1973 Newcastle City Council election

The first elections to the newly created Newcastle City Council were held on 10 May 1973, with the entirety of the 78 seat council - three seats for each of the 26 wards - up for vote. The Local Government Act 1972 stipulated that the elected members were to shadow and eventually take over from the predecessor corporation on 1 April 1974. The order in which the councillors were elected dictated their term serving, with third-place candidates serving two years and up for re-election in 1975, second-placed three years expiring in 1976 and 1st-placed five years until 1978.^[1]

The election resulted in Labour gaining control of the council. Voter turnout was 32.0%.

Election result

Newcastle Local Election Result 1973^[1]

Party		Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
	Labour	51	0	0	0	65.4	52.1	36,858	N/A
	Conservative	23	0	0	0	29.5	41.0	28,995	N/A
	Independent	3	0	0	0	3.8	3.9	2,752	N/A
	Liberal	1	0	0	0	1.3	2.8	1,953	N/A
	Communist	0	0	0	0	0.0	0.2	122	N/A

This result had the following consequences for the total number of seats on the council after the elections:^[1]

Party		New council
	Labour	51
	Conservative	23
	Independent	3
	Liberal	1
Total		78
Working majority		24

Ward results

Benwell^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	J. Beecham	957	81.5	N/A
	Labour	T. Yellowley	908
	Labour	K. Scott	888
	Conservative	V. Hazell	217	18.5	N/A
Majority			740	63.0	N/A
Turnout			1,174	16.7	N/A
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

Blakelaw^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	T. Cooney	1,872	75.4	N/A
	Labour	E. Burke	1,838
	Labour	H. White	1,785
	Conservative	B. Duncan	610	24.6	N/A
	Conservative	R. Holford	549
	Conservative	J. Shenton	539
Majority			1,262	50.8	N/A
Turnout			2,482	22.5	N/A
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

Castle^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	E. Wade	1,334	35.5	N/A
	Conservative	J. Petty	1,313	35.0	N/A
	Conservative	D. Wood	1,223
	Labour	J. Gill	1,221
	Labour	J. Gant	1,216
	Conservative	H. Cordes	1,206
	Independent	C. Robinson	608	16.2	N/A
	Liberal	M. Stewart	498	13.3	N/A
	Liberal	P. Barker	437
	Liberal	E. Featherstone	412
Majority			21	0.6	N/A
Turnout			3,753	57.5	N/A
	Labour win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)

Dene^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	R. Gray	2,340	61.8	N/A
	Conservative	B. Slater	2,332
	Conservative	A. Evans	2,294
	Labour	N. Mellor	1,449	38.2	N/A
	Labour	M. Robson	1,408
	Labour	I. Taylor	1,365
Majority			891	23.6	N/A
Turnout			3,789	36.5	N/A
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)

East City^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Ms. T. Russell	1,051	81.7	N/A
	Labour	J. Scott-Batey	988
	Labour	J. Davies	967
	Conservative	J. Slater	235	18.3	N/A
Majority			816	63.5	N/A
Turnout			1,286	26.8	N/A
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

Elswick^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	D. Faulkner	1,455	44.7	N/A
	Labour	Ms. J. Lamb	1,299	39.9	N/A
	Labour	Ms. D. Starkey	1,240
	Liberal	D. Lesser	1,095
	Labour	J. Mandelson	1,066
	Liberal	H. Regnart	1,044
	Conservative	H. Corbett	500	15.4	N/A
	Conservative	H. Maxwell	447
	Conservative	G. Wilkin	411
Majority			156	4.8	N/A
Turnout			3,254	45.2	N/A
	Liberal win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

Fawdon^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	J. Laing	1,895	69.6	N/A
	Labour	E. Pugh	1,875
	Labour	J. Green	1,766
	Conservative	T. Wilkinson	829	30.4	N/A
	Conservative	J. Jack	682
	Conservative	H. Kossick	653
Majority			1,066	39.1	N/A
Turnout			2,724	30.0	N/A
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

Fenham^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	G. Leigh	1,817	65.6	N/A
	Conservative	A. Moore	1,799
	Conservative	D. Gilbert	1,738
	Labour	I. Richardson	953	34.4	N/A
Majority			864	31.2	N/A
Turnout			2,770	28.8	N/A
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)

Gosforth #1^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	G. Trice	2,559	69.8	N/A
	Conservative	J. Slater	2,555
	Conservative	J. Michelson	2,522
	Labour	K. Bergmann	1,107	30.2	N/A
	Labour	G. Dixon	1,084
	Labour	T. Hannaby	1,063
Majority			1,452	39.6	N/A
Turnout			3,666	33.7	N/A
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)

Gosforth #2^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	M. Charlton	2,191	63.2	N/A
	Conservative	G. Layburn	2,111
	Conservative	J. Sanderson	2,104
	Labour	L. Begg	1,277	36.8	N/A
	Labour	B. Taylor	1,225
	Labour	R. Hunter	1,209
Majority			914	26.4	N/A
Turnout			3,468	45.0	N/A
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)

Heaton^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	W. Harding	1,831	63.4	N/A
	Conservative	Ms. E. Harding	1,816
	Conservative	F. Dodgin	1,761
	Labour	Ms. D. Cairns	1,055	36.6	N/A
	Labour	J. James	1,046
	Labour	O. Walker	1,027
Majority			776	26.9	N/A
Turnout			2,886	31.3	N/A
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)

Jesmond^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Ms. J. Baty	1,621	49.5	N/A
	Independent	P. Grant	1,594
	Independent	V. Maddison	1,559
	Conservative	C. Burdon-Taylor	1,229	37.5	N/A
	Conservative	D. Thomas	1,155
	Conservative	R. McVain	1,116
	Labour	J. Hugo	427	13.0	N/A
Majority			392	12.0	N/A
Turnout			3,277	34.3	N/A
	Independent win (new seat)
	Independent win (new seat)
	Independent win (new seat)

Kenton^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	C. Foster	2,377	53.4	N/A
	Labour	F. Nicholson	2,357
	Labour	M. Bergman	2,228
	Conservative	J. Cox	2,077	46.6	N/A
	Conservative	M. Graham	2,055
	Conservative	R. Lane	2,032
Majority			300	6.8	N/A
Turnout			4,454	51.1	N/A
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

Moorside^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Ms. M. Murray	1,389	55.3	N/A
	Labour	G. Harrison	1,338
	Labour	L. Anwell	1,280
	Conservative	J. Davidson	1,125	44.7	N/A
	Conservative	I. Burton	1,071
	Conservative	J. Kaer	1,037
Majority			264	10.5	N/A
Turnout			2,514	26.2	N/A
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

Newburn #1^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	T. Fenton	1,498	62.0	N/A
	Labour	C. Stephenson	1,447
	Labour	V. Waddington	1,426
	Conservative	M. Rogerson	920	38.0	N/A
	Conservative	W. Forsyth	899
	Conservative	J. Hellawell	899
Majority			578	23.9	N/A
Turnout			2,418	29.0	N/A
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

Newburn #2^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	R. Urwin	3,074	79.0	N/A
	Labour	M. Walker	3,074
	Labour	A. Forster	2,953
	Conservative	J. Hill	817	21.0	N/A
	Conservative	C. Dempsey	653
	Conservative	R. Baron	639
Majority			2,257	58.0	N/A
Turnout			3,891	29.7	N/A
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

Newburn #3^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	J. Lanaghan	1,501	51.4	N/A
	Labour	R. Clarke	1,500
	Labour	J. Murray	1,448
	Conservative	Ms. I. Faith	1,420	48.6	N/A
	Conservative	D. McKeag	1,311
	Conservative	W. Weeks	1,277
Majority			81	2.8	N/A
Turnout			2,921	41.0	N/A
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

Sandyford^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	B. Collins	1,688	61.7	N/A
	Conservative	Ms. P. Collins	1,643
	Conservative	P. Martin	1,546
	Labour	J. Higgins	1,048	38.3	N/A
	Labour	C. Swainston	1,027
	Labour	P. Slade	1,006
Majority			640	23.4	N/A
Turnout			2,736	37.1	N/A
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)

Scotswood^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	H. Russell	1,283	62.7	N/A
	Labour	A. Davison	1,259
	Labour	R. Burgess	1,234
	Conservative	W. Thomlinson	763	37.3	N/A
Majority			520	25.4	N/A
Turnout			2,064	26.5	N/A
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

St. Anthonys^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	B. Abrahams	1,762	90.9	N/A
	Labour	Ms. M. Abrahams	1,633
	Labour	D. Webster	1,571
	Conservative	M. Coote	177	9.1	N/A
Majority			1,585	81.7	N/A
Turnout			1,939	27.3	N/A
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

St. Lawrence^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	S. Forster	1,581	87.3	N/A
	Labour	Ms. M. Collins	1,574
	Labour	T. Collins	1,560
	Conservative	R. Lungley	230	12.7	N/A
Majority			1,351	74.6	N/A
Turnout			1,811	27.0	N/A
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

Walker^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	N. Stockdale	1,725	81.8	N/A
	Labour	J. Stanners	1,699
	Labour	G. Drew	1,628
	Conservative	A. Storey	262	12.4	N/A
	Conservative	E. Liddell	219
	Conservative	A. Telford	210
	Communist	Ms. N. Manchee	122	5.8	N/A
Majority			1,463	69.4	N/A
Turnout			2,109	21.1	N/A
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

Walkergate^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	G. Gray	1,905	59.8	N/A
	Labour	O. Cairns	1,793
	Labour	T. Marr	1,650
	Conservative	L. Bulman	1,281	40.2	N/A
	Conservative	J. Usher	1,117
	Conservative	J. Hoggins	1,114
Majority			624	19.6	N/A
Turnout			3,186	33.8	N/A
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

West City^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	A. Stabler	984	84.2	N/A
	Labour	Ms. I. Steedman	893
	Labour	W. Wilson	881
	Conservative	B. McLeod	184	15.8	N/A
Majority			800	68.5	N/A
Turnout			1,168	18.2	N/A
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

Wingrove^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	N. Trotter	1,651	68.3	N/A
	Conservative	Ms. O. Kaer	1,570
	Conservative	P. Wardropper	1,556
	Labour	R. Bailey	765	31.7	N/A
	Labour	S. Cohen	742
	Labour	T. Palmer	728
Majority			886	36.7	N/A
Turnout			2,416	30.5	N/A
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)

Woolsington^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	S. Allen	1,290	50.7	N/A
	Labour	E. Smith	1,238
	Labour	J. Kerrigan	1,201
	Conservative	A. Rotherford	729	28.7	N/A
	Conservative	L. Kirby	707
	Conservative	R. Berstone	675
	Independent	T. Johnson	523	20.6	N/A
	Independent	J. Squires	426
Majority			561	22.0	N/A
Turnout			2,542		N/A
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

References

1. "Elections Centre: Newcastle-upon-Tyne 1973-2012" (PDF). electionscentre.co.uk/plymouth.ac.uk. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 July 2017. Retrieved 22 July 2017.