1977 Scottish local elections

none March 2020 1977 Scottish local elections Scotland parliamentary no 1974 Scottish local elections 1974 1978 Scottish regional elections 1978 All 53 district councils 3 May 1977 Prime Minister James Callaghan (cropped).jpg 120 120 160 0 0 James Callaghan 5 April 1976 Labour Party (UK) 282 146 31.6% 6.8% Margaret Thatcher at White House (cropped).jpg 128 120 160 0 5 Margaret Thatcher 11 February 1975 Conservative Party (UK) 259 18 27.2% 0.4% William Wolfe 1969 Scottish National Party 170 108 24.2% 11.8% David Steel 1985 (cropped).jpg 123 120 160 0 0 David Steel 7 July 1976 Liberal Party (UK) 62 45 4.0% 1.0% Scottish District local elections, 1977.svg 350px Colours denote the winning party with outright control Elections for the Scottish district councils were held in 1977. These were the second elections held to the 53 district councils established by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973. The previous elections had been held in 1974 with the authorities acting as "shadow" councils until May 1975.SNP seizes 107 seats Faux Ronald 5 May 1977 The Times 1, 4 The elections took place when the Labour government of James Callaghan was extremely unpopular, with a subsequent collapse in the party's vote. Background The poll was held on 3 May and all district council seats were to be filled. Districts formed the second tier in local government in Scotland under the 1975 reorganisation, with regional councils forming the upper tier. It was intended that elections would normally take place on a four-year cycle, but as an interim measure the first two sets of district councils had terms of three years: 1974–77 and 1977–80. Regional elections were also to be on a four-year cycle, held midway between district elections. Party performance There was a large swing against Labour, who lost control of a number of councils in the industrial Central Belt where it had dominated local politics for decades.Labour lose control of Glasgow Faux Ronald 4 May 1977 The Times 1 Labour lost its majority in Glasgow for the next three years (although they were still the largest party), very unusual in the late 20th century, with some high-profile casualties including the Labour group leader on the council, Dick Dynes. While they lost seats to the Scottish National Party in Glasgow and the industrial belt, the anti-Labour mood favoured the Conservatives in Edinburgh and the Liberals in Aberdeen and Inverclyde. In retrospect these elections were the high point of the SNP's upsurge in the 1970s. Vice-chair Margo MacDonald predicted that they would make 100 net gains, but they only made 98 (winning 103, losing 5).Half shares is the most the SNP can expect in Scotland Pulzer Peter 6 May 1977 The Times 16 Even so, this left half of Scotland under hung councils. They retained control of the council they held and gained three more. The party claimed to have secured a swing of approximately 9% since the October 1974 general election, meaning they would gain 21–27 parliamentary seats from the Labour Party, three from the Conservatives and one from the Liberal Party. Independent analysis placed the swing to the SNP of between 1 and 5 percent, giving them gains of 10–15 Labour seats and only a slight chance of making gains from the Conservatives or Liberals. In particular, the party did poorly in Nairn, putting the seat of prominent party figure Winnie Ewing at risk (she lost the seat at the next election in 1979). The SNP's advance was halted the following year, with the 1978 Glasgow Garscadden by-election, 1978 Scottish regional elections, the 1978 Hamilton by-election and the 1978 Berwick and East Lothian by-election. This election was also the first serious test of the new Scottish Labour Party of Jim Sillars which did not do well outside his South Ayrshire base, only winning three seats. National results Summary of the 1977 Scottish District local council election resultsRallings Colin Thrasher Michael Local Elections in Britain Routledge 2013 Table 7.5 |- !colspan=2|Parties !Votes !Votes % !Wards |- | Scottish Labour |285,899 |31.6 |282 |- | Scottish Conservatives |215,817 |27.2 |259 |- | Scottish National Party |236,913 |24.2 |170 |- | Independent (politician) |150,736 |9.8 |318 |- | Liberal Party (UK) |29,214 |4.0 |62 |- | Scottish Labour Party (1976) | | |3 |- | Communist Party of Great Britain |6,133 |0.7 |2 |- | style="width: 10px" bgcolor=Other| | style="text-align: left;" scope="row" | Other |35,595 |2.6 |17 |- !colspan=2|Total!! !! 100.0 !! 1,107 |} Results by region The seats on each council before and after the election were as follows:Results of Scottish district council elections 5 May 1977 The Times 4 Borders District Labour Conservative Liberal Independent Other Control Berwickshire011 (+1)01 (−1)0 Conservative Party (UK) hold Ettrick and Lauderdale0 (−1)01 (+1)140 Independent (politician) hold Roxburgh1 (+1)1 (+1)2 (+2)9 (−4)Border Independents 3 Independent (politician) hold Tweeddale000100 Independent (politician) hold Central District Labour Conservative SNP Liberal Independent Other Control Clackmannan3 (−2)18 (+3)00Scottish Labour 0 (−1) Scottish National Party gain from NOC Falkirk8 (−8)222 (+10)02 (−1)Independent Labour 1Non-Party 1 (−1) Scottish National Party gain from NOC Stirling784010NOC Dumfries and Galloway District Labour Conservative SNP Independent Other Control Annandale and Eskdale000140 Independent (politician) hold Nithsdale4 (−2)0 (−1)4 (+3)14 (−3)Non-Party 6 (+1) Independent (politician) hold Stewartry000120 Independent (politician) hold Wigtown000140 Independent (politician) hold Fife District Labour Conservative SNP Liberal Independent Other Control Dunfermline19 (+2)7 (+2)2 (−1)0 (−1)2 (−2)0 Scottish Labour Party hold Kirkcaldy16 (−8)58 (+8)02Ratepayers 4Communist 1Labour lose to NOC North-East Fife014 (+1)01 (+1)3 (−2)0 Conservative Party (UK) hold Grampian District Labour Conservative SNP Liberal Independent Control Banff and Buchan001 (+1)017 (−1) Independent (politician) hold City of Aberdeen22 (−6)172 (+2)7 (+4)0Labour lose to NOC Gordon03027 Independent (politician) hold Kincardine and Deeside020010 Independent (politician) hold Moray004 (+4)014 (−4) Independent (politician) hold Highland District Labour SNP Independent Control Badenoch and Strathspey0010 Independent (politician) hold Caithness0015 Independent (politician) hold Inverness0015 Independent (politician) hold Lochaber2 vacancies31 (+1)6 (−1) Independent (politician) hold Nairn02 (−1)8 (+1) Independent (politician) hold Ross and Cromarty0020 Independent (politician) hold Skye and Lochalsh0010 Independent (politician) hold Sutherland0014 Independent (politician) hold Lothian District Labour Conservative SNP Liberal Independent Control City of Edinburgh23 (−4)34 (+3)5 (+3)1 (−2)1 Conservative Party (UK) gain from NOC East Lothian9 (−1)8 (+2)000 (−1) Scottish Labour Party hold Midlothian7 (−4)25 (+4)01Labour lose to NOC West Lothian9 (−1)09 (+1)03NOC Strathclyde District Labour Conservative SNP Liberal Independent Others Control Argyll and Bute1 vacancy02 (+2)0023 (−2)0 Independent (politician) hold Bearsden and Milngavie16 (+1)003 (−1)0 Conservative Party (UK) gain from NOC Clydebank3 (−2)15 (+2)00Scottish Labour 1 Scottish National Party gain from Labour Cumbernauld and Kilsyth307000 Scottish National Party hold Cumnock and Doon Valley6 (−4)1 (+1)001Scottish Labour 2 (+2) Scottish Labour Party hold Cunninghame5 (−9)011 (+10)00 (−2)Moderate Conservatives 8 (+1)Labour lose to NOC Dumbarton3 (−5)5 (+3)4 (+4)03 (−2)0Labour lose to NOC East Kilbride1 (−4)211 (+4)010 Scottish National Party gain from NOC Eastwood010000Ratepayers 2 Conservative Party (UK) hold City of Glasgow30 (−24)25 (+9)16 (+15)1 (+1)0Independent Conservative 0 (−1)Labour lose to NOC Hamilton10 (−3)1 (−1)6 (+4)20 (−1)Independent Labour 1 (+1) Scottish Labour Party hold Inverclyde8 (−6)1 (−1)1 (+1)13 (+7)0 (−1)0 Liberal Party (UK) gain from Labour Kilmarnock and Loudoun7 (−5)7 (+3)2 (+2)000Labour lose to NOC Kyle and Carrick7 (−3)17 (+2)2 (+2)1 (+1)00 Conservative Party (UK) hold Lanark403 (+1)07 (−1)0Independent lose to NOC Motherwell20 (−5)5 (+4)3 (+1)10 (−1)Communist 1 (+1) Scottish Labour Party hold Monklands13 (−2)5 (+1)2 (+1)010 Scottish Labour Party hold Renfrew14 (-11)11 (+1)11 (+10)03Independent Labour 1 (+1)Labour lose to NOC Strathkelvin4 (−2)4 (−1)6 (+3)000NOC Tayside District Labour Conservative SNP Independent Others Control Angus312 (+1)07 (−1)0 Conservative Party (UK) hold City of Dundee20 (−2)21 (+1)01 (−1)Real Labour 1Monifeith Ratepayers 1 (+1)NOC Perth and Kinross3 (−1)192 (+2)5 (−1)0 Conservative Party (UK) hold Further reading J. M. Bochel and D. T. Denver. 1977. 1977 Scottish district council election. University of Dundee. References 1977 Category:May 1977 in the United Kingdom