City of Edinburgh District Council election, 1984

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Map showing the results by Council ward. Edinburgh District Council election, 1984.svg
Map showing the results by Council ward.
Following the historic election a red flag was raised above the city chambers, although it was soon taken down. Red flag.svg
Following the historic election a red flag was raised above the city chambers, although it was soon taken down.

Elections for the City of Edinburgh District Council took place on Thursday 3 May 1984, alongside elections to the councils of Scotland's various other districts.

Contents

The election was the first time Labour had ever won a majority on the Edinburgh Council, with the party winning 34 of the City's 62 seats. The Conservatives came second, on 22 seats, whilst the SDP-Liberal Alliance won 4, and the SNP 2. Labour would retain its dominance for the next 23 years, until the 2007 election. Mark Lazarowicz and Nigel Griffiths played prominent roles in the election, and would later both become Edinburgh Members of Parliament for Labour. [1] Alex Wood was the leader of the Labour group.

Mark Lazarowicz British politician

Mark Lazarowicz is a British Labour Co-operative politician and lawyer who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Edinburgh North and Leith from 2001 to 2015. In October 2010, he was appointed as part of the shadow team for the Department for International Development along with Rushanara Ali with Harriet Harman in charge As of October 2011, his position of Shadow DFID Minister was taken over by Tony Cunningham.

Nigel Griffiths is a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Edinburgh South from 1987 to 2010.

Following the election a red flag was raised above the Edinburgh City Chambers, but it was taken down after a day. [1]

Red flag (politics) symbol of Socialism, Communism, and left-wing politics

In politics, a red flag is predominantly a symbol of socialism, communism, Marxism, trade unions, left-wing politics, and historically of anarchism; it has been associated with left-wing politics since the French Revolution (1789–99). Socialists adopted the symbol during the Revolutions of 1848 and it became a symbol of communism as a result of its use by the Paris Commune of 1871. The flags of several communist states, including China, Vietnam and the Soviet Union, are explicitly based on the original red flag. The red flag is also used as a symbol by some democratic socialists and social democrats, for example the League of Social Democrats of Hong Kong, French Socialist Party and the Social Democratic Party of Germany. The Labour Party in Britain used it until the late 1980s. It was the inspiration for the socialist anthem, The Red Flag.

Edinburgh City Chambers

Edinburgh City Chambers in Edinburgh, Scotland, is the meeting place of The City of Edinburgh Council and its predecessors Edinburgh Corporation and Edinburgh District Council.

Aggregate results

City of Edinburgh District Council election, 1984 [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]
PartySeatsGainsLossesNet gain/lossSeats %Votes %Votes+/−
  Labour 34111Increase2.svg1038.766,384
  Conservative 22010Decrease2.svg1032.956,569
  SDP–Liberal Alliance 431Increase2.svg221.536,867
  SNP 211Steady2.svg4.88,298
  Independent 001Decrease2.svg10.3531
  Other parties 001Decrease2.svg11.83,038

Ward Results

7th, Pilton [3]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Labour A. Wood 1,18289.5
Conservative J. K. M. Gilbert775.8
SDP–Liberal Alliance H. B. T. Holland614.6
Majority1,105
Turnout 1,320
Labour hold Swing
31st, North Hailes [3]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Labour M. Lazarowicz 1,524
SDP–Liberal Alliance Joyce Heggie163
Conservative A. Reid163
SNP J. Russell123
Majority1,361
Turnout 1,973
Labour hold Swing
32nd, South Hailes [3]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Labour N. Griffiths 1,228
SNP N. R. MacCallum273
Conservative Sheila L. Black201
SDP–Liberal Alliance J. Bulat143
Majority955
Turnout
Labour hold Swing
45th, Portobello [3]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Labour G. Kerevan 1,212
Conservative Karin J. C. Dodds1,069
Independent W. Westwood531
SDP–Liberal Alliance Marjorie Jenkins-Thomas396
SNP J. Leslie165
Scottish Ecology Joan M. C. Grant47
Majority143
Turnout
Labour hold Swing

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References

  1. 1 2 3 "30 years since Labour took Edinburgh City Council". Edinburgh Evening News. 8 April 2014. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
  2. "District Council Election Results: Lothian". The Glasgow Herald. 4 May 1984. p. 6.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "District Council Election Results: Lothian". The Glasgow Herald. 5 May 1984. p. 4.
  4. "District Council Elections: Key Councils - How the Parties Polled". The Glasgow Herald. 6 May 1988. p. 10.
  5. p.86-91