1968 Sheffield City Council election

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1968 Sheffield City Council election
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←  1967 9 May 1968 1969  →
30 councillors to Sheffield City Council
 First partySecond party
 
Party Conservative Labour
Seats won228
Seat changeIncrease2.svg8Decrease2.svg7
1968 Sheffield City Council election map-en.png
Majority party before election

Labour Party (UK)

Majority party after election

Conservative Party (UK)

The 1968 Sheffield City Council election was held on 9 May 1968, with a third of the council up for vote, alongside three double vacancies in Broomhill, Handsworth and Mosborough. Overall turnout was 33.9%, a continuation of the preceding year's improvement.

Contents

Following on from the previous year's momentous wins by the Conservatives, this historic night seen them surpass those and win control of the council for the first time since 1932, when it won as the Conservative-Liberal combination Progressives party. This election and the previous followed the national trend of Labour suffering massive losses around the country, even in their heartlands, with only two cities left Labour-controlled after these elections - Hull and Stoke - and even there the Tories were making significant inroads.

The results were met with jubilant scenes in the town hall, where the Conservatives opened bottles of champagne and celebrated. The leader of the Conservative group, alderman Harold Hebblethwaite, remarked:

"Tonight is a wonderful night. It is a narrow majority, nevertheless, it is a workable majority. This victory is the plum which the Conservative Party have been looking for nationally, and here it is. I am not used to making emotional statements such as 'to the victors the spoils' but it follows naturally from our victory that we shall take the committee chairmanships and deputy chairmanships. We will have to do that to control policy. We have a majority of only four but I would emphasise that if we had had this majority last year with the opportunity to manipulate aldermanic seats our majority on the council floor would have been 14."

Labour Park councillor Joe Ashton, wrote "we will return" on the wall of the Town Hall whip's office in response to the defeat.

The Conservatives gained seven seats from Labour in Birley, Darnall, Firth Park, Netherthorpe, Owlerton, Sharrow and Walkley, as well as the sole Independent seat in Mosborough. These gains transformed a narrow deficit in councillors, to a thirteen-strong majority. A poll of voters in the Darnall ward (an invariably Labour-won seat since 1945) was commissioned by the Morning Telegraph four days prior to the election, correctly predicting a Conservative gain with a swing to the Conservatives of 5.5% - a figure that was exceeded by one per cent on the night. Unfortunately for the Conservatives, the aldermanic elections weren't until 1970, and two-thirds of those currently represented Labour, reducing their majority to just 4, and as such, difficult to govern with. Aside from numerical difficulties, the recent report from the City's Treasurer precipitated financial restraint, so the incoming governments options were one of either cuts to the council's services, or rises in the city's rates. [1]

Election result

Sheffield Local Election Result 1968
PartySeatsGainsLossesNet gain/lossSeats %Votes %Votes+/−
  Conservative 2280+873.357.472,763+7.0
  Labour 807-726.736.045,555-2.2
  Communist 00000.02.43,006-2.0
  Liberal 00000.02.12,697-2.1
 Other001-10.02.12,652-0.6

The result had the following consequences for the total number of seats on the Council after the elections:

PartyPrevious councilNew council
Cllr Ald Cllr Ald
Conservatives399479
Labour41183418
Communists0000
Liberals0000
Independent1000
Total81278127
108108
Working majority 1  9  13  -9 
 10  4 

Ward results

Attercliffe [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Harry Firth 2,257 66.4 −4.7
Conservative Harold Mellor1,14133.6+4.7
Majority1,11632.8−9.4
Turnout 3,39821.2−1.6
Labour hold Swing -4.7
Beauchief [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative Thomas Crewe 6,303 82.9 +11.4
Labour Kenneth Morgan1,30017.1−11.4
Majority5,00365.8+22.8
Turnout 7,60353.1+3.4
Conservative hold Swing +11.4
Birley [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative Danny George 2,507 54.1 +15.8
Labour Leonard Stones1,90341.1+0.5
Independent Laurence Gillatt2214.8−16.3
Majority60413.0+10.8
Turnout 4,63131.2+1.9
Conservative gain from Labour Swing +7.6
Brightside [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour George Wilson 1,838 52.8 +1.3
Conservative Leonard Scott1,26136.2+6.7
National Front George Clark2146.1−3.7
Communist Joe Stevens1704.9−4.3
Majority57716.6−5.4
Turnout 3,48327.1+1.5
Labour hold Swing -2.7
Broomhill [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative Graham Cheetham 3,560 66.4 −10.8
Conservative A. Smith 3,419
Labour Annie Britton99918.6−4.2
Liberal J. Garb80415.0+15.0
Majority2,56147.7−6.6
Turnout 5,36333.1−0.8
Conservative hold Swing
Conservative hold Swing -3.3
Burngreave [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative Jack Osborne 1,842 49.7 +5.1
Labour Harry Hall1,56742.3+4.6
Communist Jim Ashurst1724.6−4.5
D. Biddles1243.4+3.4
Majority2757.4+5.8
Turnout 3,70527.3−0.3
Conservative hold Swing +0.2
Castle [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Roy Munn 1,759 54.0 +2.6
Conservative Simon Newall1,10934.0−2.6
G. May2174.8+4.8
Communist Edna Ashworth1745.3−7.2
Majority65019.9+4.7
Turnout 3,25928.9+2.5
Labour hold Swing +2.3
Darnall [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative J. Heath 2,395 50.9 +6.6
Labour Arnold Wood2,31249.1−6.6
Majority831.7−9.6
Turnout 4,70730.4−2.8
Conservative gain from Labour Swing +6.6
Dore [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative Patricia Santhouse 5,039 80.3 +2.5
Labour John Cornwell1,23519.7−2.5
Majority3,80460.3+5.0
Turnout 6,27448.7+5.3
Conservative hold Swing +2.5
Ecclesall [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative Andrew Cook 4,844 78.1 +9.3
Liberal A. Barrett72011.6−5.5
Labour Leon Harris63610.2−3.8
Majority4,12467.9+16.2
Turnout 6,20042.7−0.1
Conservative hold Swing +7.4
Firth Park [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative Madge Kerton 2,163 46.0 +6.1
Labour Tom Lowe1,84639.3+1.2
Liberal Francis Butler47110.0−2.4
Communist R. Wilkinson2174.6−4.9
Majority3176.75.0
Turnout 4,69732.8+1.2
Conservative gain from Labour Swing +2.4
Gleadless [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative Charles Davison 4,089 63.8 +8.3
Labour Alfred Wood1,95230.4−2.4
Liberal Dennis Boothroyd3705.8−5.9
Majority2,13733.3+10.7
Turnout 6,41146.5−4.0
Conservative hold Swing +5.3
Hallam [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative Guy Walker 4,321 79.6 +1.2
Labour Jack Watson1,10820.4−1.2
Majority3,21359.2+2.3
Turnout 5,42939.5+0.7
Conservative hold Swing +1.2
Handsworth [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative Francis Brookes 2,105 50.5 +1.0
Conservative Jack Kerton 2,073
Labour James Pearson2,06649.5−1.0
Labour George Nicholls2,064
Majority70.9−0.2
Turnout 4,17132.7−5.6
Conservative hold Swing
Conservative hold Swing +1.0
Heeley [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative Michael Swain 3,855 57.7 +8.9
Labour Peter Jones2,41336.1−5.4
Communist Robert Moody4076.1−3.6
Majority1,44221.6+14.3
Turnout 6,67540.5−1.7
Conservative hold Swing +7.1
Hillsborough [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative Irvine Patnick 4,309 68.3 +8.8
Labour Albert Morris1,99731.7−8.8
Majority2,31236.7+17.5
Turnout 6,30642.8−4.2
Conservative hold Swing +8.8
Intake [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative Frank Woodger 2,920 57.2 +5.3
Labour Joseph Albaya2,18142.7−5.3
Majority73914.5+10.6
Turnout 5,10132.6−2.7
Conservative hold Swing +5.3
Manor [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour George Machin 1,785 49.3 +3.5
Conservative Raymond Brown1,41038.9+5.7
Communist John Hukin42511.7−9.2
Majority37510.3−2.1
Turnout 3,62025.8−1.0
Labour hold Swing -1.1
Mosborough [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative Hugh Rowbotham 1,532 50.5 +24.1
Labour Dorothy Walton 1,498 49.4 +13.6
Labour Harry Havenhand1,415
Conservative Eric Vawser1,317
Majority831.1−0.9
Turnout 3,03033.6+2.8
Conservative gain from Independent Swing
Labour hold Swing -5.2
Nether Edge [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative Charles Macdonald 4,515 82.8 +17.7
Labour Charles Hayward93817.2−1.3
Majority3,57765.6+19.0
Turnout 5,45339.8+3.9
Conservative hold Swing +9.5
Nether Shire
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Fred Staton 1,928 39.5 +1.7
Conservative Michael Black1,79236.7+3.8
R. Hewitt56711.6+11.6
Liberal Albert Hattersley3326.8−9.7
Communist Ken Hattersley2665.4−7.4
Majority1362.8−2.0
Turnout 4,88539.4+4.0
Labour hold Swing -1.0
Netherthorpe [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative Jean Grindrod 1,486 45.9 +8.7
Labour Marie Rodgers1,48345.8−1.5
Communist Roy Barrett2708.3−7.2
Majority30.1−10.0
Turnout 3,23928.9+2.3
Conservative gain from Labour Swing +5.1
Owlerton [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative Nesta Bennett 1,509 45.8 +15.3
Labour John Yeardley1,43543.6−3.0
Communist Dave Jeffery34910.6−1.0
Majority742.2−13.7
Turnout 3,29322.5−3.1
Conservative gain from Labour Swing +9.1
Park [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Dennis Dunn 1,726 47.0 −4.7
Conservative June Harris1,14531.1−2.6
M. Macdonald63112.1+12.1
Communist Cyril Morton1724.7−9.8
Majority58115.8−2.1
Turnout 3,67424.8−1.0
Labour hold Swing -1.0
Sharrow [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative J. Pashley 2,388 51.5 +11.2
Labour Ethel Evans2,03944.0+4.7
National Front Barrie Bolton2044.5−3.9
Majority3497.5+6.5
Turnout 4,63139.3+1.8
Conservative gain from Labour Swing +3.2
Southey Green [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Labour Francis O'Shaughnessy 1,478 52.1 −0.0
Conservative Charles Hughes97534.4+2.4
Communist Gordon Ashberry38413.5−2.3
Majority50317.7−2.4
Turnout 2,83721.0−0.6
Labour hold Swing -1.2
Walkley [1]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Conservative John Goodram 2,248 48.9 +3.4
Labour Bernard Kidd1,87640.8−4.7
National Front Alan Holmes2445.3−3.7
G. Bohannon2305.0+5.0
Majority3728.1+8.1
Turnout 4,59831.5+2.7
Conservative gain from Labour Swing +4.0

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 "Sheffield Local Elections 1960–1995 scans" . Retrieved 2 December 2011.
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