1973 United Kingdom local elections

1973 United Kingdom local elections

12 April 1973 (England & Wales) 1 May 1973 (Scotland) 10 May 1973 (England & Wales) 30 May 1973 (Northern Ireland) 7 June 1973 (England)
1 Unicameral area, all 6 metropolitan counties, all 39 non-metropolitan counties, all 36 metropolitan boroughs, all 296 English districts, 1 sui generis authority, all 26 Northern Irish districts, all 8 Welsh counties and all 37 Welsh districts
Majority party Minority party Third party   Leader Harold Wilson Edward Heath Jeremy Thorpe Party Labour Conservative Liberal Leader since 14 February 1963 27 July 1965 18 January 1967
Map of the results of the elections in England and Wales, showing party control by district (left) and county (right).

The first elections to the new local authorities established by the Local Government Act 1972 in England and Wales and the new Northern Ireland district councils created by the Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) 1972 took place in 1973. Elections to the existing Greater London Council also took place.

England and Wales

The elections took place on three dates:

• 12 April 1973: Metropolitan county councils (601 councillors), Non-metropolitan county councils (3,128 councillors), Welsh county councils (578 councillors) and the Greater London Council (107 councillors & aldermen).
• 10 May 1973: Metropolitan district councils (2,517 councillors) and Welsh district councils (1,522 councillors).
• 7 June 1973: Non-metropolitan district councils (13,540 councillors).

Elections took place for all the seats on the councils. In the case of the new councils, they became shadow authorities, taking over from the existing local authorities on 1 April 1974. The elections for the new councils had been brought forward from an originally planned date in November 1973, to allow the councils more time to act as shadow authorities - the final dates were set in May 1972.

The April elections

The elections held on 12 April saw a very impressive performance by the Labour Party, which regained control of the Greater London Council and took control of all six of the new metropolitan county councils. In the rest of England, they won seven county councils, including two of the new "estuary" counties: Cleveland and Humberside. The party also won Gwent and the three Glamorgan county councils (West Glamorgan, Mid Glamorgan, South Glamorgan) in Wales.

The poor Conservative vote in London and the metropolitan counties was somewhat compensated by winning thirteen of the non-metropolitan counties. Failure to gain Essex or Hertfordshire were disappointments to the party, but taking control of Gloucestershire was a success. The party also failed to gain its only realistic Welsh prospect, South Glamorgan.

There were no great successes for the Liberal party, which found itself in third place in all the metropolitan counties. They did however gain representation on the GLC for the first time, winning two seats at Sutton and Cheam and Richmond upon Thames. This followed the previous year's by-election success in winning the Sutton and Cheam parliamentary seat from the Conservatives.

Independents won two English counties outright: Cornwall and the Isle of Wight. They also formed the largest grouping on a number of other councils, and entered agreements with the Conservatives in the running of some of these. In Wales, Independents controlled three mainly rural counties.

The May elections

The results of the elections in May saw an improvement in the performance by the Conservatives since the county council elections, and a slight fall back in the Labour vote. The Liberals had a notable success, becoming the largest group on Liverpool council.

The Conservatives took control of five metropolitan districts, gaining seats in areas where they had been beaten in the elections to the county councils. They also gained one Welsh district, Monmouth.

The Labour party declared it was pleased with the results, especially as opinion polls had shown them losing support. They took control of most of the metropolitan districts, making a clean sweep of councils in Tyne and Wear and South Yorkshire and important councils such as Birmingham, Coventry and Manchester. Labour also took control of most districts in South Wales including Cardiff. The party's organiser for Wales also pointed to the fact that official Labour candidates won rural seats in north and west Wales for the first time.

Apart from forming a minority administration in Liverpool, the Liberals were able to hold the balance of power at Leeds, Stockport and Wirral. They were however disappointed with their performance at Calderdale which was won by Labour.

The June elections

In the June elections for 296 non-metropolitan districts, Labour won control of 71, the Conservatives 59, the Liberals 1, Democratic Labour 1, and Independents 67. 97 councils were under no overall control: in many of these councils Conservative and Independent groups formed an administration.

The Labour party won 4,327 seats, the Conservatives 4,286, Independents 3,534, and the Liberals 919; with the remaining 449 seats going to various other groupings.

It was a good result for the Liberal party who took control of Eastbourne and became the largest group on Adur, Newbury, Pendle and Waverley councils. The other two main parties also had notable successes: Labour considered control of Cambridge, Dacorum, Ipswich and Oxford to be good results; while the Conservatives celebrated taking Gloucester, Great Yarmouth, Lewes and Warrington councils.

The break-away Lincoln Democratic Labour Association won twenty of the thirty seats on Lincoln District council. The group were supporters of Dick Taverne, member of parliament for Lincoln who had been expelled from the Labour Party. Taverne had earlier in the year resigned his seat to force a by-election in protest against his expulsion, which he won against the official Labour candidate.

The Results

Metropolitan county councils

Council	Conservative	Labour	Liberal	Independent	Other	Control
Greater Manchester	23	69	13	1	0	Labour
Merseyside	26	53	19	0	Ratepayers 1	Labour
South Yorkshire	13	82	1	4	0	Labour
Tyne and Wear	26	74	1	3	0	Labour
West Midlands	26	74	4	0	0	Labour
West Yorkshire	25	51	11	1	0	Labour

Non-metropolitan county councils

Council	Conservative	Labour	Liberal	Independent	Other	Control	Details
Avon County Council	36	32	2	3	0	NOC	Details
Bedfordshire County Council	32	39	8	3	1 Vacancy	NOC	Details
Berkshire County Council	42	26	13	5	0	NOC (Conservative-Independent)	Details
Buckinghamshire	36	18	4	12	0	Conservative	Details
Cambridgeshire County Council	28	22	5	13	0	NOC	Details
Cheshire County Council	31	29	1	6	0	NOC	Details
Cleveland	35	52	0	2	0	Labour	Details
Cornwall County Council	3	1	0	75	0	Independent	Details
Cumbria County Council	31	38	1	6	0	NOC	Details
Derbyshire County Council	26	60	5	7	0	Labour	Details
Devon County Council	54	20	11	12	0	Conservative	Details
Dorset County Council	47	13	11	20	0	Conservative	Details
Durham	2	56	6	7	0	Labour	Details
East Sussex County Council	48	19	9	8	0	Conservative	Details
Essex	47	40	5	5	0	NOC (Conservative minority)	Details
Gloucestershire County Council	31	18	5	7	0	Conservative	Details
Hampshire County Council	44	27	6	20	0	NOC (Conservative-Independent)	Details
Hereford and Worcester County Council	37	30	8	17	0	NOC (Conservative-Independent)	Details
Hertfordshire County Council	33	33	3	2	Ratepayers 1	NOC	Details
Humberside County Council	36	51	3	7	2 Vacancies	Labour	Details
Isle of Wight County Council	6	6	7	23	0	Independent	Details
Kent County Council	63	31	7	2	0	Conservative	Details
Lancashire County Council	52	33	7	3	Ratepayers 1	Conservative	Details
Leicestershire County Council	41	37	7	8	0	NOC (Conservative-Independent)	Details
Lincolnshire County Council	34	10	3	22	0	NOC	Details
Norfolk County Council	52	27	0	4	0	Conservative	Details
North Yorkshire County Council	39	12	12	29	0	NOC (Conservative-Independent)	Details
Northamptonshire County Council	38	46	3	4	2 Vacancies	Labour	Details
Northumberland	10	28	0	21	0	NOC	Details
Nottinghamshire County Council	35	54	0	0	0	Labour	Details
Oxfordshire County Council	36	21	0	10	0	Conservative	Details
Salop	14	16	3	30	0	NOC	Details
Somerset County Council	35	7	2	12	0	Conservative	Details
Staffordshire County Council	28	47	1	9	0	Labour	Details
Suffolk County Council	47	29	3	0	3	Conservative	Details
Surrey County Council	46	12	9	5	0	Conservative	Details
Warwickshire County Council	27	21	5	2	0	NOC	Details
West Sussex County Council	52	10	7	13	Ratepayers 1	Conservative	Details
Wiltshire County Council	40	22	6	11	0	Conservative	Details

Welsh county councils

Council	Conservative	Labour	Liberal	Independent	Other	Control
Clwyd County Council	11	20	4	30	1 Vacancy	NOC
Dyfed	0	29	8	40	Plaid Cymru 1 Ratepayers 1	Independent
Gwent	12	59	3	1	Ratepayers 2 Plaid Cymru 1	Labour
Gwynedd County Council	0	4	0	56	Plaid Cymru 6	Independent
Mid Glamorgan County Council	3	63	2	6	Plaid Cymru 6 Communist 2	Labour
Powys County Council						Independent
South Glamorgan County Council	35	42	0	3	0	Labour
West Glamorgan County Council	9	52	2	4	Plaid Cymru 1 Progressive Labour 1 Ratepayers 1	Labour

Greater London Council

Main article: 1973 Greater London Council election

Conservative	Labour	Liberal	Independent	Other	Control	Details
32	58	2	0	0	Labour	Details

Metropolitan districts

District	County	Conservative	Labour	Liberal	Independent	Other	Control	Details
Barnsley	South Yorkshire	0	57	0	1	Independent Labour 1 Democratic Labour 1	Labour	Details
Birmingham	West Midlands	44	73	9	0	0	Labour	Details
Bolton	Greater Manchester	35	31	2	1	0	Conservative	Details
Bradford	West Yorkshire	53	31	9	0	0	Conservative	Details
Bury	Greater Manchester	21	20	7	0	0	NOC	Details
Calderdale	West Yorkshire	18	28	5	0	0	Labour	Details
Coventry	West Midlands	12	42	0	0	0	Labour	Details
Doncaster	South Yorkshire	12	43	0	4	Democratic Labour 1	Labour	Details
Dudley	West Midlands	24	40	1	1	Independent Labour 1	Labour	Details
Gateshead	Tyne and Wear	6	71	0	0	Rent and Ratepayers 1	Labour	Details
Kirklees	West Yorkshire	18	45	8	1	0	Labour	Details
Knowsley	Merseyside	6	52	4	0	Kirkby Householders Federation 1	Labour	Details
Leeds	West Yorkshire	38	44	14	0	0	NOC	Details
Liverpool	Merseyside	9	42	48	0	0	NOC(1)	Details
Manchester	Greater Manchester	40	59	0	0	0	Labour	Details
Newcastle upon Tyne	Tyne and Wear	23	51	1	3	0	Labour	Details
North Tyneside	Tyne and Wear	19	48	7	4	0	Labour	Details
Oldham	Greater Manchester	6	42	5	1	3 Vacancies	Labour	Details
Rochdale	Greater Manchester	14	37	9	0	0	Labour	Details
Rotherham	South Yorkshire	3	50	0	1	0	Labour	Details
St Helens	Merseyside	9	36	0	0	0	Labour	Details
Salford	Greater Manchester	15	50	1	0	0	Labour	Details
Sandwell	West Midlands	24	66	0	0	0	Labour	Details
Sefton	Merseyside	37	24	3	2	Ratepayers 3	Conservative	Details
Sheffield	South Yorkshire	18	69	3	0	0	Labour	Details
Solihull	West Midlands	28	12	2	9	0	Conservative	Details
South Tyneside	Tyne and Wear	3	45	0	0	Progressive 18	Labour	Details
Stockport	Greater Manchester	27	16	13	4	0	NOC (Conservative-Independent)	Details
Sunderland	Tyne and Wear	21	56	0	1	0	Labour	Details
Tameside	Greater Manchester	14	38	2	0	0	Labour	Details
Trafford	Greater Manchester	32	16	12	0	0	Conservative	Details
Wakefield	West Yorkshire	6	58	0	1	1	Labour	Details
Walsall	West Midlands	11	44	0	2	Ratepayers 3	Labour	Details
Wigan	Greater Manchester	5	66	0	1	0	Labour	Details
Wirral	Merseyside	29	24	13	0	0	NOC	Details
Wolverhampton	West Midlands	20	40	0	0	0	Labour	Details

⁽¹⁾ A minority Liberal administration was formed

Welsh Districts

District	County	Conservative	Labour	Liberal	Plaid Cymru	Independent	Other	Control
Aberconwy	Gwynedd	4	3	0	0	34	0	Independent
Alyn-Dee	Clwyd	9	25	4	0	7	0	Labour
Afan	West Glamorgan	0	21	0	0	0	Tenants Association 3 Ratepayers 5 Unofficial Labour 1	Labour
Arfon	Gwynedd	0	8	0	5	27	0	Independent
Blaenau Gwent	Gwent	0	31	3	1	1	Independent Labour 7 Ratepayers 7 Tenants and Residents 1	Labour
Brecknock	Powys	4	17	1	0	29	0	Independent
Cardiff	South Glamorgan	33	42	0	0	0	0	Labour
Carmarthen	Dyfed	0	7	0	0	28	Ratepayers 1	Independent
Ceredigion	Dyfed	0	4	9	0	30	0	Independent
Colwyn	Clwyd	1	0	10	0	22	0	Independent
Cynon Valley	Mid Glamorgan	0	23	0	12	0	3	Labour
Delyn	Clwyd	1	11	0	2	26	0	Independent
Dinefwr	Dyfed	0	17	1	0	13	Independent Socialist 1	Labour
Dwyfor	Gwynedd	0	0	0	1	28	0	Independent
Glyndŵr	Clwyd	0	3	0	0	30	0	Independent
Islwyn	Gwent	0	30	0	2	3	Communist 1	Labour
Llanelli	Dyfed	0	29	0	0	4	0	Labour
Lliw Valley	West Glamorgan	0	27	0	2	3	0	Labour
Meirionydd	Gwynedd	0	0	0	0	39	0	Independent
Merthyr Tydfil	Mid Glamorgan	0	25	0	4	1	3	Labour
Monmouth	Gwent	29	9	0	0	1	0	Conservative
Montgomery	Powys	0	2	3	0	44	0	Independent
Neath	West Glamorgan	0	24	0	2	2	Ratepayers 1 4 Vacancies	Labour
Newport	Gwent	8	36	2	0	5	0	Labour
Ogwr	Mid Glamorgan	6	42	1	1	3	Ratepayers 3 Independent Labour 1	Labour
Preseli	Dyfed	0	0	0	0	43	0	Independent
Radnor	Powys	0	0	0	0	31	0	Independent
Rhondda	Mid Glamorgan	0	30	0	1	0	Ratepayers 1 Communist 1	Labour
Rhuddlan	Clwyd	9	4	1	0	22	0	Independent
Rhymney Valley	Mid Glamorgan	0	38	0	4	2	Ratepayers 4	Labour
South Pembrokeshire	Dyfed	0	0	0	1	30	0	Independent
Swansea	West Glamorgan	12	30	1	0	3	Independent Ratepayers 3 Ratepayers 2	Labour
Taff-Ely	Mid Glamorgan	0	30	4	2	7	Ratepayers 4	Labour
Torfaen	Gwent	0	36	0	0	2	Communist 2 Rent and Ratepayers 3	Labour
Vale of Glamorgan	South Glamorgan	15	23	0	0	11	0	NOC (Conservative-Independent)
Wrexham Maelor	Clwyd	4	24	2	1	14	0	Labour
Ynys Môn (Anglesey)	Gwynedd	0	4	0	0	41	0	Independent

Non-metropolitan Districts

A

District	County	Conservative	Labour	Liberal	Independent	Other	Control	Details
Adur	West Sussex	13	6	16	0	Shoreham Beach Residents Association 4	NOC	Details
Allerdale	Cumbria	4	25	0	27	0	NOC (Independent-Conservative)	Details
Alnwick	Northumberland	0	4	0	24	0	Independent	Details
Amber Valley	Derbyshire	4	32	3	0	21	Labour	Details
Arun	West Sussex	33	4	4	5	1	Conservative	Details
Ashfield	Nottinghamshire	1	52	0	2	0	Labour	Details
Ashford	Kent	22	8	10	4	0	NOC (Conservative-Independent)	Details
Aylesbury Vale	Buckinghamshire	10	12	1	31	0	Independent	Details

B

District	County	Conservative	Labour	Liberal	Independent	Other	Control	Details
Babergh	Suffolk	7	11	0	20	0	Independent	Details
Barrow-in-Furness	Cumbria	6	25	0	2	0	Labour	Details
Basildon	Essex	9	31	0	0	6	Labour	Details
Basingstoke	Hampshire	18	14	3	20	0	NOC (Independent-Conservative)	Details
Bassetlaw	Nottinghamshire	11	29	0	10	1	Labour	Details
Bath	Avon	19	17	9	0	0	NOC	Details
Beaconsfield	Buckinghamshire	27	1	3	9	2	Conservative	Details
Bedford	Bedfordshire	20	22	2	12	0	NOC (Conservative-Independent)	Details
Berwick-upon-Tweed	Northumberland	0	2	0	26	0	Independent	Details
Beverley	Humberside	16	1	7	36	0	Independent	Details
Blaby	Leicestershire	8	0	7	20	0	Independent	Details
Blackburn	Lancashire	19	27	11	3	0	NOC	Details
Blackpool	Lancashire	40	10	3	3	0	Conservative	Details
Blyth Valley	Northumberland	5	29	12	12	2	Labour	Details
Bolsover	Derbyshire	1	28	0	4	3	Labour	Details
Boothferry	Humberside	4	5	0	26	0	Independent	Details
Boston	Lincolnshire	9	5	5	15	0	NOC (Independent-Conservative)	Details
Bosworth	Leicestershire	4	14	8	13	0	NOC	Details
Bournemouth	Dorset	38	14	3	2	0	Conservative	Details
Bracknell	Berkshire	9	17	1	1	Ratepayers 3	Labour	Details
Braintree	Essex	14	19	1	21	Ratepayers 1	NOC (Independent-Conservative)	Details
Breckland	Norfolk	19	10	0	21	Independent Conservative 1	NOC (Independent-Conservative)	Details
Brentwood	Essex	24	11	1	2	0	Conservative	Details
Bridgnorth	Salop	0	0	1	31	0	Independent	Details
Brighton	East Sussex	31	28	0	0	0	Conservative	Details
Bristol	Avon	25	56	3	0	0	Labour	Details
Broadland	Norfolk	19	6	0	24	0	NOC (Independent-Conservative)	Details
Bromsgrove	Hereford and Worcester	25	13	0	0	Ratepayers 4	Conservative	Details
Broxbourne	Hertfordshire	28	12	0	0	0	Conservative	Details
Broxtowe	Nottinghamshire	24	20	0	1	Socialist Independent 1	Conservative	Details
Burnley	Lancashire	12	39	1	2	0	Labour	Details

C

District	County	Conservative	Labour	Liberal	Independent	Other	Control	Details
Cambridge	Cambridgeshire	11	26	5	0	0	Labour	Details
Cannock Chase	Staffordshire	1	36	0	0	0	Labour	Details
Canterbury	Kent	34	5	2	5	Ratepayers 3	0	Details
Caradon	Cornwall	0	0	0	41	0	Independent	Details
Carlisle	Cumbria	12	25	1	10	0	Labour	Details
Carrick	Cornwall	4	5	4	32	0	Independent	Details
Castle Morpeth	Northumberland	11	7	2	13	Ratepayers 1	NOC (Independent-Conservative)	Details
Castle Point	Essex	19	20	0	0	0	Labour	Details
Charnwood	Leicestershire	28	14	5	13	0	NOC (Conservative-Independent)	Details
Chelmsford	Essex	31	16	8	5	0	Conservative	Details
Cheltenham	Gloucestershire	21	7	4	2	Ratepayers 2	Conservative	Details
Cherwell	Oxfordshire	15	16	0	14	0	NOC (Conservative-Independent)	Details
Chester	Cheshire	43	15	0	4	0	Conservative	Details
Chesterfield	Derbyshire	7	45	2	0	0	Labour	Details
Chester-le-Street	Durham	0	23	6	4	0	Labour	Details
Chichester	West Sussex	18	1	6	22	Residents 3	NOC	Details
Chiltern	Buckinghamshire	26	11	0	7	Ratepayers 3 Residents 4	Conservative	Details
Chorley	Lancashire	17	21	0	7	Independent Labour 2	NOC	Details
Christchurch	Dorset	10	4	5	1	0	NOC (Conservative-Independent)	Details
Cleethorpes	Humberside	9	14	6	19	0	NOC (Independent-Conservative)	Details
Colchester	Essex	28	27	1	4	0	NOC (Conservative-Independent)	Details
Congleton	Cheshire	20	12	1	11	Ratepayers 1	NOC	Details
Copeland	Cumbria	6	30	0	12	0	Labour	Details
Corby	Northamptonshire	1	29	0	2	Independent Socialist 1	Labour	Details
Cotswold	Gloucestershire	1	2	0	42	0	Independent	Details
Craven	North Yorkshire	14	6	9	6	0	NOC (Conservative-Independent)	Details
Crawley	West Sussex	5	25	0	1	Ratepayers 1	Labour	Details
Crewe	Cheshire	2	35	2	21	0	Labour	Details

D

District	County	Conservative	Labour	Liberal	Independent	Other	Control	Details
Dacorum	Hertfordshire	26	33	0	3	0	Labour	Details
Darlington	Durham	8	28	8	5	0	Labour	Details
Dartford	Kent	14	30	0	0	0	Labour	Details
Daventry	Northamptonshire	16	9	0	10	0	NOC (Conservative-Independent)	Details
Derby	Derbyshire	14	34	6	0	0	Labour	Details
Derwentside	Durham	1	45	5	3	3	Labour	Details
Dover	Kent	29	21	0	5	0	Conservative	Details
Durham	Durham	0	40	7	14	0	Labour	Details

E

District	County	Conservative	Labour	Liberal	Independent	Other	Control	Details
Easington	Durham	0	56	0	3	Independent Labour 1	Labour	Details
Eastbourne	East Sussex	10	4	19	0	0	Liberal	Details
East Cambridgeshire	Cambridgeshire	0	1	0	33	1 Vacancy	Independent	Details
East Devon	Devon	14	1	3	42	0	Independent	Details
East Hertfordshire	Hertfordshire	16	10	0	16	6	NOC (Conservative-Independent)	Details
Eastleigh	Hampshire	13	20	5	4	0	NOC	Details
East Lindsey	Lincolnshire	5	1	3	5	Independent Conservative 2 Others 42	Non Party	Details
East Northamptonshire	Northamptonshire	5	14	0	0	17	NOC	Details
East Staffordshire	Staffordshire	22	24	0	14	0	NOC (Conservative-Independent)	Details
Eden	Cumbria	0	0	0	37	0	Independent	Details
Ellesmere Port	Cheshire	14	27	0	1	0	Labour	Details
Elmbridge	Surrey	39	7	5	0	Ratepayers 14	Conservative	Details
Epping Forest	Essex	44	10	0	5	0	Conservative	Details
Epsom and Ewell	Surrey	0	3	0	0	Ratepayers 37	Ratepayers	Details
Erewash	Derbyshire	9	36	5	4	0	Labour	Details
Exeter	Devon	14	13	6	1	0	NOC

F

District	County	Conservative	Labour	Liberal	Independent	Other	Control	Details
Fareham	Hampshire	16	2	5	2	Ratepayers 11	NOC (Conservative-Ratepayers)	Details
Fenland	Cambridgeshire	18	8	0	14	0	NOC (Conservative-Independent)	Details
Forest Heath	Suffolk	12	0	0	3	Others 9 1 Vacancy	NOC (Conservative-Independent)	Details
Forest of Dean	Gloucestershire	0	21	1	25	0	NOC	Details
Fylde	Lancashire	28	2	2	4	Others 9	Conservative	Details

G

District	County	Conservative	Labour	Liberal	Independent	Other	Control	Details
Gedling	Nottinghamshire	32	19	0	0	Independent Ratepayers 4	Conservative	Details
Gillingham	Kent	13	14	8	0	0	NOC	Details
Glanford	Humberside	0	1	0	33	0	Independent	Details
Gloucester	Gloucestershire	21	12	0	0	0	Conservative	Details
Gosport	Hampshire	9	19	0	2	Ratepayers 1	Labour	Details
Gravesham	Kent	15	28	0	0	Ratepayers 1	Labour	Details
Great Yarmouth	Norfolk	26	17	2	3	0	Conservative	Details
Grimsby	Humberside	14	20	7	1	0	NOC	Details
Guildford	Surrey	29	6	5	2	0	Conservative	Details

H

District	County	Conservative	Labour	Liberal	Independent	Other	Control	Details
Halton	Cheshire	8	30	1	3	Moderate Party 1	Labour	Details
Hambleton	North Yorkshire	4	1	1	42	0	Independent	Details
Harborough	Leicestershire	37	28	2	0	0	Conservative	Details
Harlow	Essex	0	38	4	0	0	Labour	Details
Harrogate	North Yorkshire	35	2	15	7	1 Vacancy	Conservative	Details
Hartlepool	Cleveland	15	30	0	1	0	Labour	Details
Hartley Wintney	Hampshire	7	0	0	23	3	Independent	Details
Hastings	East Sussex	12	11	9	1	0	NOC	Details
Havant	Hampshire	8	8	10	4	Ratepayers 12	NOC	Details
Hereford	Hereford and Worcester	0	10	8	3	Independent Conservative 3	NOC	Details
Hertsmere	Hertfordshire	25	17	13	0	0	NOC	Details
High Peak	Derbyshire	23	11	2	10	0	NOC (Conservative-Independent)	Details
Holderness	Humberside	0	0	0	29	0	Independent	Details
Horsham	West Sussex	18	0	2	23	0	Independent	Details
Hove	East Sussex	24	6	0	3	3 Vacancies	Conservative	Details
Huntingdon	Cambridgeshire	15	9	0	26	0	Independent	Details
Hyndburn	Lancashire	21	24	3	0	0	NOC	Details

I

District	County	Conservative	Labour	Liberal	Independent	Other	Control	Details
Ipswich	Suffolk	11	36	0	0	0	Labour	Details

K

District	County	Conservative	Labour	Liberal	Independent	Other	Control	Details
Kennet	Wiltshire	7	0	2	28	0	Independent	Details
Kerrier	Cornwall	5	3	0	34	0	Independent	Details
Kettering	Northamptonshire	14	16	7	8	0	NOC	Details
Kingston-upon-Hull	Humberside	8	55	0	0	0	Labour	Details
Kingswood	Avon	4	19	6	6	10	NOC	Details

L

District	County	Conservative	Labour	Liberal	Independent	Other	Control	Details
Lancaster	Lancashire	32	18	1	6	Ratepayers 3	Conservative	Details
Langbaurgh	Cleveland	27	32	0	5	0	NOC	Details
Leicester	Leicestershire	11	37	0	0	0	Labour	Details
Leominster	Hereford and Worcester	1	2	0	33	0	Independent	Details
Lewes	East Sussex	26	10	0	6	Ratepayers 5	Conservative	Details
Lichfield	Staffordshire	17	25	0	11	Ratepayers 1	NOC	Details
Lincoln	Lincolnshire	6	1	0	3	Democratic Labour 20	Democratic Labour	Details
Luton	Bedfordshire	12	30	6	0	0	Labour	Details

M

District	County	Conservative	Labour	Liberal	Independent	Other	Control	Details
Macclesfield	Cheshire	25	10	10	12	Ratepayers 5	NOC	Details
Maidstone	Kent	13	12	19	9	7	NOC	Details
Maldon	Essex	9	4	3	14	0	NOC	Details
Malvern Hills	Hereford and Worcester	1	2	11	8	23	NOC	Details
Mansfield	Nottinghamshire	7	38	0	0	0	Labour	Details
Medina	Isle of Wight	3	10	4	13	Ratepayers 3	NOC	Details
Medway	Kent	22	32	5	0	0	Labour	Details
Melton	Leicestershire	12	2	0	6	4	NOC	Details
Mendip	Somerset	11	7	2	23	1 Vacancy	Independent	Details
Mid Bedfordshire	Bedfordshire	5	8	1	35	0	Independent	Details
Mid Suffolk	Suffolk	6	9	1	24	0	Independent	Details
Mid Sussex	West Sussex	25	3	5	21	0	NOC (Conservative-Independent)	Details
Middlesbrough	Cleveland	17	39	0	0	0	Labour	Details
Milton Keynes	Buckinghamshire	8	27	0	5	0	Labour	Details
Mole Valley	Surrey	16	3	5	9	Residents 9	NOC	Details

N

District	County	Conservative	Labour	Liberal	Independent	Other	Control	Details
Newark	Nottinghamshire	20	29	0	3	0	Labour	Details
Newbury	Berkshire	10	1	24	22	0	NOC	Details
Newcastle-under-Lyme	Staffordshire	15	31	2	14	0	NOC	Details
New Forest	Hampshire	12	1	5	37	3	Independent	Details
Northampton	Northamptonshire	23	25	0	0	0	Labour	Details
Northavon	Avon	26	19	1	1	Residents Association 1 2 Vacancies	NOC	Details
North Cornwall	Cornwall	0	0	3	23	0	Independent	Details
North Devon	Devon	0	1	15	28	0	Independent	Details
North Dorset	Dorset	0	0	4	27	0	Independent	Details
North East Derbyshire	Derbyshire	10	32	0	9	0	Labour	Details
North Hertfordshire	Hertfordshire	23	17	0	7	Ratepayers 1	NOC	Details
North Kesteven	Lincolnshire	8	2	0	27	0	Independent	Details
North Shropshire	Shropshire	0	1	2	36	0	Independent	Details
North Warwickshire	Warwickshire	8	19	0	4	Ratepayers 2	Labour	Details
North West Leicestershire	Leicestershire	8	25	0	10	0	Labour	Details
North Wiltshire	Wiltshire	24	4	7	11	0	Conservative	Details
North Wolds	Humberside	3	2	1	37	0	Independent	Details
Norwich	Norfolk	11	37	0	0	0	Labour	Details
Nottingham	Nottinghamshire	10	44	0	0	0	Labour	Details
Nuneaton	Warwickshire	7	26	2	0	0	Labour	Details

O

District	County	Conservative	Labour	Liberal	Independent	Other	Control	Details
Oadby and Wigston	Leicestershire	18	7	5	3	0	Conservative	Details
Oswestry	Shropshire	0	1	3	18	0	Independent	Details
Oxford	Oxfordshire	12	30	3	0	0	Labour	Details

P

District	County	Conservative	Labour	Liberal	Independent	Other	Control	Details
Pastonacres	Norfolk	6	4	0	37	0	Independent	Details
Pendle	Lancashire	6	19	23	2	7	NOC	Details
Penwith	Cornwall	0	1	1	38	0	Independent	Details
Peterborough	Cambridgeshire	19	28	1	0	0	Labour	Details
Petersfield	Hampshire	16	6	0	20	0	NOC	Details
Plymouth	Devon	37	29	0	0	0	Conservative	Details
Poole	Dorset	22	3	9	2	0	Conservative	Details
Portsmouth	Hampshire	28	17	0	3	0	Conservative	Details
Preston	Lancashire	19	38	0	0	0	Labour	Details
Purbeck	Dorset	5	3	0	13	0	Independent	Details

R

District	County	Conservative	Labour	Liberal	Independent	Other	Control	Details
Reading	Berkshire	16	16	14		0	NOC	Details
Redditch	Hereford and Worcester	6	19	0	0	0	NOC	Details
Reigate and Banstead	Surrey	29	15	4	2	0	Conservative	Details
Restormel	Cornwall	0	0	2	36	0	Independent	Details
Ribble Valley	Lancashire	30	1	0	7	0	Conservative	Details
Richmondshire	North Yorkshire	0	0	0	35	0	Independent	Details
Rochford	Essex	19	12	1	8	0	NOC	Details
Rossendale	Lancashire	17	15	4	0	0	NOC	Details
Rother	East Sussex	9	5	1	30	0	Independent	Details
Rugby	Warwickshire	22	18	3	2	Ratepayers 3	NOC	Details
Runnymede	Surrey	23	15	0	2	0	Conservative	Details
Rushcliffe	Nottinghamshire	42	3	0	3	1	Conservative	Details
Rushmoor	Hampshire	20	9	7	0	Ratepayers 7	NOC	Details
Rutland	Leicestershire	0	0	0	20	0	Independent	Details
Ryedale	North Yorkshire	0	5	0	40	0	Independent	Details

S

District	County	Conservative	Labour	Liberal	Independent	Other	Control	Details
St Albans	Hertfordshire	32	14	7	1	0	Conservative	Details
St Edmundsbury	Suffolk	26	11	0	6	Independent Conservative 1	Conservative	Details
Salisbury	Wiltshire	16	13	8	17	Ratepayers 2 2 Vacancies	NOC	Details
Scarborough	North Yorkshire	15	5	11	16	1 Vacancy	NOC	Details
Scunthorpe	Humberside	4	35	0	0	Independent Labour 1	Labour	Details
Sedgefield	Durham	1	40	4	8	0	Labour	Details
Sedgemoor	Somerset	19	14	3	12	0	NOC	Details
Selby	North Yorkshire	16	7	0	20	1 Vacancy	Independent	Details
Sevenoaks	Kent	28	6	6	14	0	Conservative	Details
Shepway	Kent	33	12	1	8	0	Conservative	Details
Shrewsbury	Shropshire	12	15	7	11	0	NOC	Details
Slough	Berkshire	2	34	4	0	0	Labour	Details
South Bedfordshire	Bedfordshire	17	13	8	7	0	NOC	Details
South Cambridgeshire	Cambridgeshire	0	7	3	43	0	Independent	Details
South Derbyshire	Derbyshire	4	18	0	13	0	Labour	Details
South Hams	Devon	2	0	0	40	0	Independent	Details
South Herefordshire	Hereford and Worcester	1	0	0	35	0	Independent	Details
South Holland	Lincolnshire	6	2	0	27	0	Independent	Details
South Kesteven	Lincolnshire	13	12	0	9	21	NOC	Details
South Lakeland	Cumbria	7	2	7	37	Independent Conservative 1	Independent	Details
South Norfolk	Norfolk	6	7	1	33	0	Independent	Details
South Northamptonshire	Northamptonshire	15	2	2	17	0	NOC (Independent-Conservative)	Details
South Ribble	Lancashire	30	16	2	1	0	Conservative	Details
South Shropshire	Shropshire	0	0	1	35	0	Independent	Details
South Staffordshire	Staffordshire	22	8	1	15	2	NOC (Conservative-Independent)	Details
South Wight	Isle of Wight	1	0	1	22	0	Independent	Details
Southampton	Hampshire	20	31	0	0	0	Labour	Details
Southend-on-Sea	Essex	24	13	11	0	0	NOC	Details
Spelthorne	Surrey	39	13	0	0	0	Conservative	Details
Stafford	Staffordshire	18	15	0	23	Independent Labour 1	NOC	Details
Staffordshire Moorlands	Staffordshire	12	14	2	26	0	NOC (Independent minority)	Details
Stevenage	Hertfordshire	3	31	0	0	0	Labour	Details
Stockton-on-Tees	Cleveland	25	33	0	2	0	Labour	Details
Stoke-on-Trent	Staffordshire	8	60	3	1	0	Labour	Details
Stratford-on-Avon	Warwickshire	15	2	5	32	0	Independent	Details
Stroud	Gloucestershire	14	14 (Including 2 Labour & Co-Operative)	8	17	3 Vacancies	NOC	Details
Suffolk Coastal	Suffolk	27	9	0	18	Independent Conservative 1	NOC	Details
Surrey Heath	Surrey	35	0	0	1	0	Conservative	Details
Swale	Kent	17	25	3	5	0	NOC	Details

T

District	County	Conservative	Labour	Liberal	Independent	Other	Control	Details
Tamworth	Staffordshire	0	18	0	6	0	Labour	Details
Tandridge	Surrey	26	3	10	3	0	Conservative	Details
Taunton Deane	Somerset	21	14	0	13	0	NOC	Details
Teesdale	Durham	0	0	0	29	0	Independent	Details
Teignbridge	Devon	0	7	0	48	Independent Trade Unionist 1	Independent	Details
Tendring	Essex	31	4	11	11	Ratepayers 3	Conservative	Details
Test Valley	Hampshire	10	5	7	21	0	NOC	Details
Tewkesbury	Gloucestershire	22	0	3	26	0	Independent	Details
Thamesdown	Wiltshire	18	26	0	2	0	Labour	Details
Thanet	Kent	33	14	5	11	0	Conservative	Details
Three Rivers	Hertfordshire	19	12	13	0	0	NOC	Details
Thurrock	Essex	13	33	0	3	0	Labour	Details
Tiverton	Devon	0	3	5	32	0	Independent	Details
Tonbridge and Malling	Kent	30	11	8	4	0	Conservative	Details
Torbay	Devon	30	6	0	0	0	Conservative	Details
Torridge	Devon	0	1	6	29	0	Independent	Details
Tunbridge Wells	Kent	29	7	2	9	0	Conservative	Details
Tynedale	Northumberland	4	10	3	25	3	Independent	Details

U

District	County	Conservative	Labour	Liberal	Independent	Other	Control	Details
Uttlesford	Essex	21	7	2	12	0	NOC (Conservative-Independent)	Details

V

District	County	Conservative	Labour	Liberal	Independent	Other	Control	Details
Vale of White Horse	Oxfordshire	27	8	3	10	0	Conservative	Details
Vale Royal	Cheshire	10	16	6	25	0	NOC (Independent-Conservative)	Details

W

District	County	Conservative	Labour	Liberal	Independent	Other	Control	Details
Wallingford	Oxfordshire	25	9	7	20	Progressive Independent 1	NOC (Conservative-Independent)	Details
Wansbeck	Northumberland	0	44	0	1	0	Labour	Details
Wansdyke	Avon	12	22	0	11	0	NOC (Conservative-Independent)	Details
Warrington	Cheshire	32	22	3	3	0	Conservative	Details
Warwick	Warwickshire	26	25	7	0	0	NOC	Details
Watford	Hertfordshire	9	21	6	0	0	Labour	Details
Waveney	Suffolk	22	27	5	2	0	NOC	Details
Waverley	Surrey	28	2	25	6	0	NOC	Details
Wealden	East Sussex	25	1	2	23	5	NOC (Conservative-Independent)	Details
Wear Valley	Durham	0	21	9	10	People's Representative 1	Labour	Details
Wellingborough	Northamptonshire	14	13	0	5	Ratepayers 1	NOC	Details
Welwyn Hatfield	Hertfordshire	19	24	0	0	0	Labour	Details
West Derbyshire	Derbyshire	18	5	4	13	0	NOC (Conservative-Independent)	Details
West Devon	Devon	0	0	0	30	0	Independent	Details
West Dorset	Dorset	0	2	9	44	0	Independent	Details
West Lancashire	Lancashire	10	23	3	14	0	NOC	Details
West Lindsey	Lincolnshire	1	5	6	25	0	Independent	Details
West Norfolk	Norfolk	14	22	0	24	0	NOC (Independent-Conservative)	Details
West Oxfordshire	Oxfordshire	1	7	1	35	Independent Liberal 1	Independent	Details
West Somerset	Somerset	3	1	1	27	0	Independent	Details
West Wiltshire	Wiltshire	13	10	2	17	0	NOC (Independent-Conservative)	Details
Weymouth and Portland	Dorset	18	21	0	0	0	Labour	Details
Wimborne	Dorset	2	0	9	21	1 Vacancy	Independent	Details
Winchester	Hampshire	14	5	5	25	Ratepayers 1 Tenants 1	NOC (Conservative-Independent)	Details
Windsor and Maidenhead	Berkshire	53	3	0	3	0	Conservative	Details
Woking	Surrey	19	12	1	0	0	Conservative	Details
Wokingham	Berkshire	23	0	13	15	Ratepayers 1	NOC (Conservative-Independent)	Details
Woodspring	Avon	40	10	3	8	0	Conservative	Details
Worcester	Hereford and Worcester	18	18	0	0	0	NOC	Details
Worthing	West Sussex	17	1	0	12	0	Conservative	Details
Wrekin	Shropshire	8	32	0	14	Independent Labour 1	Labour	Details
Wychavon	Hereford and Worcester	10	4	2	29	0	Independent	Details
Wycombe	Buckinghamshire	30	12	3	10	4	Conservative	Details
Wyre	Lancashire	45	2	0	8	0	Conservative	Details
Wyre Forest	Hereford and Worcester	30	20	9	1	Ratepayers 2	NOC	Details

Y

District	County	Conservative	Labour	Liberal	Independent	Other	Control	Details
Yeovil	Somerset	20	8	2	30	0	NOC (Independent-Conservative)	Details
York	North Yorkshire	17	17	5	0	0	NOC	Details

Future elections

The next county council elections took place in 1977.

Future elections to Metropolitan District councils were to be by thirds, with the one third of seats being elected in 1975.

The next election of non-metropolitan district councils and Welsh district councils was to in 1976.

Northern Ireland

Main article: Northern Ireland local elections, 1973

Local government in Northern Ireland was reorganised in 1973 by the Local Government (Boundaries) Act (Northern Ireland) 1971 and the Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) 1972. The county councils, county borough and municipal borough corporations and urban and rural district councils were replaced by twenty-six Local Government districts. Elections took place for all the seats on the district councils on 30 May, and the councils came into their power in 1 October.

District	Official Unionist	Democratic Unionist	Vanguard Unionist	Loyalist Coalition	Independent Unionist	SDLP	Republican Clubs	Nationalist and Unity Parties	Alliance	Northern Ireland Labour Party	Others	Control
Antrim	8	1	1	0	1	1	0	0	2	0	Independent 2	NOC (Unionist)
Ards	11	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	2	1	Independent 1	Official Unionist
Armagh	10	2	0	0	1	4	1	0	1	0	Independent 1	NOC (Unionist)
Ballymena	9	5	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	Independent 2 Non-Party 3	NOC (Unionist)
Ballymoney	4	1	0	2	2	0	0	0	0	1	Independent 1 Non-Party 5	NOC
Banbridge	8	0	0	0	3	1	0	0	0	0	Independent 3	NOC (Unionist)
Belfast	25	2	1	0	2	7	2	0	8	2	Unionist Loyalist 2	NOC (Unionist)
Carrickfergus	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	Unionist Loyalist 5 Loyalist 1 Non-Party 1	NOC (Unionist)
Castlereagh	8	0	0	1	2	0	0	0	5	0	Unionist Loyalist 2 Independent 1	NOC (Unionist)
Coleraine	12	0	0	0	2	1	0	0	3	0	Independent 1 Non-party 1	Official Unionist
Cookstown	7	0	0	1	1	3	1	0	0	0	Independent 1 Non-Party 1	NOC (Unionist)
Craigavon	7	3	2	3	3	2	0	0	4	0	Independent 1	NOC (Unionist)
Down	8	0	1	0	0	8	0	0	2	0	Independent 1	NOC
Dungannon	11	0	0	0	0	5	0	Unity 2 Republican 2	0	0	0	Official Unionist
Fermanagh	5	0	0	0	3	4	0	Unity 4	0	0	Independent 1 Unionist Unity 2 Non-Party 1	NOC
Larne	1	0	0	8	0	0	0	0	3	0	Independent 2 Non-Party 1	Loyalist
Limavady	0	0	0	0	0	4	0	0	2	0	United Unionists 8 Independent 1	United Unionists
Lisburn	14	4	1	0	0	1	0	0	3	0	0	Official Unionist
Londonderry	0	0	0	United Loyalists 9	0	10	1	Nationalist 3	0	0	0	NOC (Nationalist)
Magherafelt	4	0	1	United Loyalist 1	0	6	1	0	0	0	Independent 1	NOC
Moyle	4	0	0	0	1	2	0	0	0	0	Independent 5 Non-Party 4	NOC
Newry and Mourne	3	0	0	0	0	13	2	0	0	0	Non-Party 6 Independent 2	NOC
Newtownabbey	9	3	0	0	Unionist 3 United Loyalist 1 Loyalist 1	0	0	0	3	1	0	NOC (Unionist)
North Down	9	0	0	Loyalist 3	0	0	0	7	0	0	0	NOC
Omagh	6	0	0	0	Unionist Unity 2	4	0	Nationalist 1 Official Republican 1	0	0	3 Non-Party Community	NOC
Strabane	6	0	0	Unionist Coalition 1	0	4	0	0	0	0	Independent 2	NOC

Scotland

Main article: Scottish local elections, 1973

Local elections were also held in Scotland in 1973. At the time of the election, Scotland was the only part of the UK in which local government had yet to be reformed, with the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 only receiving Royal Assent in October 1973. The election saw Labour maintaining their control of Aberdeen, Glasgow, and Dundee, although failing to make gains in Edinburgh.