1979 Liverpool City Council election

Elections to Liverpool City Council were held on 3 May 1979. One third of the council was up for election and the Council remained with no overall control.^[1]

The election was held on the same day as the national general election, which is why the turnout was so much greater than normal.

After the election, the composition of the council was:

	Seats	±
Labour	42	+5
Liberal	30	-5
Conservative	27	0

Election result

Liverpool Local Election Result 1979
	Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes
Labour	19	6	1	+5	57%	41%	112,204
Conservative	6	2	2	0	18%	31%	84,241
Liberal	8	1	6	-5	24%	28%	76,890
Communist	0	0	0	0	0%	1%	1,855
Independent Liberal	0	0	0	0	0%	0.1%	362

^[2]

Ward results

* - Councillor seeking re-election

^(PARTY) - Party of former Councillor

Abercromby, St. James'

Abercromby, St. James'
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Violet McCoy *	3,250	49%	-13%
	Liberal	Chris Davies	2,465	37%	+27%
	Conservative	M. E. Cheshire	532	8%	-10%
	Communist	Roger O'Hara	449	7%	-4
Majority			785
Registered electors			12,233
Turnout			6,696	55%	+37%
	Labour hold		Swing

Aigburth

Aigburth
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	J. H. Lea *	6,832	60%	+10%
	Liberal	Cathy Hancox	2,671	24%	-18%
	Labour	T. McManus	1,806	16%	+8%
Majority			4,367
Registered electors			14,762
Turnout			11,309	77%	+35%
	Conservative hold		Swing

Allerton

Allerton
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	J. S. Ross *	4,839 *	60%	+3%
	Liberal	Francis Richard Haywood	3,218	40%	+10%
Majority			1,621
Registered electors			10,894
Turnout			8,057	74%	+38%
	Conservative hold		Swing

Anfield

Anfield
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	F. J. McGurk	3,891	43%	+14%
	Conservative	T. P. Pink ^(PARTY)	3,022	34%	-5%
	Liberal	J. A. Kaitiff	2,100	23%	-9%
Majority			869
Registered electors			12,667
Turnout			9,-13	71%	+42%
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing

Arundel

Arundel
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	J. L. Taylor	2,769	36%	+11%
	Conservative	J. C. Shaw	2,571	33%	+5%
	Liberal	John George Morgan ^(PARTY)	2,450	31%	-16%
Majority			198
Registered electors			12,722
Turnout			7,790	61%	+35%
	Labour gain from Liberal		Swing	8%

Breckfield, St. Domingo

Breckfield, St. Domingo
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Frank McNevin *	3,648	47%	+5%
	Labour	P. H. Rowe	2,865	37%	+1%
	Conservative	B. J. Hawkins	1,191	15%	-6%
Majority			783
Registered electors			11,901
Turnout			7,704	65%	+41%
	Liberal hold		Swing	+5%

Broadgreen

Broadgreen
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Rosie Cooper *	3,612	42%	-4%
	Conservative	R. H. Mather	2,825	33%	-5%
	Labour	D. E. Krumbein	2,213	26%	+9%
Majority			787
Registered electors			12,099
Turnout			8,650	71%	+36%
	Liberal hold		Swing

Central, Everton, Netherfield

Central, Everton, Netherfield
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	J. Finnegan *	4,547	72%	+6%
	Conservative	P. T. Rankin	913	14%	-13%
	Liberal	C. Cartmel	627	10%	+4%
	Communist	R. Cartwright	211	3%
Majority			3,634
Registered electors			11,519
Turnout			6,298	55%	+38%
	Labour hold		Swing

Childwall

Childwall
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	W. A. N. Fearenside *	7,425	51%	+2%
	Labour	H. A. Smith	3,768	26%	+11%
	Liberal	F. C. Ricketts	3,132	22%	-13%
Majority			3,657
Registered electors			20,190
Turnout			14,510	72%	+38%
	Conservative hold		Swing

Church

Church
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	R. F. Symington	4,671	42%	0%
	Liberal	C. E. Gordon ^(PARTY)	4,385	40%	-10%
	Labour	D. P. Power	1,943	18%	+9%
Majority
Registered electors			286
Turnout			14,983	73%	+36%
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing

Clubmoor

Clubmoor
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Mike Storey *	3,501	44%	0%
	Labour	W. P. Lafferty	2,881	37%	+4%
	Conservative	F. M. Kennedy	1,502	19%	-4%
Majority			620
Registered electors			10,850
Turnout			7,884	73%	+38%
	Liberal hold		Swing

County

County
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	P. A. Dunlop	3,757	44%	+11%
	Conservative	H. Brown *	2,144	25%	-11%
	Liberal	R. J. Cunningham	2,638	31%	+2%
Majority			1,119
Registered electors			11,866
Turnout			8,539	72%	+46%
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing

Croxteth

Croxteth
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	R. F. Butler	4,380	46%	+4%
	Labour	F. Burke	2,635	27%	+12%
	Liberal	Ivan Clews *	2,569	27%	-15%
Majority			1,745
Registered electors			12,866
Turnout			9,584	74%	+35%
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing

Dingle

Dingle
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	S. W. Jones *	2,960	63%	+8%
	Liberal	J. Lamb	696	15%	+5%
	Conservative	J. A. Watson	952	20%	-10%
	Communist	J. Greig	113	2%
Majority			2,008
Registered electors			7,388
Turnout			4,721	64%	+41%
	Labour hold		Swing

Dovecot

Dovecot
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	W. H. Westbury *	6,382	58%	+8%
	Conservative	J. F. McMillan	3,043	28%	+3%
	Liberal	William John Cooper	1,557	14%	-11%
Majority			3,339
Registered electors			16,552
Turnout			10,982	66%	+40%
	Labour hold		Swing

Fairfield

Fairfield
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Carol Hancox	3,353	53%	+20%
	Labour	P. F. McAllister ^(PARTY)	1,879	30%	-10%
	Conservative	N. Wilkinson	1,112	18%	-9%
Majority			1,474
Registered electors			9,885
Turnout			6,344	64%	+37%
	Liberal gain from Labour		Swing

Fazakerley

Fazakerley
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	D. J. Lloyd ^(PARTY)	3,951	47%	+16%
	Conservative	R. Gould	3,096	37%	-1%
	Liberal	Thomas Richard Jones	1,318	16%	-15%
Majority			855
Registered electors			11,505
Turnout			8,365	73%	+42%
	Labour hold		Swing

Gillmoss

Gillmoss
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	P. J. Murphy ^(PARTY)	7,702	66%	+8%
	Conservative	A. Gore	2,647	23%	-1%
	Liberal	T. N. Sawney	1,306	11%	-7%
Majority			5,055
Registered electors			18,720
Turnout			11,655	62%	+48%
	Labour hold		Swing	+8%

Granby, Prince's Park

Granby, Prince's Park
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	A. Doswell *	4,203	58%	+2%
	Liberal	Arthur Eric Damsell	1,483	20%	+9%
	Conservative	A. Palin	1,363	19%	-12%
	Communist	E. Caddick	193	3%
Majority			2,720
Registered electors			12,154
Turnout			7,242	60%	+40%
	Labour hold		Swing

Kensington

Kensington
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Frank Doran *	2,828	66%	+17%
	Labour	A. Quinn	1,082	25%	-8%
	Conservative	D. Ellis	406	9%	-8%
Majority			1,746
Registered electors			6,426
Turnout			4,316	67%	+39%
	Liberal hold		Swing

Low Hill, Smithdown

Low Hill, Smithdown
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Ernest Richard Stephenson *	3,406	62%	+1%
	Labour	J. A. Devaney	2,080	38%	+8%
Majority			1,326
Registered electors			8,320
Turnout			5,486	66%	+41%
	Liberal hold		Swing

Melrose, Westminster

Melrose, Westminster
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	W. Lafferty *	3,400	61%	-3%
	Liberal	J. Bradley	1,574	28%	+20%
	Conservative	J. A. Carpenter	601	11%	-17%
Majority			1,826
Registered electors			8,190
Turnout			5,575	68%	+49%
	Labour hold		Swing

Old Swan

Old Swan
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	P, Lloyd	3,202	38%	+19%
	Conservative	I. McFall	2,464	29%	-2%
	Liberal	W. M. Galbraith ^(PARTY)	2,374	28%	-12%
	Independent Liberal	W. J. McCullough	362	4%	+2%
	Communist	H. Mohin	109	1%
Majority			738
Registered electors			12,361
Turnout			8,511	69%	+36%
	Labour gain from Liberal		Swing

Picton

Picton
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Herbert Edward Herrity *	4,428	56%	+7%
	Labour	A. Williams	2,337	30%	-2%
	Conservative	J. McDermott	1,023	13%	-5%
	Communist	J. Volleamere	91	1%	-1%
Majority			2,091
Registered electors			11,081
Turnout			7,879	71%	+36%
	Liberal hold		Swing

Pirrie

Pirrie
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	P. Owens *	6,654	59%	+9%
	Liberal	Elsie G. Lang	1,244	11%	-7%
	Conservative	I. Brown	3,317	30%	-3%
Majority			3,337
Registered electors			16,018
Turnout			11,215	70%	+46%
	Labour hold		Swing

St. Mary's

St. Mary's
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	R. C. Evans *	3,387	54%	+7%
	Liberal	G. B. Bennett	910	15%	-5%
	Conservative	J. B. King	1,847	30%	-3%
	Communist	J. M. McQueen	105	2%
Majority			1,540
Registered electors			9,090
Turnout			6,249	69%	+41%
	Labour hold		Swing

St. Michael's

St. Michael's
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Richard Kemp *	3,258	47%	+7%
	Conservative	O. Y. Hughes	1,804	26%	-13%
	Labour	G. G. Pratt	1,801	26%	+5%
Majority			1,454
Registered electors			9,954
Turnout			6,863	69%	+37%
	Liberal hold		Swing

Sandhills, Vauxhall

Sandhills, Vauxhall
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	J. Morgan *	4,351	83%	-1%
	Liberal	Steve R. Radford	355	7%	+2%
	Conservative	G. Widdows	375	7%	-4%
	Communist	W. Albertina	169	3%
Majority			3,976
Registered electors			8,820
Turnout			5,250	60%	+43%
	Labour hold		Swing

Speke

Speke
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	J. McLean ^(PARTY)	6,081	65%	+17%
	Conservative	T. Morrison	2,293	25%	0%
	Liberal	G. Mason	942	10%	+1%
Majority			3,788
Registered electors			14,232
Turnout			9,316	65%	+46%
	Labour hold		Swing

Tuebrook

Tuebrook
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	J. E. Roberts	2,864	37%	+5%
	Liberal	Robert Gore ^(PARTY)	2,771	36%	-4%
	Conservative	F. C. Kirkby	2,157	28%	+1%
Majority			75
Registered electors			11,073
Turnout			7,774	70%	+39%
	Labour gain from Liberal		Swing	+3.5

Warbreck

Warbreck
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	P. J. Sommerfield	2,846	37%	+12%
	Liberal	Joseph Lang *	2,871	35%	-8%
	Conservative	H. M. Rigby	2,519	30%	-3%
Majority			4
Registered electors			11,591
Turnout			8,265	71%	+40%
	Labour gain from Liberal		Swing

Woolton, East

Woolton, East
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	D. A. Hatton ^(PARTY)	5,644	65%	+12%
	Conservative	S. Fitzsimmons	2,030	23%	+2%
	Liberal	Catherine Kaufmann	814	9%	-10%
	Communist	B. O'Keefe	230	3%	-3%
Majority			3,614
Registered electors			13,341
Turnout			8,718	65%	+40%
	Labour hold		Swing

Woolton, West

Woolton, West
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	C. J. Hallows *	8,345	61%	0%
	Labour	P. R. Martin	3,062	22%	+7%
	Liberal	A. Smallman	2,386	17%	-7%
Majority			5,283
Registered electors			18,066
Turnout			5,283	76%	+41%
	Conservative hold		Swing

^[3]

References

[1]

[2]

[3]

v t e (1978 ←) 1979 United Kingdom local elections (→ 1980)
Metropolitan boroughs	Barnsley Birmingham Bradford Bolton Bury Calderdale Coventry Doncaster Dudley Gateshead Kirklees Knowsley Leeds Liverpool Manchester Newcastle North Tyneside Oldham Rochdale Rotherham Salford Sandwell Sefton Sheffield Solihull South Tyneside St Helens Stockport Sunderland Tameside Trafford Wakefield Walsall Wigan Wirral Wolverhampton
District councils (England)	Adur Allerdale Alnwick Amber Valley Arun Ashfield Ashford Aylesbury Vale Babergh Barrow-in-Furness Basildon Basingstoke and Deane Bassetlaw Bath Beaconsfield Berwick-upon-Tweed Beverley Blaby Blackburn Blackpool Blyth Valley Bolsover Boothferry Boston Bournemouth Bracknell Braintree Breckland Brentwood Bridgnorth Brighton Bristol Broadland Bromsgrove Broxbourne Broxtowe Burnley Cambridge Cannock Chase Canterbury Caradon Carlisle Carrick Castle Morpeth Castle Point Charnwood Chelmsford Cheltenham Cherwell Chester Chesterfield Chester-le-Street Chichester Chiltern Chorley Christchurch Cleethorpes Colchester Congleton Copeland Corby Cotswold Craven Crawley Crewe and Nantwich Dacorum Darlington Dartford Daventry Derby Derwentside Dover Durham Easington East Cambridgeshire East Devon East Hampshire East Hertfordshire East Lindsey East Northamptonshire East Staffordshire Eastbourne Eastleigh Eden Ellesmere Port and Neston Elmbridge Epping Forest Epsom and Ewell Erewash Exeter Fareham Fenland Forest Heath Forest of Dean Fylde Gedling Gillingham Glanford Gloucester Gosport Gravesham Great Yarmouth Grimsby Guildford Halton Hambleton Harborough Harlow Harrogate Hart Hartlepool Hastings Havant Hereford Hertsmere High Peak Hinckley and Bosworth Holderness Horsham Hove Huntingdon Hyndburn Ipswich Kennet Kerrier Kettering Kingston upon Hull Kingswood Lancaster Langbaurgh Leicester Leominster Lewes Lichfield Lincoln Luton Macclesfield Maidstone Maldon Malvern Hills Mansfield Medina Medway Melton Mendip Mid Bedfordshire Mid Devon Mid Suffolk Mid Sussex Middlesbrough Milton Keynes Mole Valley New Forest Newark Newbury Newcastle-under-Lyme North Bedfordshire North Cornwall North Devon North Dorset North East Derbyshire North Hertfordshire North Kesteven North Norfolk North Shropshire North Warwickshire North West Leicestershire North Wiltshire North Wolds Northampton Northavon Norwich Nottingham Nuneaton Oadby and Wigston Oswestry Oxford Pendle Penwith Peterborough Plymouth Poole Portsmouth Preston Purbeck Reading Redditch Reigate and Banstead Restormel Ribble Valley Richmondshire Rochford Rossendale Rother Rugby Runnymede Rushcliffe Rushmoor Rutland Ryedale Salisbury Scarborough Scunthorpe Sedgefield Sedgemoor Selby Sevenoaks Shepway Shrewsbury and Atcham Slough South Bedfordshire South Cambridgeshire South Derbyshire South Hams South Herefordshire South Holland South Kesteven South Lakeland South Norfolk South Northamptonshire South Oxfordshire South Ribble South Shropshire South Staffordshire South Wight Southampton Southend-on-Sea Spelthorne St Albans St Edmundsbury Stafford Staffordshire Moorlands Stevenage Stockton-on-Tees Stoke-on-Trent Stratford-on-Avon Stroud Suffolk Coastal Surrey Heath Swale Tamworth Tandridge Taunton Deane Teesdale Teignbridge Tendring Test Valley Tewkesbury Thamesdown Thanet The Wrekin Three Rivers Thurrock Tonbridge and Malling Torbay Torridge Tunbridge Wells Tynedale Uttlesford Vale of White Horse Vale Royal Wansbeck Wansdyke Warrington Warwick Watford Waveney Waverley Wealden Wear Valley Wellingborough Welwyn Hatfield West Derbyshire West Devon West Dorset West Lancashire West Lindsey West Norfolk West Oxfordshire West Somerset West Wiltshire Weymouth and Portland Wimborne Winchester Windsor and Maidenhead Woking Wokingham Woodspring Worcester Worthing Wychavon Wycombe Wyre Wyre Forest Yeovil York
District councils (Wales)	Aberconwy Afan Alyn and Deeside Anglesey - Ynys Môn Arfon Blaenau Gwent Brecknock Cardiff Carmarthen Ceredigion Colwyn Cynon Valley Delyn Dinefwr Dwyfor Glyndŵr Islwyn Llanelli Lliw Valley Meirionnydd Merthyr Tydfil Monmouth Montgomery Neath Newport Ogwr Preseli Radnor Rhondda Rhuddlan Rhymney Valley South Pembrokeshire Swansea Taff-Ely Torfaen Vale of Glamorgan Wrexham Maelor
Referendums	Scottish devolution Welsh devolution
See also: UK General election European Parliament election

v t e Local elections in Merseyside
Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council	1973 1975 1976 1978 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015 2016 2018 2019 2021 2022 2023
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Mayor of Liverpool	2012 2016 2021 Abolished
Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council	1973 1975 1976 1978 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015 2016 2018 2019 2021 2022 2023 2024
St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council	1973 1975 1976 1978 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015 2016 2018 2019 2021 2022
Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council	1973 1975 1976 1978 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015 2016 2018 2019 2021 2022 2023
Liverpool School Board	1870 1873 1876 1879 1882 1885 1888 1891 1894 1897 1900 Abolished
Merseyside County Council	1973 1977 1981 Abolished
Liverpool City Region Mayor	2017 2021 2024
Police and Crime Commissioner	2012 2016 2021 2024
See also: Wards Boundary changes