Richmond (electoral division)

For other uses, see Richmond electoral division.

Richmond
Former electoral division for the Greater London Council
District	Richmond upon Thames
Electorate	53,758 (1973) 51,381 (1977) 49,766 (1981)
Major settlements	Richmond
Area	2,684 hectares (26.84 km2)
Former electoral division
Created	1973
Abolished	1986
Member(s)	1
Created from	Richmond upon Thames

Richmond was an electoral division for the purposes of elections to the Greater London Council. The constituency elected one councillor for a four-year term in 1973, 1977 and 1981, with the final term extended for an extra year ahead of the abolition of the Greater London Council.

History

It was planned to use the same boundaries as the Westminster Parliament constituencies for election of councillors to the Greater London Council (GLC), as had been the practice for elections to the predecessor London County Council, but those that existed in 1965 crossed the Greater London boundary. Until new constituencies could be settled, the 32 London boroughs were used as electoral areas. The London Borough of Richmond upon Thames formed the Richmond upon Thames electoral division. This was used for the Greater London Council elections in 1964, 1967 and 1970.

The new constituencies were settled following the Second Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies and the new electoral division matched the boundaries of the Richmond parliamentary constituency. ^[1]

It covered an area of 2,684 hectares (26.84 km²).

Elections

The Richmond constituency was used for the Greater London Council elections in 1973, ^[2] 1977 ^[3] and 1981. ^[4] One councillor was elected at each election using first-past-the-post voting. ^[5]

1973 election

The fourth election to the GLC (and first using revised boundaries) was held on 12 April 1973. The electorate was 53,758 and one Liberal Party councillor was elected. The turnout was 51.2%. The councillor was elected for a three-year term. This was extended for an extra year in 1976 when the electoral cycle was switched to four-yearly. ^[6]

1973 Greater London Council election: Richmond

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Stanley Rundle	12,160
	Conservative	B. S. Feldman	9,312
	Labour	K. L. Elmes	5,796
	Communist	E. Tendler	250
Turnout
	Liberal win (new seat)

1977 election

The fifth election to the GLC (and second using revised boundaries) was held on 5 May 1977. The electorate was 51,381 and one Conservative Party councillor was elected. The turnout was 58.1%. The councillor was elected for a four-year term.

1977 Greater London Council election: Richmond

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Edward Julian Egerton Leigh	14,508
	Liberal	A. M. Cornish	10,904
	Labour	A. B. Hart	3,574
	National Front	J. Harrison-Broadley	536
	GLC Abolitionist Campaign	A. Billingham	338
Turnout
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing

1981 election

The sixth and final election to the GLC (and third using revised boundaries) was held on 7 May 1981. The electorate was 49,766 and one Liberal Party councillor was elected. The turnout was 62.4%. The councillor was elected for a four-year term, extended by an extra year by the Local Government (Interim Provisions) Act 1984, ahead of the abolition of the council.

1981 Greater London Council election: Richmond

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Adrian Carnegie Slade	14,168
	Conservative	Edward Julian Egerton Leigh	14,053
	Labour	Elizabeth Nash	2,431
	Ecology	Barnaby Martin	300
	Save London Action Group	Gwendoline M. Marsh	112
Turnout
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing

References

1. "The Greater London (Electoral Areas) Order 1972" (PDF). legislation.gov.uk. 20 June 1972. Retrieved 19 September 2023.
2. "Greater London Council Election" (PDF). 12 April 1973. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 August 2013. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
3. "Greater London Council Election" (PDF). 5 May 1977. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 August 2013. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
4. "Greater London Council Election" (PDF). 7 May 1981. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 August 2013. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
5. Boothroyd, David. "Greater London Council Election results: Richmond upon Thames". United Kingdom Election Results. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
6. "The London Councillors Order 1976" (PDF). legislation.gov.uk. 17 February 1976. Retrieved 25 July 2023.