1979 United Kingdom local elections explained

Election Name:1979 United Kingdom local elections
Country:United Kingdom
Type:legislative
Previous Election:1978 United Kingdom local elections
Previous Year:1978
Next Election:1980 United Kingdom local elections
Next Year:1980
Seats For Election:All 36 metropolitan boroughs, all 296 English districts and all 37 Welsh districts
Election Date:3 May 1979
1Blank:Councils
2Blank:Councils +/-
3Blank:Councillors
4Blank:Councillors +/-
Leader1:Margaret Thatcher
Leader Since1:11 February 1975
Party1:Conservative Party (UK)
2Data1: 6
3Data1:12,222
4Data1: 423
Leader2:James Callaghan
Leader Since2:5 April 1976
Party2:Labour Party (UK)
2Data2: 12
3Data2:7,410
4Data2: 766
Leader3:David Steel
Leader Since3:7 July 1976
Party3:Liberal Party (UK)
2Data3: 1
3Data3:1,059
4Data3: 136

Local elections were held in the United Kingdom on 3 May 1979[1] [2] (the same day as the general election). The results provided some source of comfort to the Labour Party, who recovered some lost ground from local election reversals in previous years, despite losing the general election to the Conservative Party on the same day. The Liberals also gained councillors and a council.

Labour gained 766 seats, bringing their number of councillors to 7,410.

The Conservatives lost 423 seats, leaving them with 12,222 councillors.

The Liberal Party gained 136 seats and finished with 1,059 councillors.

Changes in council control were as follows;

Labour gain from no overall control: Bassetlaw, Carlisle, Hartlepool, Newcastle-under-Lyme, South Tyneside

Labour gain from Conservative: Barrow-in-Furness, Coventry, Derby, Ipswich, Nottingham, Sandwell, Tameside, Welwyn Hatfield

Labour lose to no overall control: Thurrock

Conservative lose to no overall control: Birmingham, Cambridge, Cheltenham, Kirklees, Leeds, Pendle, Rochdale, Rugby, Warrington, Wyre Forest

Conservative gain from no overall control: Adur, Stratford-on-Avon

Conservative gain from Independent: Hart

Conservative gain from Democratic Labour: Lincoln

Liberal gain from no overall control: Medina

Independent lose to no overall control: South Lakeland, West Lindsey

England

Metropolitan boroughs

Whole council

In 6 metropolitan boroughs the whole council was up for election.

In 6 boroughs there were new ward boundaries, following electoral boundary reviews by the Local Government Boundary Commission for England.

CouncilPrevious controlResultDetails
Barnsley ‡ holdDetails
Bury ‡ holdDetails
Oldham ‡ holdDetails
Sandwell ‡ gainDetails
Sefton ‡ holdDetails
Solihull ‡ holdDetails

‡ New ward boundaries

Third of council

30 metropolitan borough councils had one third of their seats up for election.

CouncilPrevious controlResultDetails
Birmingham gainDetails
Bolton holdDetails
Bradford holdDetails
Calderdale holdDetails
Coventry gainDetails
Doncaster holdDetails
Dudley holdDetails
Gateshead holdDetails
Kirklees gainDetails
Knowsley holdDetails
Leeds gainDetails
Liverpool holdDetails
Manchester holdDetails
Newcastle upon Tyne holdDetails
North Tyneside holdDetails
Rochdale gainDetails
Rotherham holdDetails
Salford holdDetails
Sheffield holdDetails
South Tyneside gainDetails
St Helens holdDetails
Stockport holdDetails
Sunderland holdDetails
Tameside gainDetails
Trafford holdDetails
Wakefield holdDetails
Walsall holdDetails
Wigan holdDetails
Wirral holdDetails
Wolverhampton holdDetails

District councils

Whole council

In 252 districts the whole council was up for election.

In 153 districts there were new ward boundaries, following electoral boundary reviews by the Local Government Boundary Commission for England.

CouncilPrevious controlResultDetails
Adur ‡ gainDetails
Allerdale ‡ holdDetails
Alnwick ‡ gainDetails
Amber Valley ‡ holdDetails
Arun holdDetails
Ashfield holdDetails
Ashford gainDetails
Aylesbury Vale gainDetails
Babergh ‡ holdDetails
Barrow-in-Furness ‡ gainDetails
Basildon ‡ holdDetails
Bassetlaw ‡ gainDetails
Beaconsfield holdDetails
Berwick-upon-Tweed holdDetails
Beverley ‡ holdDetails
Blaby holdDetails
Blackburn ‡ holdDetails
Blackpool holdDetails
Blyth Valley ‡ gainDetails
Bolsover ‡ holdDetails
Boothferry gainDetails
Boston ‡ holdDetails
Bournemouth ‡ holdDetails
Bracknell ‡ holdDetails
Braintree ‡ gainDetails
Breckland ‡ gainDetails
Bridgnorth ‡ holdDetails
Brighton holdDetails
Bristol holdDetails
Broadland ‡ holdDetails
Bromsgrove ‡ holdDetails
Broxtowe holdDetails
Canterbury ‡ holdDetails
Caradon holdDetails
Carlisle gainDetails
Carrick ‡ gainDetails
Castle Morpeth holdDetails
Castle Point ‡ holdDetails
Charnwood holdDetails
Chelmsford holdDetails
Cheltenham gainDetails
Cherwell ‡ holdDetails
Chester ‡ holdDetails
Chesterfield ‡ holdDetails
Chester-le-Street ‡ holdDetails
Chichester ‡ holdDetails
Chiltern holdDetails
Christchurch ‡ holdDetails
Cleethorpes ‡ holdDetails
Copeland ‡ gainDetails
Corby gainDetails
Cotswold ‡ holdDetails
Craven ‡ holdDetails
Crawley ‡ holdDetails
Crewe and Nantwich ‡ holdDetails
Dacorum ‡ holdDetails
Darlington ‡ gainDetails
Dartford holdDetails
Daventry ‡ holdDetails
Derby ‡ gainDetails
Derwentside ‡ holdDetails
Dover ‡ holdDetails
Durham ‡ gainDetails
Easington ‡ holdDetails
East Cambridgeshire holdDetails
East Devon ‡ holdDetails
East Hampshire ‡ holdDetails
East Hertfordshire ‡ holdDetails
East Lindsey holdDetails
East Northamptonshire ‡ holdDetails
East Staffordshire ‡ gainDetails
Eden ‡ holdDetails
Epping Forest ‡ holdDetails
Epsom and Ewell holdDetails
Erewash ‡ holdDetails
Exeter holdDetails
Fenland holdDetails
Forest Heath ‡ gainDetails
Forest of Dean holdDetails
Fylde holdDetails
Gedling holdDetails
Gillingham ‡ holdDetails
Glanford ‡ gainDetails
Gloucester ‡ holdDetails
Gosport ‡ holdDetails
Gravesham ‡ holdDetails
Great Yarmouth holdDetails
Grimsby ‡ gainDetails
Guildford holdDetails
Hambleton ‡ holdDetails
Harborough holdDetails
Hart gainDetails
Hartlepool gainDetails
Hastings ‡ holdDetails
Hereford ‡ holdDetails
High Peak ‡ gainDetails
Hinckley and Bosworth holdDetails
Holderness holdDetails
Horsham ‡ holdDetails
Hove ‡ holdDetails
Hyndburn ‡ holdDetails
Ipswich ‡ gainDetails
Kennet holdDetails
Kerrier ‡ gainDetails
Kettering ‡ holdDetails
Kingston upon Hull holdDetails
Kingswood holdDetails
Lancaster ‡ holdDetails
Langbaurgh gainDetails
Leicester gainDetails
Leominster ‡ holdDetails
Lewes holdDetails
Lichfield ‡ holdDetails
Lincoln ‡ gainDetails
Luton holdDetails
Macclesfield ‡ holdDetails
Maidstone ‡ holdDetails
Maldon ‡ holdDetails
Malvern Hills ‡ holdDetails
Mansfield ‡ holdDetails
Medina ‡ gainDetails
Medway ‡ holdDetails
Melton ‡ holdDetails
Mendip ‡ gainDetails
Mid Bedfordshire ‡ holdDetails
Mid Devon ‡ holdDetails
Mid Suffolk ‡ holdDetails
Mid Sussex gainDetails
Middlesbrough ‡ holdDetails
New Forest holdDetails
Newark and Sherwood ‡ gainDetails
Newbury holdDetails
Newcastle-under-Lyme ‡ gainDetails
North Bedfordshire holdDetails
North Cornwall ‡ holdDetails
North Devon holdDetails
North Dorset holdDetails
North East Derbyshire ‡ gainDetails
North Hertfordshire ‡ holdDetails
North Kesteven ‡ holdDetails
North Norfolk ‡ holdDetails
North Shropshire holdDetails
North Warwickshire ‡ gainDetails
North West Leicestershire gainDetails
North Wiltshire holdDetails
North Wolds gainDetails
Northampton ‡ holdDetails
Northavon holdDetails
Norwich ‡ holdDetails
Nottingham gainDetails
Nuneaton ‡ holdDetails
Oadby and Wigston ‡ holdDetails
Oswestry holdDetails
Oxford ‡ holdDetails
Penwith ‡ holdDetails
Plymouth ‡ holdDetails
Poole holdDetails
Portsmouth holdDetails
Purbeck ‡ holdDetails
Reading holdDetails
Redditch holdDetails
Reigate and Banstead ‡ holdDetails
Restormel holdDetails
Ribble Valley holdDetails
Richmondshire ‡ holdDetails
Rother gainDetails
Rugby ‡ gainDetails
Rushcliffe holdDetails
Rushmoor ‡ holdDetails
Rutland ‡ holdDetails
Ryedale holdDetails
Salisbury holdDetails
Scarborough ‡ holdDetails
Scunthorpe ‡ holdDetails
Sedgefield holdDetails
Sedgemoor ‡ holdDetails
Selby ‡ gainDetails
Sevenoaks ‡ holdDetails
Shepway ‡ holdDetails
Slough holdDetails
South Derbyshire ‡ holdDetails
South Hams ‡ holdDetails
South Herefordshire ‡ holdDetails
South Holland ‡ holdDetails
South Kesteven ‡ gainDetails
South Lakeland ‡ gainDetails
South Norfolk ‡ gainDetails
South Northamptonshire gainDetails
South Oxfordshire holdDetails
South Ribble holdDetails
South Shropshire holdDetails
South Staffordshire ‡ holdDetails
South Wight ‡ holdDetails
Southampton ‡ holdDetails
Spelthorne ‡ holdDetails
St Albans ‡ holdDetails
St Edmundsbury ‡ holdDetails
Stafford ‡ holdDetails
Staffordshire Moorlands holdDetails
Stevenage ‡ holdDetails
Stockton-on-Tees ‡ gainDetails
Stoke-on-Trent ‡ holdDetails
Stratford-on-Avon ‡ gainDetails
Stroud holdDetails
Suffolk Coastal holdDetails
Surrey Heath holdDetails
Swale ‡ holdDetails
Taunton Deane ‡ holdDetails
Teesdale holdDetails
Teignbridge ‡ holdDetails
Tendring holdDetails
Test Valley gainDetails
Tewkesbury holdDetails
Thanet ‡ holdDetails
The Wrekin ‡ holdDetails
Thurrock ‡ gainDetails
Tonbridge and Malling ‡ holdDetails
Torbay holdDetails
Torridge ‡ holdDetails
Tynedale gainDetails
Uttlesford holdDetails
Vale of White Horse ‡ holdDetails
Vale Royal holdDetails
Wansbeck holdDetails
Wansdyke holdDetails
Warrington ‡ gainDetails
Warwick holdDetails
Waveney holdDetails
Waverley holdDetails
Wealden holdDetails
Wear Valley gainDetails
Wellingborough holdDetails
West Derbyshire ‡ holdDetails
West Devon ‡ holdDetails
West Dorset holdDetails
West Lindsey ‡ gainDetails
West Norfolk holdDetails
West Oxfordshire ‡ holdDetails
West Somerset ‡ holdDetails
West Wiltshire gainDetails
Weymouth and Portland ‡ holdDetails
Wimborne holdDetails
Windsor and Maidenhead holdDetails
Wokingham ‡ holdDetails
Woodspring ‡ holdDetails
Worcester ‡ holdDetails
Worthing holdDetails
Wychavon ‡ holdDetails
Wycombe holdDetails
Wyre ‡ holdDetails
Wyre Forest ‡ gainDetails
Yeovil gainDetails
York ‡ holdDetails

‡ New ward boundaries

Third of council

In 44 districts one third of the council was up for election.

CouncilPrevious controlResultDetails
Basingstoke and Deane holdDetails
Bath holdDetails
Brentwood holdDetails
Broxbourne holdDetails
Burnley holdDetails
Cambridge gainDetails
Cannock Chase holdDetails
Chorley holdDetails
Colchester holdDetails
Congleton holdDetails
Eastbourne holdDetails
Eastleigh holdDetails
Ellesmere Port and Neston holdDetails
Elmbridge holdDetails
Fareham holdDetails
Halton holdDetails
Harlow holdDetails
Harrogate holdDetails
Havant holdDetails
Hertsmere holdDetails
Huntingdon holdDetails
Milton Keynes holdDetails
Mole Valley holdDetails
Pendle gainDetails
Peterborough holdDetails
Preston holdDetails
Rochford holdDetails
Rossendale holdDetails
Runnymede holdDetails
Shrewsbury and Atcham holdDetails
South Bedfordshire holdDetails
South Cambridgeshire holdDetails
Southend-on-Sea holdDetails
Tamworth holdDetails
Tandridge holdDetails
Thamesdown holdDetails
Three Rivers holdDetails
Tunbridge Wells holdDetails
Watford holdDetails
Welwyn Hatfield gainDetails
West Lancashire holdDetails
Winchester gainDetails
Woking holdDetails

Wales

District councils

CouncilPrevious controlResultDetails
Aberconwy holdDetails
Afan gainDetails
Alyn and Deeside holdDetails
Anglesey - Ynys Môn holdDetails
Arfon gainDetails
Blaenau Gwent holdDetails
Brecknock holdDetails
Cardiff gainDetails
Carmarthen holdDetails
Ceredigion holdDetails
Colwyn holdDetails
Cynon Valley holdDetails
Delyn gainDetails
Dinefwr holdDetails
Dwyfor holdDetails
Glyndŵr holdDetails
Islwyn gainDetails
Llanelli holdDetails
Lliw Valley holdDetails
Meirionnydd holdDetails
Merthyr Tydfil gainDetails
Monmouth holdDetails
Montgomery holdDetails
Neath holdDetails
Newport gainDetails
Ogwr holdDetails
Preseli holdDetails
Radnor holdDetails
Rhondda holdDetails
Rhuddlan holdDetails
Rhymney Valley gainDetails
South Pembrokeshire holdDetails
Swansea gainDetails
Taff-Ely gainDetails
Torfaen holdDetails
Vale of Glamorgan holdDetails
Wrexham Maelor holdDetails

References

Notes and References

  1. Book: Rallings. Colin. Thrasher. Michael. Local Elections Handbook 1979. The Elections Centre. 3 May 2016.
  2. Web site: Council compositions. The Elections Centre. 3 May 2016.

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