Manchester City Council election, 1973

The first elections to the new Manchester City Council were held on Thursday, 10 May 1973. The election created the entire 99-member council (3 councillors to each ward), which shadowed its predecessor corporation before taking over its functions on 1 April 1974, as specified in the Local Government Act 1972. Each 1st-placed candidate was appointed to a five-year term of office, expiring in 1978. Each 2nd-placed candidate had a three-year term of office, expiring in 1976. Each 3rd-placed candidate served a two-year term of office, expiring in 1975.

The Labour Party gained overall control of the council.^[1]

Election result

Manchester Council Election Result 1973
Party		Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
	Labour	59	0	0	0	59.6	45.9	50,226	N/A
	Conservative	40	0	0	0	40.4	44.8	49,022	N/A
	Liberal	0	0	0	0	0.0	5.0	5,448	N/A
	Ratepayers	0	0	0	0	0.0	1.7	1,931	N/A
	Independent	0	0	0	0	0.0	1.1	1,244	N/A
	Communist	0	0	0	0	0.0	1.0	1,094	N/A
	British Campaign to Stop Immigration	0	0	0	0	0.0	0.3	368	N/A
	Freedom to Choose Group	0	0	0	0	0.0	0.1	160	N/A

After the election, the composition of the council was as follows:

Party		Seats
	Labour	59
	Conservative	40
	Labour gain

Ward results

Detailed below are the results for each ward. Successful candidates are highlighted in bold.

Alexandra

Alexandra
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	M. Flynn	2,298	51.2	N/A
	Conservative	N. Thompson	2,236
	Conservative	R. Rodgers	2,163
	Liberal	D. Hewitt	1,625	36.2	N/A
	Liberal	P. Davis	1,532
	Liberal	C. G. Sinclair	1,444
	Labour	J. M. Bradley	568	12.6	N/A
	Labour	J. H. Parish	529
	Labour	P. J. Salts	513
Majority			538	15.0	N/A
Turnout			4,491		N/A
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)

Ardwick

Ardwick
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	H. Barrett	1,537	78.5	N/A
	Labour	F. Dale	1,472
	Labour	N. Finley	1,456
	Conservative	J. Kershaw	420	21.4	N/A
	Conservative	S. M. Lindsay	393
	Conservative	D. H. G. Penney	346
Majority			1,036	57.1	N/A
Turnout			1,957		N/A
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

Baguley

Baguley
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	F. H. Price	2,458	54.8	N/A
	Labour	A. P. Marino	2,349
	Labour	C. R. Muir	2,331
	Conservative	M. Malbon	2,025	45.2	N/A
	Conservative	E. J. Whelan	1,983
	Conservative	B. H. Farrow	1,853
Majority			306	9.6	N/A
Turnout			4,483		N/A
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

Barlow Moor

Barlow Moor
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	H. Tucker	1,968	51.3	N/A
	Conservative	B. Moore	1,611
	Conservative	N. Wood	1,566
	Labour	R. Grainger	1,131	29.5	N/A
	Labour	D. A. Parker	1,047
	Labour	A. J. Bateman	1,004
	Liberal	D. R. Mellor	735	19.2	N/A
Majority			435	21.8	N/A
Turnout			3,834		N/A
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)

Beswick

Beswick
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	J. Dean	1,528	85.8	N/A
	Labour	S. Corless	1,514
	Labour	K. Eastham	1,485
	Conservative	J. C. J. Cavill	252	14.1	N/A
	Conservative	J. Cartland	238
	Conservative	W. Whitmore	235
Majority			1,233	71.7	N/A
Turnout			1,780		N/A
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

Blackley

Blackley
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	J. I. Owen	1,859	57.4	N/A
	Labour	A. A. Johnson	1,850
	Labour	F. Hatton	1,740
	Conservative	J. Yates	1,380	42.6	N/A
	Conservative	D. G. Sparrow	1,350
	Conservative	H. P. Cummins	1,228
Majority			360	14.8	N/A
Turnout			3,239		N/A
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

Bradford

Bradford
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	J. Gilmore	2,271	64.7	N/A
	Labour	Bill Egerton	2,230
	Labour	E. Grant	2,100
	Conservative	C. R. Ashton	1,239	35.3	N/A
	Conservative	H. Pickles	1,169
	Conservative	G. M. Farmer	1,161
Majority			861	29.4	N/A
Turnout			3,510		N/A
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

Brooklands

Brooklands
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Y. Emery	2,592	55.6	N/A
	Conservative	G. W. G. Fitzsimons	2,548
	Conservative	A. A. O'Connor	2,509
	Labour	F. Firth	2,067	44.3	N/A
	Labour	D. Healey	2,054
	Labour	E. Mellor	2,025
Majority			442	11.3	N/A
Turnout			4,659		N/A
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)

Burnage

Burnage
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	L. Howarth	2,487	64.5	N/A
	Conservative	W. L. Lund	2,477
	Conservative	H. Platt	2,455
	Labour	A. Burns	1,367	35.5	N/A
	Labour	J. McKinnon	1,347
	Labour	L. R. Williams	1,328
Majority			29.0	1,088	N/A
Turnout			3,854		N/A
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)

Charlestown

Charlestown
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	L. Kelly	1,720	59.6	N/A
	Labour	N. Morris	1,660
	Labour	S. Silverman	1,609
	Conservative	D. F. Silverman	1,166	40.4	N/A
	Conservative	N. Green	1,120
	Conservative	A. E. Cleworth	1,052
Majority			443	19.2	N/A
Turnout			2,886		N/A
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

Cheetham

Cheetham
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	J. Broderick	1,182	67.8	N/A
	Labour	D. G. Ford	1,158
	Labour	S. Shaw	1,101
	Conservative	J. Bonsu	561	32.2	N/A
	Conservative	K. A. Hunt	561
	Conservative	R. A. Price	521
Majority			540	35.6	N/A
Turnout			1,743		N/A
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

Chorlton

Chorlton
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	L. Sanders	2,109	53.2	N/A
	Conservative	M. Vince	2,078
	Conservative	A. D. Ashley	1,842
	Liberal	C. H. Hughes	979	24.7	N/A
	Liberal	M. Calder	977
	Liberal	W. S. Kenyon	974
	Labour	V. Stevens	878	22.1	N/A
	Labour	G. Collins	704
	Labour	K. Hull	660
Majority			863	28.5	N/A
Turnout			3,966		N/A
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)

Collegiate Church

Collegiate Church
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	F. Balcombe	721	67.9	N/A
	Labour	S. Ogden	618
	Labour	J. B. Ogden	612
	Liberal	J. Laslett	193	18.2	N/A
	Liberal	C. Addison	171
	Conservative	J. Carson	147	13.8	N/A
	Conservative	J. R. Cawley	132
	Conservative	W. Porter	116
Majority			419	49.7	N/A
Turnout			1,061		N/A
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

Crossacres

Crossacres
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	R. L. Griffiths	2,461	53.1	N/A
	Labour	A. Roberts	2,353
	Labour	K. Collis	2,269
	Ratepayers	R. R. Dilworth	1,271	27.4	N/A
	Ratepayers	K. A. Edis	1,267
	Ratepayers	W. A. McCall	1,251
	Conservative	W. Foster	756	16.3	N/A
	Conservative	K. Nolan	745
	Conservative	G. Scudder	684
	Communist	M. Taylor	145	3.1	N/A
Majority			998	25.7	N/A
Turnout			4,633		N/A
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

Crumpsall

Crumpsall
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	G. Fildes	2,027	63.5	N/A
	Conservative	A. Clapham	2,026
	Conservative	F. W. Lever	2,022
	Labour	A. T. Gray	1,165	36.5	N/A
	Labour	H. Gregory	1,105
	Labour	P. A. Sless	1,082
Majority			857	27.0	N/A
Turnout			3,192		N/A
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)

Didsbury

Didsbury
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	J. Hill	3,289	72.2	N/A
	Conservative	J. Duke	3,233
	Conservative	M. R. Crawford	3,216
	Labour	W. Murray	1,036	22.7	N/A
	Labour	R. V. Pierson	976
	Labour	D. Cox	959
	Communist	A. J. Hunt	230	5.0	N/A
Majority			2,180	49.4	N/A
Turnout			4,555		N/A
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)

Gorton North

Gorton North
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	G. Conquest	2,070	67.1	N/A
	Labour	C. Brierley	2,001
	Labour	P. Bednarski	1,975
	Conservative	J. B. Bullough	1,016	32.9	N/A
	Conservative	W. Slowe	995
	Conservative	T. J. S. Duke	983
Majority			959	34.1	N/A
Turnout			3,086		N/A
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

Gorton South

Gorton South
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	H. Conway	1,422	50.0	N/A
	Labour	D. Barker	1,350
	Labour	K. Franklin	1,317
	Conservative	E. A. Duffy	760	26.7	'N/A
	Conservative	P. T. Heywood	749
	Conservative	A. Farmer	734
	Ratepayers	D. E. Lindsay	660	23.2	N/A
Majority			557	23.3	N/A
Turnout			2,842		N/A
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

Harpurhey

Harpurhey
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	K. Litherland	951	62.8	N/A
	Labour	A. Nicholson	951
	Labour	R. F. Delahunty	927
	Conservative	G. Cleworth	564	37.2	N/A
	Conservative	A. P. Osborn	556
	Conservative	M. Withers	532
Majority			363	25.5	N/A
Turnout			1,515		N/A
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

Hulme

Hulme
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	J. V. Marshall	1,290	77.6	N/A
	Labour	T. Thomas	1,273
	Labour	W. Smith	1,226
	Conservative	A. Edwards	289	17.4	N/A
	Conservative	R. E. Gilham	260
	Conservative	E. Draycott	255
	Communist	D. J. Heywood	83	5.0	N/A
Majority			937	60.2	N/A
Turnout			1,662		N/A
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

Levenshulme

Levenshulme
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	J. K. Barber	2,414	59.2	N/A
	Conservative	W. Carlton	2,253
	Conservative	S. Alexander	2,239
	Labour	E. H. Spencer	1,663	40.8	N/A
	Labour	F. Done	1,646
	Labour	J. Flanagan	1,597
Majority			576	18.4	N/A
Turnout			4,077		N/A
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

Lightbowne

Lightbowne
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	H. T. Lee	1,618	33.6	N/A
	Labour	R. A. Reddington	1,570
	Conservative	E. Jones	1,569	32.6	N/A
	Conservative	E. D. Kirkup	1,558
	Labour	S. Smith	1,547
	Conservative	D. Porter	1,511
	Independent	I. Lindsay	865	17.9	N/A
	Liberal	R. Jackson	765	15.9	N/A
	Liberal	I. Garrard	655
	Liberal	G. Garrard	627
Majority			12	1.0	N/A
Turnout			4,817		N/A
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)

Lloyd Street

Lloyd Street
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	H. Collins	2,128	56.4	N/A
	Labour	K. McKeon	2,084
	Labour	A. S. Wood	1,982
	Conservative	J. E. Higham	1,642	43.5	N/A
	Conservative	E. Bevan	1,604
	Conservative	L. H. Nield	1,553
Majority			340	12.9	N/A
Turnout			3,770		N/A
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

Longsight

Longsight
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	A. Malpas	1,565	49.2	N/A
	Labour	R. W. Ford	1,454	45.7	N/A
	Conservative	G. Taylor	1,412
	Labour	S. N. M. Moxley	1,392
	Conservative	M. Delayen	1,389
	Labour	D. Anderson	1,369
	Freedom To Choose Group	J. Kedward	160	5.0	N/A
Majority			20	3.5	N/A
Turnout			3,179		N/A
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)

Miles Platting

Miles Platting
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	E. Crank	1,240	67.9	N/A
	Labour	R. Latham	1,209
	Labour	E. Donnoghue	1,194
	British Campaign To Stop Immigration	M. R. Goucher	368	20.1	N/A
	Conservative	A. Chappell	219	12.0	N/A
	Conservative	H. Lee	214
	Conservative	M. Howells	182
Majority			826	47.8	N/A
Turnout			1,827		N/A
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

Moss Side

Moss Side
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	R. E. Talbot	928	60.5	N/A
	Labour	H. Paget	889
	Labour	W. A. Downward	789
	Conservative	M. J. Duffy	515	33.6	N/A
	Conservative	H. W. Meadowcroft	515
	Conservative	C. Toft	409
	Communist	W. Woolery	90	5.9	N/A
Majority			274	26.9	N/A
Turnout			1,533		N/A
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

Moston

Moston
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	A. E. Bowden	2,266	50.6	N/A
	Conservative	K. E. Goulding	2,207	49.3	N/A
	Labour	C. C. Lamb	2,123
	Labour	W. Risby	2,095
	Conservative	A. W. Ash	2,041
	Conservative	G. I. Jones	1,909
Majority			82	1.3	N/A
Turnout			4,473		N/A
	Labour win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

Newton Heath

Newton Heath
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	M. J. Taylor	1,914	62.5	N/A
	Labour	C. Tomlinson	1,902
	Labour	J. Smith	1,826
	Conservative	A. E. Walsh	1,148	37.5	N/A
	Conservative	A. R. Leeke	1,080
	Conservative	T. B. Hegarty	1,060
Majority			678	25.0	N/A
Turnout			3,062		N/A
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

Northenden

Northenden
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	G. Leigh	2,978	53.5	N/A
	Conservative	C. H. Box	2,737
	Conservative	D. Mountford	2,730
	Labour	H. Brown	2,244	40.3	N/A
	Labour	H. Reid	2,114
	Labour	J. M. Wilson	2,097
	Communist	G. F. Taylor	341	6.1	N/A
Majority			486	13.2	N/A
Turnout			5,563		N/A
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)

Old Moat

Old Moat
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	T. F. Lavin	2,479	64.0	N/A
	Conservative	D. G. Massey	2,319
	Conservative	T. E. Murphy	2,262
	Labour	E. Richards	1,395	36.0	N/A
	Labour	A. J. Spencer	1,392
	Labour	A. E. Jones	1,368
Majority			867	28.0	N/A
Turnout			3,874		N/A
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)

Rusholme

Rusholme
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	M. Pierce	2,221	59.8	N/A
	Conservative	K. Ollerenshaw	2,191
	Conservative	S. Tucker	2,173
	Labour	A. H. Fender	1,115	30.0	N/A
	Labour	M. A. Naqui	1,091
	Labour	H. Rowley	1,090
	Independent	F. A. Melling	379	10.2	N/A
Majority			1,058	29.8	N/A
Turnout			3,715		N/A
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)

Withington

Withington
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	E. R. Coker	1,864	48.1	N/A
	Conservative	G. W. Young	1,801
	Conservative	W. Crabtree	1,793
	Liberal	J. Edwards	1,151	29.7	N/A
	Liberal	R. A. Bell	1,107
	Liberal	W. J. Ellwood	1,102
	Labour	J. Wilner	858	22.1	N/A
	Labour	M. Moss	855
	Labour	R. Ames	797
Majority			642	18.4	N/A
Turnout			3,873		N/A
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)

Woodhouse Park

Woodhouse Park
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	G. Hall	1,721	61.8	N/A
	Labour	T. Farrell	1,678
	Labour	G. Berry	1,616
	Conservative	J. A. Graham	856	30.8	N/A
	Conservative	G. Parry	849
	Conservative	F. Kennan	802
	Communist	J. V. Hamer	205	7.4	N/A
Majority			760	31.1	N/A
Turnout			2,782		N/A
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

By-elections between 1973 and 1975

Beswick By-Election 27 June 1974
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	J. E. Jackson	1,298	70.9	-14.9
	Liberal	W. J. Ellwood	248	13.6	+13.6
	Conservative	D. Porter	173	9.5	-4.6
	National Front	S. McKenzie	111	6.1	+6.1
Majority			1,050	57.4	-14.3
Turnout			1,830
	Labour hold		Swing	-14.2

Blackley By-Election 27th June 1974)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	B. Risby	1,975	54.5	-2.9
	Labour	S. Smith	1,908
	Conservative	J. Hood	1,354	37.4	-5.2
	Conservative	P. Cummins	1,340
	Liberal	C. Cloran	292	8.0	+8.0
	Liberal	J. Laslett	282
Majority			554	17.1	+2.3
Turnout			3,621
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing	+1.1

Harpurhey By-Election 25th July 1974
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	H. Reid	1,119	62.6	-0.2
	Conservative	D. Porter	343	19.2	-18.0
	Liberal	R. Addison	325	18.2	+18.2
Majority			776	43.4	+17.9
Turnout			1,787
	Labour hold		Swing	+8.9

References

1. Manchester City Council Election Results (2nd ed.), Swarbrick, 1993.