# 2004 Stratford-on-Avon District Council election

The 2004 Stratford-on-Avon District Council election took place on 10 June 2004 to elect members of Stratford-on-Avon District Council in Warwickshire, 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 30
* Liberal Democrat 20
* Independent 3

## Background

19 of the 53 seats on the council were contested in the election. The Conservatives were defending 11 of the seats and this was seen as giving the Liberal Democrats a chance at taking over control of the council, which had a one-seat Conservative majority before the election. Meanwhile, Labour had their only remaining council seat up for election in Southam ward, leading to the possibility that they could fail to be represented on the council after the election.

## Election result

The results saw the Conservatives strengthen their majority on the council up to 7 seats. They gained 4 seats in Harbury, Southam, Stratford Guild and Hathaway and Wellesbourne wards and only suffered 1 loss to the Liberal Democrats in Studley. While the Liberal Democrats lost ground as a result, the defeat in Southam meant Labour was no longer represented on the council.
The Conservatives said they were pleased with the results, that saw them win almost half of the vote, and which they put down to a strong positive campaign. Overall turnout in the election was higher than the national average at 43.5%.
Stratford-on-Avon Local Election Result 2004 :
| Party | Seats | Gains | Losses | Net gain/loss | Seats % | Votes % | Votes | +/− |
| Conservative | 14 | 4 | 1 | +3 | 73.7 | 49.9 | 14,264 | +10.3% |
| Liberal Democrats | 4 | 1 | 3 | -2 | 21.1 | 39.2 | 11,192 | -6.3% |
| Independent | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.3 | 6.2 | 1,780 | -4.3% |
| Labour | 0 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 0 | 4.7 | 1,347 | +0.6% |

## Ward results

Alcester :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Clifford Meade | 1,054 | 57.6 | −1.7 |
| | Conservative | Maurice Abney-Hastings | 665 | 36.4 | −4.3 |
| | Labour | Matthew Stephens | 110 | 6.0 | +6.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 389 | 21.3 | +2.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,829 | 39.8 | +2.7 |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | | |
Aston Cantlow :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | William Lawrence | 479 | 61.1 | +6.0 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Shahid Juned | 305 | 38.9 | −6.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 174 | 22.2 | +12.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 784 | 52.9 | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
Bardon :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | John Winterburn | 435 | 64.9 | +4.7 |
| | Liberal Democrats | John Insoll | 235 | 35.1 | +3.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 200 | 29.9 | +1.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 670 | 43.0 | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
Bidford and Salford :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Independent | Kim James | 997 | 56.0 | +56.0 |
| | Independent | John Sandle | 783 | 44.0 | +44.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 214 | 12.0 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,780 | 36.0 | +8.5 |
| | Independent hold | Independent hold | Swing | | |
Burton Dassett :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Simon Jackson | 536 | 65.8 | −4.4 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Sarah Evans | 279 | 34.2 | +4.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 257 | 31.5 | −8.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 815 | 49.6 | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
Claverdon :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Jane Harrison | 625 | 73.3 | −8.5 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Jeanne Lowe | 228 | 26.7 | +8.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 397 | 46.5 | −17.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 853 | 47.3 | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
Ettington :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Isobel Seccombe | 578 | 65.4 | +9.8 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Adrian Brabyn | 306 | 34.6 | −9.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 272 | 30.8 | +19.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 884 | 49.7 | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
Harbury :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | Eric Dally | 847 | 52.4 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Jean Booth | 770 | 47.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 77 | 4.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,617 | 43.4 |
| | Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats | Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats | Swing | |
Henley :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Stephen Thirlwell | 1,052 | 70.3 | +12.4 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Mark Edwards | 444 | 29.7 | −12.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 608 | 40.6 | +24.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,496 | 43.4 | +10.7 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
Kineton :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Alan Higgs | 920 | 58.9 | +6.7 |
| | Conservative | Richard Hurley | 643 | 41.1 | −6.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 277 | 17.7 | +13.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,563 | 47.2 | +6.7 |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | | |
Shipston :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Trevor Russell | 897 | 53.6 | +10.7 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Stephen Troup | 778 | 46.4 | −10.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 119 | 7.2 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,675 | 45.3 | +2.3 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
Southam :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | John Appleton | 774 | 47.3 | +5.2 |
| | Labour | James Taylor | 632 | 38.7 | −2.6 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Stuart Ritchie | 229 | 14.0 | −2.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 142 | 8.7 | +7.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,635 | 33.2 | +1.8 |
| | Conservative gain from Labour | Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | | |
Stratford Alveston :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Lynda Organ | 1,162 | 56.7 | +13.0 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Joan McFarlane | 886 | 43.3 | +6.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 276 | 13.5 | +6.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,048 | 49.1 | +7.4 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
Stratford Avenue and New Town :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Juliet Short | 939 | 52.3 | +27.9 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Ronald Tredwell | 684 | 38.1 | +2.3 |
| | Labour | Karen Parnell | 172 | 9.6 | +5.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 255 | 14.2 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,795 | 36.4 | +2.3 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
Stratford Guild and Hathaway :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Michael Perry | 1,169 | 49.9 | +18.6 |
| | Liberal Democrats | William Dowling | 981 | 41.8 | +4.2 |
| | Labour | Doreen Wright | 195 | 8.3 | +0.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 188 | 8.1 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,345 | 43.2 | +5.3 |
| | Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats | Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats | Swing | | |
Stratford Mount Pleasant :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Charles Bates | 756 | 62.9 | +2.3 |
| | Conservative | Laura Main | 359 | 29.9 | +29.9 |
| | Labour | Ewan Wainwright | 86 | 7.2 | +2.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 397 | 33.1 | +7.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,201 | 36.4 | −1.4 |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | | |
Studley :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Paul Beaman | 972 | 50.5 | −7.7 |
| | Conservative | William McCarthy | 802 | 41.6 | −0.2 |
| | Labour | Michael Gerrard | 152 | 7.9 | +7.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 170 | 8.8 | −7.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,926 | 42.2 | +12.0 |
| | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Swing | | |
Tanworth :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Conservative | Mark Flower | 1,037 | 81.7 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Karyl Rees | 233 | 18.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 804 | 63.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,270 | 41.9 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | |
Wellesbourne :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Anita MacAulay | 1,265 | 52.8 | +17.8 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Priscilla Cook | 1,132 | 47.2 | +6.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 133 | 5.5 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,397 | 45.7 | +6.7 |
| | Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats | Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats | Swing | | |