United Kingdom local elections, 1974

← 1973

2 May 1974, 7 May 1974

1975 →

All 32 London boroughs, all 53 Scottish districts and all 12 Scottish regions

	Majority party	Minority party	Third party

Leader	Harold Wilson	Edward Heath	Jeremy Thorpe
Party	Labour	Conservative	Liberal
Leader since	14 February 1963	27 July 1965	18 January 1967
Councils	18	13
Councillors	10,325	8,102	1,474
Councillors +/-	544	393	47

Local elections were held in the United Kingdom in 1974, during the life of the minority Labour government of Harold Wilson. Elections were held in all the boroughs of London.

The number of councillors was increased, enabling all of the three largest parties to make net gains in council seats. Labour gained 544 seats and had 10,325 councillors after the elections. The Conservatives gained 393 seats, leaving them with 8,102 councillors. The Liberals gained 47 seats, giving them a total of 1,474 councillors.

In terms of council control in London, Labour won 18 councils, the Conservatives 13. One borough, Havering, was in no overall control, having been a Labour council after the 1971 local elections. The Conservatives gained Bexley and Merton from Labour and Harrow from no overall control.

In Scotland these were the first elections for the new Regional and District councils, with people voting twice. The Scottish National Party did not do particularly well compared with their performance in the two general elections that year. Labour won a majority in Strathclyde and Fife regions.

†Four districts were renamed shortly after the elections. Argyll became Argyll and Bute, Bishopbriggs and Kirkintilloch became Strathkelvin, Cumbernauld became Cumbernauld and Kilsyth and Merrick became Wigtown.

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