1978 Merton London Borough Council election
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All 57 council seats on Merton London Borough Council | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Turnout | 46.4%[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Elections for the London Borough of Merton were held on 4 May 1978 to elect members of Merton London Borough Council in London, England. This was on the same day as other local elections in England and Scotland.[1]
The whole council was up for election and the incumbent majority Conservative administration maintained its overall control of the council.[1] This was the first election held in which no aldermen were elected onto the council.[2] Boundary changes also meant that the number of elected seats increased by 3.[1]
Background
[edit]At the last election, the Conservatives had won a majority of three seats on the council, with twenty-nine elected members and four aldermen.[2] They subsequently gained a seat from the Labour Party in a by-election in the ward of Wimbledon South on 19 September 1974 and then lost a seat to the Liberal Party in the ward of Cannon Hill on 30 October 1975.[1]
Prior to the election, elected councillors appointed nine aldermen to serve on Merton London Borough Council. This was the first election in which this arrangement ended,[2] as was required by the Local Government Act 1972, which rendered the post merely an honorary title.[1]
The Conservatives did not stand in the newly created ward of Longthornton, leaving the three-member ward as a two-way contest between the Labour Party and the Longthornton and Tamworth Residents Association.[1]
Results
[edit]The Conservatives maintained their overall majority control of the council, increasing their majority to 21 seats.[2]
| Party | Seats | Gains | Losses | Net gain/loss | Seats % | Votes % | Votes | +/− | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | 39 | n/a | n/a |  6
|
68.4 | 52.6 | 85,773 | ||
| Labour | 15 | n/a | n/a |  12
|
26.3 | 34.7 | 56,501 | ||
| Longthornton and Tamworth Residents | 3 | n/a | n/a |  0
|
5.3 | 3.9 | 6,336 | ||
| Liberal | 0 | n/a | n/a | 0
|
0.0 | 8.3 | 13,532 | ||
| National Front | 0 | n/a | n/a | 0
|
0.0 | 0.3 | 457 | ||
| Independent | 0 | n/a | n/a | 0
|
0.0 | 0.2 | 272 | ||
| Workers Revolutionary | 0 | n/a | n/a | 0
|
0.0 | 0.0 | 74 | ||
Notes and references
[edit]Notes
- ^ In the 1974 election, 4 Conservative aldermen and 29 Conservative councillors were elected, giving the Conservative Party a total of 33 seats.
- ^ In the 1974 election, 5 Labour aldermen and 22 Labour councillors were elected, giving the Labour Party a total of 27 seats.
- ^ The Independent vote count includes one candidate who stood under the description of "Theatrical Agent" in Village, winning 169 votes.
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h "London Borough Council Elections 4 May 1978" (PDF). Greater London Council. 1978. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
- ^ a b c d "London Borough of Merton Results Summary 1964-2012" (PDF). Merton Electoral Services. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 December 2014. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
