat 8 1 2 -1 66.7 41.3 8378
  Labour 3 2 - +2 25.0 28.6 5799
  Conservative 0 - -1 -1 18.2 3699
  Green 1 - - - 8.3 10.2 2073
  UKIP 1.8 358

Ward results

Callowland[2][3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Green Ian Brandon 793 53.7 -4.9
Labour Guru Awasthi 415 28.1 +5.6
Conservative Sally Anne Punter 147 10.0 -2.1
Liberal Democrat Patricia Gollop 121 8.2 +1.4
Majority 378 25.6
Turnout 1476 26.50
Green hold Swing
Central[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrat Rabi Martins 816 47.6 +5.5
Labour Fred Grindrod 532 31.0 -5.1
Conservative Carole Ann Bamford 186 10.8 -2.2
Green Su Murray 106 6.2 +0.7
UKIP Renie Price 76 4.4 +1.1
Majority 284 16.6
Turnout 1716 27.15
Liberal Democrat hold Swing
Holywell[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Matt Turmaine 1016 62.9 -5.5
Liberal Democrat Mohammed Umar 306 19.0 +3.1
Conservative Neil John Punter 165 10.2 -1.5
Green Nigel Anthony Filer 127 7.9 +3.9
Majority 710 44.0
Turnout 1614 26.15
Labour gain from Liberal Democrat Swing
Leggatts[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Anne Joynes 784 45.1 +9.8
Liberal Democrat Dennis Wharton 536 30.8 +11.0
Green Alison Jane Wiesner 239 13.8 -1.0
Conservative Youseffe Fahmy 179 10.3 -19.8
Majority 248 14.3
Turnout 1738 31.76
Labour gain from Liberal Democrat Swing
Meriden[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrat Jan Brown 690 43.0 -0.6
Labour Seamus Williams 445 27.7 -0.8
UKIP Nicholas Richard Lincoln 198 12.3 +12.3
Conservative Penelope Anne Mortimer 196 12.2 -10.7
Green Paula Mary Evelyn Brodhurst 75 4.7 -0.2
Majority 245 15.3
Turnout 1604 27.51
Liberal Democrat hold Swing
Nascot[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrat Mark John Hofman 983 42.8 -2.6
Conservative Andrew Graham Mortimer 931 40.5 +4.2
Labour Michael Harry Barnes 217 9.4 -2.3
Green Sally Rose Ivins 168 7.3 +0.7
Majority 52 2.3
Turnout 2299 37.74
Liberal Democrat gain from Conservative Swing
Oxhey[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrat Peter Taylor 1058 63.2 +8.0
Conservative Dick Bamford 301 18.0 -4.7
Labour Sue Sleeman 244 14.6 -1.7
Green Eric Weatherly 72 4.3 -1.6
Majority 757 45.2
Turnout 1675 32.01
Liberal Democrat hold Swing
Park[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrat George Derbyshire 1168 47.7 +4.4
Conservative Linda Ann Topping 863 35.3 -3.4
Labour David Corbet Connal 234 9.6 -1.4
Green Dorothy Mary Nixon 99 4.0 -0.4
UKIP David Penn 84 3.4 +0.9
Majority 305 12.5
Turnout 2448 40.47
Liberal Democrat hold Swing
Stanborough[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrat Tim Williams 885 58.6 +5.9
Labour Mark John Nicholas 289 19.1 +2.0
Conservative Chris Hawes 259 17.1 -8.0
Green George Mathew Ryan 78 5.2 +0.1
Majority 596 39.4
Turnout 1511 28.03
Liberal Democrat hold Swing
Tudor[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrat Darren Walford 709 48.6 +6.9
Labour Geoffrey Pearce 326 22.3 +0.4
Conservative Richard Lloyd Vaughan Southern 323 22.1 -0.9
Green Clare Victoria Pitkin 101 6.9 -0.8
Majority 383 26.3
Turnout 1459 30.71
Liberal Democrat hold Swing
Vicarage[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Mo Mills 1044 59.4 +9.3
Liberal Democrat Mehran Nawabi 438 24.9 -2.6
Conservative Dave Ealey 171 9.7 +0.5
Green Helen Elizabeth Wynne 105 6.0 +0.9
Majority 606 34.5
Turnout 1758 29.95
Labour hold Swing
Woodside[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrat Ian Gordon Brown 668 44.6 +3.8
Conservative Tony Rogers 466 31.1 +2.1
Labour Omar Ismail 253 16.9 -6.5
Green Christina Patricia Murphy 110 7.3 +0.6
Majority 202 13.5
Turnout 1497 27.80
Liberal Democrat hold Swing

References