1977 Hamilton District Council election

1977 Hamilton District Council election

←  1974 3 May 1977 (1977-05-03) 1980  →
All 20 seats to Hamilton District Council 11 seats needed for a majority
Registered	76,551
Turnout	53.2%
First party Second party   Lab SNP Party Labour SNP Last election 13 seats, 45.7% 2 seats, 26.7% Seats won 10 6 Seat change 3 4 Popular vote 17,088 13,442 Percentage 42.1% 33.1% Swing 3.6 6.4   Third party Fourth party   Lib Con Party Liberal Conservative Last election 2 seats, 7.3% 2 seats, 12.4% Seats won 2 1 Seat change 1 Popular vote 2,517 5,123 Percentage 6.2% 12.6% Swing 1.1 0.2
Council Leader before election Labour Council Leader after election No overall control

Elections to Hamilton District Council were held on 3 May 1977, on the same day as the other Scottish local government elections. This was the second election to the district council following the local government reforms in 1974.

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

After a net loss of three seats, Labour lost their majority on the council but remained as the largest single party after winning half the seats. The Scottish National Party (SNP) recorded their best result in a Hamilton District election after winning six seats – an increase of four and a result they wouldn't match in the area for 30 years. The Liberals retained their two seats while the Conservatives lost one seat to return one councillor. The remaining seat was won by Independent Labour.

Results

1977 Hamilton District Council election result

Party		Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
	Labour	10	2	5	3	50.0	42.1	17,088	3.6
	SNP	6	4	0	4	30.0	33.1	13,442	6.4
	Liberal	2	0	0		10.0	6.2	2,517	1.1
	Conservative	1	0	1	1	5.0	12.6	5,123	0.2
	Independent Labour	1	1	0	1	5.0	1.6	639	4.0
	Independent	0	0	1	1	0.0	4.1	1,664	2.0
	Communist	0	0	0		0.0	0.4	148	0.1
Total		20						40,621

Source: ^{[2] [3]}

Ward results

Hillhouse

Hillhouse

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	SNP	G. McLachlan	855	52.5	12.7
	Labour	R. Newberry	775	47.5	12.7
Majority			80	5.0	N/A
Turnout			1,630	50.4	1.4
Registered electors			3,239
	SNP gain from Labour		Swing	12.7

Source: ^{[2] [3]}

Udston

Udston

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independent Labour	S. Dallas	639	37.0
	Labour	M. Adam	584	33.8
	SNP	E. Alexander	504	29.2
Majority			55	3.2
Turnout			1,727	52.0
Registered electors			3,320
	Independent Labour gain from Labour

Source: ^{[2] [3]}

Wellhall North

Wellhall North

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	SNP	M. Kirkwood	722	41.9	5.4
	Labour	H. Doyle	460	26.7	0.3
	Conservative	A. Aitchison	436	25.3	1.1
	Independent	S. Clarke	106	6.1	New
Majority			262	15.2	5.7
Turnout			1,724	53.8	7.5
Registered electors			3,207
	SNP hold		Swing	2.8

Source: ^{[2] [3]}

Central

Central

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	T. Murphy	506	38.2	9.5
	SNP	K. Darling	441	33.3	New
	Conservative	G. Cowper	376	28.4	23.9
Majority			65	4.9	N/A
Turnout			1,323	54.9	0.2
Registered electors			2,411
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	6.3

Source: ^{[2] [3]}

Burnbank

Burnbank

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	C. Brownlie	1,154	61.4	0.2
	SNP	G. MacDonald	660	35.1	3.7
	Communist	M. McIntosh	67	3.6	New
Majority			494	26.3	3.9
Turnout			1,881	47.2	3.1
Registered electors			3,989
	Labour hold		Swing	0.2

Source: ^{[2] [3]}

Bent

Bent

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	SNP	J. Ross	907	52.4	12.1
	Labour	A. Welsh	428	24.7	9.8
	Conservative	J. Bell	395	22.8	2.4
Majority			479	27.7	21.9
Turnout			1,730	55.2	1.8
Registered electors			3,138
	SNP hold		Swing	12.1

Source: ^{[2] [3]}

Fairhill

Fairhill

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	N. Cochrane	1,406	54.6	3.3
	SNP	J. McGowan	1,087	42.2	2.6
	Communist	A. Valentine	81	3.1	0.9
Majority			319	12.4	5.9
Turnout			2,574	50.9	0.2
Registered electors			5,077
	Labour hold		Swing	3.3

Source: ^{[2] [3]}

Wellhall South

Wellhall South

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	D. Peutherer	603	37.9	15.1
	SNP	R. Hetmanczyk	580	36.5	New
	Conservative	A. Keg	301	18.9	4.9
	Liberal	R. Wilkinson	105	6.6	16.6
Majority			23	1.4	27.8
Turnout			1,589	51.2	1.6
Registered electors			3,105
	Labour hold		Swing	25.8

Source: ^{[2] [3]}

Low Waters

Low Waters

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	D. Williamson	1,587	60.6	6.3
	SNP	A. McGubbin	538	20.5	New
	Labour	W. Cochrane	494	18.9	14.2
Majority			1,049	40.1	6.3
Turnout			2,619	56.2	0.2
Registered electors			4,665
	Conservative hold		Swing	6.3

Source: ^{[2] [3]}

Cadzow

Cadzow

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	SNP	I. Campbell	1,080	36.9	New
	Labour	J. Brownlie	925	31.6	32.2
	Conservative	J. Dorricott	919	31.4	4.8
Majority			155	5.3	N/A
Turnout			2,924	51.5	3.2
Registered electors			5,693
	SNP gain from Labour		Swing	34.5

Source: ^{[2] [3]}

Dalserf

Dalserf

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	SNP	D. Broadfoot	1,024	56.4	20.6
	Labour	M. Grove	793	43.6	1.3
Majority			231	12.8	N/A
Turnout			1,817	48.2	3.1
Registered electors			3,782
	SNP gain from Labour		Swing	20.6

Source: ^{[2] [3]}

Machan

Machan

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	SNP	M. Miller	1,117	53.7	11.8
	Labour	J. Hunter	785	37.8	5.0
	Independent	A. Clelland	177	8.5	New
Majority			332	15.9	N/A
Turnout			2,079	47.4	6.5
Registered electors			4,389
	SNP gain from Labour		Swing	11.8

Source: ^{[2] [3]}

Avonholm

Avonholm

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	J. Speirs	698	47.5	8.1
	SNP	A. Douglas	529	36.0	12.5
	Independent	J. McLean	244	16.6	New
Majority			169	11.5	9.2
Turnout			1,471	50.1	7.0
Registered electors			2,948
	Labour hold		Swing	8.1

Source: ^{[2] [3]}

Strutherhill

Strutherhill

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	S. Casserly	792	54.3	10.3
	SNP	A. Broadfoot	432	29.6	13.7
	Independent	W. Little	235	16.1	New
Majority			360	24.7	20.8
Turnout			1,459	56.8	5.2
Registered electors			2,583
	Labour hold		Swing	10.3

Source: ^{[2] [3]}

Stonehouse

Stonehouse

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	R. Gibb	1,162	56.3	21.2
	Independent	M. Burns	902	43.7	3.7
Majority			260	6.6	N/A
Turnout			2,064	57.7	2.5
Registered electors			5,077
	Labour gain from Independent		Swing	8.7

Source: ^{[2] [3]}

Bothwell and Uddingston North

Bothwell and Uddingston North

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	T. Maxwell	911	45.5	1.5
	Labour	S. Sloss	653	32.6	5.3
	Conservative	J. Bain	440	22.0	New
Majority			258	12.9	6.8
Turnout			2,004	57.8	4.2
Registered electors			3,487
	Liberal hold		Swing	3.4

Source: ^{[2] [3]}

Bothwell and Uddingston South

Bothwell and Uddingston South

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	T. Grieve	1,501	60.9	7.2
	Conservative	A. Thomson	669	27.2	13.7
	Labour	J. Weir	293	11.9	0.2
Majority			832	33.7	20.9
Turnout			2,463	62.3	4.3
Registered electors			3,964
	Liberal hold		Swing	10.4

Source: ^{[2] [3]}

High Blantyre

High Blantyre

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	J. Swinburne	1,290	53.2	2.5
	SNP	D. Crawford	1,133	46.8	2.5
Majority			157	6.4	5.0
Turnout			2,423	51.5	0.5
Registered electors			4,710
	Labour hold		Swing	2.5

Source: ^{[2] [3]}

Blantyre

Blantyre

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	M. D. Tremble	1,608	61.2	4.9
	SNP	J. Waugh	1,019	38.8	4.9
Majority			589	22.4	9.8
Turnout			2,627	55.5	0.6
Registered electors			4,784
	Labour hold		Swing	4.9

Source: ^{[2] [3]}

Stonefield

Stonefield

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	G. McInally	1,679	67.3	6.1
	SNP	E. Stewart	814	32.7	0.7
Majority			865	34.6	6.8
Turnout			2,493	56.2	1.5
Registered electors			4,469
	Labour hold		Swing	6.1

Source: ^{[2] [3]}

References

1. "Formation Electoral Arrangements". Local Government Boundary Commission for Scotland. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
2. Botchel, J. M.; Denver, D. T. (1977). The Scottish District Elections 1977: Results and Statistics (PDF). Dundee: Election Studies, University of Dundee. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
3. 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.