Wikipedia

1974 Kilmarnock and Loudoun District Council election

Elections to Kilmarnock and Loudoun District Council were held on 7 May 1974, on the same day as the other Scottish local government elections. This was the first election to the district council following the implementation of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973.

1974 Kilmarnock and Loudoun District Council election
7 May 1974 (1974-05-07) 1977 →
All 16 seats to Kilmarnock and Loudoun District Council
9 seats needed for a majority
Registered60,643
Turnout49.5%
  First party Second party
 
Lab
Con
Party Labour Conservative
Seats won 12 4
Popular vote 16,505 9,266
Percentage 54.9% 30.8%
Council Leader after election


Labour

The election used the 16 wards created by the Formation Electoral Arrangements in 1974. Each ward elected one councillor using first-past-the-post voting.[1]

Labour took control of the council after winning a large majority. The party took 12 of the 16 seats and more than 50% of the popular vote. The other four seats were won by the Conservatives.

Background

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Prior to 1974, the area that was to become Kilmarnock and Loudoun, included five of the 17 burghs within the County of Ayr. The four small burghs (Darvel, Galston, Newmilns and Greenholm and Stewarton) had limited powers which included some control over planning as well as local taxation, building control, housing, lighting and drainage. The large burgh of Kilmarnock had further powers over the police, public health, social services, registration of births, marriages and deaths and electoral registration. The rest of the local government responsibility fell to the county council which had full control over the areas which were not within a burgh.[2]

Following the recommendations in the Wheatly Report, the old system of counties and burghs – which had resulted in a mishmash of local government areas in which some small burghs had larger populations but far fewer responsibilities than some large burghs and even counties[2] – was to be replaced by a new system of regional and district councils. The five burghs as well as the surrounding areas were placed in Kilmarnock and Loudoun District within the Strathclyde region.[3]

Results

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1974 Kilmarnock and Loudoun District Council election result
Party Seats Gains Losses Net gain/loss Seats % Votes % Votes +/−
  Labour 12 N/A 75.0 54.9 16,505 N/A
  Conservative 4 N/A 25.0 30.8 9,266 N/A
  Liberal 0 N/A 0.0 13.6 4,090 N/A
  Independent Labour 0 N/A 0.0 0.6 183 N/A
Total 16 30,044

Source:[4]

Ward results

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Ward 1

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Ward 1
Party Candidate Votes %
Labour J. Raphael 1,363 68.2
Conservative J. Corbett 637 31.9
Majority 726 36.3
Turnout 2,000 45.5
Registered electors 4,431
Labour win (new seat)

Source:[4]

Ward 2

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Ward 2
Party Candidate Votes %
Labour R. Creighton 1,160 60.6
Liberal P. McMillan 458 23.9
Conservative T. Callaghan 296 15.5
Majority 702 36.7
Turnout 1,914 49.4
Registered electors 3,902
Labour win (new seat)

Source:[4]

Ward 3

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Ward 3
Party Candidate Votes %
Labour J. Hunter 1,403 73.8
Conservative A. Hughes 498 26.2
Majority 905 47.6
Turnout 1,901 43.0
Registered electors 4,474
Labour win (new seat)

Source:[4]

Ward 4

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Ward 4
Party Candidate Votes %
Conservative R. Ledgerwood 773 41.9
Labour H. Mitchell 565 30.6
Liberal O. Dunlop 326 17.7
Independent Labour B. Mitchell 183 9.9
Majority 208 11.3
Turnout 1,847 45.5
Registered electors 4,099
Conservative win (new seat)

Source:[4]

Ward 5

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Ward 5
Party Candidate Votes %
Labour J. Anderson 1,341 78.0
Conservative K. Hughes 223 13.0
Liberal B. Ellerd-Elliot 155 9.0
Majority 1,118 65.0
Turnout 1,719 46.7
Registered electors 3,710
Labour win (new seat)

Source:[4]

Ward 6

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Ward 6
Party Candidate Votes %
Conservative M. Parker 1,070 56.9
Labour J. Hollywood 617 32.8
Liberal D. Young 193 10.3
Majority 453 24.1
Turnout 1,880 57.3
Registered electors 3,331
Conservative win (new seat)

Source:[4]

Ward 7

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Ward 7
Party Candidate Votes %
Labour A. Mackie 962 46.8
Conservative J. Porter 904 44.0
Liberal P. Hayman 188 9.1
Majority 58 2.8
Turnout 2,054 56.9
Registered electors 3,633
Labour win (new seat)

Source:[4]

Ward 8

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Ward 8
Party Candidate Votes %
Conservative M. Porter 1,392 66.3
Labour W. Maxwell 415 19.8
Liberal R. O'Hagan 293 14.0
Majority 977 46.5
Turnout 2,100 55.7
Registered electors 3,799
Conservative win (new seat)

Source:[4]

Ward 9

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Ward 9
Party Candidate Votes %
Labour M. Garven 1,258 68.1
Conservative A. McCluskey 343 18.6
Liberal A. Brown 247 13.4
Majority 915 49.5
Turnout 1,848 45.2
Registered electors 4,116
Labour win (new seat)

Source:[4]

Ward 10

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Ward 10
Party Candidate Votes %
Labour T. Ferguson 1,465 72.2
Conservative C. McCambridge 320 15.8
Liberal G. Gibson 245 12.1
Majority 1,145 56.4
Turnout 2,030 41.9
Registered electors 4,867
Labour win (new seat)

Source:[4]

Ward 11

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Ward 11
Party Candidate Votes %
Conservative J. Thomson 862 57.2
Liberal J. Carruthers 364 24.2
Labour B. McGeechan 280 18.6
Majority 498 33.0
Turnout 1,506 54.5
Registered electors 2,789
Conservative win (new seat)

Source:[4]

Ward 12

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Ward 12
Party Candidate Votes %
Labour A. Nisbet 1,541 80.9
Conservative O. Cater 365 19.2
Majority 1,176 61.7
Turnout 1,906 48.3
Registered electors 3,993
Labour win (new seat)

Source:[4]

Ward 13

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Ward 13
Party Candidate Votes %
Labour W. Aitken 1,025 46.3
Liberal J. Brown 699 31.6
Conservative R. Grant 488 22.1
Majority 326 14.7
Turnout 2,212 55.2
Registered electors 4,029
Labour win (new seat)

Source:[4]

Ward 14

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Ward 14
Party Candidate Votes %
Labour A. Lundie 1,517 72.9
Conservative P. Foote 391 18.8
Liberal W. Powell 174 8.4
Majority 1,126 54.1
Turnout 2,082 52.9
Registered electors 3,977
Labour win (new seat)

Source:[4]

Ward 15

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Ward 15
Party Candidate Votes %
Labour J. White 753 47.6
Conservative E. Harrison 443 28.0
Liberal T. Whale 385 24.4
Majority 310 19.6
Turnout 1,581 52.5
Registered electors 3,053
Labour win (new seat)

Source:[4]

Ward 16

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Ward 16
Party Candidate Votes %
Labour J. Anderson 840 57.4
Liberal R. Wilson 363 24.8
Conservative T. Donald 261 17.8
Majority 477 32.6
Turnout 1,464 60.6
Registered electors 2,440
Labour win (new seat)

Source:[4]

References

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  1. ^ "Formation Electoral Arrangements". Local Government Boundary Commission for Scotland. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
  2. ^ a b "Information Paper Local government in Scotland: before 1975" (PDF). Boundaries Scotland. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
  3. ^ Turnock, David (1970). "The Wheatley Report: Local Government in Scotland". Area. 2 (2). Blackwell Publishing on behalf of The Royal Geographical Society with the Institute of British Geographers. JSTOR 20000437.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Botchel, J. M.; Denver, D. T. (1975). The Scottish Local Government Elections 1974: Results and Statistics (PDF). Edinburgh: Scottish Academic Press. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
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