# 1999 Southend-on-Sea Borough Council election

The 1999 Southend-on-Sea Council election took place on 6 May 1999 to elect members of Southend-on-Sea Unitary Council in Essex, England. One third of the council was up for election and the council stayed under no overall control.
After the election, the composition of the council was
* Conservative 19
* Liberal Democrat 12
* Labour 8

## Election result

Before the election the Conservatives needed a swing of less than 5% in order to win a majority on the council, but despite targeting the council they failed to take control. However they came within a single vote of a majority, after Labour came top in both of the seats that were being contested in Milton ward. The second Labour candidate for the ward, Stephen George, was only one vote ahead of the sitting Conservative councillor, Joyce Lambert, thus preventing the Conservatives from holding the critical seat that would have seen them win control of the council.
The Conservatives did gain one seat from the Liberal Democrats in Leigh ward, as the Liberal Democrats lost votes across the council. This saw a number of close results for the Liberal Democrats as they only held Prittlewell by 5 votes from the Conservatives and Westborough by 4 votes over Labour. Overall turnout in the election was 26.5%.
The results meant that the Liberal Democrat and Labour administration, which had run the council for the previous 5 years, would continue.
Southend-on-Sea Local Election Result 1999 :
| Party | Seats | Gains | Losses | Net gain/loss | Seats % | Votes % | Votes |
| Conservative | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 50.0 | 46.2 | 16,448 |
| Labour | 4 | 1 | 0 | +1 | 28.6 | 29.2 | 10,409 |
| Liberal Democrats | 3 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 21.4 | 23.9 | 8,508 |
| Independent | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.7 | 238 |

## Ward results

Belfairs :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | Gwendoline Horrigan | 1,997 | 58.4 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Colin Ritchie | 940 | 27.5 |
| | Labour | Raymond Hales | 482 | 14.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,057 | 30.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,419 | 38.1 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | |
Blenheim :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Liberal Democrats | Brian Smith | 1,069 | 40.6 |
| | Conservative | Peter Collins | 1,034 | 39.2 |
| | Labour | Teresa Merrison | 533 | 20.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 35 | 1.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,636 | 28.7 |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | |
Chalkwell :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | Richard Brown | 1,450 | 54.4 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Alistair Miller | 766 | 28.8 |
| | Labour | Philip Hannan | 448 | 16.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 684 | 25.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,664 | 28.0 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | |
Eastwood :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | Christopher Walker | 1,563 | 49.5 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Mary Betson | 1,075 | 34.0 |
| | Labour | Ernest Webb | 520 | 16.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 488 | 15.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,158 | 29.9 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | |
Leigh :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | John Lamb | 1,224 | 40.3 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Albert Smulian | 1,140 | 37.5 |
| | Labour | Alan Harley | 438 | 14.4 |
| | Independent Against Leigh Town Council | Brian Isaacs | 238 | 7.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 84 | 2.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,040 | 33.8 |
| | Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats | Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats | Swing | |
Milton (2) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | Lilias Felton | 934 | |
| | Labour | Stephen George | 913 | |
| | Conservative | Joyce Lambert | 912 | |
| | Conservative | Ahmad Khwaja | 829 | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Robert Howes | 198 | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Amanda Smith | 191 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,977 | 23.9 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | |
| | Labour gain from Conservative | Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | |
Prittlewell :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Liberal Democrats | David Elf | 918 | 38.3 |
| | Conservative | Christopher Kerr | 913 | 38.0 |
| | Labour | Paul White | 569 | 23.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 5 | 0.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,400 | 26.8 |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | |
St Lukes :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | Michael Royston | 902 | 54.8 |
| | Conservative | Johnathan Garston | 566 | 34.4 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Michael Clark | 179 | 10.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 336 | 20.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,647 | 19.8 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | |
Shoebury :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | Verina Wilson | 1,796 | 53.0 |
| | Labour | Lesley Wisken | 1,290 | 38.1 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Alison Newton | 300 | 8.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 506 | 14.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,386 | 22.8 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | |
Southchurch :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | Brian Kelly | 1,463 | 63.3 |
| | Labour | Denis Garne | 627 | 27.1 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Michael Woolcott | 220 | 9.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 836 | 36.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,310 | 26.2 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | |
Thorpe :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | Sally Carr | 1,656 | 68.5 |
| | Labour | John Townsend | 518 | 21.4 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Timothy Ray | 242 | 10.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,138 | 47.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,416 | 24.3 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | |
Victoria :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | Christopher Dandridge | 1,201 | 59.2 |
| | Conservative | Anthony Delaney | 597 | 29.4 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Paul Collins | 232 | 11.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 604 | 29.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,030 | 22.1 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | |
Westborough :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Liberal Democrats | Howard Gibeon | 1,038 | 41.2 |
| | Labour | Mark Flewitt | 1,034 | 41.0 |
| | Conservative | Michael Samuel | 448 | 17.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 4 | 0.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,520 | 29.3 |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | |