1979 Leeds City Council election

Elections to Leeds City Council were held on the same day as the general election, with one third of the council up for election and an additional vacancy in Garforth North and Barwick. There had also been a by-election in Horsforth for the seat up in this election, with the Conservatives successfully defending it.

The general election brought out a much higher turnout, with votes cast just over double the average set by the prior elections. The Liberal's fuller slate of candidates for this election gained them a personal best, seemingly mainly at the Conservative's expense. Little advance was made from this, however, with their sole gain confined to winning the earlier mentioned Conservative-held Horsforth seat. Instead, Labour were the night's clear victors, with a total of five gains; four from the Conservatives (Burley, Kirkstall, and Morley North and Wortley) and Hunslet East and West from the Liberals.

This returned the council to no overall control, with one seat dividing the Conservatives and Labour.^[1]

Election result

Leeds Local Election Result 1979
	Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
Labour	17	5	0	+5	51.5	41.2	160,075	+0.7%
Conservative	14	0	5	-5	42.4	38.5	149,646	-5.3%
Liberal	2	1	1	0	6.1	17.8	69,227	+5.6%
Ecology	0	0	0	0	0.0	1.5	6,064	+0.3%
National Front	0	0	0	0	0.0	0.4	1,720	-0.7%
Communist	0	0	0	0	0.0	0.3	1,186	-0.2%
Independent	0	0	0	0	0.0	0.2	753	-0.5%

This result has the following consequences for the total number of seats on the Council after the elections:

Party		Previous council	New council
	Conservatives	50	45
	Labour	39	44
	Liberals	7	7
Total		96	96
Working majority		4	0

Ward results

Aireborough^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	H. Freeman	7,973	43.6	−13.1
	Liberal	J. Brown	5,832	31.9	+14.9
	Labour	M. Dunn	4,198	22.9	−3.5
	Ecology	K. Rushworth	301	1.6	+1.6
Majority			2,141	11.7	−18.5
Turnout			18,304
	Conservative hold		Swing	-14.0

Armley and Castleton^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	B. Nelson	5,250	42.3	−2.7
	Labour	J. Kerwin-Davey	4,678	37.7	+5.9
	Conservative	W. Broadbent	2,267	18.3	−1.8
	National Front	D. Bentall	141	1.1	−0.2
	Communist	J. Light	80	0.6	−0.2
Majority			572	4.6	−8.6
Turnout			12,416
	Liberal hold		Swing	-4.3

Beeston and Holbeck^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	H. Booth	7,144	55.0	−6.7
	Conservative	W. Birch	4,080	31.4	−4.6
	Liberal	M. Day	1,633	12.6	+12.6
	National Front	J. Duckenfield	140	1.1	−1.2
Majority			3,064	23.6	−2.1
Turnout			12,997
	Labour hold		Swing	-1.0

Bramley^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	E. Millett	4,648	43.7	−10.3
	Liberal	D. Selby	3,889	36.5	+18.8
	Conservative	V. Drummond-Young	2,108	19.8	−6.3
Majority			759	7.1	−20.7
Turnout			10,645
	Labour hold		Swing	-14.5

Burley^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	W. Kilgallon	3,100	51.5	−2.6
	Conservative	M. Sexton	1,923	32.0	−7.1
	Liberal	N. Flood	659	11.0	+11.0
	Ecology	K. Baxter	242	4.0	+0.0
	Communist	B. Jackson	93	1.5	−0.2
Majority			1,177	19.6	+4.5
Turnout			6,017
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	+2.2

Burmantofts and Richmond Hill^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	R. Millet	6,122	46.2	+10.9
	Liberal	P. Hartshorne	5,051	38.1	−12.3
	Conservative	D. Boynton	1,850	14.0	+2.4
	National Front	S. Rigby	118	0.9	−0.6
	Communist	M. Monkman	102	0.8	−0.3
Majority			1,071	8.1	−7.1
Turnout			13,243
	Labour hold		Swing	+11.6

Chapel Allerton and Scott Hall^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	C. Thomas	6,761	44.7	−6.9
	Labour	M. Taggart	5,911	39.1	+1.0
	Liberal	R. Clay	1,938	12.8	+6.5
	Ecology	C. Burrows	395	2.6	+1.9
	Communist	L. Willoughby	121	0.8	−0.6
Majority			850	5.6	−7.9
Turnout			15,126
	Conservative hold		Swing	-3.9

City and Woodhouse^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	E. Morris	4,979	58.8	−5.5
	Conservative	R. Simpson	2,207	26.0	−0.5
	Liberal	A. Ali	677	8.0	+3.7
	Ecology	S. Parkin	399	4.7	+4.7
	Communist	J. Rodgers	211	2.5	−0.7
Majority			2,772	32.7	−5.0
Turnout			8,473
	Labour hold		Swing	-2.5

Cookridge and Weetwood^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	K. Loudon	11,118	55.9	−8.5
	Labour	M. Verity	4,796	24.1	+2.4
	Liberal	D. Gazey	3,262	16.4	+4.6
	Ecology	P. Lewenz	706	3.6	+1.5
Majority			6,322	31.8	−10.9
Turnout			19,882
	Conservative hold		Swing	-5.4

Garforth North and Barwick^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	W. Hedley	7,352	53.2	−7.2
	Conservative	A. Taylor	6,764
	Labour	E. Smith	5,285	38.3	+5.2
	Labour	B. Cook	5,239
	Ecology	G. Hill	1,178	8.5	+2.0
Majority			2,067	15.0	−12.4
Turnout			13,815
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing	-6.2

Gipton and Whinmoor^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	A. Vollans	9,573	59.1	−3.2
	Conservative	W. Buckland	4,906	30.3	−4.2
	Liberal	N. Mackie	1,467	9.1	+9.1
	National Front	B. Spink	257	1.6	−0.4
Majority			4,667	28.8	+1.0
Turnout			16,203
	Labour hold		Swing	+0.5

Halton^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	D. Wood	6,771	57.1	−13.0
	Labour	L. Worth	3,622	30.5	+3.0
	Liberal	K. Norman	1,472	12.4	+12.4
Majority			3,149	26.5	−16.0
Turnout			11,865
	Conservative hold		Swing	-8.0

Harehills and Roundhay^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	J. White	7,047	47.2	−7.4
	Labour	M. Lyons	5,563	37.3	+0.1
	Liberal	D. Jones	1,612	10.8	+5.6
	Ecology	A. Hill	473	3.2	+1.6
	National Front	L. Spink	223	1.5	+0.1
Majority			1,484	9.9	−7.5
Turnout			14,918
	Conservative hold		Swing	-3.7

Headingley^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Jean Searle	3,914	36.6	−8.5
	Labour	Mary Dalwood	3,786	35.4	+2.3
	Liberal	David Rolfe	2,254	21.1	+7.1
	Ecology	Claire Nash	467	4.4	+0.6
	Communist	Barry Cooper	279	2.6	−1.6
Majority			128	1.2	−10.8
Turnout			10,700
	Conservative hold		Swing	-5.4

Horsforth^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	R. Howe	5,625	45.8	+1.7
	Conservative	M. Frame	4,511	36.8	−4.6
	Labour	A. Radford	1,819	14.8	+3.7
	Ecology	D. Darnborough	316	2.6	−0.8
Majority			1,114	9.1	+6.4
Turnout			12,271
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing	+3.1

Hunslet East and West^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Trevor Park	6,166	56.1	+6.3
	Liberal	P. Jones	2,902	26.4	+13.4
	Conservative	C. Hudson	1,563	14.2	+3.2
	National Front	N. Griffiths	243	2.2	−0.4
	Communist	J. Hodgson	111	1.0	+1.0
Majority			3,264	29.7	+3.3
Turnout			10,985
	Labour gain from Liberal		Swing	-3.5

Kippax and Swillington^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	G. Moakes	6,453	60.2	+1.2
	Conservative	R. Dawson	3,284	30.7	−10.3
	Liberal	N. Parnaby	975	9.1	+9.1
Majority			3,169	29.6	+11.5
Turnout			10,712
	Labour hold		Swing	+5.7

Kirkstall^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	John Illingworth	4,822	52.6	−4.2
	Conservative	John Hamilton	3,318	36.2	−3.0
	Liberal	Laurence Keates	1,032	11.3	+11.3
Majority			1,504	16.4	−1.2
Turnout			9,172
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	-0.6

Middleton^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	G. Wood	6,797	70.0	−7.4
	Conservative	A. Larvin	1,848	19.0	−0.3
	Liberal	R. James	1,069	11.0	+11.0
Majority			4,949	50.9	−7.1
Turnout			9,714
	Labour hold		Swing	-3.5

Moortown^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	R. Challenor	5,316	54.7	−8.2
	Labour	T. Taylor	3,064	31.5	−2.2
	Liberal	Dorothea Leser	1,133	11.7	+11.7
	Ecology	A. Varley	209	2.1	−1.3
Majority			2,252	23.2	−6.0
Turnout			9,722
	Conservative hold		Swing	-3.0

Morley North^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	P. Jones	6,376	47.6	−1.7
	Conservative	R. Verity	6,261	46.8	−4.0
	Independent	B. Morris	753	5.6	+5.6
Majority			115	0.9	−0.5
Turnout			13,390
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	+1.1

Morley South^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	B. North	7,293	61.6	−0.7
	Conservative	A. Grayson	4,538	38.4	+0.7
Majority			2,755	23.3	−1.4
Turnout			11,831
	Labour hold		Swing	-0.7

Osmondthorpe^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	W. Prichard	5,025	62.1	−4.6
	Conservative	D. Schofield	1,983	24.5	−5.7
	Liberal	P. Gilbert	966	11.9	+11.9
	National Front	M. Spink	117	1.4	−1.7
Majority			3,042	37.6	+1.1
Turnout			8,091
	Labour hold		Swing	+0.5

Otley^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Stephen Day (MP)	5,139	43.8	−6.3
	Liberal	H. Morgan	4,486	38.3	+1.2
	Labour	W. Imeson	1,868	15.9	+3.7
	Ecology	D. Corry	185	1.6	+1.6
	Communist	A. Oddy	50	0.4	−0.3
Majority			653	5.6	−7.5
Turnout			11,728
	Conservative hold		Swing	-3.7

Pudsey North^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	I. Favell	4,898	40.5	−18.7
	Liberal	A. Booker	3,958	32.7	+19.8
	Labour	P. Burrill	3,243	26.8	−1.1
Majority			940	7.8	−23.5
Turnout			12,099
	Conservative hold		Swing	-19.2

Pudsey South^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	P. Kersting	4,541	40.4	−2.6
	Liberal	N. Gadsby	4,386	39.0	+3.1
	Labour	T. Watson	2,311	20.6	−0.5
Majority			155	1.4	−5.7
Turnout			11,238
	Conservative hold		Swing	-2.8

Rothwell^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	B. Walker	10,429	62.9	+0.5
	Conservative	T. Crystal	6,140	37.1	+1.9
Majority			4,289	25.9	−1.4
Turnout			16,569
	Labour hold		Swing	-0.7

Seacroft^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	George Mudie (politician)	7,432	70.4	+0.1
	Conservative	D. Townsley	2,812	26.6	−0.1
	National Front	C. Cannon	169	1.6	−1.3
	Communist	B. Wilson	139	1.3	+1.3
Majority			4,620	43.8	+0.2
Turnout			10,552
	Labour hold		Swing	+0.1

Stanningley^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	C. Myers	4,540	51.2	−9.0
	Conservative	K. Knapton	2,396	27.0	−4.0
	Liberal	B. Jacques	1,762	19.9	+12.8
	National Front	M. Gibson	173	2.0	+0.3
Majority			2,144	24.2	−5.0
Turnout			8,871
	Labour hold		Swing	-2.5

Talbot^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	R. Feldman	6,146	58.3	−11.0
	Labour	T. Midwood	2,490	23.6	+3.7
	Liberal	M. Phillips	1,443	13.7	+7.7
	Ecology	A. Plummer	459	4.4	+0.6
Majority			3,656	34.7	−14.7
Turnout			10,538
	Conservative hold		Swing	-7.3

Wetherby^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	H. Gardiner	10,826	67.5	−4.0
	Labour	M. Moynihan	2,258	14.1	+1.4
	Liberal	J. Scott	2,210	13.8	+5.3
	Ecology	M. Sellers	734	4.6	−2.7
Majority			8,568	53.5	−5.3
Turnout			16,028
	Conservative hold		Swing	-2.7

Wortley^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	W. Thurlow	4,284	40.6	−3.9
	Conservative	R. Robson	3,849	36.5	−7.2
	Liberal	W. Moss	2,284	21.6	+11.9
	National Front	A. Smith	139	1.3	−0.8
Majority			435	4.1	+3.3
Turnout			10,556
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	+1.6

References

^ ^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 ^ag "District results: Leeds". The Yorkshire Post. 4 May 1979.

[results-1] ^ ^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 ^ag "District results: Leeds". The Yorkshire Post. 4 May 1979.

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