The 1964 Lambeth Council election took place on 7 May 1964 to elect members of Lambeth London Borough Council in London, England. The whole council was up for election and the Labour party gained control of the council. The election is notable for being the first one ever fought by John Major.[1]
These elections were the first to the newly formed borough. Previously elections had taken place in the Metropolitan Borough of Lambeth and Metropolitan Borough of Wandsworth. These boroughs were joined to form the new London Borough of Lambeth by the London Government Act 1963.
According to the Act, Councillors and Aldermen are elected in each Borough. The number of Aldermen can be up to of the total councillor seats, and they are elected from the pool of elected councillors or individuals eligible to be councillors. In the case of Lambeth, 60 councillor seats are contested across 20 three-member wards. Therefore, in addition to the 60 councillors, 10 Aldermen were elected, with nine representing Labour and one representing the Conservative party.
The Council was elected in 1964 as a "shadow authority" but did not start operations until 1 April 1965.
The results saw Labour gain the new council with a majority of 24 after winning 42 of the 60 seats. Overall turnout in the election was 26.1%. This turnout included 832 postal votes.|}