1979 Welwyn Hatfield District Council election

The 1979 Welwyn Hatfield District Council election took place on 3 May 1979 to elect members of Welwyn Hatfield District Council in England.[1] This was on the same day as the 1979 general election and other local elections. Due to this, the turnout for the council elections was unusually high at over 80% of the local population. A third of the council's seats were up for election.

1979 Welwyn Hatfield District Council election

← 1978 3 May 1979 (1979-05-03) 1980 →

15 out of 43 seats to Welwyn Hatfield District Council
22 seats needed for a majority
Turnout58,725, 82.6%
  First party Second party Third party
  Blank Blank Blank
Party Labour Conservative Liberal
Last election 20 seats, 46.9% 23 seats, 50.2% 0 seats, 2.9%
Seats before 20 23 0
Seats after 22 21 0
Seat change Increase 2 Decrease 2 Steady
Popular vote 26,447 30,138 2,140
Percentage 45.0% 51.3% 3.6%
Swing Decrease 1.9 Increase 1.1 Increase 0.7

Council composition following the election.

At the election, the Labour Party regained control of the council that they had lost following the 1976 election despite their share of the popular vote falling. Their majority was the bare minimum needed however, but Labour would go on to increase it to a healthier amount in the next year's election.

Summary

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Election result

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1979 Welwyn Hatfield District Council election
Party This election Full council This election
Seats Net Seats % Other Total Total % Votes Votes % +/−
  Labour 8   2 53.3 14 22 51.2 26,447 45.0 –1.9
  Conservative 7   2 46.7 14 21 48.8 30,138 51.3 +1.1
  Liberal 0   0.0 0 0 0.0 2,140 3.6 +0.7

References

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  1. ^ "Results 1973 to 2012" (PDF). Colin Rallings and Michael Thrasher. The Elections Centre, Plymouth University. Retrieved 10 February 2023.