# 2007 Harlow District Council election

The 2007 Harlow District Council election took place on 3 May 2007 to elect members of Harlow District 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 12
* Labour 12
* Liberal Democrats 8
* Independent 1

## Background

After the last election in 2006 the Conservatives had 12 seats, Labour 11 and the Liberal Democrats 10. However, in January 2007 John Goddard left the Conservative group to sit as an independent, meaning that going into the 2007 election both the Conservative and Labour parties had 11 councillors.
12 seats were contested at the election, with 2 seats being available in Church Langley ward after Sam Warren stood down from the council.

## Election result

The Liberal Democrats lost 2 seats to fall to 8 councillors, 1 each to the Conservative and Labour parties, who both finished with 12 councillors. The closest result came in Toddbrook ward where Labour held the seat with a 15-vote majority over the Conservatives, while both the Conservative and Liberal Democrat group leaders, Andrew Johnson and Chris Millington won seats in Church Langley and Bush Fair wards respectively. Overall turnout at the election was 34.75%, down from 36.93% in 2006.
Following the election a coalition between Labour and the Liberal Democrats continued to run the council.
Harlow local election result 2007 :
| Party | Seats | Gains | Losses | Net gain/loss | Seats % | Votes % | Votes | +/− |
| Conservative | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 50.0 | 45.8 | 9,876 | 5.6 |
| Labour | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 33.3 | 31.9 | 6,876 | 0.2 |
| Liberal Democrats | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 16.7 | 20.2 | 4,362 | 5.6 |
| Respect | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 | 1.2 | 250 | 0.2 |
| Independent | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 | 0.9 | 204 | 0.1 |

## Ward results
### Bush Fair

Bush Fair :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Christopher Millington | 855 | 41.4 | −7.3 |
| | Labour | Terry Brandon | 796 | 38.5 | +4.6 |
| | Conservative | Shona Johnson | 414 | 20.0 | +2.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 59 | 2.9 | −11.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,065 | 36.5 | −2.6 |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | | |

### Church Langley (2 seats)

Church Langley (2 seats) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Andrew Johnson | 1,266 | | |
| | Conservative | Tony Hall | 1,135 | | |
| | Labour | Kenneth Lawrie | 287 | | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Laura Rideout | 196 | | |
| | Liberal Democrats | James Rideout | 183 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,067 | 27.9 | −4.1 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |

### Great Parndon

Great Parndon :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Patrick McClarnon | 1,011 | 55.1 | +4.0 |
| | Labour | Norman Knight | 617 | 33.6 | +1.2 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Ian Rideout | 208 | 11.3 | −5.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 394 | 21.5 | +2.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,836 | 36.1 | −2.5 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |

### Harlow Common

Harlow Common :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Mark Wilkinson | 909 | 45.0 | +4.8 |
| | Conservative | Clive Souter | 879 | 43.5 | +7.6 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Alan Lawrence | 234 | 11.6 | −1.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 30 | 1.5 | −2.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,022 | 37.6 | −0.8 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |

### Little Parndon and Hare Street

Little Parndon and Hare Street :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Jean Clark | 881 | 49.2 | +6.0 |
| | Conservative | Russell Perrin | 700 | 39.1 | +3.5 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Robert Pailing | 211 | 11.8 | −9.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 181 | 10.1 | +2.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,792 | 34.0 | −1.5 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |

### Mark Hall

Mark Hall :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Lesley Rideout | 752 | 36.5 | −0.5 |
| | Labour | Michael Danvers | 740 | 35.9 | +0.2 |
| | Conservative | Jane Steer | 570 | 27.6 | +0.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 12 | 0.6 | −0.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,062 | 41.1 | −2.6 |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | | |

### Netteswell

Netteswell :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Edna Stevens | 642 | 34.7 | +2.8 |
| | Conservative | Mark Gough | 613 | 33.2 | +7.4 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Jim Pailing | 594 | 32.1 | −10.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 29 | 1.5 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,849 | 34.9 | −0.6 |
| | Labour gain from Liberal Democrats | Labour gain from Liberal Democrats | Swing | | |

### Old Harlow

Old Harlow :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Sue Livings | 976 | 54.5 | −2.0 |
| | Labour | John Childs | 398 | 22.2 | −3.9 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Nick Macy | 214 | 11.9 | −5.5 |
| | Independent | Chris Ford | 204 | 11.4 | +11.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 578 | 32.3 | +0.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,792 | 37.2 | −1.9 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |

### Staple Tye

Staple Tye :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | Lee Dangerfield | 685 | 42.8 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Christopher Robins | 588 | 36.7 |
| | Labour | Dennis Palmer | 329 | 20.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 97 | 6.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,602 | 31.8 |
| | Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats | Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats | Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats | Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats |

### Sumners and Kingsmoor

Sumners and Kingsmoor :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Sarah-Jane Dangerfield | 857 | 55.5 | +1.5 |
| | Labour | Suzanne Ennifer | 482 | 31.2 | +0.1 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Kuzna Jackson | 205 | 13.3 | −1.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 375 | 24.3 | +1.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,544 | 29.1 | −1.9 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |

### Toddbrook

Toddbrook :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Bob Davis | 795 | 41.0 | +0.2 |
| | Conservative | David Carter | 770 | 39.8 | +1.7 |
| | Respect | Maureen Topley | 250 | 12.9 | +2.0 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Julian Watkiss | 122 | 6.3 | −3.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 25 | 1.2 | −1.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,937 | 37.4 | −3.2 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |

## By-elections between 2007 and 2008
### Little Parndon and Hare Street

A by-election was held in Little Parndon and Hare Street on 25 October 2007 after the death of Labour councillor Jack Jesse. The seat was held for Labour by the former council leader Michael Danvers with a majority of 196 votes over the Conservatives.
Little Parndon and Hare Street by-election 25 October 2007 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Michael Danvers | 794 | 52.6 | +3.4 |
| | Conservative | Shona Johnson | 598 | 39.6 | +0.5 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Nicholas Macy | 117 | 7.8 | −4.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 196 | 13.0 | +2.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,509 | 28.4 | −5.6 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |

### Toddbrook

A by-election was held in Toddbrook ward on 25 October 2007 after the death of Labour councillor Roy Collyer. The seat was gained for the Conservatives by David Carter with a majority of 15 votes over Labour.
Toddbrook by-election 25 October 2007 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | David Carter | 728 | 45.2 | +5.4 |
| | Labour | Terry Brandon | 713 | 44.3 | +3.3 |
| | Respect | Maureen Topley | 102 | 6.3 | −6.6 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Julian Watkiss | 67 | 4.2 | −2.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 15 | 0.9 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,610 | 30.5 | −6.9 |
| | Conservative gain from Labour | Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | | |