# 2002 Welwyn Hatfield District Council election

The 2002 Welwyn Hatfield District Council election took place on 2 May 2002 to elect members of Welwyn Hatfield District Council in Hertfordshire, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Conservative Party gained overall control of the council from the Labour Party.
After the election, the composition of the council was:
* Conservative 26
* Labour 22

## Election result

The results saw the Conservatives win a majority of 4 on the council after gaining 3 seats from Labour. The Conservatives gained seats in Hatfield West and Sherrards wards, as well as one of the 2 seats being contested in Hatfield North, where 3 recounts were needed to separate the top 4 candidates who all finished within 17 votes of each other. The Liberal Democrats failed to win any seats, but came second in 4 wards and were within 22 votes of the Conservative winner in Handside ward. Overall turnout in the election was 35.3%, a rise of about 3% on the 2000 election after all voters were able to get postal votes for the first time.
Welwyn Hatfield Local Election Result 2002 :
| Party | Seats | Gains | Losses | Net gain/loss | Seats % | Votes % | Votes | +/− |
| Conservative | 11 | 3 | 0 | +3 | 64.7 | 48.2 | 12,413 | +2.4% |
| Labour | 6 | 0 | 3 | -3 | 35.3 | 34.3 | 8,827 | -4.7% |
| Liberal Democrats | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17.5 | 4,506 | +4.5% |

## Ward results

Brookmans Park & Little Heath :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | John Dean | 1,289 | 75.9 | +0.3 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Catherine Edwards | 217 | 12.8 | +1.9 |
| | Labour | Derek Marcus | 192 | 11.3 | −2.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,072 | 63.1 | +1.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,698 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
Haldens :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Paul Orrett | 760 | 54.6 | −2.5 |
| | Conservative | Stuart Jackson | 407 | 29.2 | −1.3 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Helen Bassett | 225 | 16.2 | +3.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 353 | 25.4 | −1.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,392 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
Handside :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Carl Storer | 888 | 41.6 | −7.2 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Daniel Cooke | 866 | 40.5 | +21.5 |
| | Labour | Pascal Jacquemain | 383 | 17.9 | −4.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 22 | 1.1 | −25.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,137 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
Hatfield Central :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Colin Croft | 558 | 42.6 | −2.2 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Hazel Laming | 470 | 35.9 | +10.1 |
| | Conservative | Andrew Peffer | 283 | 21.6 | −7.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 88 | 6.7 | −8.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,311 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
Hatfield East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Peter O'Brien | 969 | 58.1 | +8.8 |
| | Labour | Margaret White | 423 | 25.4 | −15.5 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Lis Meyland-Smith | 276 | 16.5 | +6.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 546 | 32.7 | +24.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,668 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
Hatfield North (2) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes |
| | Conservative | Robert Davidson | 617 |
| | Labour | Bridgit Croft | 609 |
| | Conservative | John Morgan | 606 |
| | Labour | Linda Mendez | 600 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Richard Griffiths | 214 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Maurice Richardson | 206 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,852 |
| | Conservative gain from Labour | Conservative gain from Labour | Swing |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing |
Hatfield West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Nicholas Atkinson | 838 | 50.5 | +9.3 |
| | Labour | Samuel Smith | 625 | 37.7 | −9.3 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Simon Archer | 195 | 11.8 | 0.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 213 | 12.8 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,658 | | |
| | Conservative gain from Labour | Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | | |
Hollybush :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Margaret Birleson | 780 | 60.2 | −3.1 |
| | Conservative | Marian Pile | 356 | 27.5 | +2.3 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Janet Gammage | 160 | 12.3 | +0.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 424 | 32.7 | −5.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,296 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
Howlands :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Alan Chesterman | 780 | 53.4 | −3.0 |
| | Conservative | John Burnapp | 468 | 32.0 | −0.3 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Jonathan Arch | 214 | 14.6 | +3.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 312 | 21.4 | −2.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,462 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
Northaw :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | John Nicholls | 1,196 | 79.6 | +20.1 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Philip Edwards | 162 | 10.8 | +0.9 |
| | Labour | Brenda Marcus | 145 | 9.6 | +0.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,034 | 68.8 | +31.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,503 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
Panshanger :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Russell Le Page | 837 | 50.9 | −2.5 |
| | Labour | Julia Harrison | 486 | 29.6 | −6.0 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Ted Naseby | 321 | 19.5 | +8.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 351 | 21.3 | +3.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,644 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
Peartree :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Jacqueline Russell | 637 | 59.1 | −0.7 |
| | Conservative | David Perkins | 242 | 22.5 | −5.0 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Gillian Armstrong-Bridges | 198 | 18.4 | +5.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 395 | 36.6 | +4.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,077 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
Sherrards :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | John Scarff | 1,074 | 47.0 | +2.3 |
| | Labour | Lynn Chesterman | 967 | 42.4 | −3.0 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Louise Lotz | 242 | 10.6 | +0.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 107 | 4.6 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,283 | | |
| | Conservative gain from Labour | Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | | |
Welham Green :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Patricia Storey | 622 | 63.3 | 0.0 |
| | Labour | Margaret Toch | 225 | 22.9 | −2.6 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Nigel Bain | 136 | 13.8 | +2.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 397 | 40.4 | +2.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 983 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
Welwyn North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | Margaret Scarff | 719 | 63.5 |
| | Labour | Jan Burnell | 216 | 19.1 |
| | Liberal Democrats | David Bartlett | 198 | 17.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 503 | 44.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,133 | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | |
Welwyn South :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Amanda Perkins | 1,002 | 60.8 | −2.7 |
| | Labour | Julia Henderson | 441 | 26.7 | +5.7 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Ian Skidmore | 206 | 12.5 | −3.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 561 | 34.1 | −8.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,649 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |