1973 Scottish local elections

Map of Scottish local government divisions prior to reorganisation in 1975.

Local elections were held in Scotland in May 1973, as part of that year's wider British local elections. The elections were the last to the local authorities created under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1929, and were replaced in 1975 by a uniform system of regions and districts.

Elections to the 4 city corporations, 21 town councils of large burghs and 176 town councils of small burghs took place on 1 May 1973; elections to the 33 county councils took place a week later on 8 May 1973.[1]

## Municipal elections

[edit]

### Results by council

[edit]

#### Counties of cities

[edit]

Council  | Seats up  | Lab | Con[a] | Lib | SNP | Turnout  | Control  | Details

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

|  |  |
Aberdeen | 12 (of 36)  | 6  | 5  | 1  | 0  | 27.4%  |  | Labour hold  | Details
Dundee | 13 (of 36)  | 7  | 6  | 0  | 0  | 37.0%  |  | Labour hold  | Details
Edinburgh | 26 (of 69)  | 13  | 10  | 3  | 0  |  |  | No overall control hold  | Details
Glasgow | 37 (of 111)  | 26  | 11  | 0  | 0  | 30.5%  |  | Labour hold  | Details

#### Large burghs

[edit]

Council  | Seats up  | Lab | Con[a] | Lib | SNP | Ind | Other  | Turnout  | Details

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

|  |  |  |  |
Airdrie | 5 | 4  | 1  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 43.4%  | Details
Arbroath | 7 | 2  | 0  | 0  | 1  | 4  | 0  | 41.6%  | Details
Ayr | 7 | 2  | 5  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0.0%[b] | Details
Clydebank | 7 | 6  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 1  | 41.0%  | Details
Coatbridge | 6 | 5  | 1  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  |  | Details
Dumbarton | 5 | 4  | 1  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 29.8%  | Details
Dumfries | 9 | 3  | 2  | 0  | 0  | 4  | 0  | 32.0%  | Details
Dunfermline | 9 | 4  | 5  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 40.5%  | Details
East Kilbride | 6 | 6  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 38.2%  | Details
Falkirk | 5 | 3  | 1  | 0  | 1  | 0  | 0  |  | Details
Greenock | 9 | 7  | 0  | 2  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 40.0%  | Details
Hamilton | 5 | 4  | 1  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 31.5%  | Details
Inverness | 8 | 0  | 0  | 0  | 1  | 7  | 0  | 31.2%  | Details
Kilmarnock | 8 | 7  | 1  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 34.0%  | Details
Kirkcaldy | 10 | 4  | 1  | 0  | 1  | 0  | 4  | 39.3%  | Details
Motherwell and Wishaw | 9 | 7  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 2  | 0  | 28.7%  | Details
Paisley | 10 | 7  | 1  | 0  | 0  | 2  | 0  | 29.9%  | Details
Perth | 8 | 5  | 1  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 2  | 37.6%  | Details
Port Glasgow | 4 | 3  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 1  | 35.9%  | Details
Rutherglen | 6 | 4  | 1  | 0  | 0  | 1  | 0  |  | Details
Stirling | 7 | 4  | 0  | 0  | 1  | 2  | 0  | 40.3%  | Details

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ a b Includes councillors standing as Progressives or Moderates.
2. ^ There were no elections in Ayr, as Labour and the Moderates agreed to only field candidates in the seats they were defending, in order to save funds for the 1974 election campaign.[2]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Labour on top in day of record low polling". The Glasgow Herald. 2 May 1973. p. 1. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
2. ^ Thomson, Claude (11 April 1973). "Auld Ayr decides to look ahead". The Glasgow Herald. p. 6. Retrieved 15 January 2021.

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(1972 ←)  1973 United Kingdom local elections (→ 1974)

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