1975 Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council election

The 1975 Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council election took place on 1 May 1975 to elect members of Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council in England.[2] This election was held on the same day as other local elections.

1975 Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council election

1 May 1975
22 of 66 seats (One Third) to Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council 34 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	36.7% (4.4%)[1]
Con Lab Leader Malcolm Thornton Bill Wells Gruff Evans Party Conservative Labour Liberal Leader's seat North Liscard-Upper Brighton Street Leasowe Cathcart-Claughton-Cleveland Last election 29 seats, 42.9% 24 seats, 32.6% 13 seats, 22.6% Seats before 29 24 13 Seats won 16 5 1 Seats after 36 21 9 Seat change 7 3 3 Popular vote 51,547 23,603 18,570 Percentage 54.7% 25.0% 19.7% Swing 11.8% 7.6% 2.9%
Leader of the Council before election Malcolm Thornton (Conservative) No Overall Control Leader of the Council after election Malcolm Thornton Conservative

After the election, the composition of the council was:

Party		Seats	±
	Conservative	36	7
	Labour	21	3
	Liberal	9	4

[3]

Election results

Overall election result

Overall result compared with 1973.

Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council election results, 1975
Party		Candidates						Votes
		Stood	Elected	Gained	Unseated	Net	% of total	%	No.	Net %
	Conservative	22	16	7	0	7	72.7	54.7	51,547	11.8
	Labour	21	5	0	3	3	22.7	25.0	23,603	7.6
	Liberal	19	1	0	4	4	4.5	19.7	18,570	2.9
	National Front	1	0	0	0		0.0	0.3	249	N/A
	Communist	1	0	0	0		0.0	0.2	200
	Independent	1	0	0	0		0.0	0.1	107	N/A

[1][2]

Ward results

Results compared directly with the last local election in 1973.

No. 1 (Argyle-Clifton-Holt)

Argyle-Clifton-Holt

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Arthur Smith	1,096	44.6	28.2
	Liberal	D. Boxer	954	38.8	New
	Conservative	L. Peers	410	16.7	10.5
Majority			142	5.8	39.8
Registered electors			8,590
Turnout				28.6	4.5
	Labour hold		Swing	19.9

[2]

No. 2 (Bebington and Mersey)

Bebington and Mersey

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	L. Welsh	1,108	44.8	7.1
	Labour	A. Price	944	38.1	6.6
	Liberal	G. Quinn	423	17.1	0.5
Majority			164	6.7	N/A
Registered electors			7,958
Turnout				31.1	3.8
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing	6.9

[2]

No. 3 (Cathcart-Claughton-Cleveland)

Cathcart-Claughton-Cleveland

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	A. Jones	1,641	43.3	10.5
	Conservative	R. Stretch	1,172	30.9	7.4
	Labour	Walter Smith	979	25.8	3.0
Majority			469	12.4	17.9
Registered electors			9,882
Turnout				38.4	7.1
	Liberal hold		Swing	9.0

[2][4]

No. 4 (Devonshire and Egerton)

Devonshire and Egerton

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	K. Allen	1,644	38.2	7.4
	Liberal	Roy Perkins	1,603	37.3	5.0
	Labour	J. MacDougall	1,052	24.5	2.4
Majority			41	0.9	N/A
Registered electors			12,378
Turnout				34.7	6.8
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	6.2

[2]

No. 5 (Gilbrook and St James)

Gilbrook and St James

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	P. Roberts	1,369	57.1	2.8
	Liberal	K. Henron	531	22.2	8.4
	Conservative	H. Kirkby	496	20.7	11.2
Majority			838	34.9	5.6
Registered electors			8,654
Turnout				27.7	10.1
	Labour hold		Swing	2.8

[2]

No. 6 (Grange and Oxton)

Grange and Oxton

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	R. Hodkinson	2,293	50.1	17.1
	Liberal	G. Edwards	1,520	33.2	17.3
	Labour	A. Jones	764	16.7	0.2
Majority			773	16.9	N/A
Registered electors			12,602
Turnout				36.3	6.2
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	17.2

[2]

No. 7 (Prenton)

Prenton

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	George Porter	3,088	55.3	3.6
	Labour	J. Pennington	1,504	26.9	15.6
	Liberal	J. Edwards	997	17.8	New
Majority			1,584	28.4	19.2
Registered electors			15,605
Turnout				35.8	1.2
	Conservative hold		Swing	9.6

[2]

No. 8 (Upton)

Upton

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	J. Roberts	3,134	55.3	8.7
	Labour	Bernard Gilfoyle	1,885	33.3	11.0
	Liberal	S. Gayford	448	7.9	New
	Communist	G. Hughes	200	3.5	0.3
Majority			1,249	22.0	20.1
Registered electors			20,752
Turnout				27.3	1.8
	Conservative hold		Swing	10.1

[2]

No. 9 (Leasowe)

Leasowe

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Ken Fox	1,590	51.6	18.8
	Conservative	J. Merrill	1,383	44.9	15.3
	Independent	G. Smith	107	3.5	New
Majority			207	6.7	34.1
Registered electors			11,733
Turnout				26.3	0.1
	Labour hold		Swing	17.1

[2]

No. 10 (Marlowe-Egremont-South Liscard)

Marlowe-Egremont-South Liscard

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Hale	3,090	67.9	24.3
	Labour	V. McGee	1,458	32.1	9.1
Majority			1,632	35.8	33.4
Registered electors			13,083
Turnout				34.8	2.6
	Conservative hold		Swing	16.7

[2][5]

No. 11 (Moreton and Saughall Massie)

Moreton and Saughall Massie

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	David Williams	1,552	60.9	20.4
	Labour	E. Lewis	998	39.1	8.1
Majority			554	21.8	N/A
Registered electors			7,057
Turnout				36.1	3.4
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing	14.3

No. 12 (New Brighton-Wallasey-Warren)

New Brighton-Wallasey-Warren

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	R. Ievers	4,394	62.9	23.0
	Liberal	J. Southworth	1,792	25.6	18.5
	Labour	M. Hirons	553	7.9	1.9
	National Front	John Fishwick [n 1]	249	3.6	6.4
Majority			2,602	37.3	N/A
Registered electors			14,888
Turnout				46.9	7.4
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	20.8

[2]

No. 13 (North Liscard-Upper Brighton Street)

North Liscard-Upper Brighton Street

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	George Thornton	2,909	70.2	28.3
	Labour	M. Laskier	622	15.0	0.5
	Liberal	R. Edge	611	14.8	19.6
Majority			2,287	55.2	47.7
Registered electors			11,640
Turnout				35.6	3.9
	Conservative hold		Swing	23.9

[2]

No. 14 (Seacombe-Poulton-Somerville)

Seacombe-Poulton-Somerville

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	S. Wickham	1,618	50.0	15.8
	Conservative	R. Atkinson	1,408	43.5	17.6
	Liberal	E. Taylor	213	6.6	1.7
Majority			210	6.5	33.4
Registered electors			12,043
Turnout				26.9	1.6
	Labour hold		Swing	16.7

[2]

No. 15 (Higher Bebington and Woodhey)

Higher Bebington and Woodhey

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	E. Pike	3,197	69.8	15.2
	Labour	M. Irvine	906	19.8	5.7
	Liberal	G. Spencer	476	10.4	9.5
Majority			2,291	50.0	20.9
Registered electors			10,031
Turnout				45.6	1.7
	Conservative hold		Swing	10.5

[2]

No. 16 (Park-New Ferry-North Bromborough)

Park-New Ferry-North Bromborough

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	F. Gregory	1,606	46.2	15.0
	Conservative	R. Gittins	1,367	39.3	0.5
	Liberal	W. Walsh	505	14.5	New
Majority			239	6.9	15.5
Registered electors			9,785
Turnout				35.5	7.4
	Labour hold		Swing	7.8

[2]

No. 17 (South Bromborough and Eastham)

South Bromborough and Eastham

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	D. Allan	2,723	47.7	11.2
	Labour	William Lungley	1,882	33.0	14.2
	Liberal	Phillip Gilchrist	1,105	19.4	3.1
Majority			841	14.7	N/A
Registered electors			13,301
Turnout				42.9	2.2
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing	12.7

[2][6]

No. 18 (Lower Bebington and Poulton)

Lower Bebington and Poulton

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Dorothy Goodfellow	3,119	61.1	9.5
	Liberal	Thomas Harney	1,144	22.4	3.5
	Labour	D. Roscoe	839	16.4	6.1
Majority			1,975	38.7	13.0
Registered electors			12,052
Turnout				42.3	2.0
	Conservative hold		Swing	6.5

[2][7]

No. 19 (Caldy and Frankby)

Caldy and Frankby

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Reg Cumpstey	3,497	73.2	3.0
	Liberal	B. Crosbie	790	16.5	New
	Labour	J. Seaman	493	10.3	13.5
Majority			2,707	56.7	4.3
Registered electors			12,575
Turnout				38.0	1.8
	Conservative hold		Swing	2.2

[2]

No. 20 (Central-Hoose-Meols-Park)

Central-Hoose-Meols-Park

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	W. Tickle	3,121	55.7	9.2
	Liberal	J. Thomas	2,486	44.3	2.4
Majority			635	11.4	6.8
Registered electors			11,776
Turnout				47.6	19.6
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	3.4

[2]

No. 21 (Barnston-Gayton-Heswall-Oldfield)

Barnston-Gayton-Heswall-Oldfield

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	V. Robertson	4,001	78.5	12.4
	Liberal	G. Collins	911	17.9	10.0
	Labour	W. Gamet	185	3.6	2.5
Majority			3,090	60.6	22.4
Registered electors			11,003
Turnout				46.3	1.1
	Conservative hold		Swing	11.2

[2]

No. 22 (Irby-Pensby-Thurstaston)

Irby-Pensby-Thurstaston

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	W. Leigh	2,441	59.2	5.0
	Labour	S. Dunn	1,260	30.6	5.2
	Liberal	A. Conway	420	10.2	New
Majority			1,181	28.6	0.2
Registered electors			9,322
Turnout				44.2	1.3
	Conservative hold		Swing	0.1

[2]

Changes between 1975 and 1976

Date	Ward	Name	Previous affiliation		New affiliation		Circumstance
September 1975	New Brighton-Wallasey-Warren	Kate Wood		Liberal		Conservative	Defected.

Notes

• italics denote the sitting councillor • bold denotes the winning candidate

1. Stood as an Ind. Conservative in 1973. Results compared.

References

1. "Local Election Summaries 1975". The Elections Centre. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
2. "Metropolitan Borough of Wirral Election Results 1973-2012 (Pg. 2)" (PDF). The Elections Centre. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
3. "Council compositions". The Elections Centre. Retrieved 27 July 2018.
4. "Councillor Walter Smith". Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council.
5. "Councillor John Hale". Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council.
6. "Councillor Phil Gilchrist". Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council.
7. "Councillor Tom Harney". Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council.

Mellows-Facer, Adam (10 May 2006). "Local election 2006". parliament.uk. Retrieved 29 December 2018.
"BBC NEWS VOTE 2003 WIRRAL". BBC News. 1 May 2003. Retrieved 29 December 2018.