1934 London County Council election

← 1931

8 March 1934

1937 →

	First party	Second party
		MR
Leader	Herbert Morrison	Harold Webbe
Party	Labour	Municipal Reform
Leader since	1933	1934
Leader's seat	Alderman
Last election	35	83
Seats won	69	55
Seat change	34	28

An election to the County Council of London took place on 8 March 1934. The council was elected by First Past the Post with each elector having two votes in the two-member seats. The Labour Party made large gains from the Municipal Reform Party, and for the first time won control of the council..

Campaign

[edit]

The Municipal Reform Party had run the council for 27 years, and ran on its record in government.^[1] In Finsbury, the party supported two independent "National Municipal" candidates.^[2] One of these candidates Michael Franklin belonged to the National Labour Organisation, the pro-National Government splinter party led by Ramsay MacDonald.

The Labour Party had never been the largest party on the council, and had lost ground at the previous election, in 1931. Its manifesto prioritised the construction of more housing, particularly in locations within the County of London or immediately surrounding it, and the reduction of municipal rents.^[3] It contested all seats except for those in the City of London and Kensington South, where the Municipal Reform candidates were elected unopposed, and St Marylebone where the Independent Labour Party stood instead.^[2]

The Liberal Party fielded only 26 candidates, ten of whom were not opposed by the Municipal Reform Party.^[2] The Times claimed that the party was a "spent force" in the capital, and that its best hope was to retain its six seats, which it might achieve only because of the assistance of the Municipal Reformers.^[1] Percy Harris, spokesperson for the Liberals, claimed that Labour had no chance of defeating its six sitting councillors. He proposed more housing, replanning of the London road network, and moving Covent Garden Market to the banks of the River Thames.^[4]

The Manchester Guardian described the election as difficult to predict, but noted that the Municipal Reformers were expecting to win, but with a reduced majority, while Labour believed they would win more seats and had a chance of taking control of the council.^[4] The Times predicted close contests in Battersea North, Camberwell North West, Fulham West, Greenwich, Hammersmith North, Hackney South, Kennington, Lambeth North, Mile End, Peckham, and three of the Islington constituencies.^[3]

Results

[edit]

Labour won a substantial victory, taking control of the council for the first time, while the Liberal Party was entirely wiped out. Among the defeated politicians was Harold Webbe, acting leader of the Municipal Reform Party. The party blamed its defeat on voter apathy.^[5]^[6]

Turnout in the election was approximately 33%.^[5]

Party		Votes^[7]			Seats
Party		Number	%	Stood	Seats	%
	Labour	341,390	50.9	116	69	55.6
	Municipal Reform	291,563	43.5	106	55	44.4
	Liberal	44,139		24	0	0.0
	Communist	8,770		18	0	0.0
	People's Party	7,340		2	0	0.0
	National Municipal	6,439		2	0	0.0
	Ind. Labour Party	4,509		4	0	0.0
	Independent	159		1	0	0.0

References

[edit]

^ ^a ^b "Electing the LCC". The Times. 8 March 1934.
^ ^a ^b ^c "LCC election". The Times. 1 March 1934.
^ ^a ^b "LCC election campaign". The Times. 20 February 1934.
^ ^a ^b "London County Council fight". Manchester Guardian. 8 March 1934.
^ ^a ^b "New LCC". The Times. 10 March 1934.
^ "Notable members defeated". Manchester Guardian. 9 March 1934.
^ Council. "London County Council Elections 1889 - 1961" (PDF). Retrieved 12 May 2019.

v t e London County Council
Elections	1889 1892 1895 1898 1901 1904 1907 1910 1913 1919 1922 1925 1928 1931 1934 1937 1946 1949 1952 1955 1958 1961
Members	Chairmen Members 1889-1919 Members 1919-1937 Members 1937-1949 Members 1949-1965
Constituencies (1889–1919)	Battersea Bermondsey Bethnal Green North East Bethnal Green South West Bow and Bromley Brixton Camberwell North Chelsea City of London Clapham Deptford Dulwich Finsbury Central Finsbury East Fulham Greenwich Hackney Central Hackney North Hackney South Haggerston Hammersmith Hampstead Holborn Hoxton Islington East Islington North Islington South Islington West Kennington Kensington North Kensington South Lambeth North Lewisham Limehouse Marylebone East Marylebone West Mile End Newington West Norwood Paddington North Paddington South Peckham Poplar Rotherhithe St George's Hanover Square St George St Pancras East St Pancras North St Pancras South St Pancras West Southwark West Stepney Strand Walworth Wandsworth Westminster Whitechapel Woolwich
Constituencies (1919–1949)	Balham and Tooting Battersea North Battersea South Bermondsey West Bethnal Green North East Bethnal Green South West Bow and Bromley Brixton Camberwell North Camberwell North West Chelsea City of London Clapham Deptford Dulwich Finsbury Fulham East Fulham West Greenwich Hackney Central Hackney North Hackney South Hammersmith North Hammersmith South Hampstead Holborn Islington East Islington North Islington South Islington West Kennington Kensington North Kensington South Lambeth North Lewisham East Lewisham West Limehouse Mile End Norwood Paddington North Paddington South Peckham Poplar South Putney Rotherhithe St Marylebone St Pancras North St Pancras South East St Pancras South West Shoreditch Southwark Central Southwark North Southwark South East Stoke Newington Streatham Wandsworth Central Westminster Abbey Westminster St George's Whitechapel and St George's Woolwich East Woolwich West
Constituencies (1949–1964)	Barons Court (1955–1964) Battersea North Battersea South Bermondsey Bethnal Green Brixton Chelsea Cities of London and Westminster Clapham Deptford Dulwich Fulham (1955–1965) Fulham East (1949–1955) Fulham West (1949–1955) Greenwich Hackney Central (1955–1964) Hackney South (1949–1955) Hammersmith North Hammersmith South (1949–1955) Hampstead Holborn and St Pancras South Islington East Islington North Islington South West Kensington North Kensington South Lewisham North Lewisham South Lewisham West Norwood Paddington North Paddington South Peckham Poplar Putney St Marylebone St Pancras North Shoreditch and Finsbury Southwark Stepney Stoke Newington and Hackney North Streatham Vauxhall Wandsworth Central Woolwich East Woolwich West
Other topics	Tramways Coat of Arms County Hall

v t e Elections and referendums in London
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London County Council	1889 1892 1895 1898 1901 1904 1907 1910 1913 1919 1922 1925 1928 1931 1934 1937 1946 1949 1952 1955 1958 1961
Borough councils	1964 1968 1971 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022
Referendums	1998
See also Elections in London Boroughs Middlesex County Council elections

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