Wandsworth (electoral division)

Wandsworth
Former electoral division for the Greater London Council
District	London Borough of Wandsworth
Population	319,190 (1969 estimate)
Electorate	223,185 (1964) 216,617 (1967) 223,189 (1970) 216,934 (1972)
Area	8,628.0 acres (34.916 km2)
Former electoral division
Created	1965
Abolished	1973
Member(s)	4
Replaced by	Battersea North, Battersea South, Putney and Tooting

Wandsworth was an electoral division for the purposes of elections to the Greater London Council. The constituency elected four councillors for a three-year term in 1964, 1967 and 1970.

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 which therefore created a constituency called Wandsworth.

The electoral division was replaced from 1973 by the single-member electoral divisions of Battersea North, Battersea South, Putney and Tooting. ^[1]

Elections

The Wandsworth constituency was used for the Greater London Council elections in 1964, ^[2] 1967 ^[3] and 1970. ^[4] Four councillors were elected at each election using first-past-the-post voting. ^[5]

1964 election

The first election was held on 9 April 1964, a year before the council came into its powers. The electorate was 223,185 and four Labour Party councillors were elected. With 102,915 people voting, the turnout was 46.1%. The councillors were elected for a three-year term.

1964 Greater London Council election: Wandsworth

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Mrs. M. C. Jay	53,747
	Labour	Norman George Mollett Prichard	52,606
	Labour	George Frederick Rowe	51,857
	Labour	Joseph Simeon Samuels	51,292
	Conservative	Miss M. Bowen	37,459
	Conservative	J. I. Tweedie-Smith	37,292
	Conservative	F. L. Abbott	37,258
	Conservative	D. Y. Fell	36,776
	Liberal	A. Cowen	8,630
	Liberal	R. A. Locke	8,443
	Liberal	M. E. Lawson	7,897
	Liberal	C. V. Gittins	7,716
	Communist	Mrs. G. M. Easton	3,116
	Communist	D. J. Welsh	2,143
Turnout
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

1967 election

The second election was held on 13 April 1967. The electorate was 216,167 and four Conservative Party councillors were elected. With 91,236 people voting, the turnout was 42.1%. The councillors were elected for a three-year term.

1967 Greater London Council election: Wandsworth

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Frank Lewis Abbott	45,133
	Conservative	Anthony Vincent Bradbury	45,003
	Conservative	William J. Shelton	44,383
	Conservative	Jack Elmer Swanson	43,424
	Labour	Mrs. M. C. Jay	37,956
	Labour	Joseph Simeon Samuels	36,649
	Labour	S. F. C. Sporle	36,284
	Labour	Norman G. M. Prichard	31,672
	Liberal	C. H. Pritchard	11,319
	Liberal	Mrs. E. K. Benest	5,058
	Liberal	D. J. A. Livingstone	4,500
	Liberal	Mrs. A. P. Uziell-Hamilton	4,448
	Communist	Mrs. G. M. Easton	1,754
	Commonwealth Party of Great Britain	T. A. Cox	1,371
	Communist	D. J. Welsh	1,188
	Independent	T. Lamb	1,139
	Independent	E. D. Larkin	953
	Commonwealth Party of Great Britain	P. A. Head	634
	Commonwealth Party of Great Britain	H. Petts	619
	Commonwealth Party of Great Britain	R. D. Wagenaar	230
Turnout
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing

1970 election

The third election was held on 9 April 1970. The electorate was 223,189 and four Labour Party councillors were elected. With 83,107 people voting, the turnout was 37.2%. The councillors were elected for a three-year term.

1970 Greater London Council election: Wandsworth

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Mrs. Marie Jenkins	40,940
	Labour	Sir Norman Prichard	40,345
	Labour	Mrs. Gladys Felicia Dimson	40,330
	Labour	Joseph Simeon Samuels	40,097
	Conservative	William Jeremy Masefield Shelton	36,927
	Conservative	Jack Elmer Swanson	36,470
	Conservative	W. T. O. Wallace	36,307
	Conservative	Frank Lewis Abbott	36,140
	Liberal	R. C. H. Boddington	2,971
	Liberal	D. J. Livingstone	2,865
	Liberal	J. P. Grisewood	2,746
	Liberal	M. Findley	2,736
	Communist	Mrs. M. G. Easton	1,397
	Homes before Roads	J. K. Sheppard	1,127
	Communist	D. J. Welsh	1,098
	Homes before Roads	J. Bottomley	981
	Homes before Roads	P. Whelan	560
	Homes before Roads	W. Konopka-Nowina	508
	Union Movement	G. R. Wren	150
Turnout
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing

1972 by-election

A by-election was held on 15 June 1972, following the death of Sir Norman Prichard. ^[6] The electorate was 216,934 and one Labour Party councillor was elected. With 39,699 voting, the turnout was 18.3%

Wandsworth by-election, 1972

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Alexander McLaughlin	26,537
	Conservative	Mrs. L. Chalker	12,767
	Union Movement	D. R. Gerlach	395
Turnout
	Labour hold		Swing

References

1. "The Greater London (Electoral Areas) Order 1972" (PDF). legislation.gov.uk. 20 June 1972. Retrieved 19 November 2023.
2. "General Election of Greater London Councillors" (PDF). 9 April 1964. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 August 2013. Retrieved 19 November 2023.
3. "General Election of Greater London Councillors" (PDF). 13 April 1967. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 August 2013. Retrieved 19 November 2023.
4. "Greater London Council Election" (PDF). 9 April 1970. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 August 2013. Retrieved 19 November 2023.
5. Boothroyd, David. "Greater London Council Election results: Wandsworth". United Kingdom Election Results. Archived from the original on 24 March 2016. Retrieved 19 November 2023.
6. "Greater London Council Election results: Wandsworth". Archived from the original on 24 March 2016. Retrieved 19 November 2023.