1978 Strathclyde Regional Council election

Strathclyde Regional Council election

1978 Strathclyde Regional Council election | <- 1974 | 2 May 1978 (1978-05-02) | 1982 ->

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* * *

All 103 seats to Strathclyde Regional Council[a]
52 seats needed for a majority
Registered| 1,765,635
Turnout| 46.2%
|  | First party  | Second party  | Third party

|
|
|

Lab

Con

SNP

Leader  | Dick Stewart  |  |
Party  | Labour | Conservative | SNP
Last election  | 71 seats, 44.0% | 20 seats, 28.4% | 5 seats, 15.1%
Seats won  | 72 | 25  | 2
Seat change  | 1 | 5  | 3
Popular vote  | 348,053 | 242,721  | 182,878
Percentage  | 43.0% | 30.0%  | 22.6%
Swing  | 1.0% | 1.6%  | 7.5%

* * *

| Council Leader before election

Dick Stewart
Labour

| Council Leader after election

Dick Stewart
Labour

|

Elections to Strathclyde Regional Council were held on Tuesday 2 May 1978, on the same day as the eight other Scottish regional elections. This was the second election to the regional council following the local government reforms in 1974.

The election was the last to use the 103 electoral divisions created by the Formation Electoral Arrangements in 1974. Each electoral division elected one councillor using first-past-the-post voting.[2]

Labour, who had won the previous election to Strathclyde Regional Council, retained a large majority by winning 72 of the 103 seats – up one from the previous election in 1974. The Conservatives remained as the second-largest party after winning 25 seats, an increase of five from the previous election. Despite increasing their vote share by 7.5%, the Scottish National Party (SNP) lost three seats to hold just two as they ended as the joint third-largest party with the Liberal Party who had remained on two seats. One Independent Ratepayer was elected but no other independent candidates were returned.

One seat remained vacant following the election after the poll in the Crosshill and Prospecthill electoral division was postponed due to the death of Labour candidate and convener of the regional council, the Rev. Geoff Shaw on 28 April.[1]

## Results

[edit]

1978 Strathclyde Regional Council election  Party  | Seats  | Gains  | Losses  | Net gain/loss  | Seats %  | Votes %  | Votes  | +/−

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| Labour | 72 |  |  | 1 | 69.9 | 43.0 | 348,053 | 1.0
| Conservative | 25  |  |  | 5  | 24.3  | 30.0  | 242,721  | 1.6
| SNP | 2  |  |  | 3  | 1.9  | 22.6  | 182,878  | 7.5
| Liberal | 2  |  |  | 0  | 1.9  | 1.8  | 14,219  | 2.7
| Independent Ratepayers  | 1  |  |  | 0  | 1.0  | 0.7  | 5,754  | New
| SLP | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0.0  | 0.8  | 6,410  | New
| Independent | 0  | 0  | 4  | 4  | 0.0  | 0.7  | 5,531  | 4.2
| Communist | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0.0  | 0.3  | 2,423  | 0.9
| Independent Labour | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0.0  | 0.2  | 1,573  | 0.3
| Ind. Nationalist | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0.0  | 0.0  | 273  | New
| Workers Revolutionary | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0.0  | 0.0  | 143  | New
| Socialist Unity | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0.0  | 0.0  | 77  | New
Total | 102[a] |  |  |  |  |  |  |

Source:[3][4]

## Electoral division results

[edit]

### Kilmarnock North

[edit]

Kilmarnock North Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

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| Labour | J. Hunter  | 5,081  | 52.4  |  6.8
| SNP | R. Brailsford  | 2,669  | 27.5  | New
| Conservative | P. Thomson  | 1,946  | 20.1  |  4.6
Majority  | 2,412  | 24.9  |  9.6
Turnout | 9,696  | 48.1  |  2.2
Registered electors | 20,179  |  |
| Labour hold | Swing |  1.1  |

Source:[3][4]

### Kilmarnock South

[edit]

Kilmarnock South Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

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| Labour | R. Carson  | 3,571  | 39.0  |  8.2
| Conservative | A. McCluskey  | 2,903  | 31.7  |  9.4
| SNP | G. Wilson  | 2,662  | 29.1  | New
Majority  | 668  | 7.3  |  1.2
Turnout | 9,136  | 46.1  |  4.5
Registered electors | 19,846  |  |
| Labour hold | Swing |  0.6  |

Source:[3][4]

### Stewarton and Irvine Valley

[edit]

Stewarton and Irvine Valley Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

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|
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| Labour | D. Fulton  | 4,572  | 42.8  |  14.3
| Conservative | A. MacIntosh  | 3,127  | 29.3  |  2.2
| SNP | R. Young  | 2,975  | 27.8  | New
Majority  | 1,445  | 13.5  |  14.5
Turnout | 10,674  | 51.2  |  2.3
Registered electors | 20,870  |  |
| Labour hold | Swing |  8.2  |

Source:[3][4]

### Cumnock

[edit]

Cumnock Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

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| Labour | W. Paterson  | 3,910  | 51.9  | N/A
| SLP | W. Dick  | 1,877  | 24.9  | N/A
| Conservative | J. Findlay  | 952  | 12.6  | N/A
| SNP | I. Cole  | 785  | 10.4  | N/A
Majority  | 2,033  | 27.0  | N/A
Turnout | 7,524  | 46.1  | N/A
Registered electors | 16,351  |  |
| Labour hold | Swing | N/A |

Source:[3][4]

### New Cumnock and Doon Valley

[edit]

New Cumnock and Doon Valley Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

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| Labour | W. Goudie  | 3,906  | 48.3  | N/A
| SLP | A. Neil  | 3,001  | 37.1  | N/A
| Conservative | A. McInnes  | 1,164  | 14.4  | N/A
Majority  | 905  | 11.2  | N/A
Turnout | 8,071  | 47.1  | N/A
Registered electors | 17,171  |  |
| Labour hold | Swing | N/A |

Source:[3][4]

## Footnotes

[edit]

1. ^ a b Although all 103 seats were due to be contested, the election in the Crosshill and Prospecthill electoral division was postponed following the death of Labour candidate and convener of the regional council, the Rev. Geoff Shaw on 28 April 1978.[1]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "How the regions voted". The Glasgow Herald. No. 84\. 4 May 1978. p. 9.
2. ^ "Formation Electoral Arrangements". Local Government Boundary Commission for Scotland. Retrieved 6 December 2022.
3. ^ a b c d e f Bochel, J. M.; Denver, D. T.; McHardy, B. J. (1978). The Scottish Regional Elections 1978: Results and Statistics (PDF). Dundee: Election Studies, University of Dundee. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
4. ^ a b c d e f Bochel, J. M.; Denver, D. T. (1975). The Scottish Local Government Elections 1974: Results and Statistics (PDF). Edinburgh: Scottish Academic Press. Retrieved 29 December 2022.

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