Psephology.AI
    All handbooks

    1973 local elections handbook

    Final editionPartial coverage

    Scheduled council elections held between April and June 1973, from our ward results. This is the final edition. Where our results for a council are incomplete, its figures will be too low.

    Partial coverage: we only hold 697 seats across 441 councils for 1973, so many ward results are missing. Totals and seat counts on this page are incomplete and should not be quoted as the full result.

    Councils
    441
    Wards
    10,165
    Seats
    697
    Candidates
    35,283
    Votes
    32,267,069

    Seats won by party

    PartySeatsCandidatesVotesVote share*
    Labour
    		46211,90213,229,91946.3%
    Conservative
    		17410,17511,142,43939.0%
    The Liberal Party
    		51260685,2042.4%
    Independent
    		77,9933,411,18111.9%
    Residents
    		21013,0480.0%
    Other
    		118490,6400.3%

    *Note on vote share: this is each party's share of the votes cast in the wards we hold for 1973. It is not an estimate for the whole country: many councils did not vote this year, some of our results may be missing, and in wards with several seats each voter had several votes.

    Councils changing hands (0)

    No changes of control recorded, or control before and after isn't known.

    Every council (441)

    CouncilWardsSeatsBeforeAfter
    Aberconwy180——
    Adur110—No overall control
    Allerdale290—No overall control
    Alnwick140—Other
    Alyn and Deeside200——
    Amber Valley250——
    Amber Valley70—Labour
    Arfon330——
    Arun230—Conservative
    Ashfield130—Labour
    Ashford24——
    Ashford200—No overall control
    Avon650—No overall control
    Aylesbury Vale330—Other
    Babergh270—No overall control
    Barnsley190—Labour
    Barrow in Furness50——
    Barrow-in-Furness10—Labour
    Basildon110—Labour
    Basingstoke and Deane240—No overall control
    Bassetlaw250——
    Bassetlaw60—Labour
    Bath150——
    Bedford10—No overall control
    Bedford170——
    Bedfordshire60——
    Bedfordshire490—No overall control
    Berkshire700—No overall control
    Berkshire County Council30——
    Berwick-upon-Tweed120—Other
    Beverley190——
    Birmingham300—Labour
    Blaby190—Other
    Blackburn210——
    Blackpool90——
    Blaenau Gwent180——
    Blaenau Gwent10—Labour
    Blyth Valley40—Labour
    Bolsover220—Labour
    Bolton30—Conservative
    Bolton120——
    Boothferry220——
    Boston160—No overall control
    Bournemouth110—Conservative
    Bracknell Forest140—Labour
    Bradford300—Conservative
    Braintree280—No overall control
    Breckland350—No overall control
    Brentwood140—Conservative
    Bridgnorth200—Other
    Brighton80——
    Bristol, City of230—Labour
    Broadland200—No overall control
    Bromsgrove140—Conservative
    Broxbourne100—Conservative
    Broxtowe110——
    Buckinghamshire390—Conservative
    Burnley140—Labour
    Bury100——
    Bury20—No overall control
    Calderdale170—Labour
    Cambridge30——
    Cambridgeshire620—No overall control
    Cannock Chase90—Labour
    Canterbury20—Conservative
    Canterbury180——
    Caradon260—Other
    Cardiff200—Labour
    Carlisle190—Labour
    Carmarthen200——
    Carrick200—Other
    Castle Morpeth160—No overall control
    Castle Point90—Labour
    Ceredigion340—Other
    Charnwood190—No overall control
    Chelmsford210—No overall control
    Cheltenham70—Conservative
    Cherwell290—No overall control
    Cheshire610—No overall control
    Cheshire20——
    Chester-le-Street140——
    Chesterfield10—Labour
    Chesterfield160——
    Chichester310—No overall control
    Chiltern170—Conservative
    Chorley130—No overall control
    Christchurch60——
    City of Chester110——
    Cleethorpes10—No overall control
    Cleethorpes130——
    Cleveland420——
    Clwyd530——
    Colchester210—No overall control
    Congleton220——
    Congleton20—No overall control
    Copeland200—Labour
    Corby120—Labour
    Cornwall750—Other
    Cotswold300—Other
    Coventry160—Labour
    Craven70—No overall control
    Craven170——
    Crawley60—Labour
    Crewe and Nantwich250—Labour
    Cumbria710—No overall control
    Cynon Valley100——
    Dacorum180—Labour
    Darlington150—Labour
    Dartford170—Labour
    Daventry240—No overall control
    Delyn140——
    Derby120—Labour
    Derbyshire870—Labour
    Derbyshire Dales210—No overall control
    Derwentside210—Labour
    Devon880—Conservative
    Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council200——
    Dorset770—Conservative
    Dover220—Conservative
    Dudley150—Labour
    Durham960——
    Dyfed780—Other
    Easington210——
    East Cambridgeshire180—Other
    East Devon340—Other
    East Dorset150——
    East Hampshire270—No overall control
    East Hertfordshire210—No overall control
    East Lindsey410——
    East Northamptonshire190—Conservative
    East Staffordshire200—No overall control
    East Sussex770—Conservative
    East Yorkshire230——
    Eastbourne60—The Liberal Party
    Eastleigh100——
    Eastleigh10—No overall control
    Eden250—Other
    Ellesmere Port and Neston150—Labour
    Elmbridge110—Conservative
    Epping Forest170—Conservative
    Epsom And Ewell90—Other
    Erewash130—Labour
    Essex920—Conservative
    Exeter120—No overall control
    Fareham70—No overall control
    Fenland150—No overall control
    Forest Heath100—Conservative
    Forest Of Dean250—Other
    Fylde10—Conservative
    Fylde150——
    Gateshead10—Labour
    Gateshead180——
    Gedling130—Conservative
    Gillingham30—No overall control
    Gloucester100—Conservative
    Gloucestershire610—No overall control
    Gosport10—Labour
    Gravesham130—Labour
    Great Grimsby120——
    Great Yarmouth190——
    Greater London Council9292——
    Greater Manchester County Council104106——
    Guildford30—Conservative
    Guildford150——
    Gwent650—Labour
    Gwynedd640—Other
    Halton120—Labour
    Hambleton300—Other
    Hampshire890—Conservative
    Harborough220—Conservative
    Harlow120—Labour
    Harrogate290——
    Harrogate10—Conservative
    Hart110—Other
    Hartlepool150—Labour
    Hastings50—No overall control
    Havant130—No overall control
    Hereford70—No overall control
    Hertfordshire650—No overall control
    Hertsmere110—No overall control
    High Peak250—No overall control
    Holderness170—Other
    Horsham220—Other
    Hove90—Conservative
    Humberside580—Labour
    Huntingdonshire320—No overall control
    Hyndburn110—No overall control
    Ipswich60—Labour
    Isle Of Wight310—Other
    Islwyn130——
    Kennet300—Other
    Kent990—Conservative
    Kerrier170—Other
    Kettering140——
    King's Lynn And West Norfolk360—No overall control
    Kingston Upon Hull160——
    Kingswood230——
    Kirklees220—Labour
    Knowsley80—Labour
    Lancashire940—Conservative
    Lancaster260—Conservative
    Langbaurgh100——
    Leeds320——
    Leicester City Council90——
    Leicestershire750—No overall control
    Leominster260——
    Lewes140—Conservative
    Lichfield10—No overall control
    Lichfield210——
    Lincoln100—Other
    Lincolnshire730—No overall control
    Liverpool330—No overall control
    Luton40—Labour
    Macclesfield10—No overall control
    Macclesfield320——
    Maidstone200——
    Maidstone60—No overall control
    Maldon150—No overall control
    Malvern Hills350—Other
    Manchester270—Labour
    Mansfield40—Labour
    Melton160——
    Mendip240—Other
    Merseyside County Council9599——
    Merthyr Tydfil50——
    Mid Bedfordshire230—No overall control
    Mid Devon230—Other
    Mid Glamorgan690—Labour
    Mid Suffolk360—Other
    Middlesbrough50—Labour
    Milton Keynes160—Labour
    Mole Valley150——
    Monmouth240——
    Montgomeryshire390——
    Neath130——
    New Forest340——
    Newark And Sherwood260—Labour
    Newbury350——
    Newcastle Upon Tyne240—Labour
    Newcastle-under-Lyme200—No overall control
    Newport170—Labour
    Norfolk790—Conservative
    North Cornwall260—Other
    North Devon10—Other
    North Devon330——
    North Dorset220——
    North Dorset10—Other
    North East Derbyshire230—Labour
    North Hertfordshire140—No overall control
    North Kesteven320—Other
    North Norfolk350—Other
    North Shropshire230——
    North Tyneside150——
    North Tyneside10—Labour
    North Warwickshire140—Labour
    North West Leicestershire220—Labour
    North Wiltshire280—No overall control
    North Yorkshire890—No overall control
    Northampton10—Labour
    Northampton110——
    Northamptonshire750—Labour
    Northavon300——
    Northumberland490—No overall control
    Norwich100—Labour
    Nottingham100—Labour
    Nottinghamshire610—Labour
    Nuneaton and Bedworth90—Labour
    Oadby And Wigston60—Conservative
    Oldham80—Labour
    Oldham60——
    Oswestry130——
    Oxford50—Labour
    Oxfordshire690—Conservative
    Pendle300——
    Penwith110—Other
    Peterborough210—Labour
    Plymouth150—Conservative
    Poole80—Conservative
    Portsmouth130—Conservative
    Powys520—Other
    Preseli Pembrokeshire290——
    Preston160—Labour
    Purbeck110—Other
    Reading50—No overall control
    Redditch60—Labour
    Reigate & Banstead130—Conservative
    Restormel140—Other
    Rhondda120——
    Ribble Valley160—Conservative
    Richmondshire230—Other
    Rochdale180—Labour
    Rochester-upon-Medway90—Labour
    Rochford220—No overall control
    Rossendale150——
    Rossendale10—No overall control
    Rother250—Other
    Rotherham170——
    Rugby130—No overall control
    Runnymede40—Conservative
    Rushcliffe150—Conservative
    Rushmoor20—No overall control
    Rutland150—Other
    Ryedale250——
    Ryedale20—Other
    Salford10—Labour
    Salford90——
    Salisbury330—No overall control
    Sandwell190—Labour
    Scarborough180—No overall control
    Scunthorpe80—Labour
    Sedgefield190—Labour
    Sedgemoor260—No overall control
    Sefton180—Conservative
    Selby330—No overall control
    Sevenoaks310——
    Sheffield300—Labour
    Shepway180—Conservative
    Shrewsbury and Atcham200—No overall control
    Shropshire520—No overall control
    Slough50—Labour
    Solihull150——
    Somerset500—Conservative
    South Bedfordshire190—No overall control
    South Buckinghamshire160——
    South Cambridgeshire420—Other
    South Derbyshire100——
    South Derbyshire10—Labour
    South Glamorgan70—Labour
    South Hams310——
    South Herefordshire320—Other
    South Holland200—Other
    South Kesteven310—No overall control
    South Lakeland400—Other
    South Norfolk350——
    South Northamptonshire290—No overall control
    South Oxfordshire360—No overall control
    South Ribble140—Conservative
    South Shropshire210—Other
    South Somerset390—No overall control
    South Staffordshire210—No overall control
    South Tyneside200—Labour
    South Yorkshire County Council74100——
    Southampton40——
    Southend-on-Sea50——
    Southend-On-Sea90—No overall control
    St Edmundsbury310—Conservative
    St Helens90——
    St. Albans180——
    St. Helens30—Labour
    Stafford210—No overall control
    Staffordshire820—Labour
    Staffordshire Moorlands280—No overall control
    Stevenage40——
    Stockport10—No overall control
    Stockport120——
    Stockton-on-Tees60—Labour
    Stoke On Trent240—Labour
    Stratford-on-Avon350——
    Stroud300—No overall control
    Suffolk700—Conservative
    Suffolk Coastal340—No overall control
    Sunderland30—Labour
    Sunderland170——
    Surrey680—Conservative
    Surrey Heath60—Conservative
    Swale220—No overall control
    Swansea200—Labour
    Tameside130—Labour
    Tamworth20——
    Tandridge180—Conservative
    Taunton Deane260—No overall control
    Teesdale160—Other
    Teignbridge300——
    Tendring250—Conservative
    Test Valley200—Other
    Tewkesbury210—No overall control
    Thamesdown70——
    Thanet110—Conservative
    The Wrekin230——
    Three Rivers170—No overall control
    Thurrock60——
    Tonbridge And Malling250—Conservative
    Torbay90—Conservative
    Torfaen130——
    Torridge230—Other
    Trafford150—Conservative
    Tunbridge Wells170—Conservative
    Tyne and Wear County Council95104——
    Tynedale300—No overall control
    Uttlesford240—Conservative
    Vale of Glamorgan10—No overall control
    Vale of Glamorgan80——
    Vale Of White Horse280—Conservative
    Vale Royal260—No overall control
    Wakefield210—Labour
    Walsall150—Labour
    Wansbeck130—Labour
    Wansdyke280——
    Warrington210—Conservative
    Warwick200—No overall control
    Warwickshire470—No overall control
    Watford Borough Council110——
    Waveney150—No overall control
    Waverley220—No overall control
    Wealden290—Conservative
    Wear Valley200—Labour
    Wellingborough140—No overall control
    Welwyn Hatfield10—Labour
    Welwyn Hatfield110——
    West Devon200—Other
    West Dorset380—Other
    West Glamorgan360—Labour
    West Lancashire180—No overall control
    West Lindsey300—Other
    West Midlands County Council96104——
    West Oxfordshire290—Other
    West Somerset190—Other
    West Sussex710—Conservative
    West Wiltshire130—No overall control
    West Yorkshire County Council8388——
    Weymouth and Portland70—Labour
    Wigan220—Labour
    Wiltshire660—No overall control
    Winchester20—Other
    Winchester290——
    Windsor & Maidenhead120—Conservative
    Wirral140—No overall control
    Woking20—Conservative
    Wokingham240—No overall control
    Wolverhampton130—Labour
    Woodspring320——
    Worcester80—No overall control
    Worthing10——
    Worthing60—Conservative
    Wychavon340—Other
    Wycombe170——
    Wycombe30—Conservative
    Wyre10—Conservative
    Wyre260——
    Wyre Forest150—No overall control
    York110—No overall control

    See also Election Health for 1973's competitiveness figures and Council Control.