1951 Aberdeen Corporation election

1951 Aberdeen Corporation election

May 1, 1951 (1951-05-01)
14 out of 37 seats of City of Aberdeen Council 19 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party Third party   Party Progressives Labour SNP Seats won 1 0 0 Seats after 20 17 0 Seat change 1 1 0 Popular vote 17,553 15,905 988 Percentage 50.3% 45.5% 2.8%   Fourth party   Party Communist Seats won 0 Seats after 0 Seat change 0 Popular vote 478 Percentage 1.4%
Composition of Corporation after the election

An election to the Aberdeen Corporation was held on 1 May 1951, alongside municipal elections across Scotland. 14 of the corporation's 37 seats were up for election.

The election saw the Progressives make a one-seat gain on Labour, increasing their majority to 3. This election was the first that the Scottish National Party ran a candidate in Aberdeen local elections, doing so in the Woodside ward where the candidate placed last.^[1][2]

Ward results

Ferryhill

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Progressives	D. J. R. Macpherson	2,563	71.4
	Labour	Mrs. Margaret Rose	1,026	28.6
Majority			1,537
Turnout				37.8
	Progressives hold

Gilcomston

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Progressives	David Henderson (incumbent)	1,925	53.4
	Labour	R. B. Ferguson	1,680	46.6
Majority			245
Turnout				50.9
	Progressives hold

Greyfriars
2 Seats

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	G. Stephen (incumbent)	Unopposed
	Labour	R. Bruce	Unopposed
Majority
Turnout
	Labour hold
	Labour hold

Holburn

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Progressives	G. Roberts (incumbent)	Unopposed
Majority
Turnout
	Progressives hold

Rosemount

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Progressives	Lt. Col. J. Patrick Jeffrey	3,218	74.5
	Labour	William Craig	1,102	25.5
Majority			2,116	49.0
Turnout			4,320	37.8
	Progressives hold

Rubislaw

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Progressives	A. T. Morrison (incumbent)	Unopposed
Majority
Turnout
	Progressives hold

Ruthrieston

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Progressives	F. Magee (incumbent)	Unopposed
Majority
Turnout
	Progressives hold

St. Clements

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	Alexander Collie (incumbent)	1,606	87.2
	Communist	Robert Cooney	236	12.8
Majority			1,370
Turnout				26.2
	Labour hold

St. Machar

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	Robert A. Rafan	2,679	51.1
	Progressives	Joseph Kelly	2,319	44.3
	Communist	Stanley Simpson	242	4.6
Majority			360
Turnout				32.5
	Labour hold

St. Nicholas

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	G. R. M'Intosh (incumbent)	1,083	55.5
	Progressives	Forbes M. M. Donald	867	44.5
Majority			216
Turnout				35.6
	Labour hold

Torry

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	G. Fraser (incumbent)	Unopposed
Majority
Turnout
	Labour hold

Woodside
2 Seats

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	R. S. Lennox (incumbent)	3,660
	Progressives	L. T. Mutch	3,363
	Progressives	R. M. Eyres	3,298
	Labour	John Watt	3,069
	SNP	H. Wilson	988
Majority			65
Turnout				36.4
	Labour hold
	Progressives hold

^[1][2][3]

References

1. "Moderates Stronger in Aberdeen – Gain From Labour". The Herald (Glasgow). 2 May 1851. p. 6. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
2. Ware, L.; Rallings, C.; Thrasher, M. (2006). "British Local Election Database, 1889–2003". beta.ukdataservice.ac.uk. doi:10.5255/ukda-sn-5319-1. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
3. "How The Polls Went". Evening Express (Scotland). 2 May 1951. p. 7. Retrieved 28 January 2024.