Kingston upon Thames (electoral division)

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

The constituency was revised in 1973 and then 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 which therefore created a constituency called Kingston upon Thames.

The new constituencies were settled following the Second Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies and the electoral division was replaced from 1973 by the single-member electoral divisions of Kingston upon Thames and Surbiton. The new Kingston upon Thames electoral division matched the boundaries of the Kingston upon Thames parliamentary constituency. ^[1]

First series

Kingston upon Thames
Former electoral division for the Greater London Council
District	London Borough of Kingston upon Thames
Population	143,670 (1969 estimate)
Electorate	102,862 (1964) 101,890 (1967) 107,147 (1970)
Area	9,279.1 acres (37.551 km2)
Former electoral division
Created	1965
Abolished	1973
Member(s)	2
Replaced by	Kingston upon Thames and Surbiton

The Kingston upon Thames constituency was used for the Greater London Council elections in 1964, ^[2] 1967 ^[3] and 1970. ^[4] Two 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 102,862 and two Conservative Party councillors were elected. With 51,570 people voting, the turnout was 50.1%. The councillors were elected for a three-year term.

1964 Greater London Council election: Kingston upon Thames

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Sydney William Leonard Ripley	26,252
	Conservative	Geoffrey John David Seaton	25,868
	Labour	E. K. Leggett	16,411
	Labour	C. Lesser	16,068
	Liberal	J. P. Farmer	6,788
	Liberal	A. M. Hollis	6,705
	Communist	D. E. Wilson	1,039
	Union Movement	A. J. C. Murray	944
Turnout
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)

1967 election

The second election was held on 13 April 1967. The electorate was 101,890 and two Conservative Party councillors were elected. With 45,924 people voting, the turnout was 45.1%. The councillors were elected for a three-year term.

1967 Greater London Council election: Kingston upon Thames

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Geoffrey John David Seaton	29,657
	Conservative	Sydney William Leonard Ripley	29,646
	Labour	E. K. Leggett	11,251
	Labour	T. Braddock	11,251
	Liberal	J. R. Pledger	3,692
	Liberal	D. B. Terry	3,470
	Communist	D. E. Wilson	925
Turnout
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

1970 election

The third election was held on 9 April 1970. The electorate was 107,147 and two Conservative Party councillors were elected. With 40,171 people voting, the turnout was 37.5%. The councillors were elected for a three-year term.

1970 Greater London Council election: Kingston upon Thames

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Sydney William Leonard Ripley	26,269
	Conservative	Geoffrey John David Seaton	26,075
	Labour	R. Kerr-Waller	9,833
	Labour	T. Mitchell	9,251
	Liberal	M. Freedman	2,962
	Liberal	G. D. Bell	2,736
	Independent	E. Scruby	1,065
	Communist	D. E. Wilson	438
	Homes before Roads	B. Hughes	220
	Union Movement	J. R. McLaren	159
Turnout
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

Second series

Kingston upon Thames
Former electoral division for the Greater London Council
District	Kingston upon Thames
Electorate	59,496 (1973) 57,880 (1977) 56,824 (1981)
Area	1,849 hectares (18.49 km2)
Former electoral division
Created	1973
Abolished	1986
Member(s)	1
Created from	Kingston upon Thames

The Kingston upon Thames constituency was used for the Greater London Council elections in 1973, ^[6] 1977 ^[7] and 1981. ^[8] 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 59,496 and one Conservative Party councillor was elected. The turnout was 39.0%. 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. ^[9]

1973 Greater London Council election: Kingston upon Thames

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Sydney William Leonard Ripley	12,145
	Labour	P. W. Lane	6,855
	Liberal	L. F. Wells	4,224
Turnout
	Conservative hold		Swing

1977 election

The fifth election to the GLC (and second using revised boundaries) was held on 5 May 1977. The electorate was 57,880 and one Conservative Party councillor was elected. The turnout was 43.9%. The councillor was elected for a four-year term.

1977 Greater London Council election: Kingston upon Thames

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Sydney William Leonard Ripley	16,568
	Labour	A. M. Barker	4,615
	Liberal	J. Bodden	3,126
	National Front	D. M. Foster	700
	Communist	D. E. Wilson	211
	GLC Abolitionist Campaign	P. E. L. M. Russell	199
Turnout
	Conservative hold		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 56,824 and one Conservative Party councillor was elected. The turnout was 42.4%. 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: Kingston upon Thames

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Sydney William Leonard Ripley	11,551
	Labour	Stuart H. J. Hercock	5,739
	Liberal	Stephen J. Harris	4,894
	SDP	Anthony M. Ward	1,544
	Ecology	Mike Elam	355
Turnout
	Conservative hold		Swing

References

1. "The Greater London (Electoral Areas) Order 1972" (PDF). legislation.gov.uk. 20 June 1972. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
2. "General Election of Greater London Councillors" (PDF). 9 April 1964. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 August 2013. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
3. "General Election of Greater London Councillors" (PDF). 13 April 1967. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 August 2013. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
4. "Greater London Council Election" (PDF). 9 April 1970. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 August 2013. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
5. Boothroyd, David. "Greater London Council Election results: Kingston upon Thames". United Kingdom Election Results. Archived from the original on 11 August 2016. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
6. "Greater London Council Election" (PDF). 12 April 1973. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 August 2013. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
7. "Greater London Council Election" (PDF). 5 May 1977. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 August 2013. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
8. "Greater London Council Election" (PDF). 7 May 1981. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 August 2013. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
9. "The London Councillors Order 1976" (PDF). legislation.gov.uk. 17 February 1976. Retrieved 9 October 2023.