# 2005 Durham County Council election

Elections to Durham County Council took place on 5 May 2005, as part of the 2005 local elections in the United Kingdom. The election also took place on the same day as the 2005 general election. This was the council's final election before it became a unitary authority as part of changes to local government in 2009, with the first elections to the new unitary council taking place in 2008. New electoral division boundaries were introduced for this election, with 63 divisions returning one councillor each using the first past the post voting system.
Labour kept control of the council with 53 seats. The Liberal Democrats were second with five seats and the Conservatives won two seats. There were also three independents elected, including two from the Derwentside Independents group.

## Results

Durham County Council election, 2005 :
| Party | Seats | Gains | Losses | Net gain/loss | Seats % | Votes % | Votes | +/− |
| Labour | 53 | N/A | N/A | N/A | 84.1 | 56.7 | 124,683 | N/A |
| Liberal Democrats | 5 | N/A | N/A | N/A | 7.9 | 20.4 | 44,878 | N/A |
| Conservative | 2 | N/A | N/A | N/A | 3.2 | 14.7 | 32,358 | N/A |
| Derwentside Independents | 2 | N/A | N/A | N/A | 3.2 | 3.6 | 7,835 | N/A |
| Independent | 1 | N/A | N/A | N/A | 1.6 | 4.5 | 9,833 | N/A |
| Socialist (GB) | 0 | N/A | N/A | N/A | 0.0 | 0.1 | 288 | N/A |
| BNP | 0 | N/A | N/A | N/A | 0.0 | 0.1 | 119 | N/A |

## Results by electoral division
### Chester-le-Street (7 seats)

Chester-le-Street North & East :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Labour | Joseph Knox | 1,816 | 47.3 |
| Liberal Democrats | Sandra Hutchinson | 799 | 20.8 |
| Conservative | Beatrice Bainbridge | 630 | 16.4 |
| Independent | Lancelot Edward William Brown | 592 | 15.4 |
Chester-le-Street South :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Labour | Rita Greener Carr | 1,946 | 49.3 |
| Liberal Democrats | Russell Amor Haswell | 1,254 | 31.8 |
| Conservative | Amanda Jane Hall | 745 | 18.9 |
Chester-le-Street West Central :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Labour | Brian David Ebbatson | 1,853 | 63.6 |
| Liberal Democrats | Sean Kilkenny | 682 | 23.4 |
| Conservative | Philip Clive Stevens | 378 | 12.9 |
Lumley :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Labour | John Brian Walker | 1,860 | 53.1 |
| Liberal Democrats | Angela Mary Rae | 593 | 16.9 |
| Conservative | Justin Matthew Garrod | 576 | 16.4 |
| Independent | Audrey Willis | 475 | 13.6 |
Ouston and Urpeth :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Labour | Christine Teresa Smith | 2,170 | 60.5 |
| Liberal Democrats | John Leak | 827 | 23.1 |
| Conservative | James Norman | 588 | 16.4 |
Pelton :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Labour | James Sands Cordon | 1,848 | 49.3 |
| Liberal Democrats | George Herbert Gardner | 698 | 18.6 |
| Conservative | Frank Lumsden | 655 | 17.5 |
| Independent | William Laverick | 545 | 14.5 |
Sacriston :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Labour | Linda Anne Wright | 1,693 | 66.6 |
| Liberal Democrats | Simon James Key | 499 | 19.6 |
| Conservative | Mark Anthony Watson | 349 | 13.7 |

### Derwentside (11 seats)

Annfield Plain :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Labour | Michele Hodgson | 2,119 | 70.1 |
| Liberal Democrats | Gillian Raine | 623 | 20.6 |
| Conservative | Julie Ann Watson | 280 | 9.3 |
Benfieldside :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Labour | John Davies | 1,250 | 40.4 |
| Derwentside Independents | John Joseph Healey | 866 | 27.9 |
| Liberal Democrats | Bruce Neilson McCaig | 647 | 20.9 |
| Conservative | Julia Carole Ross | 330 | 10.7 |
Burnopfield and Dipton :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Derwentside Independents | Reginald Ord | 1,578 | 45.9 |
| Labour | Eunice Wilkinson Turnbull | 1,474 | 42.9 |
| Conservative | Russell Alan Ross | 385 | 11.2 |
Consett North :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Labour | Clive Robson | 2,120 | 61.2 |
| Liberal Democrats | Owen Leighton Temple | 947 | 27.4 |
| Conservative | Kenneth Hall Wilson | 395 | 11.4 |
Craghead and Southmoor :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Labour | David Haddon Marshall | 1,825 | 67.8 |
| Derwentside Independents | James William Harper | 450 | 16.7 |
| Liberal Democrats | Denis Edwin Jackson | 279 | 10.4 |
| Conservative | Judith Turner | 136 | 5.1 |
Delves Lane and Consett South :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Labour | Robert Young | 2,178 | 56.1 |
| Derwentside Independents | Anthony Westgarth | 1,389 | 35.8 |
| Conservative | Ivy Wilson | 316 | 8.1 |
Esh :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Labour | Joseph Armstrong | 1,463 | 50.9 |
| Derwentside Independents | Wallace Joseph Tyrie | 556 | 19.3 |
| Liberal Democrats | Neil Robert Michael Shaw | 484 | 16.8 |
| Conservative | Patricia Ann Adams | 374 | 12.9 |
Lanchester :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Labour | Thomas Forster | 1,508 | 40.4 |
| Conservative | Peter Michael Carr | 797 | 21.3 |
| Derwentside Independents | Richard Young | 717 | 19.2 |
| Liberal Democrats | Christine English | 713 | 19.1 |
Leadgate and Medomsley :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Derwentside Independents | Watts Stelling | 2,279 | 51.4 |
| Labour | Eric Turner | 1,663 | 37.5 |
| Conservative | George Andrew Adams | 495 | 11.2 |
Stanley :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Labour | Claire Louise Vasey | 2,169 | 69.2 |
| Liberal Democrats | David Agutter Rolfe | 628 | 20.0 |
| Conservative | Jonathan Turner | 220 | 7.0 |
| BNP | Dean Kevin Frederick McAdam | 119 | 3.8 |
Tanfield :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Labour | Edna Hunter | 2,036 | 60.3 |
| Liberal Democrats | Andrew David Curtis | 945 | 27.9 |
| Conservative | Judith May Webb | 395 | 11.7 |

### Durham (11 seats)

Belmont :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Liberal Democrats | Kenneth Holroyd | 1,768 | 52.5 |
| Labour | Patricia Margaret Johnston | 1,256 | 37.3 |
| Conservative | Darren Bean | 345 | 10.2 |
Brandon :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | Ronald Clive Rodgers | 2,593 | 61.4 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Maureen Jean Ann Smith | 1,629 | 38.6 |
Coxhoe :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Labour | Dennis Morgan | 2,260 | 65.9 |
| Liberal Democrats | Stephen Maurice Martin | 866 | 25.3 |
| Conservative | Frederick Farley | 300 | 8.8 |
Deerness Valley :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Labour | Jean Kathleen Chaplow | 2,705 | 60.9 |
| Liberal Democrats | Arnold Simpson | 1,357 | 30.5 |
| Conservative | Alistair Tebbit | 381 | 8.6 |
Durham South :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Labour | Donna Michelle Whitfield | 1,526 | 46.8 |
| Liberal Democrats | Isabell Lunan | 1,429 | 43.8 |
| Conservative | Jennifer Duncan Wakefield | 306 | 9.4 |
Elvet :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Liberal Democrats | David Robert Freeman | 2,184 | 56.8 |
| Labour | John Ashby | 925 | 24.0 |
| Conservative | Christopher John Arthur | 739 | 19.2 |
Framwellgate Moor :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Labour | Norman Donald Parker Ross | 2,339 | 48.9 |
| Liberal Democrats | Redvers Frederick Crooks | 1,952 | 40.8 |
| Conservative | Patricia Wynne | 496 | 10.4 |
Gilesgate :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Liberal Democrats | Dennis James Southwell | 1,848 | 48.2 |
| Labour | Peter James Thompson | 1,763 | 45.9 |
| Conservative | Jeremy Richard Stocker | 226 | 5.9 |
Neville's Cross :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Liberal Democrats | Nigel Martin | 2,681 | 63.8 |
| Labour | Jonathan George Alfred Roberts | 923 | 21.9 |
| Conservative | Michael Drummond Moverley Smith | 601 | 14.3 |
Newton Hall :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Liberal Democrats | Frances Marnie Simmons | 2,328 | 53.9 |
| Labour | Aurelia Constance Smith | 1,569 | 36.4 |
| Conservative | Helen Dorothy Osborn | 415 | 9.6 |
Sherburn :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Labour | Raymond Pye | 2,412 | 53.8 |
| Liberal Democrats | Lesley Jane King | 1,690 | 37.7 |
| Conservative | Michael James Fishwick | 385 | 8.6 |

### Easington (12 seats)

Blackhalls :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | Alan Cox | 2,639 | 80.1 |
| | Conservative | Julia Anne Welford | 655 | 19.9 |
Dawdon :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | Alan Fenwick | 1,717 | 79.7 |
| | Conservative | Jacquelyn Butler | 438 | 20.3 |
Deneside :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Labour | Albert Nugent | 1,921 | 74.7 |
| Conservative | Mark Thomas Nicholson | 361 | 14.0 |
| Socialist (GB) | Stephen Paul Colborn | 288 | 11.2 |
Easington :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | Alan Barker | 2,519 | 79.4 |
| | Conservative | Margaret Reid | 652 | 20.6 |
Horden :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | Peter Paul Stradling | 2,723 | 88.2 |
| | Conservative | Mona Riley | 366 | 11.8 |
Murton :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | John William Downie Maddison | 2,510 | 85.2 |
| | Conservative | Christopher Edward James Butler | 436 | 14.8 |
Peterlee East :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Labour | Gordon Tennant | 1,856 | 75.2 |
| Independent | Leslie Reynolds | 404 | 16.4 |
| Conservative | Roger John Nimmo Booth | 209 | 8.5 |
Peterlee West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | Dennis Coates | 2,276 | 85.8 |
| | Conservative | Hazel Lodge | 376 | 14.2 |
Seaham :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | Ronald Meir | 2,246 | 69.8 |
| | Conservative | Derick Dixon | 971 | 30.2 |
Shotton :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | Norman Wade | 2,735 | 83.6 |
| | Conservative | Lucille Diana Nicholson | 538 | 16.4 |
Thornley :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | Morris Nicholls | 2,642 | 89.9 |
| | Conservative | Jack Victor Seear | 297 | 10.1 |
Wingate :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | Leonard O'Donnell | 3,205 | 78.7 |
| | Conservative | Lindsay Marigold Seear | 870 | 21.3 |

### Sedgefield (11 seats)

Aycliffe East :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Labour | Sarah Jane Iveson | 1,836 | 59.6 |
| Independent | William Maurice Blenkinsopp | 890 | 28.9 |
| Conservative | Geoffrey Nicholas Crass | 356 | 11.6 |
Aycliffe North :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Labour | Keith Henderson | 1,859 | 53.3 |
| Independent | Terence Hogan | 991 | 28.4 |
| Conservative | Joyce Mary Raine | 636 | 18.2 |
Aycliffe West :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Labour | George Coulson Gray | 1,815 | 57.0 |
| Independent | Enid Marion Paylor | 956 | 30.0 |
| Conservative | Patricia Margaret Waller | 412 | 12.9 |
Chilton :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Labour | George Porter | 2,516 | 65.2 |
| Liberal Democrats | Christine Sproat | 890 | 23.1 |
| Conservative | William Leslie Turner | 453 | 11.7 |
Ferryhill :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Labour | Charles Magee | 2,728 | 66.1 |
| Liberal Democrats | Paul Mountford | 1,156 | 28.0 |
| Conservative | Patricia Anne Whan | 243 | 5.9 |
Sedgefield :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | John Robinson | 2,196 | 57.6 |
| | Conservative | David Ralph Brown | 1,616 | 42.4 |
Shildon East :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Labour | Dorothy Bowman | 1,968 | 53.0 |
| Liberal Democrats | Gareth Michael Robinson Howe | 791 | 21.3 |
| Independent | Simon Joseph Brown | 595 | 16.0 |
| Conservative | Alan Booth | 356 | 9.6 |
Shildon West :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Labour | Vernon Chapman | 1,312 | 42.5 |
| Liberal Democrats | James Garry Huntington | 1,310 | 42.5 |
| Independent | John Mayfors Smith | 337 | 10.9 |
| Conservative | Marney Jane Swan | 126 | 4.1 |
Spennymoor and Middlestone :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Labour | Ernest Foster | 2,413 | 57.4 |
| Liberal Democrats | Kevin Thompson | 1,358 | 32.3 |
| Conservative | Paul Andrew Carmedy | 431 | 10.3 |
Trimdon :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | Paul Trippett | 2,744 | 76.2 |
| | Conservative | Christine Moyle | 857 | 23.8 |
Tudhoe :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Labour | Neil Crowther Foster | 2,526 | 61.8 |
| Liberal Democrats | Martin Thomas Brian Jones | 1,041 | 25.5 |
| Conservative | Matthew Miller | 523 | 12.8 |

### Teesdale (3 seats)

Barnard Castle East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | Josephine Hazel Fergus | 2,423 | 57.5 |
| | Labour | Fred Blackwell | 1,788 | 42.5 |
Barnard Castle West :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Conservative | Richard Andrew Bell | 2,155 | 52.1 |
| Labour | Keith Stokeld | 1,143 | 27.6 |
| Independent | David Andrew Wearmouth | 842 | 30.3 |
Evenwood :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | John Priestley | 2,246 | 58.5 |
| | Conservative | George Morland Richardson | 1,592 | 41.5 |

### Wear Valley (8 seats)

Bishop Auckland Town :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Labour | Kenneth Manton | 1,459 | 41.4 |
| Liberal Democrats | Chris Foote-Wood | 1,042 | 29.6 |
| Conservative | Colin Raine | 666 | 18.9 |
| Independent | Stephen Anthony Hare | 208 | 5.9 |
| Independent | Thomas Waggott | 145 | 4.1 |
Coundon :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Labour | Philip Robert Graham | 1,616 | 59.8 |
| Liberal Democrats | Thomas Taylor | 787 | 29.1 |
| Conservative | Douglas David Milne | 300 | 11.1 |
Crook North and Tow Law :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | Trevor Carroll | 1,553 | 54.2 |
| | Liberal Democrats | John Bailey | 1,314 | 45.8 |
Crook South :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | Robert Pendlebury | 2,194 | 68.9 |
| | Liberal Democrats | David English | 987 | 31.0 |
Weardale :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Independent | John Shuttleworth | 2,853 | 67.8 |
| Liberal Democrats | Dorothy Allan | 774 | 18.4 |
| Labour | Alison Mary Hiles | 583 | 13.8 |
West Auckland :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Labour | Harold Douthwaite | 1,619 | 52.5 |
| Liberal Democrats | John Ferguson | 1,057 | 34.3 |
| Conservative | Howard Bowen-Jones | 407 | 13.2 |
Willington :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | Brian Leslie Myers | 2,199 | 62.7 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Anne Maria Glynn | 1,309 | 37.3 |
Woodhouse Close :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Labour | John Lethbridge | 2,119 | 67.7 |
| Liberal Democrats | Winston Edward Frank Perkins | 712 | 22.7 |
| Conservative | Sandra J Moorhouse | 299 | 9.6 |