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1974 United Kingdom local elections

← 1973 2 May 1974, 7 May 1974 1975 →
All 32 London boroughs, all 53 Scottish districts and all 12 Scottish regions
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 Councils 18 13 Councillors 10,325 8,102 1,474 Councillors +/- 544 393 47

Local elections were held in the United Kingdom in 1974, during the life of the minority Labour government of Harold Wilson. Elections were held in all the boroughs of London.

The number of councillors was increased, enabling all of the three largest parties to make net gains in council seats. Labour gained 544 seats and had 10,325 councillors after the elections. The Conservatives gained 393 seats, leaving them with 8,102 councillors. The Liberals gained 47 seats, giving them a total of 1,474 councillors.

In terms of council control in London, Labour won 18 councils, the Conservatives 13. One borough, Havering, was in no overall control, having been a Labour council after the 1971 local elections. The Conservatives gained Bexley and Merton from Labour and Harrow from no overall control.

In Scotland these were the first elections for the new Regional and District councils, with people voting twice. The Scottish National Party did not do particularly well compared with their performance in the two general elections that year. Labour won a majority in Strathclyde and Fife regions.

Summary of results

England

London boroughs

Scotland

District councils

†Four districts were renamed shortly after the elections. Argyll became Argyll and Bute, Bishopbriggs and Kirkintilloch became Strathkelvin, Cumbernauld became Cumbernauld and Kilsyth and Merrick became Wigtown.

Regional councils

References

Notes

1. Rallings, Colin; Thrasher, Michael. Local Elections Handbook 1974. The Elections Centre. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
2. "Council compositions". The Elections Centre. Retrieved 3 May 2016.

Bibliography

• Local elections 2006. House of Commons Library Research Paper 06/26.

v t e (1973 ←) 1974 United Kingdom local elections (→ 1975)
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
District councils (Scotland)	Aberdeen Angus Annandale and Eskdale Argyll Badenoch and Strathspey Banff and Buchan Bearsden and Milngavie Berwickshire Bishopbriggs and Kirkintilloch Caithness Clackmannan Clydebank Cumbernauld Cumnock and Doon Valley Cunninghame Dumbarton Dundee Dunfermline East Kilbride East Lothian Eastwood Edinburgh Ettrick and Lauderdale Falkirk Glasgow Gordon Hamilton Inverclyde Inverness Kilmarnock and Loudoun Kincardine and Deeside Kirkcaldy Kyle and Carrick Lanark Lochaber Merrick Midlothian Monklands Moray Motherwell Nairn Nithsdale North East Fife Perth and Kinross Renfrew Ross and Cromarty Roxburgh Skye and Lochalsh Stewartry Stirling Sutherland Tweeddale West Lothian
Regional councils (Scotland)	Borders Central Dumfries and Galloway Fife Grampian Highland Lothian Orkney Shetland Strathclyde Tayside Western Isles
See also: UK General election (Feb) UK General election (Oct)

v t e Elections and referendums in the United Kingdom
General elections	1802 1806 1807 1812 1818 1820 1826 1830 1831 1832 1835 1837 1841 1847 1852 1857 1859 1865 1868 1874 1880 1885 1886 1892 1895 1900 1906 1910 (Jan) 1910 (Dec) 1918 1922 1923 1924 1929 1931 1935 1945 1950 1951 1955 1959 1964 1966 1970 1974 (Feb) 1974 (Oct) 1979 1983 1987 1992 1997 2001 2005 2010 2015 2017 2019 2024 Next
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European elections	1979 1984 1989 1994 1999 2004 2009 2014 2019
Referendums	1975 2011 2016
See also Elections in England Northern Ireland Scotland Wales Great Britain

• 1974 United Kingdom local elections
• May 1974 events in the United Kingdom