1974 Havering London Borough Council election

The 1974 Havering Council election took place on 2 May 1974 to elect members of Havering London Borough Council in London, England. The whole council was up for election and the council went in no overall control.

Electoral arrangements

The 1974 election was the last to use the twenty wards established with the borough in 1965, with new boundaries in use for the 1978 election. Councillors were elected for a four-year term from the 1974 election. It was the last election to be followed by an aldermanic election, with the role of alderman eliminated in 1978.

Results

General election of councillors

Seats changed hands in only three wards. In Mawney ward one seat went from Labour to Conservative. The three seats in Harold Wood ward, that were gained by Labour in the 1971 election, went back to the Conservatives. In Upminster ward the three seats held by Independent Ratepayers were gained by the Conservatives. Labour lost their majority on the council which was now in no overall control.^[1]^[2]^[3]

Aldermanic election

In addition to the 55 elected councillors, there were nine aldermen on the council. Five aldermen elected in 1971 continued to serve until 1977 and the other four retired before the 1974 election. Four aldermen were elected by the council in 1974 to serve until 1977.

Aldermen elected in 1974, to retire in 1977:^[4]

Party		Alderman
	Conservative	Jean Frost
	Conservative	Norman Kemble
	Conservative	Sydney Legg
	Residents	Frank Morley

This was the last election of aldermen with all nine having their term extended by one year to go out of office in 1978.^[a] The aldermen on the council divided five Labour, three Conservative and one Residents Association after the 1974 election.

Ward results

Bedfords

Bedfords (2)
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	Evan Davies	1,441
	Conservative	C. Kemp	1,351
	Liberal	T. Hurlstone	764
	Liberal	G. Jacobs	585
	Labour	E. Taylor	466
	Labour	D. Ainsworth	449
Turnout
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

Central

Central (3)
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	G. Cox	1,255
	Labour	J. Taylor	1,174
	Labour	S. Parish	1,117
	Conservative	W. Whittingham	991
	Conservative	R. Ramsey	986
	Conservative	N. Symonds	986
	Liberal	T. Beaver	480
	Liberal	E. Bates	417
	Liberal	G. Donnelly	401
	Communist	C. Harper	58
Turnout
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing

Collier Row

Collier Row (3)
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Robert Kilbey	1,416
	Labour	Albert Mills	1,405
	Labour	A. Capon	1,402
	Conservative	F. Thompson	1,180
	Conservative	A. Maskall	1,171
	Conservative	G. Wright	1,135
	Liberal	E. Freeman	699
	Liberal	P. Smith	618
	Liberal	D. Rogerson	596
Turnout
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing

Cranham

Cranham (3)
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Ind. Ratepayers	Rowland Knell	2,811
	Ind. Ratepayers	Jean Mitchell	2,723
	Ind. Ratepayers	Louisa Sinclair	2,714
	Conservative	Mary Noyes	1,494
	Conservative	Peter Gardner	1,445
	Conservative	John Smith	1,317
	Labour	Tom Horlock	824
	Labour	M. Rufus	811
	Labour	M. Ajustron	706
Turnout
	Ind. Ratepayers hold		Swing
	Ind. Ratepayers hold		Swing
	Ind. Ratepayers hold		Swing

Elm Park

Elm Park (3)
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	G. Saunders	1,531
	Labour	J. Hoepelman	1,511
	Labour	D. Burn	1,497
	Conservative	J. Arthur	1,060
	Conservative	K. Barlow	1,044
	Conservative	T. Robinson	975
	Residents	C. Cox	827
	Residents	E. Cunnew	734
	Residents	G. Ellis	718
	Liberal	E. Blythe	327
	Liberal	I. Kendall	316
	Liberal	S. Golledge	277
Turnout
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing

Emerson Park

Emerson Park (3)
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	Jack Moultrie	2,774
	Conservative	William Sibley	2,728
	Conservative	Dennis Peters	2,718
	Labour	P. Saunders	667
	Labour	M. Hoepelman	634
	Labour	G. Harris	632
	Liberal	C. Hamilton	403
	Ind. Ratepayers	J. Whitton-Williams	370
	Liberal	D. de Sarandy	368
	Ind. Ratepayers	P. Whitton-Williams	363
	Ind. Ratepayers	I. Wilkes	357
	Liberal	D. Kruger	346
Turnout
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

Gidea Park

Gidea Park (2)
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	J. Johnston	1,661
	Conservative	A. Smith	1,636
	Liberal	J. Gibbons	360
	Liberal	S. Gibbons	330
	Labour	E. Freeman	315
	Labour	J. Smith	315
Turnout
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

Gooshays

Gooshays (3)
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Frank Coffin	1,907
	Labour	G. Dodge	1,834
	Labour	Wilf Mills	1,722
	Conservative	P. Cutcher	560
	Conservative	C. Mawson	499
	Conservative	P. Marsden	489
	Liberal	D. Ingle	253
	Liberal	M. Ingle	236
	Liberal	J. Wright	222
Turnout
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing

Hacton

Hacton (3)
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Ind. Ratepayers	A. Davis	1,724
	Ind. Ratepayers	N. Miles	1,679
	Ind. Ratepayers	N. Richards	1,647
	Labour	E. Rawlins	929
	Labour	E. Jones	928
	Labour	H. Hull	911
	Conservative	K. Humphries	652
	Conservative	C. Stancombe	626
	Conservative	A. Plain	609
	Liberal	G. Burnett	139
	Liberal	P. Burnett	139
	Liberal	K. Penfold	126
Turnout
	Ind. Ratepayers hold		Swing
	Ind. Ratepayers hold		Swing
	Ind. Ratepayers hold		Swing

Harold Wood

Harold Wood (3)
Party		Candidate	Votes
Turnout
	Conservative	D. Forster	2,147
	Conservative	R. Neill	2,130
	Conservative	P. Marsden	2,093
	Labour	B. Whitworth	1,519
	Labour	Geoffrey Otter	1,497
	Labour	S. Jack	1,434
	Liberal	D. Hart	574
	Liberal	J. Alton	559
	Liberal	P. Hart	543
Turnout
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing

Heath Park

Heath Park (3)
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	A. Gladwin	2,593
	Conservative	L. Hutton	2,540
	Conservative	W. Smith	2,471
	Liberal	K. Brewington	787
	Liberal	S. Brewington	773
	Liberal	I. Barwin	722
	Labour	K. Dutton	695
	Labour	J. Laws	680
	Labour	D. Dattner	677
Turnout
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

Heaton

Heaton (2)
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Jocelyn Spindler	1,301
	Labour	Denis O'Flynn	1,278
	Conservative	D. Cure	373
	Conservative	R. Forster	353
	Liberal	B. Maynard	184
	Liberal	A. Rabone	152
Turnout
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing

Hilldene

Hilldene (2)
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Ron Whitworth	1,558
	Labour	May Rudlin	1,524
	Conservative	W. Thompson	341
	Conservative	R. Brabner	325
Turnout
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing

Hylands

Hylands (3)
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	V. Birnie	1,421
	Labour	P. Osborne	1,417
	Labour	A. Prescott	1,415
	Conservative	Jimmy Greaves	1,387
	Conservative	Jean Frost	1,327
	Conservative	F. Roberts	1,262
	Independent	B. Percy-Davis	964
	Liberal	B. McCarthy	543
	Liberal	A. Kendall	490
	Liberal	J. Hewitt	489
Turnout
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing

Mawney

Mawney (3)
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Ruby Latham	1,279
	Conservative	V. Bush	1,243
	Labour	L. Mills	1,241
	Conservative	E. Joslin	1,228
	Conservative	S. Brabner	1,190
	Labour	H. Moss	1,183
	Liberal	P. Burrell	516
	Liberal	R. Packer	427
	Liberal	B. Skilton	389
Turnout
	Labour hold		Swing
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing

Oldchurch

Oldchurch (2)
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	R. Baker	1,389
	Labour	J. Riley	1,366
	Conservative	S. Swift	837
	Conservative	W. Todd	817
Turnout
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing

Rainham

Rainham (3)
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Ind. Ratepayers	H. Turner	2,185
	Ind. Ratepayers	D. Poole	2,144
	Ind. Ratepayers	B. Hammond	2,065
	Labour	T. Mitchell	1,362
	Labour	H. Miller	1,343
	Labour	D. Ramstead	1,271
	Conservative	A. North	509
	Conservative	M. Reilly	457
	Conservative	N. Regnier	455
	Liberal	D. Thomson	306
	Liberal	J. Green	293
	Liberal	S. Garred	290
Turnout
	Ind. Ratepayers hold		Swing
	Ind. Ratepayers hold		Swing
	Ind. Ratepayers hold		Swing

St Andrew's

St Andrew's (3)
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	David Biddlecombe	1,487
	Conservative	Albert James	1,448
	Conservative	Edward Hoad	1,445
	Labour	B. Taylor	1,136
	Labour	W. Russell	1,112
	Labour	B. Baker	1,096
	Residents	J. Woollard	1,079
	Residents	G. Lewis	1,068
	Residents	H. Stubbles	1,065
	Liberal	B. Grant	242
	Liberal	T. Rimmer	231
	Liberal	T. Wood	219
Turnout
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

South Hornchurch

South Hornchurch (3)
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	H. Rivers	1,769
	Labour	J. Whysall	1,684
	Labour	S. Clarke	1,677
	Ind. Ratepayers	L. Long	946
	Ind. Ratepayers	L. Lowe	929
	Ind. Ratepayers	J. Oliver	915
	Conservative	D. Dryborough	767
	Conservative	D. White	767
	Conservative	B. Chamberlain	728
Turnout
Turnout
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing

Upminster

Upminster (3)
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	Bruce Gordon-Picking	2,334
	Conservative	R. Chamberlain	2,242
	Conservative	L. Reilly	2,080
	Ind. Ratepayers	F. Everett	1,906
	Ind. Ratepayers	R. Manning	1,752
	Ind. Ratepayers	Frank Morley	1,736
	Labour	C. Murray	399
	Labour	J. Scott	333
	Labour	L. Thompson	321
Turnout
	Conservative gain from Ind. Ratepayers		Swing
	Conservative gain from Ind. Ratepayers		Swing
	Conservative gain from Ind. Ratepayers		Swing

By-elections

The following by-elections took place between the 1974 and 1978 elections:

Notes

^ Terms were extended by the London Councillors Order 1976.

References

^ "London Borough Council Elections 2 May 1974" (PDF). London Datastore. Greater London Council. Retrieved 29 March 2015.
^ "1974 London Borough of Havering local election results". Havering Council. Retrieved 30 September 2024.
^ Rallings, Colin; Thrasher, Michael. "London Borough of Havering Election Results 1964-2010" (PDF). The Elections Centre. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
^ London Borough of Havering Aldermen 1964-1978. Havering Local Studies Library. September 2024.

[5] Terms were extended by the London Councillors Order 1976.

[London_1974_election-1] "London Borough Council Elections 2 May 1974" (PDF). London Datastore. Greater London Council. Retrieved 29 March 2015.

[2] "1974 London Borough of Havering local election results". Havering Council. Retrieved 30 September 2024.

[3] Rallings, Colin; Thrasher, Michael. "London Borough of Havering Election Results 1964-2010" (PDF). The Elections Centre. Retrieved 1 October 2024.

[4] London Borough of Havering Aldermen 1964-1978. Havering Local Studies Library. September 2024.

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