1979 Cambridge City Council election

1979 English local election

← 1978

3 May 1979 (1979-05-03)

1980 →

14 out of 42 seats to Cambridge City Council
22 seats needed for a majority

Turnout

71.8% (

33.2%)

	First party	Second party

Party	Conservative	Labour
Last election	22 seats, 46.4%	17 seats, 40.1%
Seats won	5	7
Seats after	20	18
Seat change	2	1
Popular vote	21,358	21,936
Percentage	38.0%	39.0%
Swing	8.4%	1.1%

	Third party	Fourth party

Party	Liberal	Independent
Last election	2 seats, 7.5%	1 seat, 5.8%
Seats won	2	0
Seats after	3	1
Seat change	1
Popular vote	12,898	0
Percentage	22.9%	0.0%
Swing	15.4%	5.8%

Winner of each seat at the 1979 Cambridge City Council election

Council control before election

Conservative

Council control after election

No overall control

The 1979 Cambridge City Council election took place on 3 May 1978 to elect members of Cambridge City Council in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England. This was on the same day as other local elections across England.

Summary

Election result

1979 Cambridge City Council election
Party		This election			Full council			This election
Party		Seats	Net	Seats %	Other	Total	Total %	Votes	Votes %	+/−
	Conservative	5	2	35.7	15	20	47.6	21,358	38.0	–8.4
	Labour	7	1	50.0	11	18	42.9	21,936	39.0	–1.1
	Liberal	2	1	14.3	1	3	7.1	12,898	22.9	+15.4
	Independent	0		0.0	1	1	2.4	N/A	N/A	–5.8
	Communist	0		0.0	0	0	0.0	59	0.1	–0.2

Ward results

Abbey

Abbey
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Doris Howe*	2,006	59.9	–7.2
	Conservative	Edna Jones	945	28.2	–4.7
	Liberal	Bernard Greaves	400	11.9	N/A
Majority			1,061	31.7	–2.5
Turnout			3,351	70.0	+43.4
Registered electors			4,789
	Labour hold		Swing	1.3

Arbury

Arbury
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Edward Cowell	1,797	44.9	–8.8
	Conservative	Patrick Harris	1,566	39.2	–7.1
	Liberal	Robert Arbon	636	15.9	N/A
Majority			231	5.8	–1.5
Turnout			3,999	71.8	+28.3
Registered electors			5,566
	Labour hold		Swing	0.9

Castle

Castle
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	David Pickles	2,148	49.9	+28.1
	Conservative	John Powley*	1,153	26.8	–17.2
	Labour	Edwin Mortlock	1,003	23.3	–10.9
Majority			995	23.1	N/A
Turnout			4,304	72.5	+31.2
Registered electors			5,936
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing	22.7

Cherry Hinton

Cherry Hinton
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Christopher Howard	1,804	44.2	–3.8
	Conservative	John West*	1,683	41.3	–10.7
	Liberal	Charles Burch	591	14.5	N/A
Majority			121	3.0	N/A
Turnout			4,078	77.8	+29.8
Registered electors			5,244
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	3.5

Coleridge

Coleridge
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Frederick Burling*	1,730	45.3	–3.2
	Labour	Gordon Douglas	1,480	38.8	–3.8
	Liberal	Philip Mitchell	606	15.9	N/A
Majority			250	6.6	+0.7
Turnout			3,816	74.7	+35.7
Registered electors			5,108
	Conservative hold		Swing	0.3

East Chesterton

East Chesterton
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Sidney Reid*	2,057	47.2	–11.1
	Labour	Richard Wall	1,605	36.8	–4.9
	Liberal	Anita Anderson	699	16.0	N/A
Majority			452	10.4	–6.3
Turnout			4,361	70.3	+35.7
Registered electors			6,204
	Conservative hold		Swing	3.1

Kings Hedges

Kings Hedges
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Clarissa Kaldor	1,544	52.3	–3.9
	Conservative	Jacqueline George	944	32.0	–1.6
	Liberal	Brian Badcock	462	15.7	+5.4
Majority			600	20.3	–2.3
Turnout			2,950	70.5	+35.9
Registered electors			4,184
	Labour hold		Swing	1.2

Market

Market
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Lavena Hawes*	2,273	47.2	*N/A*
	Conservative	Michael O'Hannan	1,276	26.5	–2.3
	Labour	Mike Gunn	1,263	26.2	N/A
Majority			997	20.7	N/A
Turnout			4,812	66.0	+27.5
Registered electors			6,231
	Liberal hold

Newnham

Newnham
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	R Cohen	2,273	47.2	–1.9
	Conservative	P Osbourne	1,276	26.5	–5.8
	Liberal	V Alford	1,263	26.2	+7.6
Majority			997	20.7	+3.9
Turnout			4,812	71.6	+26.7
Registered electors			6,720
	Labour hold		Swing	2.0

Petersfield

Petersfield
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Roger Thornely*	1,899	48.9	–1.0
	Conservative	Bridget Tasker	1,372	35.3	–6.6
	Liberal	Joye Rosentiel	613	15.8	+7.6
Majority			527	13.6	+5.6
Turnout			3,884	65.1	+25.1
Registered electors			5,967
	Labour hold		Swing	2.8

Queens Edith

Queens Edith
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Sylvia Dolby*	2,317	51.4	–18.9
	Labour	Ethel Shepherd	1,199	26.6	–3.1
	Liberal	Alan Newman	990	22.0	N/A
Majority			1,118	24.8	–15.8
Turnout			4,506	76.1	+39.6
Registered electors			5,918
	Conservative hold		Swing	7.9

Romsey

Romsey
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Robert May	1,891	49.3	–0.1
	Conservative	Stephen Clarke	1,193	31.1	+1.1
	Liberal	Anthony Waite	748	19.5	+0.5
Majority			698	18.2	+1.2
Turnout			3,832	68.0	+33.0
Registered electors			5,639
	Labour hold		Swing	0.6

Trumpington

Trumpington
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Elaine Wheatley	2,019	51.9	–10.2
	Labour	Stephen Watts	1,067	27.4	+4.3
	Liberal	David Green	747	19.2	+6.5
	Communist	David Mowton	59	1.5	–0.6
Majority			952	24.5	–14.4
Turnout			3,892	70.1	+31.6
Registered electors			5,549
	Conservative hold		Swing	7.3

West Chesterton

West Chesterton
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	P Reed*	1,827	49.9	–17.5
	Labour	J Elliott	1,105	30.2	–3.6
	Liberal	A Gore	726	19.8	N/A
Majority			722	19.7	–13.7
Turnout			3,658	69.1	+32.9
Registered electors			5,294
	Conservative hold		Swing	7.0

References

"Cambridge City Council Election Results 1973-2012" (PDF). Colin Rallings and Michael Thrasher. The Elections Centre, Plymouth University. Retrieved 18 September 2023.

v t e Council elections in Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire County Council	1889 1892 1895 1898 1901 1904 1907 1910 1913 1919 1922 1925 1928 1931 1934 1937 1946 1949 1952 1955 1958 1961 1964 1967 1970 1973 1977 1981 1985 1989 1993 1997 2001 2005 2009 2013 2017 2021 2025
Peterborough City Council	1889 1892 1895 1898 1901 1904 1907 1910 1913 1919 1922 1925 1928 1931 1934 1937 1946 1949 1952 1955 1958 1961 1964 1973 1976 1978 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 1997 1999 2000 2001 2002 2004 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015 2016 2018 2019 2021 2022 2023 2024
Cambridge City Council	1973 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
East Cambridgeshire District Council	1973 1976 1979 1983 1987 1991 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 2015 2019 2023
Fenland District Council	1973 1976 1979 1983 1987 1991 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 2015 2019 2023
Huntingdonshire District Council	1889 1892 1895 1898 1901 1904 1907 1910 1913 1919 1922 1925 1928 1931 1934 1937 1946 1949 1952 1955 1958 1961 1964 1973 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 2022
South Cambridgeshire District Council	1973 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 2022
Isle of Ely County Council	1889 1892 1895 1898 1901 1904 1907 1910 1913 1919 1922 1925 1928 1931 1934 1937 1946 1949 1952 1955 1958 1961 1964
Huntingdon & Peterborough County Council	1967 1970 Abolished
Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough	2017 2021 2025
See also: Wards Boundary changes

v t e (1978 ←) 1979 United Kingdom local elections (→ 1980)
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Referendums	Scottish devolution Welsh devolution
See also: UK General election European Parliament election

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