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

9 April 1964
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

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

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

General election of councillors

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

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

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%. 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

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

Aldermen elected in 1964, to retire in 1970:

Party		Alderman
	Labour	Frank Banfield
	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

Results by electoral area

Barking

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Lewisham (4)

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

Merton

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Further information: List of Greater London Council by-elections

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. 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.