1978 United Kingdom local elections

1978 United Kingdom local elections
← 1977 2 May 1978 (Scotland)
4 May 1978 (England)		 1979 →
All 32 London boroughs, all 36 metropolitan boroughs,
44 out of 296 English districts and all 12 Scottish regions
  Majority party Minority party Third party
  DavidSteel1987 (cropped) 2
Leader Margaret Thatcher James Callaghan David Steel
Party Conservative Labour Liberal
Leader since 11 February 1975 5 April 1976 7 July 1976
Councillors 12,645 6,644 923
Councillors +/- Increase 275 Decrease 461 Decrease 163

Local elections were held in the United Kingdom in 1978. Elections took place in the London boroughs and metropolitan districts.[1][2]

The main opposition Conservative Party gained 275 seats, bringing their number of councillors to 12,645. They gained Oldham and Havering from no overall control, and Ealing, Hillingdon, Wandsworth and Sandwell from Labour.

The governing Labour Party lost 461 seats, leaving them with 6,644 councillors. In addition to their losses to the Conservatives they also lost South Tyneside, Hammersmith and Fulham and Wolverhampton to no overall control.

The Liberal Party lost 163 seats in total, leaving them with 923 councillors.

  1. ^ Rallings, Colin; Thrasher, Michael. Local Elections Handbook 1978. The Elections Centre. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
  2. ^ "Council compositions". The Elections Centre. Retrieved 3 May 2016.