1999 Epping Forest District Council election

← 1998 6 May 1999 2000 →
20 seats toEpping Forest District Council 29 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	29.0%0.4%
First party Second party Third party   Party Conservative Liberal Democrats Labour Last election 14 seats, 36.7% 15 seats, 20.1% 18 seats, 29.6% Seats before 16 14 17 Seats won 18 16 14 Seat change 4 1 4 Popular vote 8,173 4,818 5,060 Percentage 42.7% 25.1% 26.4% Swing 6.0% 5.0% 3.2%   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   Party Loughton Residents Independent Epping Residents Last election 7 seats, 9.0% 3 seats,N/A 1 seat, 1.6% Seats before 7 3 1 Seats won 7 3 0 Seat change 1 Popular vote 503 607 N/A Percentage 2.6% 3.2% N/A Swing 13.2% N/A N/A
Winner of each seat at the 1999 Epping Forest District Council election
Council control before election No overall control Labour largest party Council control after election No overall control Labour largest party

Elections toEpping Forest Council were held on 6 May 1999. One third of the council was up for election and the council stayed underno overall control. Overall turnout was 29%. This was the last time the Epping Residents Association had representation on the district council.

The 1999 Epping Forest District Council election would prove to be a turning point in Epping Forest’s political history. Labour, which had steadily grown its strength during the 1990s, remained the largest party on the council in 1999 — the last time it would ever do so. The party’s national popularity under Tony Blair had filtered down into district politics, giving Labour unprecedented prominence in a council traditionally dominated by Conservatives and local resident groups. However, warning signs for Labour’s long-term position were already present. The party lost all three Waltham Abbey seats it had been defending, foreshadowing its future decline in the district. By 2011, Labour would hold no seats on the council, ending a once significant local presence.

For the Conservatives, the 1999 results offered modest reassurance after a difficult decade. Though still some way from their former dominance, they made inroads in traditional strongholds, particularly in Waltham Abbey, where Labour’s losses provided an opening. Meanwhile, the Liberal Democrats maintained a steady base, continuing to perform well in areas such as Buckhurst Hill and parts of Loughton, while the various residents’ associations retained their footholds, reflecting the district’s distinctive pattern of localist politics.

The 1999 election, therefore, stands as both a high-water mark and the beginning of a long decline for Labour in Epping Forest, as the council chamber would gradually revert to competition between Conservatives, Liberal Democrats, and local independents in the decades that followed.

Waltham Abbey East By-Election 22 October 1998

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Michael Dickins	633	60.2	8.6
	Labour		336	31.9	9.9
	Liberal Democrats		83	7.9	1.3
Majority			297	28.3	N/A
Turnout			1,052	18.2	8.7
	Conservativegain fromLabour		Swing

Councillor Yeo who previously represented Sheering died in early 1999 prompting a by-election which was subsequently won by the Conservatives' John Harrington who completed Yeo's term until being elected to a full term in 2000.

Sheering by-election 25 February 1999

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Harrington	371	50.9	23.3
	Liberal Democrats		276	37.9	10.4
	Labour		82	11.2	13.0
Majority			95	13.0	N/A
Turnout			729	32.9	1.5
	Conservativegain fromLiberal Democrats		Swing

1996 Epping Forest District Council election
Party		This election			Full council			This election
		Seats	Net	Seats %	Other	Total	Total %	Votes	Votes %	+/−
	Conservative	6	4	31.5	12	18	30.5	8,173	42.7	6.0
	Liberal Democrats	7	1	36.8	9	16	27.1	4,818	25.9	5.0
	Labour	4	4	13.7	9	14	28.8	5,060	26.4	3.2
	Loughton Residents	1		5.2	6	7	11.8	503	2.6	13.2
	Independent	2		10.4	2	3	6.7	607	3.2	N/A
	Chigwell Residents	0		0.0	1	1	1.6	N/A	N/A	N/A
	Epping Residents	0	1	0.0	0	0	0.0	N/A	N/A	N/A

^[2]

Buckhurst Hill East

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Malcolm Woollard	580	64.8	0.6
	Conservative	George Denny	207	23.1	0.5
	Labour	Lynn Baddock	108	12.1	1.1
Majority			373	41.7	0.1
Turnout			895	26.1	5.8
	Liberal Democratshold		Swing

Buckhurst Hill West

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Michael Heavens	889	53.0	6.6
	Conservative	Richard Watts	713	42.5	8.5
	Labour	Janice Croke	74	4.4	2.0
Majority			176	10.5	15.1
Turnout			1,676	32.7	0.2
	Liberal Democratshold		Swing

Chipping Ongar

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Keith Wright	290	50.0	7.2
	Conservative	Frank Love	212	36.6	6.9
	Labour	Sheila Spring	78	13.4	12.4
Majority			78	13.4	0.3
Turnout			580	44.3	31.2
	Liberal Democratshold		Swing

Debden Green

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Gillian Huckle	635	75.5	0.6
	Conservative	Derek Knight	206	24.5	0.6
Majority			429	51.0	1.2
Turnout			841	21.1	2.8
	Labourhold		Swing

Epping Hemnall

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Jonathan Whitehouse	968	50.1	9.2
	Conservative	Diana Collins	784	40.6	11.2
	Labour	Vivien Cave	181	9.4	1.9
Majority			184	9.5	20.4
Turnout			1,933	40.7	5.6
	Liberal Democratsgain fromConservative		Swing

Epping Lindsey

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Penny Smith	704	49.4	13.1
	Labour	Barry Johns	435	30.5	3.6
	Liberal Democrats	Joanne Whitehouse	287	20.1	8.4
Majority			269	18.9	9.5
Turnout			1,426	30.2	0.8
	Conservativegain fromEpping Residents Association		Swing

Grange Hill

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Peter Spencer	638	54.9	6.3
	Conservative	Hilary Wood	422	36.3	15.1
	Labour	Ronald Rodwell	102	8.8	8.8
Majority			216	18.6
Turnout			1,162	26.0	1.1
	Liberal Democratshold		Swing

Greensted and Marden Ash

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Derek Jacobs	393	53.8	8.8
	Conservative	Nicola Deller	172	23.5	4.9
	Labour	Robert MacDonald	166	22.7	4.1
Majority			221	30.3	13.5
Turnout			731	39.8	3.3
	Liberal Democratshold		Swing

High Beech

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Norma Green	578	78.6	21.6
	Labour	Sidney Miller	102	13.9	10.8
	Liberal Democrats	Lucille Thompson	55	7.5	10.8
Majority			476	64.7	32.4
Turnout			735	34.2	9.2
	Conservativehold		Swing

Lambourne

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Kenneth Easlea	357	54.0	7.5
	Conservative	Stephen Metcalfe	304	46.0	20.4
Majority			53	8.0	27.6
Turnout			661	37.8	21.2
	Liberal Democratshold		Swing

Loughton Broadway

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Joan Davis	703	77.6	1.3
	Conservative	Lorne Daniel	203	22.4	1.3
Majority			500	55.2	2.6
Turnout			906	22.3	4.3
	Labourhold		Swing

Loughton Roding

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Maureen Boatman	629	61.2	8.7
	Conservative	Norma Pearce	300	29.2	18.4
	Liberal Democrats	Peter Netherclift	99	9.6	5.0
Majority			329	32.0	23.2
Turnout			1,028	24.6	8.8
	Labourhold		Swing

Loughton St John's

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Loughton Residents	Brian Moore	503	53.6	0.3
	Conservative	Ian Locks	309	32.9	8.6
	Labour	Thomas Owen	126	13.4	8.3
Majority			194	20.7	8.9
Turnout			938	22.5	5.0
	Loughton Residentshold		Swing

Moreton and Matching

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Richard Morgan	Unopposed
Majority			N/A	100%	24.6
Turnout			N/A	N/A	N/A
	Independenthold		Swing

Nazeing

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	John Carr	607	70.3	N/A
	Conservative	Michael Alldis	256	29.7	34.2
Majority			351	40.6	14.1
Turnout			863	23.5	3.0
	Independenthold		Swing

North Weald Bassett

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Dave Stallan	816	65.5	1.1
	Labour	Derek Clark	337	27.0	8.6
	Liberal Democrats	Monica Richardson	93	7.5	7.5
Majority			479	38.5	9.7
Turnout			1,246	27.7	0.9
	Conservativehold		Swing

Shelley

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Ronald Barnes	261	79.6	8.2
	Conservative	Jeremy Dean	67	20.4	8.2
Majority			194	59.2	14.8
Turnout			328	23.8	12.5
	Labourhold		Swing

Waltham Abbey East

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Michael Dickins	791	60.8	9.2
	Labour	Stanley Riley	405	31.1	10.7
	Liberal Democrats	Ingrid Black	106	8.1	1.5
Majority			386	29.7	19.9
Turnout			1,302	22.8	4.1
	Conservativegain fromLabour		Swing

Waltham Abbey Paternoster

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Reginald Chidley	561	63.5	26.5
	Labour	Fitzherbert Harewood	283	32.0	26.2
	Liberal Democrats	Olive Dunseath	40	4.5	0.3
Majority			278	31.5	19.1
Turnout			884	25.9	4.7
	Conservativegain fromLabour		Swing

Waltham Abbey West

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Harold Taylor	515	50.2	11.4
	Labour	John Langer	435	42.4	10.7
	Liberal Democrats	Susan Hutchings	76	7.4	0.7
Majority			80	7.8
Turnout			1,026	24.9	0.8
	Conservativegain fromLabour		Swing

• 1999 Epping Forest election result
• Ward results

• Epping Forest District Council elections
• 1999 English local elections
• 1990s in Essex

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