1973 Sunderland Metropolitan Borough Council election

1973 Sunderland Metropolitan Borough Council election
10 May 1973 1975 →
All 78 seats on Sunderland Metropolitan Borough Council
40 seats needed for a majority
  First party Second party Third party
 
Party Labour Conservative Independent
Seats won 56 21 1
Majority party after election

Labour

The 1973 Sunderland Metropolitan Borough Council election was held on 10 May 1973 as part of the first elections to the new local authorities established by the Local Government Act 1972 in England and Wales. The entirety of the new 78-seat council was up for election, with each of the 26 new council wards returning three councillors by first-past-the-post.

Background

The election took place following the elections to the Tyne and Wear County Council in April. The Local Government Act 1972 stipulated that the elected members were to shadow and eventually take over from the predecessor corporation on 1 April 1974. The order in which the councillors were elected dictated their term serving, with third-place candidates serving two years and up for re-election in 1975, second-placed three years expiring in 1976 and first-placed five years until 1978.[1]

Election results

The election resulted in a clear majority for the Labour Party, which won 56 of the 78 seats on the new Council.

Sunderland Metropolitan Borough Council election results, 1973
Candidates Votes
Party Leader Stood Elected Gained Unseated Net % of total % No. Net %
  Labour 76 56 56 N/A 56 71.8 51.6 65,688 N/A
  Conservative 41 21 21 N/A 21 26.9 36.1 45,933 N/A
  Liberal 18 0 0 N/A 0 0 6.9 8,839 N/A
  Independent 7 1 1 N/A 1 1.3 3.5 4,473 N/A
  Ind. Labour Party 3 0 0 N/A 0 0 1.5 1,961 N/A
  Communist 3 0 0 N/A 0 0 0.3 365 N/A

The election resulted in the following composition of the Council:

Party Council
Labour 56
Conservatives 21
Independent 1
Total 78
Working majority  34 

References

  1. ^ Rallings, Colin; Thrasher, Michael. Local Elections Handbook 1973. The Elections Centre. Retrieved 3 May 2016.