1925 London County Council election

Local election in England

← 1922

5 March 1925

1928 →

	First party	Second party	Third party

Leader	George Hume	Emil Davies	John Scott Lidgett
Party	Municipal Reform	Labour	Progressive
Leader since	1917	1924	1918
Leader's seat	Alderman	Alderman	Alderman
Last election	82	17	26
Seats won	83	35	6
Seat change	1	18	19
Popular vote	276,111	233,156	55,586
Percentage	48.4%	40.8%	9.7%

An election to the County Council of London took place on 5 March 1925. The council was elected by First Past the Post with each elector having two votes in the two-member seats. The Municipal Reform Party retained a large majority, while the Labour Party established itself as the principal opposition, supplanting the Progressive Party.

Campaign

The Municipal Reform Party campaigned on its record in office, noting that it had reduced rates, and built housing. It opposed compulsory education for children over 14 years old and promised "patriotic education", and claimed that the Labour Party would introduce "communist schemes... under the revolutionary red flag". It stood 112 candidates, and those in the City of London, Kensington South and Streatham were elected without facing a contest. The Times predicted that the party could gain seats in Bow and Bromley, Kennington and Shoreditch.

The Labour Party's manifesto proposed a major programme of municipalisation, including transport, power, lighting, water, slaughterhouses, and the supply of milk and coal. It also proposed establishing a municipal bank, rating based on land values, the construction of new bridges and tunnels to cross the Thames, and the establishment of tourist offices around the country, to encourage visitors to the city. The party stood 112 candidates, who included 27 of the 49 women contesting the election. The Times believed it might gain seats in Camberwell North West, Deptford, Limehouse and Mile End.

The Progressive Party's leader, John Scott Lidgett, argued for the training of more skilled building workers, with the long-term aim of constructing more workers' housing. The party established unofficial pacts with the Municipal Reformers in some seats, and itself stood only 41 candidates. Unable to win a majority of the council, it hoped after the election to hold the balance of power.

No minor parties contested the election, but four independent candidates stood.

Results

The Municipal Reform Party maintained a large majority on the council, gaining one seat in Kennington from Labour, and six seats from the Progressives, doing particularly well in the Islington seats.

Labour gained thirteen seats from the Progressives, and six from the Municipal Reformers, more than doubling its representation, and for the first time becoming the official opposition on the council. The Progressive Party failed to make any gains, and lost 19 of its 25 seats, a situation which the Manchester Guardian blamed on its lack of distinctive policies, and its willingness in 1922 to form pacts with the Municipal Reformers. Women won 21 seats on the council, up from 13 at the previous election.

Party		Votes			Seats
Party		Number	%	Stood	Seats	%
	Municipal Reform	276,111	48.4	124	83	66.9
	Labour	233,156	40.8	108	35	28.2
	Progressive	55,586	9.7	82	6	4.8
	Independent	5,922	1.0	4	0	0.0

References

"LCC election: Municipal Reform policy". The Times. 29 January 1925.
^ "London County Council: to-day's election prospects". The Times. 5 March 1925.
"Labour and the LCC: an election manifesto". The Times. 26 January 1925.
"London County Council: election issues". The Times. 2 March 1925.
"LCC elections: results declared yesterday". The Times. 7 March 1925.
^ "LCC election: Municipal Reform victory". The Times. 7 March 1925.
"Labour The Official LCC Opposition". Manchester Guardian. 18 March 1925.
"Downfall of London Progressives". Manchester Guardian. 10 March 1925.
"Labour's growth in the LCC". Manchester Guardian. 9 March 1925.

v t e London County Council
Elections	1889 1892 1895 1898 1901 1904 1907 1910 1913 1919 1922 1925 1928 1931 1934 1937 1946 1949 1952 1955 1958 1961
Members	Chairmen Members 1889-1919 Members 1919-1937 Members 1937-1949 Members 1949-1965
Constituencies (1889–1919)	Battersea Bermondsey Bethnal Green North East Bethnal Green South West Bow and Bromley Brixton Camberwell North Chelsea City of London Clapham Deptford Dulwich Finsbury Central Finsbury East Fulham Greenwich Hackney Central Hackney North Hackney South Haggerston Hammersmith Hampstead Holborn Hoxton Islington East Islington North Islington South Islington West Kennington Kensington North Kensington South Lambeth North Lewisham Limehouse Marylebone East Marylebone West Mile End Newington West Norwood Paddington North Paddington South Peckham Poplar Rotherhithe St George's Hanover Square St George St Pancras East St Pancras North St Pancras South St Pancras West Southwark West Stepney Strand Walworth Wandsworth Westminster Whitechapel Woolwich
Constituencies (1919–1949)	Balham and Tooting Battersea North Battersea South Bermondsey West Bethnal Green North East Bethnal Green South West Bow and Bromley Brixton Camberwell North Camberwell North West Chelsea City of London Clapham Deptford Dulwich Finsbury Fulham East Fulham West Greenwich Hackney Central Hackney North Hackney South Hammersmith North Hammersmith South Hampstead Holborn Islington East Islington North Islington South Islington West Kennington Kensington North Kensington South Lambeth North Lewisham East Lewisham West Limehouse Mile End Norwood Paddington North Paddington South Peckham Poplar South Putney Rotherhithe St Marylebone St Pancras North St Pancras South East St Pancras South West Shoreditch Southwark Central Southwark North Southwark South East Stoke Newington Streatham Wandsworth Central Westminster Abbey Westminster St George's Whitechapel and St George's Woolwich East Woolwich West
Constituencies (1949–1964)	Barons Court (1955–1964) Battersea North Battersea South Bermondsey Bethnal Green Brixton Chelsea Cities of London and Westminster Clapham Deptford Dulwich Fulham (1955–1965) Fulham East (1949–1955) Fulham West (1949–1955) Greenwich Hackney Central (1955–1964) Hackney South (1949–1955) Hammersmith North Hammersmith South (1949–1955) Hampstead Holborn and St Pancras South Islington East Islington North Islington South West Kensington North Kensington South Lewisham North Lewisham South Lewisham West Norwood Paddington North Paddington South Peckham Poplar Putney St Marylebone St Pancras North Shoreditch and Finsbury Southwark Stepney Stoke Newington and Hackney North Streatham Vauxhall Wandsworth Central Woolwich East Woolwich West
Other topics	Tramways Coat of Arms County Hall

v t e Elections and referendums in London
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Referendums	1998
See also Elections in London Boroughs Middlesex County Council elections

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