1977 United Kingdom local elections

Local elections were held in the United Kingdom in 1977. The results were a major mid-term setback for the Labour government, and the Conservatives, the main opposition, comprehensively regained control of the Greater London Council with 64 seats against Labour's 28. Elections were also held in the county councils and in Northern Ireland.[1][2]

1977 United Kingdom local elections

← 1976 3 May 1977 (Scotland)
5 May 1977 (England & Wales)
18 May 1977 (Northern Ireland)
1978 →

1 Unicameral area, all 6 metropolitan counties, all 39 non-metropolitan counties,
1 sui generis authority, all 26 Northern Irish districts,
all 53 Scottish districts and all 8 Welsh counties
  Majority party Minority party Third party
 
Leader Margaret Thatcher James Callaghan David Steel
Party Conservative Labour Liberal
Leader since 11 February 1975 5 April 1976 7 July 1976
Councillors 12,370 7,115 950
Councillors +/- Increase 1,293 Decrease 1,098 Decrease 163

Colours denote the winning party, as shown in the main table of results.

The Conservative Party gained 1,293 seats, bringing their number of councillors to 12,370. The Labour Party lost 1,098 seats, leaving them with 7,115 councillors. The Liberal Party lost 163 seats, leaving them with 950 councillors.

Changes were as follows:

  • Conservative gain from no overall control - Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Cumbria, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Hertfordshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Warwickshire, Wiltshire, Worcestershire
  • Conservative gain from Labour - Derbyshire, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire, Staffordshire
  • Conservative gain from Independent - Isle of Wight

Summary of results

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England

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Unicameral area

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Council Previous control Result Details
Greater London Labour Conservative gain Details

Metropolitan county councils

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Council Previous control Result Details
Greater Manchester Labour Conservative gain Details
Merseyside Labour Conservative gain Details
South Yorkshire Labour Labour hold Details
Tyne and Wear Labour Labour hold Details
West Midlands Labour Conservative gain Details
West Yorkshire Labour Conservative gain Details

Non-metropolitan county councils

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Council Previous control Result Details
Avon No overall control Conservative gain Details
Bedfordshire No overall control Conservative gain Details
Berkshire No overall control Conservative gain Details
Buckinghamshire Conservative Conservative hold Details
Cambridgeshire No overall control Conservative gain Details
Cheshire No overall control No overall control hold Details
Cleveland Labour Conservative gain Details
Cornwall Independent Independent hold Details
Cumbria No overall control Conservative gain Details
Derbyshire Labour Conservative gain Details
Devon Conservative Conservative hold Details
Dorset Conservative Conservative hold Details
Durham Labour Labour hold Details
East Sussex Conservative Conservative hold Details
Essex Conservative Conservative hold Details
Gloucestershire No overall control Conservative gain Details
Hampshire No overall control Conservative gain Details
Hereford and Worcester No overall control Conservative gain Details
Hertfordshire No overall control Conservative gain Details
Humberside Labour Conservative gain Details
Isle of Wight Independent Conservative gain Details
Kent Conservative Conservative hold Details
Lancashire Conservative Conservative hold Details
Leicestershire No overall control Conservative gain Details
Lincolnshire No overall control Conservative gain Details
Norfolk Conservative Conservative hold Details
North Yorkshire No overall control Conservative gain Details
Northamptonshire Labour Conservative gain Details
Northumberland No overall control No overall control hold Details
Nottinghamshire Labour Conservative gain Details
Oxfordshire Conservative Conservative hold Details
Salop No overall control No overall control hold Details
Somerset Conservative Conservative hold Details
Staffordshire Labour Conservative gain Details
Suffolk Conservative Conservative hold Details
Surrey Conservative Conservative hold Details
Warwickshire No overall control Conservative gain Details
West Sussex Conservative Conservative hold Details
Wiltshire No overall control Conservative gain Details

Sui generis

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Council Previous control Result Details
Isles of Scilly Details

Northern Ireland

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Council Previous control Result Details
Antrim UUP UUP Details
Ards UUP No overall control Details
Armagh UUP No overall control Details
Ballymena No overall control DUP Details
Ballymoney No overall control No overall control Details
Banbridge UUP UUP Details
Belfast No overall control No overall control Details
Carrickfergus No overall control No overall control Details
Castlereagh No overall control No overall control Details
Coleraine UUP UUP Details
Cookstown No overall control No overall control Details
Craigavon No overall control No overall control Details
Down No overall control No overall control Details
Dungannon UUP No overall control Details
Fermanagh No overall control No overall control Details
Larne Loyalist Coalition No overall control Details
Limavady United Unionists No overall control Details
Lisburn UUP No overall control Details
Londonderry No overall control No overall control Details
Magherafelt No overall control No overall control Details
Moyle No overall control No overall control Details
Newry and Mourne No overall control No overall control Details
Newtownabbey No overall control No overall control Details
North Down No overall control No overall control Details
Omagh No overall control No overall control Details
Strabane No overall control No overall control Details

Scotland

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District councils

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Council Previous control Result Details
Aberdeen Labour No overall control gain Details
Angus Conservative Conservative hold Details
Annandale and Eskdale Independent Independent hold Details
Argyll Independent Independent hold Details
Badenoch and Strathspey Independent Independent hold Details
Banff and Buchan Independent Independent hold Details
Bearsden and Milngavie No overall control Conservative gain Details
Berwickshire Conservative Conservative hold Details
Caithness Independent Independent hold Details
Clackmannan No overall control SNP gain Details
Clydebank Labour SNP gain Details
Cumbernauld and Kilsyth SNP SNP hold Details
Cumnock and Doon Valley Labour Labour hold Details
Cunninghame Labour No overall control gain Details
Dumbarton Labour No overall control gain Details
Dundee No overall control No overall control hold Details
Dunfermline Labour Labour hold Details
East Kilbride No overall control SNP gain Details
East Lothian Labour Labour hold Details
Eastwood Conservative Conservative hold Details
Edinburgh No overall control Conservative gain Details
Ettrick and Lauderdale Independent Independent hold Details
Falkirk No overall control SNP gain Details
Glasgow Labour No overall control gain Details
Gordon Independent Independent hold Details
Hamilton Labour Labour hold Details
Inverclyde Labour Liberal gain Details
Inverness Independent Independent hold Details
Kilmarnock and Loudoun Labour No overall control gain Details
Kincardine and Deeside Independent Independent hold Details
Kirkcaldy Labour No overall control gain Details
Kyle and Carrick Conservative Conservative hold Details
Lanark Independent No overall control gain Details
Lochaber Independent Independent hold Details
Midlothian Labour No overall control gain Details
Monklands Labour Labour hold Details
Moray Independent Independent hold Details
Motherwell Labour Labour hold Details
Nairn Independent Independent hold Details
Nithsdale Independent Independent hold Details
North East Fife Conservative Conservative hold Details
Perth and Kinross Conservative Conservative hold Details
Renfrew Labour No overall control gain Details
Ross and Cromarty Independent Independent hold Details
Roxburgh Independent Independent hold Details
Skye and Lochalsh Independent Independent hold Details
Stewartry Independent Independent hold Details
Stirling No overall control No overall control hold Details
Strathkelvin No overall control No overall control hold Details
Sutherland Independent Independent hold Details
Tweeddale Independent Independent hold Details
West Lothian No overall control No overall control hold Details
Wigtown Independent Independent hold Details

Wales

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County councils

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Council Previous control Result Details
Clwyd No overall control No overall control hold Details
Dyfed Independent Independent hold Details
Gwent Labour No overall control gain Details
Gwynedd Independent Independent hold Details
Mid Glamorgan Labour Labour hold Details
Powys Independent Independent hold Details
South Glamorgan Labour Conservative gain Details
West Glamorgan Labour Labour hold Details

References

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  1. ^ Rallings, Colin; Thrasher, Michael. Local Elections Handbook 1977. The Elections Centre. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
  2. ^ "Council compositions". The Elections Centre. Retrieved 3 May 2016.