1974 Hamilton District Council election

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1974 Hamilton District Council election
7 May 1974 (1974-05-07) 1977  

All 20 seats to Hamilton District Council
11 seats needed for a majority
Registered74,381
Turnout%
 First partySecond party
 
Lab
SNP
Party Labour SNP
Seats won132
Popular vote17,53010,248
Percentage45.7%26.7%

 Third partyFourth party
 
Con
Lib
Party Conservative Liberal
Seats won22
Popular vote4,7652,784
Percentage12.4%7.3%

Council Leader after election


Labour

Elections to Hamilton 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.

Contents

The election used the 20 wards created by the Formation Electoral Arrangements in 1974. Each ward elected one councillor using first-past-the-post voting. [1]

Labour took control of the council after winning a majority of the seats – 13 – and taking nearly half the popular vote. The Scottish National Party (SNP) took more than a quarter of the popular vote but only returned two seats. Both the Conservatives and the Liberals also returned two seats with less than half the vote share of the SNP. The remaining seat was won by an independent candidate.

Background

Prior to 1974, Hamilton was one of nine burghs within the County of Lanark. As a large burgh, powers over planning, local taxation, building control, housing, lighting and drainage as well as further powers over the police, public health, social services, registration of births, marriages and deaths and electoral registration rested with the burgh council. The rest of the local government responsibility fell to the county council which had full control over the areas which were not within a burgh. [2]

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. Hamilton Burgh and the surrounding areas including Blantyre, Bothwell, Uddingston, Larkhall and Stonehouse was to be placed in Hamilton District within the Strathclyde region. [3]

Results

1974 Hamilton District Council election result
PartySeatsGainsLossesNet gain/lossSeats %Votes %Votes+/−
  Labour 13N/A65.045.717,530N/A
  SNP 2N/A10.026.710,248N/A
  Conservative 2N/A10.012.54,765N/A
  Liberal 2N/A10.07.32,784N/A
  Independent 1N/A5.02.1812N/A
  Independent Labour 0N/A0.05.62,138N/A
  Communist 0N/A0.00.398N/A
Total20

Source: [4]

Ward results

Hillhouse

Hillhouse
PartyCandidateVotes%
Labour R. Newberry 888 60.2
SNP J. Boothroyd58839.8
Majority30020.4
Turnout 1,47649.0
Registered electors 3,041
Labour win (new seat)

Source: [4]

Udston

Udston
PartyCandidateVotes%
Labour S. DallasUnopposed
Registered electors 3,181
Labour win (new seat)

Source: [4]

Wellhall North

Wellhall North
PartyCandidateVotes%
SNP M. Kirkwood 676 47.3
Labour H. Doyle37726.4
Conservative A. Aitchison37726.4
Majority29920.9
Turnout 1,43046.3
Registered electors 3,104
SNP win (new seat)

Source: [4]

Central

Central
PartyCandidateVotes%
Conservative C. Brain 721 52.3
Labour T. Murphy65847.7
Majority634.6
Turnout 1,37954.7
Registered electors 2,543
Conservative win (new seat)

Source: [4]

Burnbank

Burnbank
PartyCandidateVotes%
Labour C. Brownlie 1,267 61.2
SNP D. Brown80438.8
Majority46322.4
Turnout 2,07150.3
Registered electors 4,164
Labour win (new seat)

Source: [4]

Bent

Bent
PartyCandidateVotes%
SNP J. Ross 728 40.3
Labour M. S. Ewart62334.5
Conservative G. Cowper45525.2
Majority1055.8
Turnout 1,80657.0
Registered electors 3,184
SNP win (new seat)

Source: [4]

Fairhill

Fairhill
PartyCandidateVotes%
Labour N. Cochrane 1,273 51.3
SNP E. Moore1,11344.8
Communist A. Valentine984.0
Majority1606.5
Turnout 2,48450.7
Registered electors 4,942
Labour win (new seat)

Source: [4]

Wellhall South

Wellhall South
PartyCandidateVotes%
Labour R. Sherry 627 53.0
Conservative G. Young28223.8
Liberal J. Millward27523.2
Majority34529.2
Turnout 1,18452.8
Registered electors 2,273
Labour win (new seat)

Source: [4]

Low Waters

Low Waters
PartyCandidateVotes%
Conservative D. Williamson 1,661 66.9
Labour I. McKillop82233.1
Majority83933.8
Turnout 2,48356.0
Registered electors 4,506
Conservative win (new seat)

Source: [4]

Cadzow

Cadzow
PartyCandidateVotes%
Labour W. Condie 1,687 63.8
Conservative G. Skelton-Smith95736.2
Majority73027.6
Turnout 2,64448.3
Registered electors 5,619
Labour win (new seat)

Source: [4]

Dalserf

Dalserf
PartyCandidateVotes%
Labour M. Grove 857 44.9
SNP G. Smith68335.8
Independent Labour J. McLean36719.2
Majority1749.1
Turnout 1,90751.3
Registered electors 3,715
Labour win (new seat)

Source: [4]

Machan

Machan
PartyCandidateVotes%
Labour J. Hunter 985 42.8
SNP M. Fergusson96541.9
Independent Labour J. Kelly35115.3
Majority200.9
Turnout 2,30153.9
Registered electors 4,282
Labour win (new seat)

Source: [4]

Avonholm

Avonholm
PartyCandidateVotes%
Labour J. Speirs 662 39.4
Independent Labour W. Little62337.1
SNP M. Miller39423.5
Majority391.7
Turnout 1,67957.1
Registered electors 2,957
Labour win (new seat)

Source: [4]

Strutherhill

Strutherhill
PartyCandidateVotes%
Labour S. Casserly 726 44.0
Independent Labour J. Downie66240.1
SNP E. Rocks26315.9
Majority643.9
Turnout 1,65162.0
Registered electors 2,674
Labour win (new seat)

Source: [4]

Stonehouse

Stonehouse
PartyCandidateVotes%
Independent M. Burns 812 40.0
Labour H. Chalmers71135.1
SNP C. McFarlane50524.9
Majority1014.9
Turnout 2,02860.2
Registered electors 3,391
Independent win (new seat)

Source: [4]

Bothwell and Uddingston North

Bothwell and Uddingston North
PartyCandidateVotes%
Liberal T. Maxwell 939 44.0
Labour S. Sloss80937.9
SNP D. Kirkcaldy38818.2
Majority1306.1
Turnout 2,13662.0
Registered electors 3,486
Liberal win (new seat)

Source: [4]

Bothwell and Uddingston South

Bothwell and Uddingston South
PartyCandidateVotes%
Liberal T. Grieve 1,568 68.1
Conservative G. McAllister31213.5
Labour G. Forry27912.1
SNP H. Graham1456.3
Majority1,25654.6
Turnout 2,30466.6
Registered electors 3,485
Liberal win (new seat)

Source: [4]

High Blantyre

High Blantyre
PartyCandidateVotes%
Labour J. Swinburne 1,353 55.7
SNP D. Crawford1,07544.3
Majority27811.4
Turnout 2,42851.0
Registered electors 4,789
Labour win (new seat)

Source: [4]

Blantyre

Blantyre
PartyCandidateVotes%
Labour D. Tremble 1,412 56.3
SNP T. Rarity1,09443.7
Majority31812.6
Turnout 2,50654.9
Registered electors 4,648
Labour win (new seat)

Source: [4]

Stonefield

Stonefield
PartyCandidateVotes%
Labour G. McInally 1,514 61.2
SNP J. Waugh82733.4
Independent Labour A. McLauchlan1355.5
Majority68727.8
Turnout 2,47657.7
Registered electors 4,397
Labour win (new seat)

Source: [4]

References

  1. "Formation Electoral Arrangements". Local Government Boundary Commission for Scotland. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
  2. 1 2 "Information Paper Local government in Scotland: before 1975" (PDF). Boundaries Scotland. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
  3. 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.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 Botchel, J. M.; Denver, D. T. (1975). The Scottish Local Government Elections 1974: Results and Statistics (PDF). Edinburgh: Scottish Academic Press. Retrieved 6 January 2024.