Bibliography

[Davıd Boothroyd]

It occurs that there are several compilations of historical local election results already out there which people may not know about. The following list is probably not complete.

Nationwide

• County council election results in England : a statistical digest. Plymouth Polytechnic. Centre for the Study of Local Elections, 1985. 2 v. ; 22x30cm.
• The English and Welsh county elections 1986 : results and statistics / T J. Karran and H M Bochel. Dundee : Election Studies: Department of Political Science and Social Policy, University of Dundee, 1986. ISBN 1869820002. NB: Although published and dated in 1986, it contains the results of the 1985 elections.
• The ... Metropolitan borough council election results : a statistical digest. Plymouth Polytechnic. Centre for the Study of Local Elections, 1986-1987. 2 v. ; 22x30cm.
• Local elections handbook. Plymouth : Local Government Chronicle Elections Centre, 1988-. ISSN 1362-7619. v. ; 30cm.

London

• Twentieth century local election results / John Woollard and Alan Willis. Plymouth : Local Government Chronicle Elections Centre, University of Plymouth, [2003]. v. 1. Election results for the London County Council (1889-1961) and London metropolitan boroughs (1900-1928) -- v. 2. Election results for the London metropolitan boroughs (1931-1962) -- v. 3. Summary data: Inner London, county & borough elections 1889-1998 --. ISBN 0948858265 (v. 1 : spiral) : No price; ISBN 0948858273 (v. 2 : spiral) : No price; ISBN 0948858281 (v. 3 : spiral). v. : ill., maps ; 30 cm.
• London Borough Council Election. London : Greater London Council / London Residuary Body / London Research Centre / Greater London Authority. 1968-. Online data.london.gov.uk/elections
• Harrow votes : the municipal borough of Harrow, 1954-1965 : a handbook of borough election results, covering the years 1954-1963 / compiled and edited by Colin J. Gray and Stephen Giles-Medhurst.: 1980. 63p. : 1map ; 30cm. (also online)

England outside London

• Abstract of Bristol historical statistics : part 3 - political representation and Bristol's elections 1700-1997. Spencer Jordan. University of the West of England, Faculty of Humanities, 1997. ISBN 1860431135
• Annals of Bolton. History, chronology, politics. Parliamentary and municipal polls / James Clegg. Bolton : Chronicle Office, 1888. 282. 191 p. ; 8º.
• Battle for the counties : guide to the county council elections May 1977 / David M. Clark. Newcastle upon Tyne 284 Wingrove Rd, Newcastle upon Tyne [NE4 9EE] : Redrose Publications, 1977. 100p. : facsims., maps ; 30cm.
• Bristol Lists: Municipal and Miscellaneous / Alfred B. Beaven. Bristol : T. D. Taylor, Sons & Hawkins, 1899. xvi, 455 p. ; 8º.
• County borough elections in England and Wales, 1919-1938 : a comparative analysis / Sam Davies and Bob Morley. Aldershot, Hampshire : Ashgate, c1999-: v. 1. Barnsley-Bournemouth -- v. 2. Bradford-Carlisle -- v. 3. Chester-East Ham -- v. 4. Exeter-Hull. ISBN 1840142464 (v. 1) : £60.00; ISBN 1840142472 (v. 2) : £85.00; ISBN 1840142480 (v. 3) : £90.00; ISBN 9781840142495 (v. 4) : £80.00; ISBN 1840142499 (v. 4) : £80.00: v. : ill., maps ; 24 cm.
• Leigh Municipal Record, 1863-1907 / compiled by William Duncombe Pink. Leigh : Printed for the Corporation by Percy R. Paine, 1907.
• A record of elections parliamentary and municipal for Liverpool, Birkenhead, Bootle, South, and South West Lancashire, from the passing of the Reform Acts 1832 and 1835 to January 1878 / compiled by Richard Bennett. Liverpool : Edward Howell, 1878.
• Twentieth century local election results / [compiled by] Christopher Phillips. v. 4. Birmingham votes 1911-2000. ISBN 0948858303 (v. 4). v. : ill., maps ; 30 cm.
• Twentieth century local election results / [compiled by] Roger Ottewill. v. 5. Guildford Borough Council - A Compendium of Municipal Election Results 1835 to 1974. ISBN 0948858400 (v. 5). v. : ill., maps ; 30 cm.
• Twentieth century local election results / [compiled by] Alan Willis. v. 6. County borough election results in Great Britain 1945-1972 : Barnsley - Grimsby -- v. 7. County Bourough election results in Great Britain 1945-1972 : Halifax - Rotherham -- v. 8. County Borough election results in Great Britain 1945-1972 : England : Salford-York, Scotland & Wales. ISBN 9780948858468 (v. 6 : pbk.); ISBN 9780948858475 (v. 7 : pbk.); ISBN 9780948858482 (v. 8 : pbk.). v. : ill., maps ; 30 cm. (Not sure if these have been published yet)

Scotland

• City and Royal Burgh of Glasgow municipal election results 1948-73 / compiled by F.W.S. Craig. Chichester Parliamentary Research Services. [86]p. : ill. ; 30cm.
• The Scottish local government elections, 1974 : results and statistics / J.M. Bochel. D.T. Denver. Edinburgh : Scottish Academic Press Ltd, 1975. ISBN 0707301114 (pbk) : xiii,176p. : maps ; 25cm.
• The Scottish District Elections, 1977 : results and statistics / J.M. Bochel, D.T. Denver. Dundee : Election Studies, Department of Political Science, University of Dundee, 1977. 110p. in various pagings : 1map ; 30cm.
• The Scottish regional elections, 1978 : results and statistics / J.M. Bochel, D.T. Denver, B.J. McHardy. Dundee [Dundee DD1 4HN] : Election Studies, Department of Political Science, University of Dundee, 1978. [3],65p. : ill. ; 30cm.
• The Scottish district elections 1980 : results and statistics / J. M. Bochel [and] D. T. Denver. Dundee : University of Dundee, Department of Political Science , 1980.
• Scottish regional elections 1982 : results and statistics /J. M. Bochel [and] D. T. Denver. Dundee : University of Dundee, Department of Political Science , 1982.
• The Scottish district elections 1984 : results and statistics / J M. Bochel. D T Denver. Department of Political Science, University of Dundee, 1984.
• Scottish regional elections 1986 : results and statistics / J. M. Bochel and D. T. Denver. Dundee : Election Studies, 1986. ISBN 1869820010 (spiral) : 55p. ; 30cm.
• Scottish District Elections, 1988 : Results and Statistics / J.M. Bochel [and] D.T. Denver. Dundee : Election Studies, 1989. ISBN 18698200029
• The Scottish regional elections 1990 : results and statistics /J. M. Bochel and D. T. Denver. Dundee : Election Studies,University of Dundee, 1990
• The Scottish district elections 1992 : results and statistics / J.M. Bochel and D.T. Denver. Dundee : Election Studies, University of Dundee, 1992. ISBN 1869820045. xii, 108p.
• The Scottish regional elections 1994 : Results and statistics / Hugh M Bochel. Election Studies, University of Dundee (1994). ISBN 1869820053. 54p.
• The Scottish local elections 1995 : results and statistics / H M. Bochel. D T Denver. 1995. ISBN 1869820355

[Guest]

Great, thanks for this. But now please point us at places where these can be bought, at a price under what is offered for this.

[Davıd Boothroyd]

Almost none of them can be bought, due to the fact that they are out of print.

[Guest]

Then it's not a terribly good bibliography if nobody can access it! Surely there are second hand bookshops, websites, or even libraries you can point to.

[Davıd Boothroyd]

You don't seem to understand that a bibliography isn't a sales catalogue. You want a list of books you can go out and buy in your local Waterstones which have local election results? There aren't any, not even contemporary ones.

If you want to find historic local election results, you have a long search involving obscure sources which are only located in the largest reference libraries. No use complaining about it.

[finsobruce]

Jul 19, 2014 17:19:50 GMT Guest said:

Great, thanks for this. But now please point us at places where these can be bought, at a price under what is offered for this.

Not quite sure why you're presenting a book that David doesn't actually cite, but here is a cheap copy of one of the Morley and Davies volumes at the top ......

www.abebooks.co.uk/servlet/SearchResults?an=morley&bi=0&bx=off&ds=30&recentlyadded=all&sortby=17&sts=t&tn=county+borough&x=0&y=0

[lbarnes]

Dear Guest

I have a complete set of local election results since 1973, most of the major boroughs and some of the counties back to 1945, all of inner London back to 1888 and a scattering of lots of other authorities back to the Great Reform Act. Would you like me to email them to you?

[Davıd Boothroyd]

This is what bibliographies look like. They alert you to the existence of books; actually locating a copy must be an exercise for the reader. Not everyone is in London. Not everyone is, or can become, a member of one of the large reference libraries which are likely to help. And I doubt there is a single library which contains everything. (I didn't include all the Dundee series of Scottish results; some are not even in the British Library.)

The fact is neither ABEBooks nor Amazon nor Bookfinder are going to be at all useful in general. Books on election results do not have big print runs, and most of them go into reference libraries where they are not intended to be disposed of and sold on. The oldest Local Elections Handbook on ABEBooks is from 2002, from which all the results are in LEAP anyway. If you want to build up a collection of books on election results, then go ahead - but don't expect to get a significant collection even in ten years or longer.

The most useful link in finding obscure books is probably Worldcat: www.worldcat.org

[ColinJ]

Jul 19, 2014 17:19:50 GMT Guest said:

Great, thanks for this. But now please point us at places where these can be bought, at a price under what is offered for this.

David should be thanked for his bibliography rather than castigated, in your later posts, for things outside his control.

With regard to tactics for obtaining obscure or out-of-print books. Obviously no-one in their right mind is going to pay £7500 for one of Craig's books. The one in question in your link was on my Amazon 'wish-list' (along with other rare books about elections) for several years. If you check your list several times a week you might strike lucky one day and be able to act quickly. In the case of the Chronology a copy appeared about a year ago at a sensible price (about £50) and is now on the bookshelf at ColinJ towers.

Another (non-electoral) example was I.C. Rapoport's Aberfan: The Days After.  For 3-4 years the only copies listed on Amazon were of the order of £1000 from an obscure New York bookshop.  I thought it was a currency conversion gone hay-wire.  But I was wrong!  About three months ago a copy of Rapoport's book was offered from a UK charity shop at £1.99 + p&p.  You can guess the rest.........

[Davıd Boothroyd]

Jul 20, 2014 8:28:28 GMT ColinJ said:

Another (non-electoral) example was I.C. Rapoport's Aberfan: The Days After.  For 3-4 years the only copies listed on Amazon were of the order of £1000 from an obscure New York bookshop.  I thought it was a currency conversion gone hay-wire.  But I was wrong!  About three months ago a copy of Rapoport's book was offered from a UK charity shop at £1.99 + p&p.  You can guess the rest.........

Tell me about it. One of the books I've been looking for is corrupt architect John Poulson's autobiography "The Price", which is rare because it was withdrawn by the publisher over multiple libel claims immediately after it was published. I saw one on ABEBooks for £75 or so, and thought it was a bit steep and I could let it pass. There's one on ABEBooks right now - have a look how much they want for it.

With really rare stuff you just have to keep on searching ABEBooks for years and just wait to get lucky. Last month I finally found a copy of Dismantlers, the story of the London Residuary Body, after about a decade of searching. It wasn't particularly expensive, just very rare.

[andrewteale]

Occasionally I get asked whether I could update LEAP to cover years before 2002. It takes about 30 seconds for me to decide that doing the research just isn't worth the time and effort involved.

Even getting historical results for general elections can be fairly difficult; in my quest to collect them I now have three-and-a-half shelves filled with copies of Whitaker's Almanack.

An interesting (if slightly off-topic) addition is this website devoted to the historical Mayors of Bolton.