An election to Slough Borough Council was held on 10 June 2004. The whole council was up for election. This was the 120th Slough general local authority election, since Slough became a local government unit in 1863, including both whole Council elections and elections by thirds.

The Borough had been re-warded for this election. For the previous three Slough elections, which had each returned a third of the council, see 2001 Slough Council election, 2002 Slough Council election and 2003 Slough Council election.

The 2004 election was to fill forty-one seats. The leading vote winner in each of the fourteen wards was elected for the term 2004–2008. The second placed candidates were elected for 2004–2007. In all the wards, except Colnbrook with Poyle, the candidate with the third highest number of votes was elected for the term 2004–2006.

Recent political history of Slough to 2004 Slough Borough Council, between 1983 and 2004, had been controlled by the Labour Party.

Between 2003 and 2004, there were three groups of Councillors. In addition to the Labour Group and the Conservative Group there was the Britwellian, Independent, Liberal and Liberal Democrat Group (BILLD).

The BILLD Group was composed of all the Councillors, who were not Labour or Conservative. It was a coalition of a number of parties and independents. These included a Councillor or Councillors elected in particular wards; Liberal Democrat (Foxborough ward), Liberal (Haymill ward), Independent Britwellian Residents (Britwell ward) and Independent (Wexham Lea ward).

The existing members of the Group had an electoral pact for the 2004 election, which also extended to the Independent Farnham Residents candidates in Farnham ward and the Independent Langley Residents candidates in Langley St Mary's ward.

In 2003–2004, the composition of the 41 member council was:- Labour 26 BILLD 9 (Independent Britwellian Residents 3, Slough Liberals 3, Independents 2 and Slough Liberal Democrat 1) Conservative 6

In the 2004 election 105 candidates were nominated for the 41 seats up for election. The list is broken down by Party, with a residual category of an Independent candidate not affiliated to BILLD.

Labour 41 Conservative 28 BILLD 26 (Slough Liberal Democrats 11, Independents 3, Independent Britwellian Residents 3, Independent Farnham Residents 3, Independent Langley Residents 3, Slough Liberals 3) Green Party of England and Wales 7 United Kingdom Independence Party 2 Independent 1

Council by Party before and after 2004 Elections Before the elections held on 10 June 2004, the composition of Slough Borough Council was as follows: Composition Table (as of June 2004)PartyGroup LeaderSeats 03-04% SeatsChange (on 2003–2004)Seats 04 Robert Anderson2663.41-1115Richard Stokes819.51+311 Derek Cryer614.63+39John Edwards12.44+56Total Seats41

Labour overall majority (2003–2004): 11 No overall majority (2004–2006)

Note: The Others category in this table includes all non-Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrat Councillors. Richard Stokes (Liberal-Haymill) is the BILLD Group Leader, which includes the Liberal Democrats and all the Others category Councillors.

Composition of expiring seats before election Ward Party Elected Incumbent Cand.? Baylis Labour 2001 Rajinder Singh Sandhu Yes Baylis Labour 1999 Gurmej Singh Sandhu Yes Baylis Labour 2004 Balvinder Singh Bains Yes Britwell Ind. Britwellian Res. 2003 Paul Janik * Yes Britwell Ind. Britwellian Res. 2002 Sean Patrick Wright * Yes Britwell Ind. Britwellian Res. 2002 Patrick Shine * Yes Central Labour 1988 Ronald William Sibley Yes Central Labour 1999 Lydia Emelda Simmons Yes Central Labour 2004 Arvind Singh Dhaliwal Yes Chalvey Labour 2001 Satpal Singh Parmar Yes Chalvey Labour 2000 George Henry Davidson Yes Chalvey Labour 2002 Pervez Choudhry Yes Cippenham Labour 1996 Lawrence L. Gleeson Yes Cippenham Conservative 1995 William Geoffrey Howard Yes Cippenham Labour 2002 James Charles Robert Swindlehurst Yes Colnbrook & Poyle Conservative 1997 Steven John Burkmar Yes Colnbrook & Poyle Conservative 2000 Dexter Jerome Smith Yes Farnham Labour 2001 Joginder Singh Bal Yes Farnham Labour 1990 David Edward Mansell No Farnham Labour 1997 Robert Anderson Yes Foxborough Labour 1988 Mewa Singh Mann Yes Foxborough Labour 2002 Jagjit Singh Grewal Yes Foxborough Liberal Democrats 2000 John William Edwards * Yes Haymill Liberal 1990 David John Munkley * Yes Haymill Liberal 2002 Jean Frances Stockton * No Haymill Liberal 1987 Richard Stanley Stokes * Yes Kedermister Labour 1997 Ronald John Webb No Kedermister Labour 2002 Christine Rita Small Yes Kedermister Labour 2003 May Dodds No Langley St Mary's Labour 2001 Nigel Ian Rushby No Langley St Mary's Conservative 1997 Terrence W. Brennan Yes Langley St Mary's Conservative 2000 Derek Ernest Cryer (c) Yes Stoke Labour 2001 Raja Mohammad Zarait Yes Stoke Labour 1999 Simon Ashley George Yes Stoke Labour 2002 Egbert Christian Thomas No Upton Labour 2001 Gurcharan Singh Manku Yes Upton Labour 2002 Sukhjit Kaur Dhaliwal Yes Upton Conservative 1999 Julia Thomson Long Yes Wexham Lea Independent 2000 Michael Anthony Haines * Yes Wexham Lea Labour 2001 Muriel Douglas Gilmour No Wexham Lea Independent 2002 David Ian MacIsaac * Yes

* Member of the BILLD Group

Election result (overall summary)

Note: Due to boundary changes and this being a whole Council election, non-comparable to the 2003 election of a third of the Council, no attempt is made to provide numbers to fill the gain, loss and plus/minus columns.

History of Slough boundaries and wards The Slough local government area came into existence in 1863. It comprised a part of the parish of Upton-cum-Chalvey, roughly corresponding to the modern Central and Upton wards.

In 1894 Slough became a civil parish and then an Urban District.

In 1900 the boundaries of the Slough district were expanded for the first time, increasing its size to . The northern boundary was extended up Stoke Road, as far as the Slough branch of the Grand Union Canal. To the south and west, Chalvey and the Salt Hill area, as far as the Montem Mound, were absorbed. To the east, part of Langley joined the district. The Agar's Plough area left Slough, to become part of Eton and provide playing fields for Eton College.

In 1930-1931 there was a major extension of the boundaries, increasing the district to . Parts of the parishes of Burnham, Dorney, Farnham Royal, Horton, Langley Marish and Stoke Poges were added to Slough.

Slough was first warded in 1930. The original seven wards were Burnham, Central, Chalvey, Farnham, Langley, Stoke and Upton.

The town was re-warded in 1950, when four of the previous wards (Burnham, Central, Farnham and Stoke) were split into north and south wards, to make a total of eleven.

Britwell and Wexham Court were added to Slough in 1973 (when these two new wards and the eleven existing wards were allocated between two and nine seats, instead of the three per ward which had existed previously).

There was another re-warding in 1983, which created thirteen three-member wards with revised boundaries.

Colnbrook & Poyle was added to Slough in 1995 and became a fourteenth ward, with one member 1995-1997 and two from 1997.

For Slough Council election 2004 the Borough was re-warded. There were still fourteen wards, but only Colnbrook with Poyle (formerly Colnbrook & Poyle) and Haymill had unchanged boundaries.

Election results by wards 2004 Baylis & Stoke Baylis & Stoke (born 2004) is a three-member ward in the north of the Borough, to the west of Central ward and to the east of Haymill. It broadly combined the former Baylis and Stoke wards. Baylis was named after Baylis House and the estate of Baylis, which from the sixteenth century was a sub-division of the old parish of Stoke Poges (the southern part of which is included in Slough). Stoke was named after the parish. 2003-2004: the six seats in the former wards were all held by Labour. 2004: The Liberal Democrats, building on the Liberal tradition of the marginal former Stoke ward and overcoming the Labour leanings of the former Baylis ward, won all three seats in 2004.

* BILLD Group candidate

Britwell Britwell (born 1973) is a three-member ward in the north-west of the Borough. It includes Britwell parish, although since 1983 some unparished territory was added. Before Britwell became a civil parish it was a district of the old parish of Burnham. Britwell elected some Liberal Councillors in the 1980s but was otherwise safely Labour until 2000. Since then Britwellian and Independent Britwellian Residents Councillors have become increasingly successful. In 1997 Labour won all three seats, but by 2003-2004 the Residents held the three seats. 2004: Independent Britwellian Residents retained the three seats.

* BILLD Group candidate

Central Central (1930-1950 and 1983-) has had different boundaries during the three of the four Slough redistributions in which it has existed (it was divided between Central North and Central South wards 1950–1983), but it has always been a three-member ward with Wexham to the north, Langley to the east, Upton to the south, Chalvey to the south-west and Baylis & Stoke to the west. It was part of the original parish of Upton-cum-Chalvey, although the hamlet of Slough (a few scattered houses and coaching inns along the Great West Road and Windsor Road) was smaller than the villages of Upton and Chalvey until the Great Western Railway arrived in the 1840s. 2003-2004: Labour held the three seats under the 1983 boundaries. 2004: Labour won one and the Conservatives two of the three seats of the revised ward.

Chalvey Chalvey (born 1930), (in the south of the Borough) is a three-member ward. In the nineteenth century it was a village that was part of the ancient parish of Upton-cum-Chalvey. It became an original ward of Slough. The ward has existed in some form continuously since the district was first warded in 1930. Before 1970 Chalvey was Conservative but since then it has been safely Labour. 2003-2004: Three Labour seats. 2004: The Liberal Democrats came within ten votes of winning a seat in the ward in 2004, but Labour retained the three seats.

* BILLD Group candidate

Cippenham Green Cippenham Green (born 2004) is a three-member ward in the south-west of the Borough. Cippenham was a district of the old parish of Burnham. It was one of the two wards based on the old Cippenham ward, which was a Labour/Conservative marginal (six Conservative and eleven Labour wins between 1983 and 2003). This area is the western part of the previous ward, incorporates the Cippenham village area (including the Green which the ward is named after). 2003-2004: The former Cippenham ward was represented by two Labour and one Conservative Councillors. 2004: this ward elected one Conservative and two Labour Councillors.

* BILLD Group candidate

Cippenham Meadows Cippenham Meadows (born 2004) is a three-member ward in the south-west of the Borough. It was one of the two wards based on the old Cippenham Ward, which was a Labour/Conservative marginal (six Conservative and eleven Labour wins between 1983 and 2003). This area is the eastern part of the previous ward, incorporates the Windsor Meadows development which caused a large population growth since the 1983 redistribution of wards. Presumably these are the Meadows which the ward is named after. 2003-2004: see Cippenham Green. 2004: The new ward elected three Labour Councillors.

Colnbrook with Poyle Colnbrook & Poyle (1995–2004), Colnbrook with Poyle (born 2004) is a (since 1997) two-member ward in the furthest east part of the Borough between to the M4 motorway and Greater London. Labour elected some Councillors here, in 1995 and 1997 (1 seat), but by 2000 the ward was safely Conservative. 2003-2004: Two Conservative Councillors. 2004: Two Conservative Councillors re-elected.

Farnham