1961 London County Council election

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1961 London County Council election
← 1958 13 April 1961 1964 →
  First party Second party
 
Lab
Leader Isaac Hayward Geoffrey Rippon
Party Labour Conservative
Leader since 1947 22 April 1958
Leader's seat Alderman Chelsea
Seats won 84 42
Seat change Decrease17 Increase17

An election to the County Council of London occurred on 13 April 1961. It was the last election to the council, and plans for its replacement by the Greater London Council were already in process. The council was elected by First Past the Post, with each elector having three votes in the three-member seats.

Campaign

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The campaign attracted little attention.[1] The Conservative Party campaign focused on housing issues. The London Labour Party organised a tour of twenty cars through South East London, carrying politicians who made short speeches at numerous locations in the area.[2] Other election issues included the proposed construction of the Royal National Theatre and the London Ringways road schemes.[1]

Results

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The Labour Party lost seventeen seats to the Conservative Party but still secured a substantial majority of seats on the council. This ensured that the Labour Party would complete thirty years in control of the council.[3]

The Liberal Party hoped to win at least one seat in the election but failed.[2][3] The Independent Labour Party, Union Movement and British National Party also stood candidates but failed to secure any seats, as did assorted independent candidates.[3]

Turnout in the election was 34.7%, an increase of 3.2% over the previous election. A closely fought contest in Fulham led to a turnout of 47%, a record for the seat.[4]

Party Votes[5] Seats[5]
Number % Stood Seats %
Labour 403,680 50.4 126 84 66.7
Conservative 336,468 42.0 126 42 33.3
Liberal 47,845 6.0 69 0 0.0
Communist 7,622 1.0 5 0 0.0
British National 3,695 0.5 3 0 0.0
Union Movement 2,605 0.3 3 0 0.0
Independent 2,094 0.3 2 0 0.0
Ind. Labour Party 1,633 0.2 3 0 0.0
Alert Party 672 0.1 2 0 0.0

References

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  1. ^ a b "The invisible election". The Guardian. 10 April 1961.
  2. ^ a b "Drive to get London to the poll". The Times. 7 April 1961.
  3. ^ a b c "No change in last LCC results". The Times. 15 April 1961.
  4. ^ "Tories regain control of Middlesex". The Guardian. 14 April 1961.
  5. ^ a b Woollard, John; Willis, Alan (2000). Twentieth Century Local Election Results. Vol. 3. Elections Centre.
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