1956 Manchester City Council election

1956 Manchester City Council election

←  1955 10 May 1956 (1956-05-10) 1957  →
42 of 152 seats to Manchester City Council 77 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party Third party   Party Labour Conservative Liberal Last election 20 seats, 47.2% 18 seats, 50.8% 0 seats, 1.5% Seats before 86 63 3 Seats won 28 14 0 Seats after 87 62 3 Seat change 1 1 Popular vote 86,102 69,717 5,070 Percentage 53.1% 43.0% 3.1% Swing 5.9% 7.8% 1.6%
Map of results of 1956 election
Leader of the Council before election Labour Leader of the Council after election Labour

Elections to Manchester City Council were held on Thursday, 10 May 1956. One third of the councillors seats were up for election, with each successful candidate to serve a three-year term of office. The Labour Party retained overall control of the council. ^{[1] [2]}

Election result

Party		Votes			Seats			Full Council
Labour Party		86,102 (53.1%)		5.9	28 (66.7%)	28 / 42	1	87 (57.2%)	87 / 152
Conservative Party		69,717 (43.0%)		7.8	14 (33.3%)	14 / 42	1	62 (40.8%)	62 / 152
Liberal Party		5,070 (3.1%)		1.6	0 (0.0%)	0 / 42		3 (2.0%)	3 / 152
Communist		788 (0.5%)			0 (0.0%)	0 / 42		0 (0.0%)	0 / 152
Independent		436 (0.3%)		N/A	0 (0.0%)	0 / 42	N/A	0 (0.0%)	0 / 152

Full council

↓

87

3

62

Aldermen

↓

20

3

15

Councillors

↓

67

47

Ward results

Alexandra Park

Alexandra Park

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	H. Ward*	2,838	60.0	−21.1
	Liberal	G. E. Sharpe	1,071	22.6	N/A
	Labour	H. W. Bliss	821	17.4	−1.5
Majority			1,767	37.4	−24.8
Turnout			4,730
	Conservative hold		Swing

All Saints'

All Saints' (2 vacancies)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	F. P. Evans	1,818	64.3	+4.3
	Labour	J. H. Parish*	1,728	61.1	+1.1
	Conservative	W. J. Geddes	1,056	37.3	−2.7
Majority			672	23.8	+3.8
Turnout			2,829
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing

Ardwick

Ardwick

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	V. Wilson*	2,319	63.2	+0.6
	Conservative	G. Jackson	1,352	36.8	−0.6
Majority			967	26.4	+1.2
Turnout			3,671
	Labour hold		Swing

Baguley

Baguley

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	W. Gallacher*	3,000	59.2	+5.3
	Conservative	H. T. Fairclough	2,068	40.8	−5.3
Majority			932	18.4	+10.6
Turnout			5,068
	Labour hold		Swing

Barlow Moor

Barlow Moor

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	A. Hooley*	1,574	59.8	−9.9
	Labour	E. Wood	1,059	40.2	+9.9
Majority			515	19.6	−19.8
Turnout			2,633
	Conservative hold		Swing

Benchill

Benchill (2 vacancies)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	H. S. Gatley*	2,467	57.9	+6.3
	Labour	R. L. Griffiths	2,357	55.3	+3.7
	Conservative	R. Clarkson	1,665	39.0	−6.6
	Conservative	E. Birley	1,658	38.9	−6.7
	Communist	G. Taylor	190	4.5	+1.7
Majority			692	16.2	+10.2
Turnout			4,264
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing

Beswick

Beswick (2 vacancies)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	J. G. Birtles*	2,275	77.2	+3.1
	Labour	R. Malcolm	2,139	72.6	−1.5
	Conservative	R. B. Crompton	738	25.1	−0.8
Majority			1,401	47.5	−0.7
Turnout			2,945
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing

Blackley

Blackley

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	J. A. Lynch*	3,541	59.3	−4.2
	Labour	A. J. Fahey	2,431	40.7	+4.2
Majority			1,110	18.6	−8.4
Turnout			5,972
	Conservative hold		Swing

Bradford

Bradford

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	G. McCall*	3,080	75.2	+8.0
	Conservative	H. J. Caulfield	1,017	24.8	−8.0
Majority			2,063	50.4	+16.0
Turnout			4,097
	Labour hold		Swing

Burnage

Burnage

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	L. W. Biggs*	3,068	60.9	−3.5
	Labour	J. S. Goldstone	1,968	39.1	+3.5
Majority			1,100	21.8	−7.0
Turnout			5,036
	Conservative hold		Swing

Cheetham

Cheetham

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	M. P. Pariser*	1,705	50.3	+2.8
	Liberal	S. Needoff	1,157	34.1	+4.7
	Conservative	M. J. McGregor	529	15.6	−7.5
Majority			548	16.2	−1.9
Turnout			3,391
	Labour hold		Swing

Chorlton-cum-Hardy

Chorlton-cum-Hardy

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	G. W. G. Fitzsimons*	3,366	83.1	+1.5
	Labour	R. E. Talbot	683	16.9	−1.5
Majority			2,683	66.2	+3.0
Turnout			4,049
	Conservative hold		Swing

Collegiate Church

Collegiate Church

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	E. Mendell*	1,668	79.4	+6.0
	Conservative	F. Hargreaves	264	12.6	−9.3
	Communist	M. I. Druck	168	8.0	+3.3
Majority			1,404	66.8	+15.3
Turnout			2,100
	Labour hold		Swing

Crumpsall

Crumpsall

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	R. Collier*	3,172	56.7	−3.5
	Labour	K. Franklin	2,420	43.3	+3.5
Majority			752	13.4	−7.0
Turnout			5,592
	Conservative hold		Swing

Didsbury

Didsbury

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	D. K. Lee*	2,720	55.5	−13.8
	Liberal	E. Noble	1,616	32.9	+13.9
	Labour	A. Haslam	569	11.6	−0.1
Majority			1,104	22.6	−27.7
Turnout			4,905
	Conservative hold		Swing

Gorton North

Gorton North

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	F. Siddall*	3,556	72.1	+5.9
	Conservative	B. H. Farrow	1,376	27.9	−3.4
Majority			2,180	44.2	+9.3
Turnout			4,932
	Labour hold		Swing

Gorton South

Gorton South

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	H. Wimbury*	2,058	68.7	+16.9
	Conservative	T. Brownrigg	938	31.3	−16.9
Majority			1,120	37.4	+33.8
Turnout			2,996
	Labour hold		Swing

Harpurhey

Harpurhey

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	E. Grant*	2,691	58.0	+4.2
	Conservative	E. Bland	1,952	42.0	−4.2
Majority			739	16.0	+8.4
Turnout			4,643
	Labour hold		Swing

Hugh Oldham

Hugh Oldham

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	J. B. Ogden*	1,691	72.8	+1.6
	Conservative	J. C. Brearley	475	20.4	−2.8
	Communist	E. Cohen	157	6.8	+2.2
Majority			1,216	52.4	+5.4
Turnout			2,323
	Labour hold		Swing

Levenshulme

Levenshulme

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	R. A. Fieldhouse*	2,597	65.3	−7.4
	Labour	W. Pearlman	1,380	34.7	+7.4
Majority			1,217	30.6	−14.8
Turnout			3,977
	Conservative hold		Swing

Lightbowne

Lightbowne

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	H. Piggott*	3,268	50.4	+0.6
	Labour	G. Halstead	2,536	39.1	−2.7
	Liberal	F. N. Wedlock	683	10.5	+2.1
Majority			732	11.3	+3.3
Turnout			6,487
	Conservative hold		Swing

Longsight

Longsight

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	H. Sharp*	2,248	57.0	−7.2
	Labour	J. Davis	1,694	43.0	+7.2
Majority			554	14.0	−14.4
Turnout			3,942
	Conservative hold		Swing

Miles Platting

Miles Platting

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	C. R. Morris*	1,878	69.3	+8.9
	Conservative	T. E. Downes	832	30.7	−8.9
Majority			1,046	38.6	+17.8
Turnout			2,710
	Labour hold		Swing

Moss Side East

Moss Side East

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	W. A. Downward	2,538	55.7	+10.6
	Conservative	L. V. Roy	1,927	42.3	−10.5
	Communist	L. B. Johnson	92	2.0	−0.1
Majority			611	13.4
Turnout			4,557
	Labour hold		Swing

Moss Side West

Moss Side West

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	B. Lawson*	2,082	45.3	+6.1
	Conservative	L. Lescure	2,077	45.2	−15.6
	Independent	G. J. Playford	436	9.5	N/A
Majority			5	0.1
Turnout			4,595
	Labour hold		Swing

Moston

Moston

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	W. M. McGuirk*	3,105	53.6	+0.9
	Conservative	M. Dunn	2,684	46.4	−0.9
Majority			421	7.2	+1.8
Turnout			5,789
	Labour hold		Swing

New Cross

New Cross (2 vacancies)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	W. Murray*	1,535	71.2	+5.7
	Labour	E. Crank	1,450	68.0	+2.5
	Conservative	K. Corless	639	30.0	−4.5
Majority			811	38.0	+7.0
Turnout			2,132
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing

Newton Heath

Newton Heath

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	W. Lister*	2,437	69.4	+5.6
	Conservative	F. H. Robinson	1,072	30.6	−5.6
Majority			1,365	39.0	+11.2
Turnout			3,509
	Labour hold		Swing

Northenden

Northenden

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	S. N. M. Moxley	2,877	51.6	+3.5
	Conservative	T. C. Hewlett*	2,700	48.4	−3.5
Majority			177	3.2
Turnout			5,577
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing

Old Moat

Old Moat

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	W. Sharp*	1,950	56.3	−13.6
	Labour	E. H. Jessop	974	28.1	−2.1
	Liberal	R. H. Hargreaves	543	15.6	N/A
Majority			976	28.2	−11.4
Turnout			3,467
	Conservative hold		Swing

Openshaw

Openshaw

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	M. E. Morley*	3,157	71.7	+4.0
	Conservative	E. D. Lowe	1,063	24.2	−5.3
	Communist	J. Hodgson	181	4.1	+1.3
Majority			2,094	47.5	+9.3
Turnout			4,401
	Labour hold		Swing

Rusholme

Rusholme

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	K. Ollerenshaw	2,989	69.3	−2.7
	Labour	S. C. Rimmer	1,323	30.7	+2.7
Majority			1,666	38.6	−5.4
Turnout			4,312
	Conservative hold		Swing

St. George's

St. George's

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	G. Mann*	2,463	74.1	+10.3
	Conservative	L. C. Hughes	862	25.9	−10.3
Majority			1,601	48.2	+20.6
Turnout			3,325
	Labour hold		Swing

St. Luke's

St. Luke's

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	W. Massey	2,280	57.8	+8.2
	Conservative	N. Kenyon	1,667	42.2	−8.2
Majority			613	15.6
Turnout			3,947
	Labour hold		Swing

St. Mark's

St. Mark's

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	N. Morris	2,932	65.9	−0.9
	Conservative	R. Jones	1,514	34.1	+0.9
Majority			1,418	31.8	−1.8
Turnout			4,446
	Labour hold		Swing

St. Peter's

St. Peter's

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	J. Carson	1,226	71.6	−3.6
	Labour	C. E. Bedgood	486	28.4	+3.6
Majority			740	43.2	−7.2
Turnout			1,712
	Conservative hold		Swing

Withington

Withington

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	W. H. Scholfield*	2,089	71.5	−11.7
	Labour	N. Selwyn	834	28.5	+11.7
Majority			1,255	43.0	−23.4
Turnout			2,923
	Conservative hold		Swing

Woodhouse Park

Woodhouse Park

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	H. Waddicor*	3,638	79.4	+13.2
	Conservative	C. G. Tilley	946	20.6	−13.2
Majority			2,692	58.8	+26.4
Turnout			4,584
	Labour hold		Swing

References

1. SEE HOW THEY POLLED - AT A GLANCE, Manchester Evening News, May 11, 1956, p.4
2. CONSERVATIVES LOSE SEAT IN MANCHESTER, Manchester Guardian, May 11, 1956, p.4