1974 East Kilbride District Council election

1974 East Kilbride District Council election

7 May 1974 (1974-05-07) 1977 →
All 15 seats to East Kilbride District Council 8 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party   Party SNP Labour Seats won 7 5 Popular vote 10,072 11,047 Percentage 36.9% 40.5%   Third party Fourth party   Party Conservative Independent Seats won 2 1 Popular vote 4,650 1,147 Percentage 17.0% 4.2%

Elections to East Kilbride District Council were held on 7 May 1974, on the same day as the other Scottish local government elections. This was the first election to the district council following the implementation of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973.

The election used the 15 wards created by the Formation Electoral Arrangements in 1974. Each ward elected one councillor using first-past-the-post voting. ^[1]

The council was left in no overall control following the election. The Scottish National Party (SNP) were the largest party after they won seven of the 15 seats. Labour took five seats and the Conservatives won two seats.

Background

Prior to 1974, the area that was to become East Kilbride included one of the nine burghs of the County of Lanark. In 1947, the town of East Kilbride was the first new town to be designated in Scotland and, after expanding rapidly, the town was made a small burgh in 1963 and a large burgh in 1968. As a small burgh, the burgh council had limited powers which included some control over planning as well as local taxation, building control, housing, lighting and drainage. Further powers over the police, public health, social services, registration of births, marriages and deaths and electoral registration were devolved when the town became a large burgh. The rest of the local government responsibility fell to the county council. ^{[2] [3]}

Following the recommendations in the Wheatly Report, the old system of counties and burghs – which had resulted in a mishmash of local government areas in which some small burghs had larger populations but far fewer responsibilities than some large burghs and even counties ^[2] – was to be replaced by a new system of regional and district councils. The Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 implemented most of the recommendations in the Wheatly Report. The burgh and the area around it in the west of the County of Lanark and was placed into the East Kilbride district within the Strathclyde region. ^{[2] [4]}

Results

1974 East Kilbride District Council election result

Party		Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
	SNP	7			N/A	46.7	36.9	10,072	N/A
	Labour	5			N/A	33.3	40.5	11,047	N/A
	Conservative	2			N/A	13.3	17.0	4,650	N/A
	Independent	1			N/A	6.7	4.2	1,147	N/A
	Communist	0			N/A	0.0	1.4	380	N/A

Source: ^[5]

Aftermath

East Kilbride was one of three districts in the newly created Strathclyde region that was left in no overall control. The Scottish National Party (SNP) was the largest party after winning seven of the 15 seats. Labour won five seats and the Conservatives took two seats. One independent candidate was elected. Labour won control of the regional council which held its first election on the same day. Across Scotland, Labour won the most votes, the most seats and the most councils of any party. ^[5]

References

1. "Formation Electoral Arrangements". Local Government Boundary Commission for Scotland. Retrieved 5 April 2025.
2. "Information Paper Local government in Scotland: before 1975" (PDF). Boundaries Scotland. Retrieved 5 April 2025.
3. Cowling, D. (1997). An Essay for Today: the Scottish New Towns 1947–1997. Edinburgh: Rutland Press.
4. Turnock, David (1970). "The Wheatley Report: Local Government in Scotland". Area. 2 (2). Blackwell Publishing on behalf of The Royal Geographical Society with the Institute of British Geographers: 10–12. JSTOR   20000437.
5. Botchel, J. M.; Denver, D. T. (1975). The Scottish Local Government Elections 1974: Results and Statistics (PDF). Edinburgh: Scottish Academic Press. Retrieved 5 April 2025.