# 1996 Cheltenham Borough Council election

The 1996 Cheltenham Council election took place on 2 May 1996 to elect members of Cheltenham Borough Council in Gloucestershire, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Liberal Democrats stayed in overall control of the council. After failing to hold a single seat in either 1994 or 1996, the Conservatives avoided wipeout by holding three seats.
After the election, the composition of the council was
* Liberal Democrat 34
* Conservative 3
* People Against Bureaucracy 3
* Labour 1

## Election result

Cheltenham Local Election Result 1996 :
| Party | Seats | Gains | Losses | Net gain/loss | Seats % | Votes % | Votes | +/− |
| Liberal Democrats | 10 | 6 | 0 | +6 | 71.4 | 47.6 | 14,658 | -1.4 |
| Conservative | 3 | 0 | 5 | -5 | 21.4 | 32.3 | 9,957 | +4.5 |
| PAB | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | 7.1 | 6.1 | 1,890 | -2.0 |
| Labour | 0 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 0.0 | 14.0 | 4,299 | -0.4 |

## Ward results

All Saints :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Christine Franklin | 1,166 | 50.8 | −3.2 |
| | Conservative | Daphne Pennell* | 823 | 35.9 | +4.3 |
| | Labour | Michael Pearce | 306 | 13.3 | −1.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 343 | 14.9 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,295 | 34.53 | |
| | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Swing | | |
Charlton Kings :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | William Todman* | 1,554 | 47.1 | +6.1 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Claire Grainger | 1,516 | 46.0 | −3.8 |
| | Labour | Adam Moliver | 229 | 6.9 | −2.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 38 | 1.1 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,299 | 51.59 | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
College :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Lloyd Surgenor | 1,620 | 49.5 | −0.8 |
| | Conservative | Leslie Freeman* | 1,417 | 43.3 | +2.6 |
| | Labour | Adrian Ham | 237 | 7.2 | −1.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 343 | 14.9 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,274 | 48.84 | |
| | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Swing | | |
Hatherley & The Reddings :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Paul McLain | 1,378 | 49.8 | −1.2 |
| | Conservative | Jacqueline Fletcher* | 1,118 | 40.4 | +12.8 |
| | Labour | Marc Latham | 272 | 9.8 | −6.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 260 | 9.4 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,768 | 37.11 | |
| | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Swing | | |
Hesters Way :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Sandra Holliday | 1,226 | 69.3 | +0.8 |
| | Labour | Reginald Iddles | 293 | 16.6 | −1.2 |
| | Conservative | Edward Warhurst | 251 | 14.2 | +0.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 933 | 52.7 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,770 | 24.73 | |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | | |
Lansdown :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Robert Jones | 903 | 45.8 | −0.2 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Elizabeth Whalley | 892 | 45.2 | −0.8 |
| | Conservative | Susan Starling | 812 | 41.2 | −0.3 |
| | Conservative | John Melville-Smith | 811 | 41.1 | −0.4 |
| | Labour | Robert Irons | 280 | 14.2 | +1.6 |
| | Labour | Kristine Mason-O'Connor | 242 | 12.3 | −0.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 80 | 4.0 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,972 | 32.85 | |
| | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Swing | | |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | | |
Leckhampton with Up Hatherley :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Kenneth Buckland* | 958 | 34.8 | +9.1 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Graham Pollitt | 835 | 30.3 | −12.2 |
| | PAB | David Hall | 696 | 25.3 | −6.4 |
| | Labour | Roger Whyborn | 264 | 9.6 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 123 | 4.5 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,753 | 41.34 | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
Park :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Robert Garnham* | 1,309 | 49.1 | +4.6 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Dilys Roberts | 1,182 | 44.3 | −1.9 |
| | Labour | Chetan Bhatt | 177 | 6.6 | −2.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 127 | 4.8 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,668 | 45.78 | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
Pittville :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Colin O'Connell | 1,305 | 47.0 | +7.1 |
| | Labour | Frank Bench | 1,052 | 37.9 | −4.7 |
| | Conservative | Reginald Built-Leonard | 420 | 15.1 | +1.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 253 | 9.1 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,777 | 47.60 | |
| | Liberal Democrats gain from Labour | Liberal Democrats gain from Labour | Swing | | |
Prestbury :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | PAB | John Newman* | 1,194 | 49.8 | +2.8 |
| | Conservative | John Walker | 548 | 22.9 | −0.4 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Josephine Grimster | 453 | 18.9 | −10.8 |
| | Labour | Michael Chapman | 201 | 8.4 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 646 | 26.9 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,396 | 41.59 | |
| | PAB hold | PAB hold | Swing | | |
St Mark's :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Alexis Cassin* | 969 | 71.5 | +6.3 |
| | Labour | Andre Curtis | 221 | 16.3 | −6.3 |
| | Conservative | Lorraine Pennell | 166 | 12.2 | ±0.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 748 | 55.2 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,356 | 26.82 | |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | | |
St Paul's :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Elizabeth Clarke* | 1,005 | 61.4 | −4.4 |
| | Conservative | Puck Wertwyn | 321 | 19.6 | +3.8 |
| | Labour | Simon Robinson | 311 | 19.0 | +0.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 684 | 41.8 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,637 | 29.06 | |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | | |
St Peter's :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | David Lawrence | 1,100 | 60.6 | +7.3 |
| | Labour | Clive Harriss | 456 | 25.1 | −7.0 |
| | Conservative | Ian Cresswell | 260 | 14.3 | −0.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 748 | 35.5 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,816 | 30.63 | |
| | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative | Swing | | |