1952 London County Council election

1952 local election in England

← 1949

3 April 1952

1955 →

	First party	Second party

Leader	Isaac Hayward	Henry Brooke
Party	Labour	Conservative
Leader since	1947	1946
Leader's seat	Deptford	Cities of London and Westminster
Seats won	92	37
Seat change	27	26
Popular vote	1,684,387	1,344,328
Percentage	55.0%	43.9%
Swing	8.1%	7.0%

An election to the County Council of London took place on 3 April 1952. The council was elected by First Past the Post with each elector having three votes in the three-member seats. The Labour Party made substantial gains and greatly increased its majority.

Campaign

The Labour Party manifesto proposed increased slum clearance, new comprehensive schools, and new construction at the South Bank. It targeted Conservative seats in Fulham East, Hammersmith South, Kensington North and Paddington North.

The Conservative Party hoped to make a small number of gains and take control of the council. It targeted Labour-held seats in Brixton, Fulham West, Islington North and St Pancras North. Its manifesto proposed working more closely with the government in building housing, closing civic restaurants, and halting the construction of comprehensive schools.

The Liberal Party stood only twelve candidates, and hoped to retain its representation in Bethnal Green. The Conservatives stood only two candidates in the constituency, and suggested that its supporters voted for the Liberal candidate Nicholas Harris, son of retiring Liberal councillor Percy Harris.

Results

Labour won a significant majority in the election, gaining 27 seats, and increasing their vote share in almost every constituency. The Conservatives had for some years received higher vote shares in council elections than at general elections, but this pattern was reversed. The party was particularly surprised to lose a seat in Holborn and St Pancras South, which had a large business vote.

The Liberal Party lost its only seat on the council, and saw its vote share in Bethnal Green fall to less than half its previous level, although it did still beat the Conservative Party in the constituency. The Communist Party also saw its vote drop severely, although it was able to beat the Conservative Party in its best constituency of Stepney.

Turnout in the election was up from 1949, with 41% of possible votes cast. A record number of women were elected, comprising nearly one-third of the total number of members of the council.

	Vote	%	Standing	Seats Won	Seat %
Labour	1,684,387	55.0	129	92
Conservative	1,344,328	43.9	128	37
Liberal	19,723	0.6	12	0	0.0
Communist	11,131	0.4	9	0	0.0
Union Movement	3,074	0.1	6	0	0.0
Independent	1,672	0.1	2	0	0.0

References

"Labour policy in LCC elections". The Times. 8 March 1952.
^ "LCC election campaign". The Times. 25 March 1952.
"Control of London County Council". The Times. 30 January 1952.
"LCC election nominations". The Times. 19 March 1952.
^ "Labour success in elections". The Times. 5 April 1952.

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
Mayor of London	2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2021 2024
London Assembly	2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2021 2024
Inner London Education Authority	1986
Greater London Council	1964 1967 1970 1973 1977 1981
London County Council	1889 1892 1895 1898 1901 1904 1907 1910 1913 1919 1922 1925 1928 1931 1934 1937 1946 1949 1952 1955 1958 1961
Borough councils	1964 1968 1971 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022
Referendums	1998
See also Elections in London Boroughs Middlesex County Council elections

v t e (1951 ←) 1952 United Kingdom local elections (→ 1953)
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