1962 Leeds City Council election

The 1962 Leeds municipal elections were held on Thursday 10 May 1962,^[1] with one third of the council to be elected.^[2]

Both Labour and Conservative took hits to their vote (although falling more at the Conservative's expense meant a 1.7% swing to Labour^[3]) as the Liberals received record support, more than doubling contemporary results to surpass the 10,000 marker in votes and obtaining a double-figure vote share for the first time.^[2] Unable to add to the gains they were making across England and Wales that night,^[1] they won second-place in the majority of the ten wards they fought - although most looked unlikely to pay much dividend, simply pipping Labour to distant second-place in safe-Conservative seats. The closest races - offering some prospect of success for them - were found in Far Headingley where they managed a swing of just under 11% to wipe away two-thirds of the Tory majority, and achieving an even larger swing of 14% to turn Stanningley into a Labour-held three-way marginal.^[2]

The Liberals weren't alone in fielding their greatest number of candidates, as the Communists matched their 1950 record of seven candidates, surpassing one percent for the first time (beyond 1950). Despite these advances, the only change was to be found in the Conservative-Labour battleground of Wortley, with Labour gaining the seat by a mere three votes.^[2] Turnout fell modestly to 33.9% on the previous year.^[3]

Election result

Leeds Local Election Result 1962
	Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
Labour	18	1	0	+1	64.3	43.9	51,574	-1.4
Conservative	10	0	1	-1	35.7	43.7	51,392	-4.8
Liberal	0	0	0	0	0.0	11.3	13,237	+6.2
Communist	0	0	0	0	0.0	1.1	1,256	+0.2

The result had the following consequences for the total number of seats on the council after the elections:^[3]

Party		Previous council		New council
Party		Cllr	Ald	Cllr	Ald
	Labour	47	16	48	16
	Conservatives	37	12	36	12
Total		84	28	84	28
Total		112		112
Working majority		10	4	12	4
Working majority		14		16

Ward results

Allerton^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	F. Marshall	3,702	63.8	−8.3
	Liberal	Julius Blum	1,246	21.5	+7.5
	Labour	A. Baum	856	14.7	+0.8
Majority			2,456	42.3	−15.8
Turnout			5,804
	Conservative hold		Swing	-7.9

Armley^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	J. Bissell	2,330	60.3	+6.9
	Conservative	R. Beal	1,537	39.7	−3.0
Majority			793	20.5	+9.9
Turnout			3,867
	Labour hold		Swing	+4.9

Beeston^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	A. Hartley	3,162	51.2	−2.1
	Labour	J. Prichard	3,017	48.8	+2.1
Majority			145	2.3	−4.3
Turnout			6,179
	Conservative hold		Swing	-2.1

Blenheim^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	W. Merritt	1,613	71.2	+11.0
	Conservative	J. Cumberland	651	28.8	−11.0
Majority			962	42.5	+22.1
Turnout			2,264
	Labour hold		Swing	+11.0

Bramley^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	W. Lord	2,801	53.7	+1.0
	Conservative	H. Pickering	2,418	46.3	−1.0
Majority			383	7.3	+2.0
Turnout			5,219
	Labour hold		Swing	+1.0

Burmantofts^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	G. Murray	2,069	74.1	+1.0
	Conservative	M. Bauchop	725	25.9	−1.0
Majority			1,344	48.1	+2.0
Turnout			2,794
	Labour hold		Swing	+1.0

City^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Bernard Atha	1,280	71.5	+9.9
	Conservative	D. Mowbray	511	28.5	−9.9
Majority			769	42.9	+19.8
Turnout			1,791
	Labour hold		Swing	+9.9

Cross Gates^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	E. Coward	3,037	59.6	+1.2
	Conservative	F. West	1,763	34.6	−1.4
	Communist	B. Wilson	295	5.8	+0.3
Majority			1,274	25.0	+2.6
Turnout			5,095
	Labour hold		Swing	+1.3

East Hunslet^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	E. Kavanagh	1,712	63.1	−10.5
	Conservative	J. Birch	548	20.2	−6.1
	Liberal	E. Pemberton	452	16.7	+16.7
Majority			1,164	42.9	−4.4
Turnout			2,712
	Labour hold		Swing	-2.2

Far Headingley^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	G. Dovenor	3,937	47.6	−10.7
	Liberal	John Humphrey Morrish	3,166	38.2	+10.9
	Labour	J. Moynihan	1,175	14.2	−0.2
Majority			771	9.3	−21.6
Turnout			8,278
	Conservative hold		Swing	-10.8

Halton^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	J. Shires	3,883	63.3	−2.4
	Labour	A. Kirk	1,151	18.8	+0.7
	Liberal	E. Vasey	1,098	17.9	+1.7
Majority			2,785	44.6	−3.0
Turnout			6,132
	Conservative hold		Swing	-1.5

Harehills^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Patrick Crotty	2,615	61.2	−0.1
	Labour	G. Bloom	1,660	38.8	+0.1
Majority			955	22.3	−0.3
Turnout			4,275
	Conservative hold		Swing	-0.1

Holbeck^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	G. Bray	1,754	68.4	+11.1
	Conservative	J. Robinson	810	31.6	+4.0
Majority			944	36.8	+7.0
Turnout			2,564
	Labour hold		Swing	+3.5

Hunslet Carr^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	W. Parker	1,810	65.9	−1.2
	Conservative	R. Austwick	729	26.5	+4.7
	Communist	L. Hunter	209	7.6	+7.6
Majority			1,081	39.3	−6.0
Turnout			2,748
	Labour hold		Swing	-2.9

Hyde Park^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	R. Fielding	2,038	61.2	−2.4
	Labour	L. Steele	1,293	38.8	+2.4
Majority			745	22.4	−4.8
Turnout			3,331
	Conservative hold		Swing	-2.4

Kirkstall^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	D. Matthews	2,808	52.1	−2.3
	Conservative	F. Lucas	1,581	29.4	−16.2
	Liberal	D. Whittaker	996	18.5	+18.5
Majority			1,227	22.8	+14.0
Turnout			5,385
	Labour hold		Swing	+6.9

Meanwood^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	T. Kirkby	2,733	53.9	−22.2
	Liberal	Graham Rowlands	1,315	25.9	+25.9
	Labour	J. Taylor	1,023	20.2	−3.7
Majority			1,418	28.0	−24.2
Turnout			5,071
	Conservative hold		Swing	-24.0

Middleton^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	S. Binns	2,251	76.5	+3.2
	Conservative	D. Lodge	535	18.2	−2.7
	Communist	R. Wilkinson	157	5.3	−0.5
Majority			1,716	58.3	+5.9
Turnout			2,943
	Labour hold		Swing	+2.9

Moortown^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	L. Henson	3,703	62.5	−13.1
	Liberal	G. Statman	1,170	19.8	+19.8
	Labour	K. Lloyd	1,050	17.7	−6.7
Majority			2,533	42.8	−8.4
Turnout			5,923
	Conservative hold		Swing	-16.4

Osmondthorpe^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	L. Walsh	2,384	74.8	+1.5
	Conservative	A. Bell	802	25.2	−1.5
Majority			1,582	49.7	+3.0
Turnout			3,186
	Labour hold		Swing	+1.5

Potternewton^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	L. Lyons	1,785	52.5	−6.0
	Labour	Kevin Gould	859	25.3	+0.2
	Liberal	T. Longhorn	652	19.2	+6.1
	Communist	H. Fawcett	103	3.0	−0.4
Majority			926	27.2	−6.2
Turnout			3,399
	Conservative hold		Swing	-3.1

Richmond Hill^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	W. Cain	1,897	77.3	+1.1
	Conservative	A. Booth	424	17.3	−2.2
	Communist	E. Burwin	132	5.4	+1.2
Majority			1,473	60.0	+3.3
Turnout			2,453
	Labour hold		Swing	+1.6

Roundhay^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	S. Codd	2,949	57.0	−18.6
	Liberal	A. Clarke	1,355	26.2	+26.2
	Labour	D. Thomas	869	16.8	−7.6
Majority			1,594	30.8	−20.4
Turnout			5,173
	Conservative hold		Swing	-22.4

Stanningley^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Jim Marshall	2,079	38.5	−10.3
	Liberal	Dennis Pedder	1,787	33.1	+17.7
	Conservative	A. Rakuson	1,540	28.5	−7.4
Majority			292	5.4	−7.5
Turnout			5,406
	Labour hold		Swing	-14.0

Wellington^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	J. Underwood	2,018	75.8	+1.2
	Conservative	A. Stephen	440	16.5	−2.4
	Communist	G. Hodgson	206	7.7	+1.2
Majority			1,578	59.2	+3.6
Turnout			2,664
	Labour hold		Swing	+1.8

Westfield^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Stan Cohen	1,824	57.2	+8.2
	Conservative	A. Sexton	1,364	42.8	+6.6
Majority			460	14.4	+1.6
Turnout			3,188
	Labour hold		Swing	+0.8

Woodhouse^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	H. Bretherick	2,064	53.8	+2.3
	Conservative	P. Greene	1,620	42.2	−2.7
	Communist	E. Meth	154	4.0	+0.5
Majority			444	11.6	+5.0
Turnout			3,838
	Labour hold		Swing	+2.5

Wortley^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	J. Stephenson	2,890	50.0	+2.4
	Conservative	F. Stubley	2,887	50.0	−2.4
Majority			3	0.1	−4.7
Turnout			5,777
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	+2.4

References

^ ^a ^b "Macmillan Party Set Back at Polls". The New York Times. 11 May 1962. Retrieved 18 October 2012.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w ^x ^y ^z ^aa ^ab ^ac ^ad ^ae ^af "Municipal results: Leeds". The Yorkshire Post. 11 May 1962.
^ ^a ^b ^c Sharpe, L.J. (1967). Voting in cities: the 1964 borough elections.

[NYT-1] "Macmillan Party Set Back at Polls". The New York Times. 11 May 1962. Retrieved 18 October 2012.

[results-2] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w ^x ^y ^z ^aa ^ab ^ac ^ad ^ae ^af "Municipal results: Leeds". The Yorkshire Post. 11 May 1962.

[sharpe-3] Sharpe, L.J. (1967). Voting in cities: the 1964 borough elections.

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