1978 Liverpool City Council election

Last updated May 26, 2025

Elections to Liverpool City Council were held on 4 May 1978. One third of the council was up for election and John Hamilton of the Labour Party became Leader of the Council albeit without overall control.^[1]

Election result

Liverpool Local Election Result 1978
	Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes
Labour	14	1	2	-1	40%	33%	43,339
Conservative	11	8	0	+8	24%	37%	48,684
Liberal	10	1	8	-7	29%	29%	38,317
Communist	0	0	0	0	0%	0.46%	606
Socialist Unity	0	0	0	0	0%	0.3%	373
Independent Liberal	0	0	0	0	0%	0.1%	112
Socialist Workers	0	0	0	0	0%	0.08%	102
Workers Revolutionary	0	0	0	0	0%	0.03%	39
Immigrant Party	0	0	0	0	0%	0.02%	23

^[2]

Ward results

* - Councillor seeking re-election

^(PARTY) - Party of former Councillor

Abercromby, St. James

Abercromby, St. James
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	E. Shields *	1,571	51%	−14%
	Liberal	Christopher Graham Davies	988	32%	+22%
	Conservative	M. E. Cheshire	291	9%	+3%
	Communist	R. O'Hara	215	7%	−6%
Majority			583
Registered electors			12,585
Turnout			3,065	24%
	Labour hold		Swing

Aigburth

Aigburth
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	F. Fawcett	3,775	62%	+25%
	Liberal	I. R. Porteous ^(PARTY)	1,655	27%	−28%
	Labour	F. Dunee	656	11%	+2%
Majority			2,120
Registered electors			14,821
Turnout			6,086	41%
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing

Allerton

Allerton
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	W. H. Fearenside	2,561	65%	+18%
	Liberal	J. B. Kaitiff ^(PARTY)	754	19%	−23%
	Labour	J. R. Brown	637	16%	+7%
Majority			1,807
Registered electors			10,886
Turnout			3,952	36%
	Conservative hold		Swing

Anfield

Anfield
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	J. H. Brash	1,782	43%	+19%
	Labour	T. McManus	1,406	34%	−2%
	Liberal	Joseph Robert Wilmington *	980	24%	−20%
Majority			376
Registered electors			12,747
Turnout			4,168	33%
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing

Arundel

Arundel
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	R. S. Fairclough	1,397	36%	+17%
	Liberal	P. H. Hodgson ^(PARTY)	1,269	33%	−27%
	Labour	J. McLean	1,028	27%	+6%
	Communist	J. Kay	145	4%
Majority			128
Registered electors			13,140
Turnout			3,839	29%
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing

Breckfield, St. Domingo

Breckfield, St. Domingo
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	David M.B. Croft ^(PARTY)	2,490	64%	+10%
	Labour	S. J. Gorman	912	23%	−9%
	Conservative	H. M. Rigby	491	13%	−1%
Majority			1,578
Registered electors			11,963
Turnout			3,893	33%
	Liberal hold		Swing

Broadgreen

Broadgreen
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	E. F. Pine	1,869	42%	+28%
	Liberal	Roger Johnston	1,774	39%	−15%
	Labour	P. Lloyd	859	19%	−13%
Majority			95
Registered electors			12,105
Turnout			4,502	37%
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing

Central, Everton, Netherfield

Central, Everton, Netherfield
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	J. Parry *	1,414	52%	−14%
	Liberal	Cathy Hancox	976	36%	+21%
	Conservative	J. B. King	319	12%	−7%
Majority			438
Registered electors			11,812
Turnout			2,709	23%
	Labour hold		Swing

Childwall

Childwall
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	S. Airey	4,263	62%	+24%
	Labour	J. E. Roberts	1,365	20%	+9%
	Liberal	A. M. Loughney ^(PARTY)	1,253	18%	−32%
Majority			2,898
Registered electors			20,285
Turnout			6,881	34%
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing

Church

Church
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Cyril Carr *	2,870	45%	−17%
	Conservative	R. F. Symington	2,837	45%	+13%
	Labour	M. J. Smith	654	10%	+5%
Majority			33
Registered electors			14,954
Turnout			6,361	43%
	Liberal hold		Swing

Clubmoor

Clubmoor
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	A. Gamble	1,333	36%	+3%
	Liberal	John Bowen *	1,177	32%	−13%
	Conservative	W. Scott	1,156	32%	+10%
Majority			156
Registered electors			10,630
Turnout			3,666	34%
	Labour gain from Liberal		Swing

County

County
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Neil T. Cardwell	1,805	42%	+15%
	Labour	J. McLean *	1,333	31%	−13%
	Conservative	R. J. Keney	1,175	27%	−2%
Majority			472
Registered electors			11,911
Turnout			4,313	36%
	Liberal gain from Labour		Swing

Croxteth

Croxteth
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	E. H. Fitzpatrick	2,720	56%	+26%
	Liberal	E. M. Clews ^(PARTY)	1,164	24%	−34%
	Labour	W. F. Burke	942	20%	+8%
Majority			1,556
Registered electors			12,525
Turnout			4,826	39%
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing

Dingle

Dingle
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	M. Evans *	1,105	62%	−2%
	Conservative	J. A. Watson	541	31%	+15%
	Liberal	G. Temmee	123	7%	−8%
Majority			564
Registered electors			7,462
Turnout			1,769	24%
	Labour hold		Swing

Dovecot

Dovecot
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	E. Burke *	2,379	50%
	Conservative	J. F. McMillan	1,411	29%
	Liberal	B. Morris	995	21%
Majority			968
Registered electors			16,539
Turnout			4,785	29%
	Labour hold		Swing

Fairfield

Fairfield
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal	Graham Hulme ^(PARTY)	1,684	50%
	Conservative	N. Wilkinson	834	25%
	Labour	F. Gaier	735	22%
	Socialist Workers	A. S. Meehan	102	3%
Majority			850
Registered electors			10,951
Turnout			3,355	31%
	Liberal hold		Swing

Fazakerley

Fazakerley
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	A. Brown	1,655	42%
	Labour	A. Williams	1,634	41%
	Liberal	R. J. Cunningham	664	17%
Majority			21
Registered electors			11,677
Turnout			3,953	34%
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing

Gillmoss

Gillmoss 2 seats
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	E. D. Roderick ^(PARTY)	2,554	56%
	Labour	P. J. Murphy	2,372	52%
	Conservative	A. Gore	1,153	25%
	Conservative	F. M. Kennedy	1,107	24%
	Liberal	E. Carroll	839	18%
	Liberal	J. Palfreyman	338	7%
Majority			1,401
Registered electors			19,245
Turnout			4,546	24%
	Labour hold		Swing

Granby, Prince's Park

Granby, Prince's Park
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Dr Cyril Taylor *	2,110	60%	−6%
	Liberal	Arthur Eric Damsell	447	13%
	Conservative	O. Y. Hughes	829	24%	−3%
	Communist	E. Caddick	103	3%
	Socialist Unity	E. P. Finnerty	92	3%
	Workers Revolutionary	W. Hunter	39	1%
	Immigrant Party	J. P. Murphy	23	1%
Majority			1,281
Registered electors			12,903
Turnout			3,489	27%
	Labour hold		Swing

Kensington

Kensington
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal	John R. Watton *	1,582	68%
	Labour	J. H. Stamper	443	19%
	Conservative	R. H. Mather	310	13%
Majority			1,139
Registered electors			6,420
Turnout			2,335	36%
	Liberal hold		Swing

Low Hill, Smithdown

Low Hill, Smithdown
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	David Alton *	2,166	67%	−3%
	Liberal	A. Clitherow ^(PARTY)	1,789	55%	−15%
	Labour	L. Gallagher	825	26%	+2%
	Labour	G. G. Pratt	547	17%	−7%
	Conservative	R. Meadows	241	7%	+1%
	Conservative	M. F. Meehan	174	5%	−1%
Majority			1,341
Registered electors			8,425
Turnout			3,232	38%
	Liberal hold		Swing
	Liberal hold		Swing

Melrose, Westminster

Melrose, Westminster
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	F. J. Molloy ^(PARTY)	1,307	47%	−16%
	Liberal	J. Bradley	1,265	45%	+32%
	Conservative	E. M. Clein	222	8%	−5%
Majority			42
Registered electors			7,896
Turnout			2,794	35%
	Labour hold		Swing

Old Swan

Old Swan
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal	Doreen Jones	1,746	42%
	Conservative	I. McFall	1,410	34%
	Labour	D. E. Krumbein	947	23%
	Communist	H. Mohin	83	2%
	Independent Liberal	W. J. McCullough	112	3%
Majority			336
Registered electors			12,614
Turnout			4,186	33%
	Liberal hold		Swing

Picton

Picton
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal	Pam A. Bradley ^(PARTY)	2,051	46%
	Labour	J. Hughes	1,345	30%
	Conservative	J. McDermott	955	22%
	Communist	J. G. Volleamere	60	1%
Majority			706
Registered electors			11,280
Turnout			4,411	39%
	Liberal hold		Swing

Pirrie

Pirrie
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	H. Dalton *	2,815	57%	−10%
	Conservative	W. T. Palmer	1,739	35%	+2%
	Liberal	J. Stephenson	359	7%
Majority			1,076
Registered electors			15,937
Turnout			4,913	31%
	Labour hold		Swing

St. Mary's

St. Mary's
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	S. R. Maddox *	1,309	47%
	Conservative	R. A. Parkes	1,094	39%
	Liberal	C. J. Lister	372	13%
Majority			215
Registered electors			9,474
Turnout			2,775	29%
	Labour hold		Swing

St. Michael's

St. Michael's
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal	Trevor Jones *	1,897	54%
	Conservative	J. Cheshire	1,017	29%
	Labour	D. R. Leach	616	17%
Majority			880
Registered electors			9,645
Turnout			3,530	37%
	Liberal hold		Swing

Sandhills, Vauxhall

Sandhills, Vauxhall
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	Paul Orr *	1,783	78%
	Socialist Unity	A. Thompson	281	12%
	Conservative	D. J. Lewis	173	8%
	Liberal	M. Decker	56	2%
Majority			1,502
Registered electors			9,015
Turnout			2,293	25%
	Labour hold		Swing

Speke

Speke
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	G. J. Maudsley *	1,878	61%
	Conservative	C. W. Harpin	983	32%
	Liberal	I. McGuiness	134	4%
	Independent Labour	P. Moorhead	105	3%
Majority			895
Registered electors			14,188
Turnout			3,100	22%
	Labour hold		Swing

Tuebrook

Tuebrook
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	J. Irving	1,541	38%	+14%
	Labour	Derek Hatton	1,450	36%	+6%
	Liberal	C. Collins ^(PARTY)	1,057	26%	−17%
Majority			91
Registered electors			11,240
Turnout			4,048	36%
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing

Warbreck

Warbreck
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	R. B. Flude *	1,781	45%	−8%
	Liberal	E. J. Seddon	1,170	30%
	Labour	W. H. Roberts	1,009	25%	−22%
Majority			611
Registered electors			11,722
Turnout			3,960	34%
	Conservative hold		Swing

Woolton, East

Woolton, East
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	H. Bryers ^(PARTY)	2,080	57%
	Conservative	S. Fitzsimmons	1,204	33%
	Liberal	R. F. Heywood	359	10%
Majority			876
Registered electors			13,607
Turnout			3,643	27%
	Labour hold		Swing

Woolton, West

Woolton, West
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Ruth Dean	5,011	74%
	Labour	J. M. Lyon	1,135	17%
	Liberal	J. E. Parry	635	9%
Majority			3,876
Registered electors			17,820
Turnout			6,781	38%
	Conservative hold		Swing

^[3]

References

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[1] Liverpool Daily Post 5 May 1978

[2] Liverpool Daily Post 5 May 1978

[3] Liverpool Daily Post 5 May 1978

[1]

[2]

[3]

v t e (1977 ←) 1978 United Kingdom local elections (→ 1979)
London boroughs	Barking Barnet Bexley Brent Bromley Camden Croydon Ealing Enfield Greenwich Hackney Hammersmith Haringey Harrow Havering Hillingdon Hounslow Islington Kensington and Chelsea Kingston upon Thames Lambeth Lewisham Merton Newham Redbridge Richmond upon Thames Southwark Sutton Tower Hamlets Waltham Forest Wandsworth Westminster
Metropolitan boroughs	Barnsley Birmingham Bradford Bolton Bury Calderdale Coventry Doncaster Dudley Gateshead Kirklees Knowsley Leeds Liverpool Manchester Newcastle North Tyneside Oldham Rochdale Rotherham Salford Sandwell Sefton Sheffield Solihull South Tyneside St Helens Stockport Sunderland Tameside Trafford Wakefield Walsall Wigan Wirral Wolverhampton
District councils (England)	Basingstoke and Deane Bath Brentwood Broxbourne Burnley Cambridge Cannock Chase Chorley Colchester Congleton Eastbourne Eastleigh Ellesmere Port and Neston Elmbridge Fareham Halton Harlow Hart Hartlepool Havant Hertsmere Huntingdon Milton Keynes Mole Valley Pendle Peterborough Preston Rochford Rossendale Runnymede Shrewsbury and Atcham South Bedfordshire South Cambridgeshire Southend-on-Sea Tamworth Tandridge Thamesdown Three Rivers Tunbridge Wells Watford Welwyn Hatfield West Lancashire Winchester Woking
Regional councils (Scotland)	Borders Central Dumfries and Galloway Fife Grampian Highland Lothian Orkney Shetland Strathclyde Tayside Western Isles

v t e Local elections in Merseyside
Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council	1973 1975 1976 1978 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015 2016 2018 2019 2021 2022 2023 2024
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Mayor of Liverpool	2012 2016 2021 Abolished
Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council	1973 1975 1976 1978 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015 2016 2018 2019 2021 2022 2023 2024
St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council	1973 1975 1976 1978 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015 2016 2018 2019 2021 2022
Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council	1973 1975 1976 1978 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015 2016 2018 2019 2021 2022 2023
Liverpool School Board	1870 1873 1876 1879 1882 1885 1888 1891 1894 1897 1900 Abolished
Merseyside County Council	1973 1977 1981 Abolished
Liverpool City Region Mayor	2017 2021 2024
Police and Crime Commissioner	2012 2016 2021 2024
See also: Wards Boundary changes