1964 Greater London Council election

The first election to the Greater London Council (GLC) was held on 9 April 1964.

1964 Greater London Council election

← 1961 9 April 1964 1967 →

100 councillors
51 seats needed for a majority
  First party Second party
 
Leader Bill Fiske Percy Rugg
Party Labour Conservative
Leader since 1964 1964
Leader's seat Havering Kensington and Chelsea
Seats won 64 36
Popular vote 1,063,390 956,543
Percentage 44.6% 40.1%

Leader after election

Bill Fiske
Labour Party

Background

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The election happened at a time of very high political tension, with a general election due in a few months. The GLC did not come into its powers until 1 April 1965, but spent the first year setting up its committee structure and arranging with its predecessor authorities to take over.

Electoral arrangements

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New constituencies to be used for elections to Parliament and also for elections to the GLC had not yet been settled, so the London boroughs were used as multi-member 'first past the post' electoral areas. Westminster was joined with the City of London for this purpose. Each electoral area returned between 2 and 4 councillors.

The first election to the Greater London Council took place a month before the first election to the 32 London borough councils on 7 May 1964.

Results

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General election of councillors

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The Labour Party won a majority of seats at the election.

When the GLC was being planned, it was expected to produce Conservative majorities.[1] However, many suburban Conservative-voting areas had successfully campaigned to be excluded from the Greater London boundaries.[2]

The large constituencies where the winner took all exaggerated Labour's win in votes into a near two-to-one lead in terms of seats. It also made it extremely difficult for the Liberal Party to win any seats.

With an electorate of 5,466,756, there was a turnout of 44.2%.[3][4] Labour did particularly well to win Bexley and Havering, but performed poorly in Enfield which they might have expected to win. In Tower Hamlets, the Communist Party of Great Britain came in as runners-up with 8% of the vote.

Party Votes Seats
Number % Stood Seats %
Labour 1,063,390 44.6 100 64 64.0
Conservative 956,543 40.1 100 36 36.0
Liberal 238,967 10.0 86 0 0.0
Communist 90,779 3.8 36 0 0.0
Independent 19,983 0.9 9 0 0.0
Ratepayers 5,858 0.3 3 0 0.0
Christian Independent 2,895 0.1 1 0 0.0
New Liberal 2,474 0.1 3 0 0.0
Union Movement 2,353 0.1 2 0 0.0

Aldermanic election

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In addition to the 100 councillors, there were sixteen aldermen elected by the council. The eight aldermen with the least votes were elected to serve until 1967 and the other eight until 1970. The aldermen were elected on 27 April 1964.

Aldermen elected in 1964, to retire in 1967:

Party Alderman
Labour Charles Christopher
Labour Arthur Edwards
Conservative Andrew Jardine
Conservative Albert Knowlden
Labour Terence McMillan
Conservative John Mason
Labour Bernard Rockman
Labour Donald Soper[a]

Aldermen elected in 1964, to retire in 1970:

Party Alderman
Labour Frank Banfield[b]
Conservative Francis Bennett
Labour Audrey Callaghan
Labour Edward Castle
Labour Alfred Chorley
Labour Herbert Ferguson
Conservative Leslie Freeman
Labour Edgar Garton

The aldermen divided 11 to Labour and 5 to the Conservatives, and so the overall strength of the parties on the council was 75 Labour to 41 Conservatives after the aldermanic election.

Constituency results

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Results by electoral area

Barking

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Barking (2)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Charles Prendergast 25,380
Labour Maud Ball 23,803
Conservative R. C. Denney 7,653
Conservative C. A. Pool 7,547
Liberal Hubert Herbert Creemer Blake 4,625
Liberal J. D. Tyrrell 3,824
Communist K. Halpin 1,385
Turnout
Labour win (new seat)
Labour win (new seat)

Barnet

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Barnet (4)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Peter Blair Black
Conservative Jean Leslie Scott
Conservative Sir Joseph Henry Haygarth
Conservative Reginald Marks
Labour N Birch
Labour Mrs BR Scharf
Labour CHF Reynolds
Labour FB Groves
Liberal JW Webb
Liberal J. Murray Medway
Liberal Peter Hasler Billeness
Liberal OC Williams
Communist RT Gooding
Communist JW Pinder
Turnout 53.8
Conservative win (new seat)
Conservative win (new seat)
Conservative win (new seat)
Conservative win (new seat)

Bexley

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Bexley (3)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Edwin Furness 41,300
Labour John Nicoll Powrie 39,079
Labour Robin Beauchamp Thompson 37,314
Conservative Douglas Melville Fielding 33,958
Conservative A. F. Cobbold 33,906
Conservative R. J. F. Monk 31,939
Liberal R. J. Marsh 7,435
Liberal R. H. A. Saunders 6,770
Liberal C. E. Wright 5,991
Communist L. H. Smith 2,929
Turnout
Labour win (new seat)
Labour win (new seat)
Labour win (new seat)

Brent

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Brent (4)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Muriel Rose Forbes 46,786
Labour Peter Otwell 46,307
Labour Illtyd Harrington 46,284
Labour Frank Towell 45,552
Conservative Ruby Georgina Nancy Taylor 38,500
Conservative C. H. Ansted 38,221
Conservative H. J. C. Faulkner 38,079
Conservative Alfred Abram Berney 37,892
Liberal E. Baker 11,180
Liberal J. E. C. Perry 10,727
Liberal G. Phelps 10,416
Liberal M. R. Uziell-Hamilton 8,029
Communist M. E. Alcock 3,574
Communist L. G. Burt 2,722
Turnout
Labour win (new seat)
Labour win (new seat)
Labour win (new seat)
Labour win (new seat)

Bromley

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Bromley (4)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Edith Gordon Beecher-Bryant
Conservative Victor Sidney Henry Mitchell
Conservative Benita Dorothy Barham
Conservative Robert Joseph Turner*
Labour CJ Christopher
Labour FFW Coates
Liberal Michael Alan Minter
Liberal Alfred Baldock Howard
Liberal Nicholas Dudley Murdoch McGeorge
Labour LM Moelwyn-Hughes
Labour GH Warrack
Liberal LD Ricketts
Communist CL Coleman
Turnout 54.5
Conservative win (new seat)
Conservative win (new seat)
Conservative win (new seat)
Conservative win (new seat)

Camden

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Camden (3)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Leila Campbell 38,198
Labour Louis Wolfgang Bondy 38,191
Labour Evelyn Joyce Denington 37,364
Conservative F. E. H. Bennett 30,096
Conservative Lena Moncrieff Townsend 28,723
Conservative Isita Clare Mansel 28,588
Liberal A. J. F. Macdonald 4,839
Liberal J. M. Arram 4,614
Liberal M. S. Watson 4,087
Communist J. Nicolson 2,875
Independent B. W. Haines 1,016
Turnout
Labour win (new seat)
Labour win (new seat)
Labour win (new seat)

Croydon

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Croydon (4)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative John Leonard Aston
Conservative Geoffrey Weston Aplin
Conservative Paul Alexander Saunders
Conservative Keith Andrew Edwards
Labour Arthur George Edwards
Labour FT Cole
Labour JA Clinch
Labour S Sutcliffe
Liberal Ronald E J Banks
Liberal Mrs BM Bashford
Liberal LG Pine
Liberal RF Tapsell
Communist M Rapaport
Independent SB Stray
Independent Jesse T. E. A. Waddell
Turnout
Conservative win (new seat)
Conservative win (new seat)
Conservative win (new seat)
Conservative win (new seat)

Ealing

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Ealing (4)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Peter Ernest Anderson 50,949
Labour Christopher Thomas Higgins 49,655
Labour George Francis Palmer 49,304
Labour Ethel Winifred Jones 49,253
Conservative Lady Henniker-Heaton 45,688
Conservative J. H. Ward 43,971
Conservative E. L. Prodham 43,118
Conservative R. F. Tovell 42,894
Liberal H. C. N. Baylis 8,649
Liberal J. E. Elsom 8,272
Liberal S. E. Smith 7,448
Liberal J. A. Sullivan 7,299
Independent J. McConville 3,311
Communist H. A. Tank 3,137
Turnout
Labour win (new seat)
Labour win (new seat)
Labour win (new seat)
Labour win (new seat)

Enfield

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Enfield (3)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Stanley Graham Rowlandson 37,527
Conservative Gordon Laurence Dixon 37,284
Conservative Thomas Broughton Mitcheson 36,947
Labour E. L. Mackenzie 36,576
Labour E. V. Gorton 35,260
Labour H. S. Newman 34,906
Liberal D. M. Gilbert 11,240
Liberal E. B. Pearce 10,782
Liberal R. F. Skinner 10,599
Communist R. A. Leeson 2,449
Turnout
Conservative win (new seat)
Conservative win (new seat)
Conservative win (new seat)

Greenwich

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Greenwich (3)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Julia Ada Johnson 44,714
Labour John William Andrews 44,349
Labour James Young 42,621
Conservative U. V. Lister 25,358
Conservative W. S. Manners 25,104
Conservative L. J. Smith 24,851
Communist E. Halpin 3,786
Independent H. H. Wright 2,016
Turnout
Labour win (new seat)
Labour win (new seat)
Labour win (new seat)

Hackney

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Hackney (3)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Ellis Simon Hillman 24,793
Labour David Thomas Pitt 24,281
Labour Arthur Ernest Wicks 24,037
Conservative O. S. Henriques 6,561
Conservative W. J. Hawkins 6,265
Conservative A. M. White 6,260
Liberal R. B. James 3,953
Liberal T. Keen 3,904
Liberal T. D. Gates 3,641
Communist M. Goldman 2,807
Turnout
Labour win (new seat)
Labour win (new seat)
Labour win (new seat)

Hammersmith

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Hammersmith (3)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Richard Clive Edmonds 36,051
Labour Marjorie Eleanor McIntosh 35,406
Labour Jane Phillips 35,185
Conservative John Stewart Collins 21,135
Conservative Ann McVicker Forbes-Cockell 20,715
Conservative J. Graham 19,380
Liberal C. M. Hildred-Goode 2,055
Liberal D. Webb 1,966
Liberal F. C. Scrivener 1,892
Communist P. T. Robson 1,736
Labour win (new seat)
Labour win (new seat)
Labour win (new seat)

Haringey

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Haringey (3)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Annie Florence Remington 39,698
Labour Louis Albert Vitoria 39,412
Labour Gladys Felicia Dimson 39,412
Conservative A. G. Brown 31,284
Conservative H. H. Godwin-Monck 30,849
Conservative N. Muldoon 30,177
Communist E. L. Ramsay 5,612
Labour win (new seat)
Labour win (new seat)
Labour win (new seat)

Harrow

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Harrow (3)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Horace Walter Cutler 37,895
Conservative Oliver John Galley 37,021
Conservative William Emlyn Jones 35,577
Labour A. J. Lovell 27,000
Labour T. T. Swan 25,995
Labour A. R. Judge 24,684
Liberal M. D. Colne 14,447
Liberal D. F. Joyner 13,333
Liberal C. M. Hawkings 13,151
Communist R. A. Ward 3,426
Turnout
Conservative win (new seat)
Conservative win (new seat)
Conservative win (new seat)

Havering

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Havering (3)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour William Geoffrey Fiske 36,280
Labour William Arthur Gillman 34,915
Labour Bertie Edwin Roycraft 32,150
Conservative N. L. Anfilogoff 29,590
Conservative Mrs E. H. Dean 29,394
Conservative E. T. Davies 28,835
Liberal D. M. Hardy 11,705
Liberal C. W. Brewster 10,437
Liberal G. M. Horey 8,930
Communist F. Barlow 4,000
Turnout
Labour win (new seat)
Labour win (new seat)
Labour win (new seat)

Hillingdon

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Hillingdon (3)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour William John Lipscombe 34,728
Labour Frank Herbert Rapley 33,216
Labour David John Davies 32,898
Conservative E. L. Ing 32,091
Conservative G. Corran 32,072
Conservative Leslie Freeman 31,715
Liberal S. H. Davidson 7,299
Liberal J. B. Leno 7,112
Liberal J. A. Friedlander 6,545
Independent T. H. Barnard 5,020
Communist F. Stanley 3,240
Turnout
Labour win (new seat)
Labour win (new seat)
Labour win (new seat)

Hounslow

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Hounslow (3)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Jack Dunnett 40,684
Labour Ernest Kinghorn 38,028
Labour Frederick W. Powe 36,860
Conservative Geoffrey Chase-Gardener 32,044
Conservative Andrew Jardine 31,281
Conservative Dyas Cyril Loftus Usher 29,426
Liberal R. P. Power 7,457
Liberal G. C. Middleton 7,084
Liberal J. S. Probert 6,062
Communist F. Stanley 2,077
Turnout
Labour win (new seat)
Labour win (new seat)
Labour win (new seat)

Islington

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Islington (3)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Edwin Bayliss 31,077
Labour Irene Chaplin 30,165
Labour Florence Evelyne Cayford 30,107
Conservative R. A. Baker 8,152
Conservative P. E. Postgate 7,811
Conservative A. Hardy 7,380
New Liberal F. C. Barrett 2,922
Communist J. F. Moss 2,309
New Liberal F. G. S. White 2,292
Liberal S. W. Applin 2,290
New Liberal A. E. Lomas 2,207
Liberal C. Simpson 1,956
Liberal A. F. Cook 1,675
Independent D. H. L. Chenappa 659
Turnout
Labour win (new seat)
Labour win (new seat)
Labour win (new seat)

Kensington and Chelsea

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Kensington and Chelsea (3)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Sir Percy Rugg 34,683
Conservative Robert Louis Vigars 34,130
Conservative Seton Forbes Cockell 34,114
Labour A. L. Grieves 15,824
Labour O. M. Wilson 15,598
Labour T. W. Ives 15,001
Liberal M. Neilson 5,352
Liberal P. C. Boucher 5,060
Liberal J. H. Crowhurst 4,981
Communist H. B. Collins 2,153
Turnout
Conservative win (new seat)
Conservative win (new seat)
Conservative win (new seat)

Kingston upon Thames

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Kingston upon Thames (2)
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)

Lambeth

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Lambeth (4)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Robert William George Humphreys 46,240
Labour Victor Mishcon 46,056
Labour Beatrice Serota 45,492
Labour Sidney Aubrey Melman 45,125
Conservative L. Iremonger 37,812
Conservative Gerard Folliott Vaughan 37,358
Conservative A. M. Tennant 37,122
Conservative I. N. Samuel 37,057
Liberal D. R. Chapman 4,860
Liberal W. B. Mattinson 4,606
Liberal J.H. Gardner 4,451
Liberal I. Shaw 4,116
Communist J. Lawrence 2,416
Communist T. Gorringe 2,052
Independent William George Boaks 1,282
Independent A. C. Osman 1,103
Turnout
Labour win (new seat)
Labour win (new seat)
Labour win (new seat)
Labour win (new seat)

Lewisham

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Lewisham (4)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Turnout
Labour win (new seat)
Labour win (new seat)
Labour win (new seat)
Labour win (new seat)

Merton

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Merton (2)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Thomas William Scott 29,920
Conservative Frederick William Walker 29,895
Labour C. M. Waugh 28,752
Labour J. T. Pyne 27,108
Liberal E. M. Morrison 6,753
Liberal J. S. Rowlinson 6,676
Communist S. E. French 1,552
Union Movement D. Wheeler 1,409
Turnout
Conservative win (new seat)
Conservative win (new seat)

Newham

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Newham (3)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Samuel Boyce 34,429
Labour Edward Percy Bell 33,568
Labour Arthur Frank George Edwards 30,674
Liberal D. A. S. Brooke 9,476
Conservative C. A. Rugg 7,616
Conservative B. C. Balcomb 7,155
Conservative W. C. Willis 6,717
Liberal E. Johnson 6,119
Liberal R. A. Savill 5,703
Communist J. A. Walker 2,757
Turnout
Labour win (new seat)
Labour win (new seat)
Labour win (new seat)

Redbridge

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Redbridge (3)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Robert Mitchell 37,601
Conservative Francis Herbert James 36,785
Conservative Anne Sylvia Terry 36,259
Labour L. Fallaize 24,463
Labour A. F. J. Chorley 23,205
Labour A. E. O'Connor 22,440
Liberal G. S. Bellamy 17,901
Liberal K. H. N. Ives 17,622
Liberal D. F. Murphy 17,487
Communist P. J. Devine 3,885
Turnout
Conservative win (new seat)
Conservative win (new seat)
Conservative win (new seat)

Richmond upon Thames

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Richmond upon Thames (2)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Frederick Denis Christian 34,259
Conservative Montague William Garrett 34,029
Labour G. H. Loman 19,649
Labour T. R. Starr 19,557
Liberal D. V. G. Feltham 12,379
Liberal L. Worth 11,205
Communist A. J. Banfield 1,947
Conservative win (new seat)
Conservative win (new seat)

Southwark

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Southwark (4)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Reginald Eustace Goodwin 49,518
Labour Henry George Lamborn 49,480
Labour Edgar Ernest Reed 48,471
Labour Albert Edward Samuels 47,177
Conservative Toby Francis Henry Jessel 18,333
Conservative J. A. Prichard 17,568
Conservative A. P. R. Noble 17,401
Conservative J. G. L. M. Porter 17,148
Communist S. P. Bent 4,311
Turnout
Labour win (new seat)
Labour win (new seat)
Labour win (new seat)
Labour win (new seat)

Sutton

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Sutton (2)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative George Frederick Everitt 30,393
Conservative Frederick William Thompson 28,979
Labour P. J. Bassett 19,023
Labour H. Ferguson 18,129
Liberal J. D. Ross 7,548
Liberal G. R. Watkin 6,787
Communist A. T. Goddard 1,880
Turnout
Conservative win (new seat)
Conservative win (new seat)

Tower Hamlets

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Tower Hamlets (2)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour John Patrick Branagan 25,350
Labour Ernest Ashley Bramall 24,488
Communist Solly Kaye 2,618
Liberal S. H. Woodham 2,179
Liberal J. W. Parton 2,133
Conservative A. J. Lawrence 2,113
Conservative B. Hawley 1,959
Turnout
Labour win (new seat)
Labour win (new seat)

Waltham Forest

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Waltham Forest (3)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour James Albert Edward Collins 35,338
Labour Betty Kathleen Lowton 33,299
Labour Mavis Joan Webster 31,872
Conservative M. J. Harvey 22,980
Conservative J. Gordon 22,158
Conservative G. W. Mason 21,113
Ratepayers W. J. Bowstead 6,624
Liberal J. M. Bishop 5,995
Ratepayers L. E. Norman 5,557
Ratepayers T. H. Oakman 5,393
Liberal W. T. Neilson-Hansen 4,944
Liberal W. V. E. Seymer 4,748
Communist D. J. Solomons 1,289
Turnout
Labour win (new seat)
Labour win (new seat)
Labour win (new seat)

Wandsworth

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Wandsworth (4)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour 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 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 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)

Westminster and the City of London

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Westminster and the City of London (4)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Louis Halle Gluckstein 40,109
Conservative Harold Sebag-Montefiore 39,856
Conservative Samuel Isidore Salmon 39,703
Conservative Arthur Desmond Herne Plummer 39,581
Labour J. J. Curran 25,735
Labour H. E. Browne 25,511
Labour Countess Lucan 25,136
Labour B. C. G. Whitaker 24,856
Liberal Timothy Wentworth Beaumont 4,996
Liberal Richard Lord Afton 4,405
Liberal Arthur William Robert Capel 4,112
Liberal Lady Ruth Abrahams 4,035
Communist L. R. Temple 1,758
Turnout
Conservative win (new seat)
Conservative win (new seat)
Conservative win (new seat)
Conservative win (new seat)

By-elections 1964-1967

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Less than a month after the election, Marjorie McIntosh (Labour, Hammersmith) died and precipitated a byelection; however, given that the voters had elected the GLC and the new London boroughs, the parties were short of money and the Conservatives decided not to oppose the Labour candidate who was returned unopposed on 18 June. Oliver Galley (Conservative, Harrow, died in October 1965 and the Conservatives retained his seat at a byelection on 27 January 1966.[5] By the end of the term, there were two seats vacant due to the resignations of Sir Joseph Haygarth (Conservative, Barnet) and Mrs Mavis Webster (Labour, Waltham Forest).

There was one aldermanic by-election in 1965 caused by the resignation of Donald Soper (Labour). Frederick Lionel Tonge (Labour) was elected by the council on 6 July 1965, to serve until 1967.

Notes

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  1. ^ Resigned 13 May 1965
  2. ^ Died 31 March 1970

References

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  1. ^ Porter, Roy (1998). London, a Social History. Harvard University Press. p. 396.
  2. ^ Garside, Patricia (2006). Politics, ideology and the issue of open space in London, 1939–2000. Routledge.
  3. ^ Boothroyd, David. "GLC Election Results Summaries". United Kingdom Election Results. Archived from the original on 1 September 2018. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
  4. ^ "General Election of Greater London Councillors" (PDF). London Datastore. 9 April 1964. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 August 2013. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
  5. ^ Boothroyd, David. "Greater London Council Election results: Harrow". United Kingdom Election Results. Archived from the original on 24 March 2016. Retrieved 2 September 2023.