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1979 Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council election

← 1978 3 May 1979 (1979-05-03) 1980 →
23 of 66 seats (One Third and one by-election) to Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council 34 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	75.3% (39.7%)
First party Second party Third party   Con Lab Lib Leader Harry Deverill Richard Kimberley Gordon Lindsay Party Conservative Labour Liberal Leader's seat Prenton Argyle-Clifton-Holt Grange and Oxton Last election 14 seats, 55.7% 6 seats, 28.4% 3 seats, 15.4% Seats before 45 16 5 Seats won 12 9 2 Seats after 40 20 6 Seat change 5 4 1 Popular vote 93,891 70,639 30,430 Percentage 48.0% 36.2% 15.6% Swing 7.7% 7.8% 0.2%
Map of results of 1979 election
Leader of the Council before election Harry Deverill Conservative Leader of the Council after election Harry Deverill Conservative

The 1979 Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council election took place on 3 May 1979 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:

Party		Seats	±
	Conservative	40	5
	Labour	20	4
	Liberal	6	1

Election results

Overall election result

Overall result compared with 1978.

Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council election results, 1979
Party		Candidates						Votes
		Stood	Elected	Gained	Unseated	Net	% of total	%	No.	Net %
	Conservative	23	12	0	5	5	54.5	48.0	93,891	7.7
	Labour	23	9	4	0	4	40.9	36.2	70,639	7.8
	Liberal	17	2	2	1	1	4.5	15.6	30,430	0.2
	National Front	2	0	0	0		0.0	0.2	368
	Communist	1	0	0	0		0.0	0.0	77	0.1

Ward results

Birkenhead

No. 1 (Argyle-Clifton-Holt)

Argyle-Clifton-Holt

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Arthur Smith	2,867	59.2	6.5
	Conservative	A. Adams	1,092	22.5	1.0
	Liberal	J. Smith	887	18.3	4.1
Majority			1,775	36.7	6.4
Registered electors			7,259
Turnout				66.8	34.4
	Labour hold		Swing	3.2

No. 2 (Bebington and Mersey)

Bebington and Mersey

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Walter Smith	2,802	53.1	4.3
	Conservative	D. Welsh	1,679	31.8	13.6
	Liberal	S. Evans	716	13.6	7.7
	Communist	J. Norris	77	1.5	New
Majority			1,123	21.3	17.9
Registered electors			7,556
Turnout				69.8	37.2
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	9.0

No. 3 (Cathcart-Claughton-Cleveland)

Cathcart-Claughton-Cleveland

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	P. Liddell	2,214	36.0	12.1
	Liberal	A. Jones	2,210	35.9	2.9
	Conservative	B. Lloyd	1,734	28.2	9.2
Majority			4	0.1	N/A
Registered electors			8,641
Turnout				71.3	30.5
	Labour gain from Liberal		Swing	0.8

No. 4 (Devonshire and Egerton)

Devonshire and Egerton

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Ronald Leaper	3,454	39.0	6.1
	Conservative	K. Allen	2,815	31.8	11.5
	Liberal	G. Quinn	2,595	29.3	5.5
Majority			639	7.2	N/A
Registered electors			11,925
Turnout				74.3	39.7
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	8.8

No. 5 (Gilbrook and St James)

Gilbrook and St James

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Andrew Davies	4,001	66.3	5.9
	Conservative	K. Hughes	1,225	20.3	1.8
	Liberal	Alan Brighouse	807	13.4	4.0
Majority			2,776	46.0	7.7
Registered electors			8,376
Turnout				72.0	40.1
	Labour hold		Swing	3.9

No. 6 (Grange and Oxton)

Grange and Oxton (2)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	A. Halliday	3,984	41.4	6.3
	Liberal	Michael Cooke	3,830	–	–
	Conservative	R. Hodkinson	3,241	33.7	3.1
	Conservative	O. Donaldson	3,089	–	–
	Labour	J. Coates	2,400	24.9	9.4
	Labour	Barney Gilfoyle	2,209	–	–
Majority			743	7.7	3.2
Registered electors			13,242
Turnout				72.7	32.1
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing	1.6
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing	–

No. 7 (Prenton)

Prenton

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	William Taylor	6,056	52.3	12.9
	Labour	W. Leslie	5,531	47.7	12.9
Majority			525	4.6	25.8
Registered electors			15,422
Turnout				75.0	45.3
	Conservative hold		Swing	12.9

No. 8 (Upton)

Upton

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Peter Corcoran	8,387	54.9	14.8
	Conservative	J. Roberts	6,894	45.1	14.8
Majority			1,493	9.8	N/A
Registered electors			21,661
Turnout				70.5	45.4
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	14.8

Wallasey

No. 9 (Leasowe)

Leasowe

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Ken Fox	5,072	56.8	1.4
	Conservative	M. Kemble	2,786	31.2	9.7
	Liberal	B. Thomas	1,078	12.1	8.4
Majority			2,286	25.6	11.1
Registered electors			11,982
Turnout				74.6	44.4
	Labour hold		Swing	5.6

No. 10 (Marlowe-Egremont-South Liscard)

Marlowe-Egremont-South-Liscard

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Hale	4,252	45.2	14.4
	Labour	G. Watkins	3,660	38.9	4.7
	Liberal	M. Canning	1,250	13.3	7.0
	National Front	F. Buckley	245	2.6	New
Majority			592	6.3	19.1
Registered electors			12,770
Turnout				73.7	42.1
	Conservative hold		Swing	9.6

No. 11 (Moreton and Saughall Massie)

Moreton and Saughall Massie

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	David Williams	2,769	43.8	9.5
	Labour	Jim Edwards	2,709	42.8	0.3
	Liberal	E. Thomas	849	13.4	9.3
Majority			60	0.9	9.9
Registered electors			8,168
Turnout				77.5	40.9
	Conservative hold		Swing	4.9

No. 12 (New Brighton-Wallasey-Warren)

New Brighton-Wallasey-Warren

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	C. Whatling	6,974	61.2	2.5
	Liberal	N. Stribbling	2,180	19.1	9.2
	Labour	D. Mason	2,115	18.6	10.6
	National Front	J. Milns	123	1.1	New
Majority			4,794	42.1	6.7
Registered electors			14,454
Turnout				78.8	33.4
	Conservative hold		Swing	3.4

No. 13 (North Liscard-Upper Brighton Street)

North Liscard-Upper Brighton Street

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	B. Nottage	4,511	53.3	22.2
	Labour	J. Fairbrother	2,356	27.8	11.0
	Liberal	G. Sharp	1,604	18.9	11.2
Majority			2,155	25.4	33.3
Registered electors			11,546
Turnout				73.4	43.0
	Conservative hold		Swing	16.6

No. 14 (Seacombe-Poulton-Somerville)

Seacombe-Poulton-Somerville

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	S. Wickham	4,400	54.1	3.9
	Conservative	G. Elliot	2,463	30.3	2.8
	Liberal	P. Mawdsley	1,277	15.7	11.9
Majority			1,937	23.8	1.1
Registered electors			11,223
Turnout				72.5	38.9
	Labour hold		Swing	0.5

Bebington

No. 15 (Higher Bebington and Woodhey)

Higher Bebington and Woodhey

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	E. Pike	5,567	67.3	3.9
	Labour	P. Wallace	2,704	32.7	12.7
Majority			2,863	34.6	16.6
Registered electors			10,181
Turnout				81.2	35.9
	Conservative hold		Swing	8.3

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

Park-New Ferry-North Bromborough

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Audrey Moore	3,862	51.8	0.4
	Conservative	A. Stacey	3,600	48.2	0.4
Majority			262	3.6	0.8
Registered electors			9,828
Turnout				75.9	35.3
	Labour hold		Swing	0.4

No. 17 (South Bromborough and Eastham)

South Bromborough and Eastham

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	David Allan	4,087	36.0	8.7
	Liberal	R. Palmer	4,047	35.6	22.5
	Labour	Ralph Dunning	3,225	28.4	13.8
Majority			40	0.4	N/A
Registered electors			13,985
Turnout				81.2	35.3
	Conservative hold		Swing	15.6

No. 18 (Lower Bebington and Poulton)

Lower Bebington and Poulton

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Dorothy Goodfellow	6,405	55.8	9.5
	Liberal	Thomas Harney	2,650	23.1	6.6
	Labour	A. Woods	2,432	21.2	3.0
Majority			3,755	32.7	14.3
Registered electors			14,163
Turnout				81.1	41.8
	Conservative hold		Swing	7.2

Hoylake

No. 19 (Caldy and Frankby)

Caldy and Frankby

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Reg Cumpstey	6,454	61.6	12.9
	Liberal	B. Crosbie	2,406	22.9	11.0
	Labour	C. Hiley	1,624	15.5	5.9
Majority			4,048	38.6	24.0
Registered electors			13,589
Turnout				77.2	42.4
	Conservative hold		Swing	12.0

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

Central-Hoose-Meols-Park

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	H. Thompson	6,053	65.6	20.4
	Liberal	F. Lewis	1,890	20.5	New
	Labour	David Jackson	1,280	13.9	0.1
Majority			4,163	45.1	26.9
Registered electors			12,150
Turnout				75.9	37.1
	Conservative hold		Swing	13.5

Wirral

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

Barnston-Gayton-Heswall-Oldfield

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	V. Robertson	7,783	86.2	4.9
	Labour	W. Gamet	1,244	13.8	4.9
Majority			6,539	72.4	9.9
Registered electors			11,581
Turnout				77.9	41.3
	Conservative hold		Swing	4.9

No. 22 (Irby-Pensby-Thurstaston)

Irby-Pensby-Thurstaston

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	W. Leigh	5,451	70.3	8.9
	Labour	B. Cain	2,300	29.7	8.9
Majority			3,151	40.7	17.7
Registered electors			10,048
Turnout				77.1	45.5
	Conservative hold		Swing	8.9

Notes

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

1. % of total refers to % of wards won.
2. Elected to serve a 4-year term.
3. Elected to serve a 1-year term.

References

1. ^ "Local Election Summaries 1979". The Elections Centre. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
2. ^ "Metropolitan Borough of Wirral Election Results 1973-2012 (Pg. 4 and 5)" (PDF). The Elections Centre. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
3. "Council compositions". The Elections Centre. Retrieved 27 July 2018.
4. "Councillor Walter Smith". Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
5. "Councillor Alan Brighouse". Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council.
6. "Councillor John Hale". Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council. Archived from the original on 5 July 2018. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
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.

v t e (1978 ←) 1979 United Kingdom local elections (→ 1980)
Metropolitan boroughs	Barnsley Birmingham Bradford Bolton Bury Calderdale Coventry Doncaster Dudley Gateshead Kirklees Knowsley Leeds Liverpool Manchester Newcastle North Tyneside Oldham Rochdale Rotherham Salford Sandwell Sefton Sheffield Solihull South Tyneside St Helens Stockport Sunderland Tameside Trafford Wakefield Walsall Wigan Wirral Wolverhampton
District councils (England)	Adur Allerdale Alnwick Amber Valley Arun Ashfield Ashford Aylesbury Vale Babergh Barrow-in-Furness Basildon Basingstoke and Deane Bassetlaw Bath Beaconsfield Berwick-upon-Tweed Beverley Blaby Blackburn Blackpool Blyth Valley Bolsover Boothferry Boston Bournemouth Bracknell Braintree Breckland Brentwood Bridgnorth Brighton Bristol Broadland Bromsgrove Broxbourne Broxtowe Burnley Cambridge Cannock Chase Canterbury Caradon Carlisle Carrick Castle Morpeth Castle Point Charnwood Chelmsford Cheltenham Cherwell Chester Chesterfield Chester-le-Street Chichester Chiltern Chorley Christchurch Cleethorpes Colchester Congleton Copeland Corby Cotswold Craven Crawley Crewe and Nantwich Dacorum Darlington Dartford Daventry Derby Derwentside Dover Durham Easington East Cambridgeshire East Devon East Hampshire East Hertfordshire East Lindsey East Northamptonshire East Staffordshire Eastbourne Eastleigh Eden Ellesmere Port and Neston Elmbridge Epping Forest Epsom and Ewell Erewash Exeter Fareham Fenland Forest Heath Forest of Dean Fylde Gedling Gillingham Glanford Gloucester Gosport Gravesham Great Yarmouth Grimsby Guildford Halton Hambleton Harborough Harlow Harrogate Hart Hartlepool Hastings Havant Hereford Hertsmere High Peak Hinckley and Bosworth Holderness Horsham Hove Huntingdon Hyndburn Ipswich Kennet Kerrier Kettering Kingston upon Hull Kingswood Lancaster Langbaurgh Leicester Leominster Lewes Lichfield Lincoln Luton Macclesfield Maidstone Maldon Malvern Hills Mansfield Medina Medway Melton Mendip Mid Bedfordshire Mid Devon Mid Suffolk Mid Sussex Middlesbrough Milton Keynes Mole Valley New Forest Newark Newbury Newcastle-under-Lyme North Bedfordshire North Cornwall North Devon North Dorset North East Derbyshire North Hertfordshire North Kesteven North Norfolk North Shropshire North Warwickshire North West Leicestershire North Wiltshire North Wolds Northampton Northavon Norwich Nottingham Nuneaton Oadby and Wigston Oswestry Oxford Pendle Penwith Peterborough Plymouth Poole Portsmouth Preston Purbeck Reading Redditch Reigate and Banstead Restormel Ribble Valley Richmondshire Rochford Rossendale Rother Rugby Runnymede Rushcliffe Rushmoor Rutland Ryedale Salisbury Scarborough Scunthorpe Sedgefield Sedgemoor Selby Sevenoaks Shepway Shrewsbury and Atcham Slough South Bedfordshire South Cambridgeshire South Derbyshire South Hams South Herefordshire South Holland South Kesteven South Lakeland South Norfolk South Northamptonshire South Oxfordshire South Ribble South Shropshire South Staffordshire South Wight Southampton Southend-on-Sea Spelthorne St Albans St Edmundsbury Stafford Staffordshire Moorlands Stevenage Stockton-on-Tees Stoke-on-Trent Stratford-on-Avon Stroud Suffolk Coastal Surrey Heath Swale Tamworth Tandridge Taunton Deane Teesdale Teignbridge Tendring Test Valley Tewkesbury Thamesdown Thanet The Wrekin Three Rivers Thurrock Tonbridge and Malling Torbay Torridge Tunbridge Wells Tynedale Uttlesford Vale of White Horse Vale Royal Wansbeck Wansdyke Warrington Warwick Watford Waveney Waverley Wealden Wear Valley Wellingborough Welwyn Hatfield West Derbyshire West Devon West Dorset West Lancashire West Lindsey West Norfolk West Oxfordshire West Somerset West Wiltshire Weymouth and Portland Wimborne Winchester Windsor and Maidenhead Woking Wokingham Woodspring Worcester Worthing Wychavon Wycombe Wyre Wyre Forest Yeovil York
District councils (Wales)	Aberconwy Afan Alyn and Deeside Anglesey - Ynys Môn Arfon Blaenau Gwent Brecknock Cardiff Carmarthen Ceredigion Colwyn Cynon Valley Delyn Dinefwr Dwyfor Glyndŵr Islwyn Llanelli Lliw Valley Meirionnydd Merthyr Tydfil Monmouth Montgomery Neath Newport Ogwr Preseli Radnor Rhondda Rhuddlan Rhymney Valley South Pembrokeshire Swansea Taff-Ely Torfaen Vale of Glamorgan Wrexham Maelor
Referendums	Scottish devolution Welsh devolution
See also: UK General election European Parliament election

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See also: Wards Boundary changes

• 1979 English local elections
• Council elections in Wirral
• 1970s in Merseyside