1965 Leeds City Council election

The 1965 municipal elections for Leeds were held on Thursday 13 May 1965,^[1] with one third of the council and an extra vacancy in Allerton to be elected.^[2]

Building upon the previous year, the Conservatives fully reversed the downward trend they'd been on since 1960. With a whopping 10.2%^[3] swing their way, they defeated the Labour Party in a manner not seen since 1951, with Labour's share reduced to the thirties - surpassing even their record low then.

The Conservatives six gains were largely a regaining of Labour's 1963 gains, with the notable exceptions of Beeston, which they already held, and Kirkstall - a first for the ward, which had been monolithically Labour since the boundary changes in 1951.^[2]

The Conservatives also recovered Roundhay from Labour who gained it in a by-election in 1963.

Elsewhere, the Liberals continued their decline from the 1962 highs, now at near enough where they were pre-spike. In contrast, the Communists, having steadily raised their candidates in each election since the mid-1950s were now fielding a record of 12, achieving party records in both vote and share. Turnout fell again by just over two percent on last year's figure to 34.5%.^[3]^[4]

Election result

Leeds Local Election Result 1965
	Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
Conservative	17	6	0	+6	58.6	56.1	65,041	+11.2
Labour	12	0	6	-6	41.4	37.8	43,813	-9.1
Liberal	0	0	0	0	0.0	4.6	5,366	-2.5
Communist	0	0	0	0	0.0	1.5	1,741	+0.5

The result had the following consequences for the total number of seats on the council after the elections:^[4]

Party		Previous council		New council
Party		Cllr	Ald	Cllr	Ald
	Labour	56	19	50	19
	Conservatives	28	9	34	9
Total		84	28	84	28
Total		112		112
Working majority		28	10	16	10
Working majority		38		26

Ward results

Allerton^[2]^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Frank Marshall	5,358	78.8	+9.4
	Conservative	John William Harwood Long	5,174
	Labour	Gerald Bloom	1,442	21.2	−0.2
	Labour	Donald Chadwick	1,308
Majority			3,732	57.6	+9.7
Turnout			6,800
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing	+4.8

Armley^[2]^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Joseph Bissell	1,907	52.6	−7.2
	Conservative	Kevin Anthony Beal	1,717	47.4	+19.0
Majority			190	5.2	−26.2
Turnout			3,624
	Labour hold		Swing	-13.1

Beeston^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Alan Hartley	3,496	58.4	+9.2
	Labour	Eric Forbes Mill	2,400	40.1	−7.8
	Communist	Frederick Sidebottom	87	1.5	−1.4
Majority			1,096	18.3	+17.0
Turnout			5,983
	Conservative hold		Swing	+8.5

Blenheim^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	William Merritt	1,100	59.6	−9.1
	Conservative	Rolland Derrick Austwick	747	40.4	+9.1
Majority			353	19.2	−18.2
Turnout			1,847
	Labour hold		Swing	-9.1

Bramley^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Jack Hart	2,973	56.4	+16.9
	Labour	William Lord	2,297	43.6	−16.9
Majority			676	12.8	−8.3
Turnout			5,270
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing	+16.9

Burmantofts^[2]^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	George Murray	1,431	56.1	−16.2
	Conservative	Jessie Margaret (commonly known as Peggy) White	1,120	43.9	+16.2
Majority			311	12.2	−32.3
Turnout			2,551
	Labour hold		Swing	-16.2

City^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Bernard Peter Atha	724	61.6	−11.7
	Conservative	Michael Herbert Baker	451	38.4	+11.7
Majority			273	23.2	−23.5
Turnout			1,175
	Labour hold		Swing	-11.7

Cross Gates^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Enid Muriel Coward	3,708	57.7	−7.7
	Conservative	Sidney Andrew Codd	2,294	35.7	+6.6
	Communist	Henry Fawcett	421	6.6	+1.1
Majority			1,414	22.0	−14.4
Turnout			6,423
	Labour hold		Swing	-7.1

East Hunslet^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Ernest Kavanagh	1,017	63.1	−9.2
	Conservative	Keith Anthony Frederick Grainger	594	36.9	+9.2
Majority			423	26.2	−18.4
Turnout			1,611
	Labour hold		Swing	-9.2

Far Headingley^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Alan Edwin Roberts	5,905	67.2	+14.0
	Labour	Nellie Doreen Jenner	1,649	18.8	−1.4
	Liberal	Anastasios Christodoulop	1,238	14.1	−12.6
Majority			4,256	48.4	+21.9
Turnout			8,792
	Conservative hold		Swing	+7.7

Halton^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Hutchings Rhodes	4,879	78.4	+8.9
	Labour	Doreen Hamilton	1,347	21.6	−8.9
Majority			3,532	56.7	+17.7
Turnout			6,226
	Conservative hold		Swing	+8.9

Harehills^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Patrick Crotty	2,720	58.9	+7.5
	Labour	Howard Howlett	1,639	35.5	−3.5
	Liberal	Ronald Gibbon Sissons	258	5.6	−4.0
Majority			1,081	23.4	+11.0
Turnout			4,617
	Conservative hold		Swing	+5.5

Holbeck^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Gertrude Bray	1,304	55.0	−1.5
	Conservative	Michael Waddington	905	38.2	+11.7
	Communist	Joyce McCarthy	160	6.8	+3.6
Majority			399	16.8	−13.2
Turnout			2,369
	Labour hold		Swing	-6.6

Hunslet Carr^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Wilfred Parker	1,311	57.9	−4.9
	Conservative	Herbert Ernest Lister	852	37.6	+6.0
	Communist	Leslie Hunter	101	4.5	−1.1
Majority			459	20.3	−10.9
Turnout			2,264
	Labour hold		Swing	-5.4

Hyde Park^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Ronald Derek Fielding	2,495	55.9	+6.8
	Labour	Wilfred Window	1,166	26.1	−12.8
	Liberal	Deryck Ernest Senior	689	15.4	+3.3
	Communist	Stanley Peter Walker	116	2.6	+2.6
Majority			1,329	29.8	+19.6
Turnout			4,466
	Conservative hold		Swing	+9.8

Kirkstall^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Raymond Kent	2,202	50.4	+16.3
	Labour	Dennis Burrill Matthews	2,020	46.2	−9.0
	Communist	Beryl Huffinley	150	3.4	+0.7
Majority			182	4.2	−17.0
Turnout			4,372
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing	+12.6

Meanwood^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Thomas William Kirkby	3,232	67.6	+9.0
	Labour	John McPheat	1,049	21.9	−9.2
	Liberal	Evelyn Mary Briggs	500	10.5	+0.2
Majority			2,183	45.7	+18.3
Turnout			4,781
	Conservative hold		Swing	+9.1

Middleton^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	St. John Binns	1,833	74.7	−6.1
	Conservative	Frank Stubley	477	19.4	+3.9
	Communist	Enos Leslie Moore	143	5.8	+2.2
Majority			1,356	55.3	−10.0
Turnout			2,453
	Labour hold		Swing	-5.0

Moortown^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Louie Ellen Henson	5,532	71.2	+8.9
	Labour	Bernard Ingham	1,485	19.1	−7.9
	Liberal	Kenneth Roy Dunn	561	7.2	−3.5
	Communist	Philip Boyes	190	2.4	+2.4
Majority			4,047	52.1	+16.8
Turnout			7,768
	Conservative hold		Swing	+8.4

Osmondthorpe^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	William John (aka Jack) Pritchard	1,322	65.3	−13.0
	Conservative	Ethel Megan Lewis	704	34.7	+13.0
Majority			618	30.5	−26.0
Turnout			2,026
	Labour hold		Swing	-13.0

Potternewton^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Irwin Norman Bellow	2,270	56.2	+8.8
	Labour	Joyce Brenda Gould	1,267	31.4	−11.7
	Liberal	Sydney Herbert Bexan	427	10.6	+3.3
	Communist	Raymond Ramsden	73	1.8	−0.4
Majority			1,003	24.8	+20.5
Turnout			4,037
	Conservative hold		Swing	+10.2

Richmond Hill^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	William Cain	1,463	69.6	−13.9
	Conservative	Alfred Patrick Sexton	519	24.7	+12.2
	Communist	Eric Burwin	121	5.8	+1.7
Majority			944	44.9	−26.1
Turnout			2,103
	Labour hold		Swing	-13.0

Roundhay^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Alan Commander Johnson	5,144	77.4	+9.2
	Labour	Douglas Thomas	1,503	22.6	−9.2
Majority			3,641	54.8	+18.4
Turnout			6,647
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing	+9.2

Stanningley^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Alfred Matthew Vickers	2,052	45.1	+11.0
	Labour	John Henry Marshall	1,701	37.4	−10.9
	Liberal	Dennis Pedder	793	17.4	−0.1
Majority			351	7.7	−6.4
Turnout			4,546
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing	+10.9

Wellington^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	John Herbert Underwood	997	58.4	−10.9
	Conservative	Elizabeth Anne Farrar	356	20.8	+3.9
	Liberal	Ernest Howson	272	15.9	+5.7
	Communist	Marion Rogers	83	4.9	+1.3
Majority			641	37.5	−14.8
Turnout			1,708
	Labour hold		Swing	-7.4

Westfield^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	May Sexton	1,413	56.6	+8.3
	Labour	Stanley Cohen	1,083	43.4	−8.3
Majority			330	13.2	+9.8
Turnout			2,496
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing	+8.3

Woodhouse^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Frederick Chadwick Green	1,441	51.7	+12.5
	Labour	Harold Bretherick	1,252	44.9	−13.3
	Communist	Arthur Dale	96	3.4	+0.7
Majority			189	6.8	−12.2
Turnout			2,789
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing	+12.9

Wortley^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Brian Emmett	3,193	51.4	+8.8
	Labour	Joseph Stephenson	2,396	38.5	−9.8
	Liberal	Walter Holdsworth	628	10.1	+1.0
Majority			797	12.8	+7.0
Turnout			6,217
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing	+9.3

^[5]

References

^ "The News of the Week in Review: Two Crises". The New York Times. 16 May 1965. Retrieved 19 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 "Municipal results: Leeds". The Yorkshire Post. 14 May 1965.
^ ^a ^b Sharpe, L.J. (1967). Voting in cities: the 1964 borough elections.
^ ^a ^b Whitaker, Joseph (1965). Whitaker's Almanack 1965.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Leeds City Year Book". Leeds City Council. 1965.

[NYT-1] "The News of the Week in Review: Two Crises". The New York Times. 16 May 1965. Retrieved 19 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 "Municipal results: Leeds". The Yorkshire Post. 14 May 1965.

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

[whitaker-4] Whitaker, Joseph (1965). Whitaker's Almanack 1965.

[lcc_yearbook-5] "Leeds City Year Book". Leeds City Council. 1965.

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