1975 Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council election

1975 local election in England Main article: 1975 United Kingdom local elections

← 1973

1 May 1975 (1975-05-01)

1976 →

22 of 66 seats (One Third)
to Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council
34 seats needed for a majority

Turnout

36.7% (

4.4%)

	First party	Second party	Third party
	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%

Map of results of 1975 election

Leader of the Council before election

Malcolm Thornton (Conservative)
No Overall Control

Leader of the Council after election

Malcolm Thornton
Conservative

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

After the election, the composition of the council was:

	Seats	±
Conservative	36	7
Labour	21	3
Liberal	9	4

Election results

Overall election result

Overall result compared with 1973.

Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council election results, 1975

Party		Candidates						Votes
Party		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

Ward results

Results compared directly with the last local election in 1973.

Birkenhead

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Wallasey

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

No. 10 (Marlowe-Egremont-South Liscard)

Marlowe-Egremont-South Liscard
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Hale	3,090	67.9	24.3
	Labour	Vincent 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

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	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

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

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

Bebington

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

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

No. 17 (South Bromborough and Eastham)

South Bromborough and Eastham
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	David 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

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

Hoylake

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

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

Wirral

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

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

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

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

References

^ "Local Election Summaries 1975". The Elections Centre. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
^ "Metropolitan Borough of Wirral Election Results 1973-2012 (Pg. 2)" (PDF). The Elections Centre. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
"Council compositions". The Elections Centre. Retrieved 27 July 2018.
"Councillor Walter Smith". Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 3 June 2018.
"Councillor John Hale". Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council. Archived from the original on 5 July 2018. Retrieved 3 June 2018.
"Councillor Phil Gilchrist". Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council.
"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.

v t e (1974 ←) 1975 United Kingdom local elections (→ 1976)
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District councils (England)	Preston Worcester Wyre Forest
Ad-hoc election	Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention
Referendum	United Kingdom European Communities membership Results

v t e Local elections in Merseyside
Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council	1973 1975 1976 1978 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015 2016 2018 2019 2021 2022 2023 2024
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Mayor of Liverpool	2012 2016 2021 Abolished
Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council	1973 1975 1976 1978 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015 2016 2018 2019 2021 2022 2023 2024
St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council	1973 1975 1976 1978 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015 2016 2018 2019 2021 2022
Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council	1973 1975 1976 1978 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015 2016 2018 2019 2021 2022 2023
Liverpool School Board	1870 1873 1876 1879 1882 1885 1888 1891 1894 1897 1900 Abolished
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See also: Wards Boundary changes

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