1973 Newcastle City Council election

The first elections to the newly created Newcastle City Council were held on 10 May 1973, with the entirety of the 78 seat council - three seats for each of the 26 wards - up for vote. The Local Government Act 1972 stipulated that the elected members were to shadow and eventually take over from the predecessor corporation on 1 April 1974. The order in which the councillors were elected dictated their term serving, with third-place candidates serving two years and up for re-election in 1975, second-placed three years expiring in 1976 and 1st-placed five years until 1978.^[1]

The election resulted in Labour gaining control of the council. Voter turnout was 32.0%.

Election result[]

Newcastle Local Election Result 1973^[1]
	Seats	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
Labour	51	65.4	52.1	36,858	N/A
Conservative	23	29.5	41.0	28,995	N/A
Independent	3	3.8	3.9	2,752	N/A
Liberal	1	1.3	2.8	1,953	N/A
Communist	0	0.0	0.2	122	N/A

This result had the following consequences for the total number of seats on the council after the elections:^[1]

Party		New council
	Labour	51
	Conservative	23
	Independent	3
	Liberal	1
Total		78
Working majority		24

Ward results[]

Benwell^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	J. Beecham	957	81.5	N/A
	Labour	T. Yellowley	908
	Labour	K. Scott	888
	Conservative	V. Hazell	217	18.5	N/A
Majority			740	63.0	N/A
Turnout			1,174	16.7	N/A
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

Blakelaw^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	T. Cooney	1,872	75.4	N/A
	Labour	E. Burke	1,838
	Labour	H. White	1,785
	Conservative	B. Duncan	610	24.6	N/A
	Conservative	R. Holford	549
	Conservative	J. Shenton	539
Majority			1,262	50.8	N/A
Turnout			2,482	22.5	N/A
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

Castle^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	E. Wade	1,334	35.5	N/A
	Conservative	J. Petty	1,313	35.0	N/A
	Conservative	D. Wood	1,223
	Labour	J. Gill	1,221
	Labour	J. Gant	1,216
	Conservative	H. Cordes	1,206
	Independent	C. Robinson	608	16.2	N/A
	Liberal	M. Stewart	498	13.3	N/A
	Liberal	P. Barker	437
	Liberal	E. Featherstone	412
Majority			21	0.6	N/A
Turnout			3,753	57.5	N/A
	Labour win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)

Dene^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	R. Gray	2,340	61.8	N/A
	Conservative	B. Slater	2,332
	Conservative	A. Evans	2,294
	Labour	N. Mellor	1,449	38.2	N/A
	Labour	M. Robson	1,408
	Labour	I. Taylor	1,365
Majority			891	23.6	N/A
Turnout			3,789	36.5	N/A
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)

East City^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Ms. T. Russell	1,051	81.7	N/A
	Labour	J. Scott-Batey	988
	Labour	J. Davies	967
	Conservative	J. Slater	235	18.3	N/A
Majority			816	63.5	N/A
Turnout			1,286	26.8	N/A
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

Elswick^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	D. Faulkner	1,455	44.7	N/A
	Labour	Ms. J. Lamb	1,299	39.9	N/A
	Labour	Ms. D. Starkey	1,240
	Liberal	D. Lesser	1,095
	Labour	J. Mandelson	1,066
	Liberal	H. Regnart	1,044
	Conservative	H. Corbett	500	15.4	N/A
	Conservative	H. Maxwell	447
	Conservative	G. Wilkin	411
Majority			156	4.8	N/A
Turnout			3,254	45.2	N/A
	Liberal win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

Fawdon^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	J. Laing	1,895	69.6	N/A
	Labour	E. Pugh	1,875
	Labour	J. Green	1,766
	Conservative	T. Wilkinson	829	30.4	N/A
	Conservative	J. Jack	682
	Conservative	H. Kossick	653
Majority			1,066	39.1	N/A
Turnout			2,724	30.0	N/A
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

Fenham^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	G. Leigh	1,817	65.6	N/A
	Conservative	A. Moore	1,799
	Conservative	D. Gilbert	1,738
	Labour	I. Richardson	953	34.4	N/A
Majority			864	31.2	N/A
Turnout			2,770	28.8	N/A
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)

Gosforth #1^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	G. Trice	2,559	69.8	N/A
	Conservative	J. Slater	2,555
	Conservative	J. Michelson	2,522
	Labour	K. Bergmann	1,107	30.2	N/A
	Labour	G. Dixon	1,084
	Labour	T. Hannaby	1,063
Majority			1,452	39.6	N/A
Turnout			3,666	33.7	N/A
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)

Gosforth #2^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	M. Charlton	2,191	63.2	N/A
	Conservative	G. Layburn	2,111
	Conservative	J. Sanderson	2,104
	Labour	L. Begg	1,277	36.8	N/A
	Labour	B. Taylor	1,225
	Labour	R. Hunter	1,209
Majority			914	26.4	N/A
Turnout			3,468	45.0	N/A
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)

Heaton^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	W. Harding	1,831	63.4	N/A
	Conservative	Ms. E. Harding	1,816
	Conservative	F. Dodgin	1,761
	Labour	Ms. D. Cairns	1,055	36.6	N/A
	Labour	J. James	1,046
	Labour	O. Walker	1,027
Majority			776	26.9	N/A
Turnout			2,886	31.3	N/A
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)

Jesmond^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Ms. J. Baty	1,621	49.5	N/A
	Independent	P. Grant	1,594
	Independent	V. Maddison	1,559
	Conservative	C. Burdon-Taylor	1,229	37.5	N/A
	Conservative	D. Thomas	1,155
	Conservative	R. McVain	1,116
	Labour	J. Hugo	427	13.0	N/A
Majority			392	12.0	N/A
Turnout			3,277	34.3	N/A
	Independent win (new seat)
	Independent win (new seat)
	Independent win (new seat)

Kenton^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	C. Foster	2,377	53.4	N/A
	Labour	F. Nicholson	2,357
	Labour	M. Bergman	2,228
	Conservative	J. Cox	2,077	46.6	N/A
	Conservative	M. Graham	2,055
	Conservative	R. Lane	2,032
Majority			300	6.8	N/A
Turnout			4,454	51.1	N/A
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

Moorside^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Ms. M. Murray	1,389	55.3	N/A
	Labour	G. Harrison	1,338
	Labour	L. Anwell	1,280
	Conservative	J. Davidson	1,125	44.7	N/A
	Conservative	I. Burton	1,071
	Conservative	J. Kaer	1,037
Majority			264	10.5	N/A
Turnout			2,514	26.2	N/A
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

Newburn #1^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	T. Fenton	1,498	62.0	N/A
	Labour	C. Stephenson	1,447
	Labour	V. Waddington	1,426
	Conservative	M. Rogerson	920	38.0	N/A
	Conservative	W. Forsyth	899
	Conservative	J. Hellawell	899
Majority			578	23.9	N/A
Turnout			2,418	29.0	N/A
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

Newburn #2^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	R. Urwin	3,074	79.0	N/A
	Labour	M. Walker	3,074
	Labour	A. Forster	2,953
	Conservative	J. Hill	817	21.0	N/A
	Conservative	C. Dempsey	653
	Conservative	R. Baron	639
Majority			2,257	58.0	N/A
Turnout			3,891	29.7	N/A
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

Newburn #3^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	J. Lanaghan	1,501	51.4	N/A
	Labour	R. Clarke	1,500
	Labour	J. Murray	1,448
	Conservative	Ms. I. Faith	1,420	48.6	N/A
	Conservative	D. McKeag	1,311
	Conservative	W. Weeks	1,277
Majority			81	2.8	N/A
Turnout			2,921	41.0	N/A
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

Sandyford^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	B. Collins	1,688	61.7	N/A
	Conservative	Ms. P. Collins	1,643
	Conservative	P. Martin	1,546
	Labour	J. Higgins	1,048	38.3	N/A
	Labour	C. Swainston	1,027
	Labour	P. Slade	1,006
Majority			640	23.4	N/A
Turnout			2,736	37.1	N/A
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)

Scotswood^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	H. Russell	1,283	62.7	N/A
	Labour	A. Davison	1,259
	Labour	R. Burgess	1,234
	Conservative	W. Thomlinson	763	37.3	N/A
Majority			520	25.4	N/A
Turnout			2,064	26.5	N/A
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

St. Anthonys^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	B. Abrahams	1,762	90.9	N/A
	Labour	Ms. M. Abrahams	1,633
	Labour	D. Webster	1,571
	Conservative	M. Coote	177	9.1	N/A
Majority			1,585	81.7	N/A
Turnout			1,939	27.3	N/A
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

St. Lawrence^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	S. Forster	1,581	87.3	N/A
	Labour	Ms. M. Collins	1,574
	Labour	T. Collins	1,560
	Conservative	R. Lungley	230	12.7	N/A
Majority			1,351	74.6	N/A
Turnout			1,811	27.0	N/A
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

Walker^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	N. Stockdale	1,725	81.8	N/A
	Labour	J. Stanners	1,699
	Labour	G. Drew	1,628
	Conservative	A. Storey	262	12.4	N/A
	Conservative	E. Liddell	219
	Conservative	A. Telford	210
	Communist	Ms. N. Manchee	122	5.8	N/A
Majority			1,463	69.4	N/A
Turnout			2,109	21.1	N/A
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

Walkergate^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	G. Gray	1,905	59.8	N/A
	Labour	O. Cairns	1,793
	Labour	T. Marr	1,650
	Conservative	L. Bulman	1,281	40.2	N/A
	Conservative	J. Usher	1,117
	Conservative	J. Hoggins	1,114
Majority			624	19.6	N/A
Turnout			3,186	33.8	N/A
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

West City^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	A. Stabler	984	84.2	N/A
	Labour	Ms. I. Steedman	893
	Labour	W. Wilson	881
	Conservative	B. McLeod	184	15.8	N/A
Majority			800	68.5	N/A
Turnout			1,168	18.2	N/A
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

Wingrove^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	N. Trotter	1,651	68.3	N/A
	Conservative	Ms. O. Kaer	1,570
	Conservative	P. Wardropper	1,556
	Labour	R. Bailey	765	31.7	N/A
	Labour	S. Cohen	742
	Labour	T. Palmer	728
Majority			886	36.7	N/A
Turnout			2,416	30.5	N/A
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)

Woolsington^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	S. Allen	1,290	50.7	N/A
	Labour	E. Smith	1,238
	Labour	J. Kerrigan	1,201
	Conservative	A. Rotherford	729	28.7	N/A
	Conservative	L. Kirby	707
	Conservative	R. Berstone	675
	Independent	T. Johnson	523	20.6	N/A
	Independent	J. Squires	426
Majority			561	22.0	N/A
Turnout			2,542		N/A
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

References[]

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w ^x ^y ^z ^aa ^ab ^ac "Elections Centre: Newcastle-upon-Tyne 1973-2012" (PDF). electionscentre.co.uk/plymouth.ac.uk. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 July 2017. Retrieved 22 July 2017.

[results-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w ^x ^y ^z ^aa ^ab ^ac "Elections Centre: Newcastle-upon-Tyne 1973-2012" (PDF). electionscentre.co.uk/plymouth.ac.uk. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 July 2017. Retrieved 22 July 2017.

[1]

v t Council elections in Tyne and Wear
Gateshead	1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 2004 2006 2011 2012 2014 2015 2016 2018 2019 2021
Newcastle	1973 1995 1996 1998 2004 2008 2011 2012 2014 2015 2016 2018 2019 2021
North Tyneside	1995 1996 1998 1999 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015 2016 2018 2019 2021
South Tyneside	1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 2004 2006 2008 2012 2014 2015 2016 2018 2019 2021
Sunderland	1973 1975 1976 1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015 2016 2018 2019 2021
North of Tyne mayor	2019
	1973 Abolished
See also: Wards Boundary changes

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