London local elections, 1968

London local elections, 1968
9 May 1968

All 1,863 on all 32 London boroughs
  First party Second party
 
Leader Edward Heath Harold Wilson
Party Conservative Labour
Leader since 27 July 1965 14 February 1963
Councils 28 3
Councils +/– Increase19 Decrease17
Councillors 1,438 350
Councillors +/– Increase770 Decrease431
London borough councils by political control following election

Local government elections were held in the thirty-two London boroughs on Thursday 9 May 1968. Polling stations were open between 8am and 9pm.

All seats were up for election. The result was a landslide for the Conservative Party, who won twenty-eight of the boroughs, while Labour lost control of seventeen of the twenty boroughs it had held going into the elections (including Bexley, where it did not win a single seat). Only ten Liberal councillors were elected in London.

The result followed the Conservative gain of the Greater London Council in the elections the previous year.

Until 1978, each council had aldermen, in the ratio of one aldermen to six councillors. Following the elections, each council elected half of its aldermen, who would go on to serve until 1974. The remaining aldermen had been elected in 1964 and would serve until 1971. This only affected political control in Newham, which remained Labour-held after the election of aldermen.

Council results

Summary of council election results:

Previous control New control Conservative Labour Liberal Others Details
Barking Labour Labour 13 32 - 4 Details
Barnet Conservative Conservative 56 3 1 - Details
Bexley Labour Conservative 55 - - 1 Details
Brent Labour Conservative 49 11 - - Details
Bromley Conservative Conservative 52 5 3 - Details
Camden Labour Conservative 42 18 - - Details
Croydon NOC Conservative 47 1 1 11 Details
Ealing Labour Conservative 53 5 - 2 Details
Enfield Labour Conservative 51 9 - - Details
Greenwich Labour Conservative 38 22 - - Details
Hackney Labour Conservative 31 27 2 - Details
Hammersmith Labour Conservative 54 6 - - Details
Haringey Labour Conservative 53 7 - - Details
Harrow Conservative Conservative 56 - - - Details
Havering NOC Conservative 35 7 - 13 Details
Hillingdon Labour Conservative 60 - - - Details
Hounslow Labour Conservative 53 7 - - Details
Islington Labour Conservative 47 10 - 3 Details
Kensington and Chelsea Conservative Conservative 57 3 - - Details
Kingston upon Thames Conservative Conservative 59 1 - - Details
Lambeth Labour Conservative 57 3 - - Details
Lewisham Labour Conservative 44 16 - - Details
Merton NOC Conservative 46 4 - 4 Details
Newham Labour NOC 6 30 3 21 Details
Redbridge Conservative Conservative 55 5 - - Details
Richmond upon Thames Conservative Conservative 54 - - - Details
Southwark Labour Labour 27 33 - - Details
Sutton Conservative Conservative 41 7 - 3 Details
Tower Hamlets Labour Labour - 57 - 3 Details
Waltham Forest Labour Conservative 44 4 - - Details
Wandsworth Labour Conservative 48 12 - - Details
Westminster Conservative Conservative 55 5 - - Details

Overall councillor numbers

London local elections 1968

Councillor statistics

Party Seats Net Gain/Loss
  Conservative 1,438 +770
  Labour 350 -431
  Liberal 10 -3
  Others 65 -1

References