1978 Leeds City Council election

Elections to Leeds City Council were held on 4 May 1978, with one third of the council up for election, as well as an extra vacancy in Wetherby. Prior to the election, the Hunslet East and West incumbent, Dennis Peddar, had defected from the Liberals to Independent, and fought this election as such.

The election seen a returning swing to Labour, although gains and losses were spread fairly equitably, with Labour narrowly gaining from the Conservatives in Wortley and comfortably from the Independent in Hunslet East and West, but losing Burmantofts and Richmond Hill to the Liberals. The Conservative gain from the Liberals in Pudsey South left the two parties' totals unchanged. This resulted in the Conservatives retaining control of the council, with an unaltered majority of four.^[1]

Election result

Leeds Local Election Result 1978
	Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
Conservative	15	1	1	0	45.4	43.8	86,707	-4.3%
Labour	15	2	1	1	45.4	40.5	80,070	+6.6%
Liberal	3	1	1	0	9.1	12.2	24,057	-3.2%
Ecology	0	0	0	0	0.0	1.2	2,422	+1.1%
National Front	0	0	0	0	0.0	1.1	2,185	+0.2%
Independent	0	0	1	-1	0.0	0.7	1,425	+0.6%
Communist	0	0	0	0	0.0	0.5	913	+0.1%

This result has the following consequences for the total number of seats on the council after the elections:

Party		Previous council	New council
	Conservatives	50	50
	Labour	38	39
	Liberals	7	7
	Independent	1	0
Total		96	96
Working majority		4	4

Ward results

Aireborough^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	W. Hudson	5,202	56.6	+0.2
	Labour	M. Dunn	2,429	26.4	−0.4
	Liberal	J. Brown	1,556	16.9	+0.1
Majority			2,773	30.2	+0.6
Turnout			9,187
	Conservative hold		Swing	+0.3

Armley and Castleton^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	M. Meadowcroft	3,007	45.0	+4.5
	Labour	C. Buttery	2,122	31.8	−1.3
	Conservative	C. Mathers	1,339	20.0	−1.6
	National Front	M. Spink	87	1.3	+0.5
	Ecology	J. Garrett	74	1.1	+1.1
	Communist	J. Hodgson	54	0.8	−0.2
Majority			885	13.2	+5.8
Turnout			6,683
	Liberal hold		Swing	+2.9

Beeston and Holbeck^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	A. Beevers	4,409	61.7	+11.6
	Conservative	E. Lucas	2,574	36.0	−3.3
	National Front	E. Thomas	161	2.3	+2.3
Majority			1,835	25.7	+14.8
Turnout			7,144
	Labour hold		Swing	+7.4

Bramley^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	E. Atkinson	2,764	53.9	+2.6
	Conservative	W. Broadbent	1,339	26.1	−9.2
	Liberal	D. Selby	910	17.8	+4.5
	National Front	S. Smith	60	1.2	+1.2
	Communist	J. Light	52	1.0	+1.0
Majority			1,425	27.8	+11.8
Turnout			5,125
	Labour hold		Swing	+5.9

Burley^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	L. Cohen	1,811	54.2	+14.5
	Conservative	A. Sexton	1,307	39.1	−12.5
	Ecology	K. Baxter	133	4.0	+4.0
	Communist	B. Jackson	57	1.7	−0.8
	National Front	C. Whitehead	36	1.1	−0.2
Majority			504	15.1	+3.2
Turnout			3,344
	Labour hold		Swing	+13.5

Burmantofts and Richmond Hill^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	M. Clay	3,901	50.5	+16.1
	Labour	Michael McGowan	2,729	35.3	−4.0
	Conservative	R. Simpson	897	11.6	−7.5
	National Front	S. Rigby	119	1.5	−1.1
	Communist	M. Monkman	84	1.1	−0.5
Majority			1,172	15.2	+10.2
Turnout			7,730
	Liberal gain from Labour		Swing	+10.0

Chapel Allerton and Scott Hall^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	P. Sparling	4,039	51.6	−11.5
	Labour	J. Kerwin-Davey	2,984	38.1	+10.3
	Liberal	D. Thorpe	495	6.3	−2.8
	National Front	P. Jackson	148	1.9	+1.9
	Communist	L. Willoughby	108	1.4	+1.4
	Ecology	T. Bernstein	54	0.7	+0.7
Majority			1,055	13.5	−21.8
Turnout			7,828
	Conservative hold		Swing	-10.9

City and Woodhouse^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	W. Merritt	2,644	64.3	+12.1
	Conservative	C. Hudson	1,093	26.6	−2.7
	Liberal	A. Ali	177	4.3	−10.4
	Communist	J. Rodgers	130	3.2	−0.7
	National Front	A. Rhodes	69	1.7	+1.7
Majority			1,551	37.7	+14.8
Turnout			4,113
	Labour hold		Swing	+7.4

Cookridge and Weetwood^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Ralph David Hall	6,201	64.5	−8.3
	Labour	John Illingworth	2,091	21.7	+3.3
	Liberal	David Gazey	1,132	11.8	+2.9
	Ecology	P. Lewenz	197	2.0	+2.0
Majority			4,110	42.7	−11.6
Turnout			9,621
	Conservative hold		Swing	-5.8

Garforth North and Barwick^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	B. Rowley	4,487	60.5	−4.0
	Labour	H. Martin	2,451	33.0	+1.3
	Ecology	D. Corry	483	6.5	+6.5
Majority			2,036	27.5	−5.3
Turnout			7,421
	Conservative hold		Swing	-2.6

Gipton and Whinmoor^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	R. Dixon	4,265	62.3	+12.4
	Conservative	W. Buckland	2,363	34.5	−11.2
	National Front	B. Spink	137	2.0	−2.4
	Communist	G. Thompson	82	1.2	+1.2
Majority			1,902	27.8	+23.6
Turnout			6,847
	Labour hold		Swing	+11.8

Halton^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	M. Dodgson	4,034	70.1	−1.2
	Labour	D. Brown	1,586	27.6	+1.5
	National Front	C. Dewar	134	2.3	−0.3
Majority			2,448	42.5	−2.8
Turnout			5,754
	Conservative hold		Swing	-1.3

Harehills and Roundhay^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	P. Crotty	4,139	54.6	−14.4
	Labour	M. Lyons	2,821	37.2	+10.5
	Liberal	H. Bevans	396	5.2	+5.2
	Ecology	A. Andrew	118	1.6	+1.6
	National Front	C. Dewar	105	1.4	−2.9
Majority			1,318	17.4	−24.9
Turnout			7,579
	Conservative hold		Swing	-12.4

Headingley^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	E. Clark	2,240	45.1	−11.3
	Labour	E. Whelan	1,645	33.1	+6.9
	Liberal	D. Rolfe	692	13.9	+0.7
	Communist	B. Cooper	210	4.2	−0.1
	Ecology	K. Rushworth	185	3.7	+3.7
Majority			595	12.0	−18.2
Turnout			4,972
	Conservative hold		Swing	-9.1

Horsforth^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	M. Crossfield	3,413	44.1	+11.8
	Conservative	B. Pickard	3,201	41.4	−9.0
	Labour	T. Watson	864	11.2	−2.6
	Ecology	D. Darnborough	262	3.4	+3.4
Majority			212	2.7	−15.3
Turnout			7,740
	Liberal hold		Swing	+10.4

Hunslet East and West^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	G. Driver	3,035	49.9	+6.9
	Independent	D. Pedder	1,425	23.4	+23.4
	Liberal	J. Finnigan	795	13.1	−31.3
	Conservative	R. Tetley	670	11.0	+2.4
	National Front	N. Griffiths	462	2.7	−0.6
Majority			1,610	26.4	+24.9
Turnout			6,087
	Labour gain from Independent		Swing	-8.2

Kippax and Swillington^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	K. Smith	3,219	59.0	+5.4
	Conservative	B. King	2,234	41.0	−0.8
Majority			985	18.0	+6.2
Turnout			5,453
	Labour hold		Swing	+3.1

Kirkstall^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Elizabeth Nash	3,373	56.8	+6.0
	Conservative	T. Battersby	2,327	39.2	−5.1
	Liberal	Laurence Keates	239	4.0	+4.0
Majority			1,046	17.6	+11.1
Turnout			5,939
	Labour hold		Swing	+5.5

Middleton^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	J. Taylor	3,156	77.4	+17.6
	Conservative	N. Landers	789	19.3	−6.0
	Communist	R. Ward	82	2.0	−0.4
	National Front	R. Buck	52	1.3	+1.3
Majority			2,367	58.0	+23.6
Turnout			4,079
	Labour hold		Swing	+11.8

Moortown^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	A. Redmond	2,926	62.9	−2.6
	Labour	I. Levy	1,567	33.7	+11.5
	Ecology	S. Waldenberg	160	3.4	−0.3
Majority			1,359	29.2	−14.1
Turnout			4,653
	Conservative hold		Swing	-7.0

Morley North^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	B. Barker	3,209	50.7	+0.1
	Labour	B. North	3,119	49.3	+21.3
Majority			90	1.4	−21.3
Turnout			6,328
	Conservative hold		Swing	-10.6

Morley South^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	B. Haydn	3,310	62.3	+12.4
	Conservative	C. Rover	1,999	37.7	−12.4
Majority			1,311	24.7	+24.5
Turnout			5,309
	Labour hold		Swing	+12.4

Osmondthorpe^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	D. Gabb	2,399	66.7	+11.7
	Conservative	D. Zucker	1,087	30.2	−5.1
	National Front	L. Fella	113	3.1	−2.1
Majority			1,312	36.5	+16.9
Turnout			3,599
	Labour hold		Swing	+8.4

Otley and Wharfedale^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	F. Atkinson	3,937	50.1	+5.6
	Liberal	J. Spencer	2,910	37.0	−7.1
	Labour	I. Swain	960	12.2	+1.4
	Communist	A. Oddy	54	0.7	+0.0
Majority			1,027	13.1	+12.8
Turnout			7,861
	Conservative hold		Swing	+6.3

Pudsey North^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	A. Carter	3,724	59.2	+13.7
	Labour	P. Burrill	1,756	27.9	+4.9
	Liberal	S. Hollingworth	812	12.9	−18.5
Majority			1,968	31.3	+17.2
Turnout			6,292
	Conservative hold		Swing	+4.4

Pudsey South^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	L. Fletcher	2,475	43.0	−2.3
	Liberal	G. Wilson	2,065	35.9	+5.3
	Labour	W. Thurlow	1,211	21.1	−3.0
Majority			410	7.1	−7.6
Turnout			5,751
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	-3.8

Rothwell^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	R. Lund	4,939	62.4	+18.3
	Conservative	R. Harvey	2,781	35.1	+6.5
	National Front	J. Duckenfield	194	2.5	+2.5
Majority			2,158	27.3	+11.8
Turnout			7,914
	Labour hold		Swing

Seacroft^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	I. Adams	3,303	70.4	+12.7
	Conservative	D. Townsley	1,256	26.8	−10.4
	National Front	C. Cannon	135	2.9	−0.4
Majority			2,047	43.6	+23.1
Turnout			4,694
	Labour hold		Swing	+11.5

Stanningley^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	A. Miller	2,699	60.2	+8.2
	Conservative	I. Benton	1,392	31.1	−4.0
	Liberal	F. Upton	316	7.0	−5.9
	National Front	M. Gibson	76	1.7	+1.7
Majority			1,307	29.1	+12.2
Turnout			4,483
	Labour hold		Swing	+6.1

Talbot^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	I. Bellow	3,687	69.4	−2.4
	Labour	B. Walker	1,061	20.0	+2.7
	Liberal	M. Phillips	320	6.0	−4.9
	Ecology	S. Parkin	201	3.8	+3.8
	National Front	L. Spink	46	0.9	+0.9
Majority			2,626	49.4	−5.0
Turnout			5,315
	Conservative hold		Swing	-4.0

Wetherby^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	D. Hudson	5,419	71.5	−3.2
	Conservative	J. Grange	5,311
	Labour	J. Taylor	963	12.7	−1.3
	Labour	M. Moynihan	808
	Liberal	J. Scott	641	8.5	−2.8
	Ecology	M. Sellers	555	7.3	+7.3
Majority			4,456	58.8	−1.8
Turnout			7,578
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing	-0.9

Wortley^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	P. Fathers	2,385	44.5	+3.8
	Conservative	F. Stubley	2,340	43.7	−3.5
	Liberal	W. Moss	519	9.7	−2.4
	National Front	A. Smith	112	2.1	+2.1
Majority			45	0.8	−5.7
Turnout			5,356
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	+3.6

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w ^x ^y ^z ^aa ^ab ^ac ^ad ^ae ^af ^ag "District results: Leeds". The Yorkshire Post. 5 May 1978.

[results-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w ^x ^y ^z ^aa ^ab ^ac ^ad ^ae ^af ^ag "District results: Leeds". The Yorkshire Post. 5 May 1978.

[1]

v t e (1977 ←) 1978 United Kingdom local elections (→ 1979)
London boroughs	Barking Barnet Bexley Brent Bromley Camden Croydon Ealing Enfield Greenwich Hackney Hammersmith Haringey Harrow Havering Hillingdon Hounslow Islington Kensington and Chelsea Kingston upon Thames Lambeth Lewisham Merton Newham Redbridge Richmond upon Thames Southwark Sutton Tower Hamlets Waltham Forest Wandsworth Westminster
Metropolitan boroughs	Barnsley Birmingham Bradford Bolton Bury Calderdale Coventry Doncaster Dudley Gateshead Kirklees Knowsley Leeds Liverpool Manchester Newcastle North Tyneside Oldham Rochdale Rotherham Salford Sandwell Sefton Sheffield Solihull South Tyneside St Helens Stockport Sunderland Tameside Trafford Wakefield Walsall Wigan Wirral Wolverhampton
District councils (England)	Basingstoke and Deane Bath Brentwood Broxbourne Burnley Cambridge Cannock Chase Chorley Colchester Congleton Eastbourne Eastleigh Ellesmere Port and Neston Elmbridge Fareham Halton Harlow Hart Hartlepool Havant Hertsmere Huntingdon Milton Keynes Mole Valley Pendle Peterborough Preston Rochford Rossendale Runnymede Shrewsbury and Atcham South Bedfordshire South Cambridgeshire Southend-on-Sea Tamworth Tandridge Thamesdown Three Rivers Tunbridge Wells Watford Welwyn Hatfield West Lancashire Winchester Woking
Regional councils (Scotland)	Borders Central Dumfries and Galloway Fife Grampian Highland Lothian Orkney Shetland Strathclyde Tayside Western Isles

v t e Council elections in West Yorkshire
Mayor	2021 2024
Bradford	1973 1975 1976 1978 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015 2016 2018 2019 2021 2022 2023 2024
Calderdale	1973 1975 1976 1978 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015 2016 2018 2019 2021 2022 2023 2024
Kirklees	1973 1975 1976 1978 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015 2016 2018 2019 2021 2022 2023 2024
Leeds	1945 1946 1947 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1975 1976 1978 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015 2016 2018 2019 2021 2022 2023 2024
Wakefield	1973 1975 1976 1978 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015 2016 2018 2019 2021 2022 2023 2024
West Yorkshire CC	1973 1977 1981 Abolished
West Riding CC	1889 1892 1895 1898 1901 1904 1907 1910 1913 1919 1922 1925 1928 1931 1934 1937 1946 1949 1952 1955 1958 1961 1964 1967 1970 Abolished
See also: Wards Boundary changes