1968 Leeds City Council election

The 1968 Leeds municipal election was held on 9 May 1968.^[1] Following extensive boundary changes, the whole council was up for election. The re-warding increased the number of wards by two, up to 32 wards, raising in-turn the councillor total by six, to 90, and the aldermen total up two to 30.^[2]^[3]

In total ten wards were abolished, twelve created and eighteen remained.

Abolished:

Allerton
Blenheim
Cross Gates
Far Headingley
Hunslet Carr
Hyde Park
Meanwood
Potternewton
Wellington
Westfield

Created:

Burley
Castleton
Chapel Allerton
Cookridge
Gipton
Headingley
Scott Hall
Seacroft
Talbot
Weetwood
West Hunslet
Whinmoor

The election followed national patterns^[1] of the Conservatives inflicting resounding defeats upon the Labour party, winning representation in all but five wards with a crushing 75 seats at the hand of their highest vote since 1951 and a record vote share.^[2] Labour representation was confined to City, East Hunslet, Holbeck and Middleton (although coming within a straw for the third seat in Whinmoor) as they picked up their lowest post-war vote and vote share. The Labour collapse also seen the smaller party make gains, as the Liberals won representation on the council for the first time in the post-war period^[4] via comfortably winning the three newly created Castleton seats and the Communists, who fielded a full-slate for the first and only time, more than tripled their previous records in both vote share and vote figure.^[2]

As a result, the Conservatives gained control of the council for the first time since 1952, with a whopping majority of 80.^[4]

Election result

Leeds Local Election Result 1968
	Seats	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
Conservative	75	83.3	61.3	77,221	N/A
Labour	12	13.3	27.9	35,200	N/A
Liberal	3	3.3	4.5	5,672	N/A
Communist	0	0.0	6.1	7,664	N/A
Independent Labour	0	0.0	0.1	176	N/A
National Front	0	0.0	0.1	115	N/A

The result had the following consequences for the total number of seats on the Council after the elections:^[3]

Party		Previous council		New council
Party		Cllr	Ald	Cllr	Ald
	Conservatives	43	9	75	25
	Labour	41	19	12	5
	Liberals	0	0	3	0
Total		84	28	90	30
Total		112		120
Working majority		2	-10	60	20
Working majority		-8		80

Ward results

Armley^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	B. Stockwell	2,767	54.3	N/A
	Conservative	H. Stephenson	2,765
	Conservative	G. Atkinson	2,711
	Labour	J. Bissell	1,879	36.9	N/A
	Labour	K. Cohen	1,859
	Labour	S. Lee	1,656
	Communist	P. Wilton	451	8.8	N/A
Majority			832	17.4	N/A
Turnout			5,097		N/A
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)

Beeston^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	J. Farrell	3,208	66.3	N/A
	Conservative	L. Snape	3,196
	Conservative	A. Hartley	3,180
	Labour	F. Beevers	1,455	30.1	N/A
	Labour	Harold Watson	1,276
	Labour	G. Wood	1,257
	Communist	E. Moore	172	3.6	N/A
Majority			1,725	36.3	N/A
Turnout			4,835		N/A
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)

Bramley^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	J. Hart	2,892	57.2	N/A
	Conservative	D. Armitage	2,730
	Conservative	M. Robinson	2,697
	Labour	Eric Atkinson	1,782	35.2	N/A
	Labour	M. Chadwick	1,537
	Labour	E. Donohoe	1,306
	Communist	C. Moore	383	7.6	N/A
Majority			915	22.0	N/A
Turnout			5,057		N/A
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)

Burley^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	P. Brown	2,318	61.9	N/A
	Conservative	M. Davies	2,284
	Conservative	D. Ramsden	2,256
	Labour	V. Whelan	1,197	32.0	N/A
	Labour	H. Waterman	1,170
	Labour	K. Beaumont	1,136
	Communist	T. Flynn	230	6.1	N/A
Majority			1,059	29.9	N/A
Turnout			3,745		N/A
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)

Burmantofts^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	H. Flockton	2,206	49.8	N/A
	Conservative	M. Baker	2,064
	Conservative	Christine Thomas	2,026
	Labour	Doreen Jenner	1,906	43.0	N/A
	Labour	J. Moynihan	1,683
	Labour	J. Klineberg	1,664
	Communist	F. Stockdale	322	7.3	N/A
Majority			120	6.8	N/A
Turnout			4,434		N/A
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)

Castleton^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	M. Renard	1,634	45.6	N/A
	Liberal	Michael Meadowcroft	1,383
	Liberal	C. Tucker	1,305
	Labour	N. Barrett	932	26.0	N/A
	Labour	J. Underwood	929
	Labour	A. Donohoe	928
	Conservative	C. Mathers	787	22.0	N/A
	Conservative	B. Pearce	693
	Conservative	M. Thresh	640
	Communist	J. Garscadden	231	6.4	N/A
Majority			373	19.6	N/A
Turnout			3,584		N/A
	Liberal win (new seat)
	Liberal win (new seat)
	Liberal win (new seat)

Chapel Allerton^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	L. Bellow	4,163	85.2	N/A
	Conservative	J. Long	4,063
	Conservative	Sydney Symmonds	3,927
	Labour	L. Hammond	544	11.1	N/A
	Labour	J. Moran	307
	Labour	C. Say	277
	Communist	L. Morris	182	3.7	N/A
Majority			3,383	73.9	N/A
Turnout			4,889		N/A
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)

City^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	W. Merritt	1,494	48.8	N/A
	Labour	Ernest Morris	1,432
	Labour	J. Wallbanks	1,400
	Conservative	A. Hislop	1,364	44.5	N/A
	Conservative	J. Cumberland	1,352
	Conservative	J. Baines	1,303
	Communist	T. Johnson	204	6.7	N/A
Majority			36	4.2	N/A
Turnout			3,062		N/A
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

Cookridge^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Keith Loudon	3,721	73.6	N/A
	Conservative	J. Lund	3,696
	Conservative	D. Jenkins	3,689
	Liberal	J. Davies	628	12.4	N/A
	Liberal	D. Shearing	552
	Liberal	B. Williams	535
	Labour	J. McMurray	503	10.0	N/A
	Labour	J. Roche	469
	Labour	H. Bretherick	429
	Communist	M. Monkman	202	4.0	N/A
Majority			3,061	61.2	N/A
Turnout			5,054		N/A
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)

East Hunslet^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	E. Haughton	1,592	62.0	N/A
	Labour	W. Pepper	1,526
	Labour	W. Parker	1,516
	Conservative	I. Holmes	770	30.0	N/A
	Conservative	E. Feather	743
	Conservative	M. Howdill	629
	Communist	D. Priscott	204	8.0	N/A
Majority			746	32.0	N/A
Turnout			2,566		N/A
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

Gipton^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	A. Wood	2,375	55.4	N/A
	Conservative	W. Buckland	2,368
	Conservative	M. Suttenstall	2,317
	Labour	F. Watson	1,633	38.1	N/A
	Labour	D. Thomas	1,545
	Labour	J. Anson	1,442
	Communist	S. Jones	278	6.5	N/A
Majority			684	17.3	N/A
Turnout			4,286		N/A
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)

Halton^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	S. Tomlinson	4,537	81.6	N/A
	Conservative	R. Vaughan	4,534
	Conservative	Martin Dodgson	4,464
	Labour	W. Spence	654	11.8	N/A
	Labour	Arthur Brown	506
	Labour	B. Shearay	473
	Communist	M. Johnson	372	6.7	N/A
Majority			3,810	69.8	N/A
Turnout			5,563		N/A
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)

Harehills^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Patrick Crotty	2,388	79.8	N/A
	Conservative	J. White	2,377
	Conservative	J. Astle	2,357
	Labour	D. Wilson	395	13.2	N/A
	Labour	O. Winship	340
	Labour	W. Veritty	235
	Communist	M. Tomplak	209	7.0	N/A
Majority			1,962	66.6	N/A
Turnout			2,992		N/A
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)

Headingley^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	P. Godwin	3,749	71.7	N/A
	Conservative	T. Bennett	3,690
	Conservative	T. Kirkby	3,657
	Liberal	J. Gibson	658	12.6	N/A
	Labour	D. Jennings	563	10.8	N/A
	Labour	J. McPheat	496
	Labour	Albert Smith	474
	Liberal	W. Trickett	458
	Liberal	A. Wren	424
	Communist	S. Walker	260	5.0	N/A
Majority			2,999	59.1	N/A
Turnout			5,230		N/A
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)

Holbeck^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	A. Beevers	1,548	54.9	N/A
	Labour	W. Jones	1,476
	Labour	T. Smith	1,431
	Conservative	J. Bateman	984	34.9	N/A
	Conservative	B. Rawson	951
	Conservative	A. Cummings	943
	Communist	E. Burwin	286	10.1	N/A
Majority			447	20.0	N/A
Turnout			2,818		N/A
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

Kirkstall^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	T. Beevers	3,532	61.5	N/A
	Conservative	R. Robertson	3,394
	Conservative	J. Horrocks	3,380
	Labour	D. Matthews	1,898	33.0	N/A
	Labour	C. Collings	1,815
	Labour	Joyce Gould	1,814
	Communist	J. McDermott	317	5.5	N/A
Majority			1,482	28.4	N/A
Turnout			5,747		N/A
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)

Middleton^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	J. Taylor	1,604	55.4	N/A
	Labour	S. Binns	1,521
	Labour	A. Malcolm	1,446
	Conservative	B. Cresswell	969	33.5	N/A
	Conservative	J. Challenor	964
	Conservative	J. Johnson	885
	Communist	D. Priscott	320	11.1	N/A
Majority			477	21.9	N/A
Turnout			2,893		N/A
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

Moortown^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	R. Challenor	3,488	74.5	N/A
	Conservative	Kenneth Davison	3,444
	Conservative	A. Redmond	3,414
	Liberal	E. Nevies	543	11.6	N/A
	Liberal	C. Rowlands	492
	Labour	B. Foxard	468	10.0	N/A
	Liberal	Deryck Ernest Senior	464
	Labour	C. Green	384
	Labour	J. Hodkinson	337
	Communist	T. Kelly	180	3.8	N/A
Majority			2,871	62.9	N/A
Turnout			4,679		N/A
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)

Osmondthorpe^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	F. Brown	1,694	46.2	N/A
	Conservative	Doreen Wood	1,610
	Conservative	P. Lee	1,592
	Labour	Douglas Gabb	1,586	43.3	N/A
	Labour	P. Addlestone	1,543
	Labour	W. Prichard	1,487
	Communist	W. Rumbelow	385	10.5	N/A
Majority			6	2.9	N/A
Turnout			3,665		N/A
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)

Richmond Hill^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	S. Gill	2,024	55.2	N/A
	Conservative	D. Eastham	1,973
	Conservative	H. Levery	1,962
	Labour	J. Mathers	1,350	36.8	N/A
	Labour	Stan Cohen	1,336
	Labour	M. Fish	1,288
	Communist	P. Fawcett	295	8.0	N/A
Majority			612	18.4	N/A
Turnout			3,669		N/A
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)

Roundhay^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	G. Lax	4,067	87.8	N/A
	Conservative	D. Wolstenholme	4,058
	Conservative	A. Johnson	3,927
	Labour	R. Gillinson	333	7.2	N/A
	Labour	M. Brett	331
	Labour	E. Kavanagh	287
	Communist	C. MacRae	234	5.0	N/A
Majority			3,594	80.6	N/A
Turnout			4,634		N/A
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)

Scott Hall^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	D. Altman	1,435	50.7	N/A
	Conservative	J. Kruthhoffer	1,409
	Conservative	V. Darnton	1,384
	Labour	G. Gloom	927	32.8	N/A
	Labour	R. Ellis	909
	Labour	R. Sedler	845
	Liberal	Dennis Pedder	281	9.9	N/A
	Liberal	Albert Ingham	255
	Liberal	R. Whitelock	221
	Communist	A. Dale	185	6.5	N/A
Majority			457	18.0	N/A
Turnout			2,828		N/A
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)

Seacroft^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	D. Ball	1,823	46.6	N/A
	Conservative	M. Freegard	1,774
	Conservative	E. McQuire	1,763
	Labour	F. Booth	1,731	44.2	N/A
	Labour	L. Jackson	1,691
	Labour	E. Coward	1,608
	Communist	H. Besser	359	9.2	N/A
Majority			32	2.4	N/A
Turnout			3,913		N/A
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)

Stanningley^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	K. Knapton	2,224	46.5	N/A
	Conservative	A. Vickers	2,207
	Conservative	I. Benton	2,039
	Labour	Kevin Gould	1,851	38.7	N/A
	Labour	F. Davis	1,795
	Labour	Arthur Vollans	1,697
	Liberal	F. Robertson	487	10.2	N/A
	Liberal	A. Fleet	478
	Liberal	J. Lavery	458
	Communist	F. Sidebottom	220	4.6	N/A
Majority			188	7.8	N/A
Turnout			4,782		N/A
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)

Talbot^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	L. Bidgood	4,249	87.1	N/A
	Conservative	D. Bradley	4,187
	Conservative	P. Brayshay	4,181
	Labour	P. King	469	9.6	N/A
	Labour	Joshua Walsh	451
	Labour	M. Rooney	418
	Communist	R. Dolan	163	3.3	N/A
Majority			3,712	77.4	N/A
Turnout			4,881		N/A
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)

Weetwood^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	R. Hall	4,551	76.3	N/A
	Conservative	F. Hall	4,459
	Conservative	G. Somers	4,432
	Liberal	W. Beaumont	896	15.0	N/A
	Liberal	David Austwick	858
	Liberal	J. Grant	823
	Labour	S. Hand	231	3.9	N/A
	Labour	R. Pullan	203
	Labour	V. Veritty	201
	Communist	M. Kettle	174	2.9	N/A
	National Front	P. Stone	115	1.9	N/A
Majority			3,536	61.3	N/A
Turnout			5,967		N/A
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)

West Hunslet^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	P. Bennett	1,766	55.8	N/A
	Conservative	K. Crosby	1,741
	Conservative	W. Waddington	1,736
	Labour	A. Tallant	1,122	35.5	N/A
	Labour	Bernard Atha	1,105
	Labour	Harry Booth	1,094
	Independent Labour	A. Betts	176	5.6	N/A
	Independent Labour	M. Wilson	129
	Independent Labour	D. Kennally	127
	Communist	J. McCarthy	99	3.1	N/A
Majority			614	20.4	N/A
Turnout			3,163		N/A
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)

Whinmoor^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	P. Clokie	1,479	48.9	N/A
	Conservative	V. McNair	1,427
	Conservative	Peggy White	1,348
	Labour	M. Lawrence	1,348	44.5	N/A
	Labour	J. Clore	1,345
	Labour	Jim Marshall	1,212
	Communist	J. Scawthorn	199	6.6	N/A
Majority			0	4.3	N/A
Turnout			3,026		N/A
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)

Woodhouse^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	A. Sexton	2,484	62.4	N/A
	Conservative	May Sexton	2,458
	Conservative	P. Fingret	2,365
	Labour	P. Taylor	1,121	28.2	N/A
	Labour	V. Zermansky	966
	Labour	A. Baum	961
	Communist	M. Moore	377	9.5	N/A
Majority			1,244	34.2	N/A
Turnout			3,982		N/A
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)

Wortley^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	R. Treeman	3,207	64.1	N/A
	Conservative	R. Beal	3,115
	Conservative	F. Stubley	3,114
	Labour	W. Thurlow	1,084	21.6	N/A
	Labour	T. Cooke	1,012
	Labour	W. Window	962
	Liberal	J. Saxton	545	10.9	N/A
	Liberal	Walter Holdsworth	464
	Liberal	J. Crawshaw	452
	Communist	G. McGowan	171	3.4	N/A
Majority			20,30	42.4	N/A
Turnout			5,007		N/A
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)

References

^ ^a ^b "British Markets in Nervous State". The New York Times. 13 May 1968. Retrieved 19 October 2012.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w ^x ^y ^z ^aa ^ab ^ac ^ad ^ae ^af ^ag "Municipal results: Leeds". The Yorkshire Post. 10 May 1968.
^ ^a ^b Whitaker, Joseph (1968). Whitaker's Almanack 1968.
^ ^a ^b Sharpe, L.J. (1967). Voting in cities: the 1964 borough elections.

[NYT-1] "British Markets in Nervous State". The New York Times. 13 May 1968. Retrieved 19 October 2012.

[results-2] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w ^x ^y ^z ^aa ^ab ^ac ^ad ^ae ^af ^ag "Municipal results: Leeds". The Yorkshire Post. 10 May 1968.

[whitaker-3] Whitaker, Joseph (1968). Whitaker's Almanack 1968.

[sharpe-4] Sharpe, L.J. (1967). Voting in cities: the 1964 borough elections.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

v t e (1967 ←) 1968 United Kingdom local elections (→ 1969)
London boroughs	Barking Barnet Bexley Brent Bromley Camden Croydon Ealing Enfield Greenwich Hackney Hammersmith Haringey Harrow Havering Hillingdon Hounslow Islington Kensington and Chelsea Kingston upon Thames Lambeth Lewisham Merton Newham Redbridge Richmond upon Thames Southwark Sutton Tower Hamlets Waltham Forest Wandsworth Westminster
County boroughs	Cardiff Leeds Liverpool Merthyr Tydfil Manchester Newport Sheffield Swansea
City corporations	Aberdeen Dundee Edinburgh Glasgow
Elections in the London boroughs were due in May 1967, but were postponed one year by the London Government Act 1967.

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West Yorkshire CC	1973 1977 1981 Abolished
West Riding CC	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 Abolished
See also: Wards Boundary changes