# 2014 Huntingdonshire District Council election

The 2014 Huntingdonshire District Council election took place on 22 May 2014 to elect members of Huntingdonshire District Council in Cambridgeshire, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Conservative Party stayed in overall control of the council.
After the election, the composition of the council was:
* Conservative 34
* UK Independence Party 7
* Liberal Democrats 5
* Independent 4
* Labour 1
* Vacant 1

## Background

At the last election in 2012 the Conservatives stayed in control of the council with 39 seats, compared to 7 Liberal Democrats, 3 UK Independence Party, 2 independents and 1 for Labour. However, in early 2013 Conservative councillors, Ken Churchill from Little Paxton ward and Bob Farrer from St Neots Eaton Ford, left the Conservatives to become independents and then joined the UK Independence Party in November 2013. Subsequently in January 2014 another Conservative councillor, Colin Hyams of Godmanchester ward, defected to the Liberal Democrats.
The changes meant that before the election the Conservatives had 35 councillors, Liberal Democrats 7, UK Independence Party 5, independents 3, Labour had 1 seat and 1 seat was vacant after the death of the Conservative councillor for Warboys and Bury, John Pethard. 17 of the 52 seats on the council were contested with 5 councillors, Terry Clough, Nick Guyatt, Colin Hyams, Terry Rogers and Alan Williams, standing down at the election.

## Election result

The Conservatives stayed in control of the council after winning 11 of the 17 seats contested, but lost 1 seat to the UK Independence Party in Yaxley and Farcet. The UK Independence Party also gained a seat from the Liberal Democrats in Huntingdon East by 34 votes to end the election with 7 councillors. The only other change came in Buckden where independent Terry Hayward won a seat, which had formerly been held by Liberal Democrat William Clough before he stood down at the election. These defeats reduced the Liberal Democrats to 5 seats on the council, but Sarah Conboy did hold Godmanchester for the party after Colin Hyams, who had defected to the Liberal Democrats from the Conservatives earlier in 2014, stood down.
Huntingdonshire local election result 2014 :
| Party | Seats | Gains | Losses | Net gain/loss | Seats % | Votes % | Votes | +/− |
| Conservative | 11 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 64.7 | 38.9 | 12,396 | +2.6% |
| UKIP | 3 | 2 | 0 | +2 | 17.6 | 31.4 | 10,003 | +10.8% |
| Independent | 2 | 1 | 0 | +1 | 11.8 | 5.4 | 1,734 | -8.4% |
| Liberal Democrats | 1 | 0 | 2 | -2 | 5.9 | 10.7 | 3,398 | -5.9% |
| Labour | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12.5 | 3,986 | -0.7% |
| Green | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 | 333 | +1.0% |

## Ward results

Alconbury and the Stukeleys :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Keith Baker | 447 | 38.2 | −20.2 |
| | UKIP | Martin Cohen | 332 | 28.4 | +28.4 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Mary Watkin | 311 | 26.6 | −6.1 |
| | Labour | Nick Sherratt | 81 | 6.9 | −2.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 115 | 9.8 | −15.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,171 | 46 | −29 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
Buckden :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Independent | Terry Hayward | 674 | 58.6 | +58.6 |
| | Conservative | Julie Wisson | 253 | 22.0 | −10.1 |
| | UKIP | John Lloyd | 169 | 14.7 | +14.7 |
| | Labour | Robert Pugh | 54 | 4.7 | +0.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 421 | 36.6 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,150 | 44 | −33 |
| | Independent gain from Liberal Democrats | Independent gain from Liberal Democrats | Swing | | |
Earith :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Mike Francis | 1,062 | 53.5 | −8.2 |
| | UKIP | Peter Verrechia | 524 | 26.4 | +16.9 |
| | Labour | Margaret Cochrane | 216 | 10.9 | −3.8 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Tony Hulme | 184 | 9.3 | −4.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 538 | 27.1 | −19.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,986 | 42 | −6 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
Elton and Folksworth :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Rita Mathews | 531 | 57.0 | −4.0 |
| | UKIP | Roger Henson | 273 | 29.3 | +20.3 |
| | Labour | Kevin Goddard | 127 | 13.6 | +3.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 258 | 27.7 | −13.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 931 | 44 | −32 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
Godmanchester :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Sarah Conboy | 901 | 46.0 | +18.5 |
| | Conservative | Peter Brown | 470 | 24.0 | −4.3 |
| | UKIP | Paul Dickinson | 404 | 20.6 | +12.7 |
| | Labour | Ruth Pugh | 183 | 9.3 | −0.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 431 | 22.0 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,958 | 39 | +5 |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | | |
Gransden and the Offords :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Richard West | 846 | 53.5 | −23.1 |
| | Labour | Doctor Johnson | 381 | 24.1 | +12.5 |
| | UKIP | Keith Drew | 353 | 22.3 | +22.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 465 | 29.4 | −35.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,580 | 43 | −10 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
Huntingdon East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | UKIP | Andrew Hardy | 882 | 32.5 | +17.4 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Ste Greenall | 848 | 31.2 | −5.7 |
| | Conservative | Daryl Brown | 702 | 25.9 | −9.5 |
| | Labour | David King | 282 | 10.4 | −2.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 34 | 1.3 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,714 | 38 | +6 |
| | UKIP gain from Liberal Democrats | UKIP gain from Liberal Democrats | Swing | | |
Huntingdon West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Stephen Cawley | 654 | 40.6 | −22.0 |
| | UKIP | Dennis Brown | 425 | 26.4 | +19.3 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Michael Burrell | 317 | 19.7 | +4.6 |
| | Labour | Mark Johnson | 215 | 13.3 | −1.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 229 | 14.2 | −33.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,611 | 31 | −9 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
Ramsey :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | UKIP | Peter Reeve | 1,553 | 63.6 | +2.7 |
| | Conservative | Madeleine Jackson | 650 | 26.6 | −3.6 |
| | Labour | Iain Ramsbottom | 151 | 6.2 | −2.7 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Anthony Jebson | 89 | 3.6 | +3.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 903 | 37.0 | +6.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,443 | 37 | +8 |
| | UKIP hold | UKIP hold | Swing | | |
Sawtry :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Darren Tysoe | 877 | 45.5 | +45.5 |
| | UKIP | Simon Bywater | 813 | 42.1 | +25.5 |
| | Labour | Margaret Coomey | 239 | 12.4 | +4.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 64 | 3.4 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,929 | 39 | +10 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
St Ives East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Deborah Reynolds | 621 | 39.2 | −7.3 |
| | UKIP | Paul Bullen | 582 | 36.7 | +12.8 |
| | Labour | Jim Lomax | 226 | 14.3 | +2.4 |
| | Liberal Democrats | John Oliver | 156 | 9.8 | +0.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 39 | 2.5 | −20.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,585 | 31 | +3 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
St. Ives South :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Angie Dickinson | 866 | 42.5 | −4.5 |
| | UKIP | Margaret King | 585 | 28.7 | +24.2 |
| | Labour | John Watson | 340 | 16.7 | +9.0 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Colin Saunderson | 246 | 12.1 | +7.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 281 | 13.8 | +2.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,037 | 38 | −7 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
St Neots Eynesbury :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Independent | Steve Van De Kerkhove | 1,060 | 46.7 | +46.7 |
| | UKIP | Marian Appleton | 457 | 20.1 | −0.7 |
| | Conservative | Louie Ruck | 422 | 18.6 | −23.5 |
| | Labour | Angela Hogan | 211 | 9.3 | −13.7 |
| | Green | Gareth Thomas | 118 | 5.2 | +5.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 603 | 26.6 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,268 | 30 | +9 |
| | Independent hold | Independent hold | Swing | | |
St Neots Priory Park :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Barry Chapman | 1,048 | 48.4 | −7.4 |
| | UKIP | Carol Gamby | 580 | 26.8 | +26.8 |
| | Labour | Stephen Hinchley | 321 | 14.8 | −2.4 |
| | Green | Melina Lafirenze | 215 | 9.9 | +9.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 468 | 21.6 | −7.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,164 | 32 | −9 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
The Hemingfords :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Doug Dew | 1,303 | 58.5 | +18.0 |
| | UKIP | Philip Foster | 550 | 24.7 | +13.0 |
| | Labour | Richard Allen | 376 | 16.9 | +9.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 753 | 33.8 | +26.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,229 | 44 | +4 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
Warboys and Bury :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Peter Bucknell | 864 | 49.4 | +3.1 |
| | UKIP | Andy Monk | 576 | 32.9 | +6.7 |
| | Labour | Mary Howell | 172 | 9.8 | −5.0 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Christine Wills | 138 | 7.9 | −4.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 288 | 16.5 | −3.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,750 | 36 | +8 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
Yaxley and Farcet :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | UKIP | Barry Hyland | 945 | 40.3 | +15.7 |
| | Conservative | Maddie Banerjee | 780 | 33.3 | −13.5 |
| | Labour | Graeme Watkins | 411 | 17.5 | −5.8 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Chris Waites | 208 | 8.9 | +3.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 165 | 7.0 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,344 | 28 | +5 |
| | UKIP gain from Conservative | UKIP gain from Conservative | Swing | | |

## By-elections between 2014 and 2015
### Warboys and Bury

A by-election took place in Warboys and Bury on 7 August 2014 after the death of Conservative councillor John Pethard. The seat was held for the Conservatives by Angie Curtis with a majority of 59 votes over the UK Independence Party.
Warboys and Bury by-election 7 August 2014 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Angie Curtis | 619 | 46.6 | −2.8 |
| | UKIP | Michael Tew | 560 | 42.1 | +9.2 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Christine Wills | 78 | 5.9 | −2.0 |
| | Labour | Mary Howell | 72 | 5.4 | −4.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 59 | 4.4 | −12.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,329 | 27.6 | −8 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |

### St Neots Priory Park

A by-election was held on in St Neots Priory Park on 27 November 2014 after the death of Conservative councillor Paula Longford. The seat was held for the Conservatives by Ian Gardener with a majority of 111 votes over the UK Independence Party.
St Neots Priory Park by-election 27 November 2014 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Ian Gardener | 448 | 45.5 | −2.9 |
| | UKIP | Carol Gamby | 337 | 34.2 | +7.4 |
| | Labour | Angela Hogan | 199 | 20.2 | +5.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 111 | 11.3 | −10.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 984 | 15 | −17 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |