1975 Leeds City Council Election

Elections to Leeds City Council were held on 1 May 1975. One third of the seats, as well as an extra vacancy in Aireborough, were up for election. Labour had gained a seat from a by-election in Burley in the interim, prompted by the arrest of incumbent Conservative Ray Forbes in connection with arms smuggling.^[1]

The election resulted in a substantial swing to the Conservatives, helping them gain six seats in total, with four from Labour (Burley, Kirkstall, Pudsey South and Wortley) and two from the Liberals ( Horsforth and Otley). This established the Conservatives as the largest party on the council, but with the council remaining under no overall control.^[2]

Election result

Leeds Local Election Result 1975
	Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
Conservative	19	6	0	+6	57.6	49.8	86,036	+8.7%
Labour	12	0	4	-4	36.3	31.5	54,379	-8.9%
Liberal	2	0	2	-2	6.1	17.5	30,196	+1.2%
Independent	0	0	0	0	0.0	0.7	1,262	-0.3%
Communist	0	0	0	0	0.0	0.4	660	-0.3%
National Front	0	0	0	0	0.0	0.0	73	-0.2%

This result has the following consequences for the total number of seats on the Council after the elections:

Party		Previous council	New council
	Conservatives	37	43
	Labour	45	41
	Liberals	14	12
Total		96	96
Working majority		0	0

Ward results

Aireborough^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	R. Captwright	5,610	61.3	+8.4
	Conservative	J. Hutchinson	5,296
	Labour	R. Oddy	2,001	21.9	-10.5
	Labour	F. Harman	1,987
	Liberal	Jocelyn Cleasby	1,535	16.8	+2.1
	Liberal	Alice Horsfall	1,500
Majority			3,295	39.5	+18.9
Turnout			9,146
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing	+9.4

Armley and Castleton^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	B. Nelson	2,360	37.5	-22.9
	Labour	Michael McGowan	2,255	35.8	+8.4
	Conservative	A. Mathers	1,583	25.2	+14.7
	Communist	P. Wilton	93	1.5	-0.2
Majority			105	1.7	-31.3
Turnout			6,291
	Liberal hold		Swing	-15.6

Beeston and Holbeck^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	H. Booth	2,718	47.6	-6.8
	Conservative	G. Hartley	2,103	36.9	+7.5
	Liberal	J. Leighton	884	15.5	-0.7
Majority			615	10.8	-14.3
Turnout			5,705
	Labour hold		Swing	-7.1

Bramley^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	E. Millett	1,650	52.8	-1.1
	Conservative	D. Mitchell	1,476	47.2	+24.2
	Liberal	Joy Clayforth
Majority			174	5.6	-25.2
Turnout
	Labour hold		Swing	-12.6

Burley^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	M. Sexton	1,250	50.9	+15.2
	Labour	J. Roche	879	35.8	-3.5
	Liberal	N. Mackie	186	7.6	-13.8
	National Front	J. Duckenfield	73	3.0	+3.0
	Communist	B. Stinson	66	2.7	-0.8
Majority			371	15.1	+11.4
Turnout			2,454
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing	+9.3

Burmantofts and Richmond Hill^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	R. Mulet	2,620	48.1	-17.3
	Liberal	Margaret Clay	1,527	28.0	+28.0
	Conservative	G. Dimmock	1,220	22.4	-3.8
	Communist	B. Stockdale	84	1.5	-1.1
Majority			1,093	20.1	-19.1
Turnout			5,451
	Labour hold		Swing	-22.6

Chapel Allerton and Scott Hall^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	C. Thomas	3,933	62.1	-1.3
	Labour	G. Bloom	1,432	22.6	-10.6
	Liberal	J. Clay	871	13.8	+13.8
	Communist	M. Tomplak	96	1.5	-1.8
Majority			2,501	39.5	+9.3
Turnout			6,332
	Conservative hold		Swing	+4.6

City and Woodhouse^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	E. Morris	1,836	51.0	-18.5
	Conservative	T. Battersby	1,023	28.4	-2.0
	Liberal	D. Selby	608	16.9	+16.9
	Communist	M. Rodgers	131	3.6	+3.6
Majority			813	22.6	-16.5
Turnout			3,598
	Labour hold		Swing	-8.2

Cookridge and Weetwood^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	K. Loudon	6,310	72.4	+8.6
	Labour	B. Selby	1,269	14.6	-13.9
	Liberal	Dorothea Leser	1,136	13.0	+13.0
Majority			5,041	57.8	+22.5
Turnout			8,715
	Conservative hold		Swing	+11.2

Garforth #1 (Garforth North and Barwick)^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	R. Hedley	4,945	65.4	+10.8
	Labour	C. Say	1,972	26.1	-19.3
	Liberal	N. Parnaby	639	8.5	+8.5
Majority			2,973	39.3	+30.0
Turnout			7,556
	Conservative hold		Swing	+15.0

Garforth #2 ( Kippax and Swillington)^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	G. Noakes	2,565	80.5	+16.7
	Independent	P. Clements	420	13.2	+13.2
	Conservative	C. Taylor	202	6.3	-19.0
Majority			2,145	67.3	+28.9
Turnout			3,187
	Labour hold		Swing	+1.7

Gipton and Whinmoor^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	A. Vollans	2,597	47.3	-7.8
	Conservative	W. Buckland	2,510	45.7	+12.8
	Liberal	Kathleen Pedder	385	7.0	-3.2
Majority			87	1.6	-20.5
Turnout			5,492
	Labour hold		Swing	-10.3

Halton^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	D. Wood	4,042	72.3	+2.6
	Labour	A. Maher	1,159	20.7	-9.5
	Liberal	R. Taylor	389	7.0	+7.0
Majority			2,883	51.6	+12.1
Turnout			5,590
	Conservative hold		Swing	+6.0

Harehills and Roundhay^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Peggy White	4,766	67.4	+2.5
	Labour	M. Simmons	1,668	23.6	+2.1
	Liberal	C. Farrer	641	9.1	-4.6
Majority			3,098	43.8	+0.4
Turnout			7,075
	Conservative hold		Swing	+0.2

Headingley^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	J. Searie	2,230	54.7	+9.9
	Labour	I. Levy	1,037	25.4	-9.0
	Liberal	P. Holmes	812	19.9	-0.9
Majority			1,193	29.2	+18.9
Turnout			4,079
	Conservative hold		Swing	+9.4

Horsforth^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	M. Frame	3,736	52.6	+11.5
	Liberal	H. Stuttard	2,633	37.1	-9.0
	Labour	F. Wadwell	736	10.4	-2.5
Majority			1,103	15.5	+10.5
Turnout			7,105
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	+10.2

Hunslet East and West^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	M. Taylor	2,528	48.1	-7.6
	Labour	Pat Fathers	2,096	39.9	+2.5
	Conservative	R. Blackburn	627	11.9	+5.1
Majority			432	8.2	-10.2
Turnout			5,251
	Liberal hold		Swing	-5.0

Kirkstall^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	J. Hamilton	2,366	47.1	+0.0
	Labour	K. Fenwick	2,279	45.4	-4.2
	Liberal	J. Stevens	379	7.5	+7.5
Majority			87	1.7	-0.8
Turnout			5,024
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing	+2.1

Middleton^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	G. Wood	1,801	56.0	-21.6
	Conservative	C. Hallas	808	25.1	+9.0
	Liberal	R. Heselwood	513	15.9	+15.9
	Communist	D. Priscott	95	3.0	-3.3
Majority			993	30.9	-30.6
Turnout			3,217
	Labour hold		Swing	-15.3

Moortown^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	R. Challenor	2,784	69.3	+3.3
	Labour	H. Gunnell	771	19.2	-14.8
	Liberal	S. Waldenberg	461	11.5	+11.5
Majority			2,013	50.1	+18.1
Turnout			4,016
	Conservative hold		Swing	+9.0

Morley #1 (Morley North)^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	R. Verity	3,591	67.3	+12.5
	Labour	K. Smith	1,744	32.7	-12.5
Majority			1,847	34.6	+24.9
Turnout			5,335
	Conservative hold		Swing	+12.5

Morley #2 (Morley South)^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	S. Welham	1,878	42.5	-21.4
	Conservative	K. Gray	1,563	35.8	-0.7
	Company Director	S. Whittaker	634	14.3	+14.3
	Liberal	Margaret Batley	346	7.8	+7.8
Majority			315	7.1	-20.7
Turnout			4,421
	Labour hold		Swing	-10.3

Osmondthorpe^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	J. Pritchard	1,506	53.1	-16.2
	Conservative	S. Nelmes	1,164	41.0	+10.3
	Liberal	Pat Lawson	168	5.9	+5.9
Majority			342	12.1	-26.5
Turnout			2,838
	Labour hold		Swing	-13.2

Otley^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	S. Day	3,550	46.8	+5.7
	Liberal	D. Whitley	2,869	37.8	-2.4
	Labour	F. Emery	1,167	15.4	-3.3
Majority			681	9.0	+8.1
Turnout			7,586
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing	+4.0

Pudsey #1 (Pudsey North)^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	C. Thompson	3,279	50.7	+16.4
	Liberal	R. Hainsworth	1,711	26.5	-7.2
	Labour	D. Trafford	1,475	22.8	-9.2
Majority			1,568	24.3	+23.6
Turnout			6,465
	Conservative hold		Swing	+11.8

Pudsey #2 (Pudsey South)^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	P. Kersting	2,964	46.0	+22.5
	Labour	J. Mann	1,945	30.2	-2.2
	Liberal	B. Lester	1,535	23.8	-15.0
Majority			1,019	15.8	+9.4
Turnout			6,444
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing	+12.3

Rothwell^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	S. Arran	2,587	41.1	-24.1
	Conservative	K. Bragan	1,993	31.7	-3.0
	Liberal	P. Bower	1,708	27.2	+27.2
Majority			594	9.4	-21.2
Turnout			6,288
	Labour hold		Swing	-10.5

Seacroft^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	G. Mudie	2,016	57.6	-20.3
	Conservative	R. Ivey	1,388	39.7	+21.7
	Communist	A. Dale	95	2.7	-1.5
Majority			628	17.9	-42.1
Turnout			3,499
	Labour hold		Swing	-21.0

Stanningley^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	C. Myers	1,573	42.6	-11.8
	Conservative	I. Benton	1,312	35.5	+7.1
	Liberal	R. Keighley	811	21.9	+4.7
Majority			261	7.1	-18.8
Turnout			3,696
	Labour hold		Swing	-9.4

Talbot^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	R. Feldman	3,249	70.8	+10.8
	Labour	D. Brown	690	15.0	+2.4
	Liberal	J. Miles	649	14.1	-13.2
Majority			2,559	55.8	+23.1
Turnout			4,588
	Conservative hold		Swing	+4.2

Wetherby^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	W. Hill	5,853	71.9	+5.2
	Liberal	D. Tunstall	1,348	16.6	+16.6
	Labour	C. Brown	732	9.0	-14.7
	Retired	J. Shackleton	208	2.6	-7.1
Majority			4,505	55.3	+12.3
Turnout			8,141
	Conservative hold		Swing	-5.7

Wortley^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	R. Robson	2,606	53.2	+11.1
	Labour	P. Shires	1,725	35.2	-6.5
	Liberal	Jeanette Bean	564	11.5	-4.6
Majority			881	18.0	+17.5
Turnout			4,895
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing	+8.8

References

^ "Civil war threat in Ulster". The Montreal Gazette. 14 May 1974. Retrieved 21 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 "District results: Leeds". The Yorkshire Post. 2 May 1975. Scans can be found here: 1 and 2

[1] "Civil war threat in Ulster". The Montreal Gazette. 14 May 1974. Retrieved 21 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 "District results: Leeds". The Yorkshire Post. 2 May 1975. Scans can be found here: 1 and 2

[1]

[2]

v t e ( 1974 ←) 1975 United Kingdom local elections ( → 1976)
Metropolitan boroughs	Barnsley Birmingham Bradford Bolton Bury Calderdale Coventry Doncaster Dudley Gateshead Kirklees Knowsley Leeds Liverpool Manchester Newcastle North Tyneside Oldham Rochdale Rotherham Salford Sandwell Sefton Sheffield Solihull South Tyneside St Helens Stockport Sunderland Tameside Trafford Wakefield Walsall Wigan Wirral Wolverhampton
District councils (England)	Preston Worcester Wyre Forest
Ad-hoc election	Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention
Referendum	United Kingdom European Communities membership Results

v t e Council elections in West Yorkshire
Mayor	2021 2024
Bradford	1973 1975 1976 1978 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015 2016 2018 2019 2021 2022 2023 2024
Calderdale	1973 1975 1976 1978 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015 2016 2018 2019 2021 2022 2023 2024
Kirklees	1973 1975 1976 1978 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015 2016 2018 2019 2021 2022 2023 2024
Leeds	1945 1946 1947 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1975 1976 1978 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015 2016 2018 2019 2021 2022 2023 2024
Wakefield	1973 1975 1976 1978 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015 2016 2018 2019 2021 2022 2023 2024
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