1974 Renfrew District Council election

1974 Renfrew District Council election
7 May 1974 (1974-05-07) 1977 →
All 40 seats to Renfrew District Council
21 seats needed for a majority
  First party Second party Third party
 
Party Labour Conservative Independent
Seats won 25 10 3
Popular vote 33,540 21,894 6,678
Percentage 49.3% 32.2% 9.8%
  Fourth party Fifth party
 
Party SNP Community association
Seats won 1 1
Popular vote 3,407 1,336
Percentage 5.0% 2.0%

Elections to Renfrew 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.

The election used the 40 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 majority. The party took 25 of the 40 seats and almost half of the popular vote. The Conservatives won 10 seats and three independent candidates were elected.

Background

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Prior to 1974, the area that was to become Renfrew contained four of the seven burghs of the County of Renfrew. The three small burghs (Barrhead, Johnstone and Renfrew) had limited powers which included some control over planning as well as local taxation, building control, housing, lighting and drainage. The large burgh of Paisley 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 Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 implemented most of the recommendations in the Wheatly Report. The central part of the County of Renfrew which included the four burghs was placed into the Renfrew district within the Strathclyde region.[2][3]

Results

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1974 Renfrew District Council election result
Party Seats Gains Losses Net gain/loss Seats % Votes % Votes +/−
  Labour 25 N/A 62.5 49.3 33,540 N/A
  Conservative 10 N/A 25.0 32.2 21,894 N/A
  Independent 3 N/A 7.5 9.8 6,678 N/A
  SNP 1 N/A 2.5 5.0 3,407 N/A
  Community association 1 N/A 2.5 2.0 1,336 N/A
  Tenants Association 0 N/A 0.0 0.9 584 N/A
  Liberal 0 N/A 0.0 0.5 334 N/A
  Communist 0 N/A 0.0 0.4 277 N/A

Source:[4]

Aftermath

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Renfrew was one of 11 districts in the newly created Strathclyde region that was won by Labour after the party took 25 of the 40 seats. The Conservatives were the second-largest party after they took 10 seats. and the Liberals both won one seat and one Independent candidate was elected. Labour also won control of the regional council which held its first election on the same day. Across Scotland, Labour won the most votes, the most seats and the most councils of any party.[4]

References

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  1. ^ "Formation Electoral Arrangements". Local Government Boundary Commission for Scotland. Retrieved 5 April 2025.
  2. ^ a b c "Information Paper Local government in Scotland: before 1975" (PDF). Boundaries Scotland. Retrieved 10 April 2025.
  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: 10–12. JSTOR 20000437.
  4. ^ a b Botchel, J. M.; Denver, D. T. (1975). The Scottish Local Government Elections 1974: Results and Statistics (PDF). Edinburgh: Scottish Academic Press. Retrieved 5 April 2025.
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