1979 United Kingdom local elections

1979 United Kingdom local elections

← 1978 3 May 1979 1980 →
All 36 metropolitan boroughs, all 296 English districts and all 37 Welsh districts
Majority party Minority party Third party   Leader Margaret Thatcher James Callaghan David Steel Party Conservative Labour Liberal Leader since 11 February 1975 5 April 1976 7 July 1976 Councils +/- 6 12 1 Councillors 12,222 7,410 1,059 Councillors +/- 423 766 136

Local elections were held in the United Kingdom on 3 May 1979^[1][2] (the same day as the general election). The results provided some source of comfort to the Labour Party, who recovered some lost ground from local election reversals in previous years, despite losing the general election to the Conservative Party on the same day. The Liberals also gained councillors and a council.

Labour gained 766 seats, bringing their number of councillors to 7,410.

The Conservatives lost 423 seats, leaving them with 12,222 councillors.

The Liberal Party gained 136 seats and finished with 1,059 councillors.

Changes in council control were as follows;

Labour gain from no overall control: Bassetlaw, Carlisle, Hartlepool, Newcastle-under-Lyme, South Tyneside

Labour gain from Conservative: Barrow-in-Furness, Coventry, Derby, Ipswich, Nottingham, Sandwell, Tameside, Welwyn Hatfield

Labour lose to no overall control: Thurrock

Conservative lose to no overall control: Birmingham, Cambridge, Cheltenham, Kirklees, Leeds, Pendle, Rochdale, Rugby, Warrington, Wyre Forest

Conservative gain from no overall control: Adur, Stratford-on-Avon

Conservative gain from Independent: Hart

Conservative gain from Democratic Labour: Lincoln

Liberal gain from no overall control: Medina

Independent lose to no overall control: South Lakeland, West Lindsey