# 2004 Maidstone Borough Council election

The 2004 Maidstone Borough Council election took place on 10 June 2004 to elect members of Maidstone Borough Council in Kent, 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 23
* Liberal Democrat 20
* Labour 9
* Independent 3

## Background

Before the election both the Conservative and Liberal Democrat parties had 21 seats, with 10 Labour and 3 independent councillors making up the council. 19 seats were being contested with the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats defending 7 each, Labour 4 and an independent 1 seat. A total of 80 candidates were standing in the election with both the Conservative and Labour parties having a full 19 candidates. The Liberal Democrats had 18 candidates, the United Kingdom Independence Party 17, Green Party 5, British National Party 1 and 1 independent candidate.

## Election result

Overall turnout in the election was 39.33%.
Maidstone Local Election Result 2004 :
| Party | Seats | Gains | Losses | Net gain/loss | Seats % | Votes % | Votes | +/− |
| Conservative | 9 | 3 | 1 | +2 | 47.4 | 40.1 | 14,067 | -2.1% |
| Liberal Democrats | 6 | 1 | 2 | -1 | 31.6 | 31.5 | 11,049 | -2.8% |
| Labour | 3 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 15.8 | 13.5 | 4,753 | -2.8% |
| Independent | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.3 | 2.0 | 710 | -2.3% |
| UKIP | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10.9 | 3,823 | +8.0% |
| Green | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.5 | 529 | +1.5% |
| BNP | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 | 163 | +0.5% |

## Ward results

Allington :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Malcolm Robertson | 1,317 | 52.5 | −9.0 |
| | Conservative | James Taghdissian | 617 | 24.6 | +0.5 |
| | UKIP | Gareth Kendall | 326 | 13.0 | +9.0 |
| | Labour | Marianna Poliszczuk | 250 | 10.0 | −0.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 700 | 27.9 | −9.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,510 | 44.4 | +10.9 |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | | |
Barming :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Paul Oldham | 877 | 84.7 | −4.8 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Shona Stevens | 95 | 9.2 | −1.3 |
| | Labour | Patrick Coates | 64 | 6.2 | +6.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 782 | 75.5 | −3.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,036 | 53.9 | +5.9 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
Bearsted :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Richard Ash | 1,733 | 60.6 | −1.6 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Shella Chittenden | 473 | 16.5 | −0.7 |
| | UKIP | Frank Gandy | 351 | 12.3 | +7.4 |
| | Labour | Anthony Hull | 302 | 10.6 | −5.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,260 | 44.1 | −0.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,859 | 44.5 | +12.0 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
Boughton Monchelsea and Chart Sutton :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Independent | Michael Fitzgerald | 710 | 70.1 | +1.4 |
| | Conservative | Theresa Stirk | 261 | 25.8 | −5.5 |
| | Labour | Edith Davis | 42 | 4.1 | +4.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 449 | 44.3 | +6.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,013 | 50.0 | +5.0 |
| | Independent hold | Independent hold | Swing | | |
Boxley :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Wendy Hinder | 1,105 | 45.2 | −0.9 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Ian Chittenden | 781 | 32.0 | −6.9 |
| | UKIP | Yvonne Whitehead | 199 | 8.1 | +3.4 |
| | Labour | Simon Wady | 195 | 8.0 | −2.4 |
| | BNP | William Hitches | 163 | 6.7 | +6.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 324 | 13.3 | +6.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,443 | 38.3 | +12.6 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
Bridge :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Michael Tucker | 655 | 40.8 | |
| | Conservative | Derek Nicholson | 605 | 37.7 | |
| | Labour | Marion Saumtally | 201 | 12.5 | |
| | UKIP | Robert Thompson | 143 | 8.9 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 50 | 3.1 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,604 | 41.4 | +12.9 |
| | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Swing | | |
Coxheath and Hunton :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Adrian Brindle | 982 | 40.4 | −0.6 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Moria Walter | 976 | 40.1 | −8.6 |
| | UKIP | Duncan Spencer | 241 | 9.9 | +9.9 |
| | Labour | Ernest Small | 232 | 9.5 | −0.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 6 | 0.3 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,431 | 45.2 | +9.6 |
| | Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats | Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats | Swing | | |
East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Patrick Sellar | 1,167 | 47.6 | −6.6 |
| | Conservative | Alan Warner | 724 | 29.5 | −2.0 |
| | UKIP | Anthony Robertson | 249 | 10.2 | +6.8 |
| | Labour | Ann Hall | 226 | 9.2 | −1.7 |
| | Green | James Shalice | 87 | 3.5 | +3.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 443 | 18.1 | −4.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,453 | 39.7 | +7.9 |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | | |
Fant :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Merello D'Souza | 693 | 33.5 | −2.2 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Stephen Beerling | 619 | 29.9 | −13.7 |
| | Conservative | Margaret Leggat | 437 | 21.1 | +4.6 |
| | UKIP | Stephen Dean | 197 | 9.5 | +5.4 |
| | Green | Ian McDonald | 121 | 5.9 | +5.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 74 | 3.6 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,067 | 37.3 | +8.3 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
Headcorn :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Ian Thick | 1,153 | 63.6 | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Juliet Maddocks | 206 | 11.4 | |
| | UKIP | Pamela O'Brien | 181 | 10.0 | |
| | Green | Penelope Kemp | 146 | 8.1 | |
| | Labour | Elizabeth Stevens | 126 | 7.0 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 947 | 52.2 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,812 | 47.3 | +8.8 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
Heath :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Peter Hooper | 671 | 53.2 | |
| | Conservative | Scott Hahnefeld | 358 | 28.4 | |
| | Labour | Brian Wood | 142 | 11.3 | |
| | UKIP | Antony Whitehead | 91 | 7.2 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 313 | 24.8 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,262 | 35.4 | +9.1 |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | | |
High Street :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Denise Joy | 734 | 41.7 | −6.1 |
| | Conservative | Paul Butcher | 469 | 26.7 | +2.1 |
| | Labour | Leonard Burfield | 282 | 16.0 | −3.6 |
| | UKIP | Terence Kendall | 274 | 15.6 | +7.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 265 | 15.1 | −8.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,759 | 30.5 | +8.5 |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | | |
Marden and Yalding :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Paddy Germain | 1,154 | 49.6 | −12.7 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Carol Jacques | 672 | 28.9 | +10.6 |
| | UKIP | Lisa Evans | 275 | 11.8 | +7.0 |
| | Labour | John Hughes | 226 | 9.7 | −4.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 482 | 20.7 | −23.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,327 | 39.7 | +10.1 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Jennifer Paterson | 997 | 51.2 | −7.2 |
| | Conservative | Carolyn Warner | 486 | 25.0 | −1.1 |
| | UKIP | Margaret Kendall | 214 | 11.0 | +6.5 |
| | Labour | Keith Adkinson | 169 | 8.7 | −2.4 |
| | Green | Jennifer Reid | 80 | 4.1 | +4.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 511 | 26.3 | −6.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,946 | 36.8 | +9.0 |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | | |
North Downs :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Daphne Parvin | 516 | 59.5 | −4.3 |
| | UKIP | Michael Bedwell | 134 | 15.5 | +15.5 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Jeanne Harwood | 132 | 15.2 | −9.1 |
| | Labour | Michael Casserley | 85 | 9.8 | −2.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 382 | 44.1 | +4.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 867 | 45.5 | +8.5 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
Park Wood :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | James Cook | 271 | 30.4 | |
| | Conservative | Timothy Crockford | 242 | 27.2 | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Robert Field | 214 | 24.0 | |
| | UKIP | Stanley Dale | 164 | 18.4 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 29 | 3.2 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 891 | 28.2 | +7.3 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
Shepway North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Christopher Garland | 881 | 42.1 | −0.3 |
| | Labour | Julie Skinner | 617 | 29.5 | −11.2 |
| | UKIP | Michael George | 266 | 12.7 | +8.6 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Geoffry Samme | 234 | 11.2 | −1.6 |
| | Green | Stephen Muggeridge | 95 | 4.5 | +4.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 264 | 12.6 | +10.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,093 | 33.6 | +9.0 |
| | Conservative gain from Labour | Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | | |
Shepway South :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Kenneth Stevens | 453 | 37.3 | |
| | Conservative | Charles Worsfold | 390 | 32.1 | |
| | UKIP | Charles Richardson | 231 | 19.0 | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Michael Shaw | 140 | 11.5 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 63 | 5.2 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,214 | 28.4 | +4.8 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
South :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Lesley Polley | 1,077 | 43.0 | +9.4 |
| | Liberal Democrats | John Wilson | 966 | 38.5 | +9.1 |
| | UKIP | Michael Oakley | 287 | 11.4 | +9.4 |
| | Labour | Richard Coates | 177 | 7.1 | +2.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 111 | 4.4 | +1.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,507 | 42.2 | +5.6 |
| | Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats | Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats | Swing | | |