1973 Alnwick District Council election

1973 Alnwick District Council election

30 May 1973 (1973-05-30) 1976 →
All 28 seats to Alnwick District Council 15 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party   Party Independent Labour Seats won 25 3 Popular vote 18,767 4,107 Percentage 82.0% 18.0%
Control of Council after election Independent

Elections to Alnwick District Council were held on the 30th of May 1973 alongside other local elections for Non-metropolitan district councils across England. The election was mainly fought between Independent politicians with a few wards being contested by Labour candidates. This was the first election for Alnwick District Council after it was created by the Local Government Act 1972. ^[1] Although the election took place in 1973, the elected council only operated as a shadow authority until 1 April 1974 when they took over the powers of the previous council. The district was formed on 1 April 1974 as a merger of the urban districts of Alnwick and Amble and the rural districts of Alnwick and Rothbury.

Election result

Alnwick Local Election Result 1973

Party		Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
	Independent	25	25	0	25	89.3	82.0	18,767	new
	Labour	3	3	0	3	10.7	18.0	4,107	new

Ward results

The result for each ward was as follows: ^[2]

Harbottle

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	J Coatsworth	235	65.5
	Independent	M Blakey	124	34.5
Majority			111	30.9
Turnout			359	65.8
Registered electors			546

Longframlington

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	M Keen	183	55.1
	Independent	F Hill	149	44.9
Majority			34	10.2
Turnout			332	58.8
Registered electors			565

No. 1 (Alnwick) (7)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	I Robertson	1,263	76.6
	Independent	H Reavell	909	55.1
	Independent	D Davidson	897	54.4
	Independent	W Proudlock	896	54.3
	Independent	C Oliver	857	52.0
	Independent	J Young	754	45.7
	Independent	R Waddell	580	35.2
	Independent	C Cookson	527	32.0
	Labour	J Wright	384	23.3
	Independent	W Young	364	22.1
	Labour	M Lawrence	363	22.0
Majority			354	21.5
Turnout			1,649	28.8
Registered electors			5,726

No. 2 (Amble) (5)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	J Gilgannon	1,193	50.8
	Labour	W Mitchell	1,190	50.6
	Independent	T Straffen	1,158	49.3
	Labour	D Bell	977	41.6
	Independent	C Turnbull	975	41.5
	Independent	A Rowell	969	41.2
	Independent	N Henderson	948	40.3
	Independent	C Murray	866	36.9
Majority			3	0.1
Turnout			2,350	63.5
Registered electors			3,701

No. 3 (Lesbury) (2)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	H Philipson	459	71.8
	Independent	J Baxter	429	67.1
	Independent	W Robertson	390	61.0
Majority			30	4.7
Turnout			639	53.8
Registered electors			1,187

No. 4 (Embleton)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	P Bridgeman	252	43.5
	Independent	S Purvis	237	40.9
	Independent	M Sutherland	90	15.5
Majority			15	2.6
Turnout			579	51.6
Registered electors			1,123

No. 5 (Longhoughton)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	R Huggins	246	52.8
	Independent	A White	220	47.2
Majority			26	5.6
Turnout			466	50.5
Registered electors			922

No. 6 (Shilbottle) (2)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	E Tully	300	89.0
	Independent	J Swordly	97	28.8
	Independent	W Tearney	95	28.2
	Independent	J Ternent	93	27.6
	Independent	P Blenkinsop	88	26.1
Majority			203	60.2
Turnout			337	27.4
Registered electors			1,232

No. 7 (Warkworth) (2)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	A Curry	414	64.4
	Independent	O Farrell	319	49.6
	Independent	H Slaughter	295	45.9
	Independent	W Carr	257	40.0
Majority			95	14.8
Turnout			643	37.3
Registered electors			1,725

No. 8 (Felton)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	K Ainsley	194	47.0
	Independent	F Widdringron	152	36.8
	Independent	G Armstrong	67	16.2
Majority			42	10.2
Turnout			413	49.4
Registered electors			836

No. 9 (Edlingham)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	M Hill	unopposed

No. 10 (Rothbury) (2)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	M Thompson	438	77.9
	Independent	J Miller	374	66.5
	Independent	L Wright	311	55.3
Majority			64	11.4
Turnout			562	34.2
Registered electors			1,641

No. 11 (Whittingham)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	R Smith	unopposed

No. 13 (Elsdon)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	R Elliott	190	64.2
	Independent	A Tait	60	20.3
	Independent	G McKenzie	46	15.5
Majority			130	43.9
Turnout			296	50.4
Registered electors			587

References

1. "Local Government Act 1972". www.legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 5 May 2025.
2. Rallings, Colin; Thrasher, Michael. "Alnwick District Council Election Results 1973-2003" (PDF). The Elections Centre. Retrieved 5 May 2025.