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Post by hullenedge on Oct 11, 2016 22:46:39 GMT
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Post by hullenedge on Oct 30, 2016 11:07:24 GMT
Liberal victories in the English County Boroughs from 1945 to 1951:- www.dropbox.com/sh/cbrb10euc03wylk/AABtJNPPAwa5BOwOH4uMl-IFa?dl=0Perhaps not the full picture - different designations, newspapers/databases (sadly) do contain errors - but the trend is downwards. 1945 - 82 seats (multiple vacancies owing to wartime co-options), 1946 - 60, 1947 - 52, 1949 - 39, 1950 - 31 and 1951 - 36. Omit Halifax, Huddersfield, Rochdale and Liberal representation is very sparse. |
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Post by Davıd Boothroyd on Oct 31, 2016 10:07:27 GMT
A reminder that the Conservative/Liberal pact in Huddersfield agreed before the 1950 election was not pure altruism.
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Post by hullenedge on Oct 31, 2016 15:48:54 GMT
Despite many searches I've yet to locate a document to confirm a pact between the Halifax Tories and Liberals but I'm certain that there was an 'understanding'. Perhaps an unwritten Gentlemen's Agreement existed until the mid-60s?
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Post by hullenedge on Oct 31, 2016 22:06:38 GMT
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Post by Davıd Boothroyd on Oct 31, 2016 22:22:59 GMT
Despite many searches I've yet to locate a document to confirm a pact between the Halifax Tories and Liberals but I'm certain that there was an 'understanding'. Perhaps an unwritten Gentlemen's Agreement existed until the mid-60s? If you have access to the Guardian electronic archive you'll find some clues. Basically the situation seems to be that the Liberals in Halifax urged the Conservatives to stand down in their favour in 1950, but after they were comprehensively beaten they changed their tune. In October 1950 the Liberals offered a pact similar to the Huddersfield one, involving Halifax and Sowerby. There were then private discussions, and in February 1951 the Conservatives announced their decision that it was an 'unbalanced' offer. However, they were willing to do a three-seat deal under which the Conservatives fought both Halifax and Sowerby, but let the Liberals have a go in Colne Valley. The Colne Valley Liberal Association said it was a kind offer, but they were an autonomous local group and were not going to be part of any agreement. The Colne Valley Conservatives unilaterally decided that they would support Lady Violet Bonham-Carter (already chosen to fight the seat for the Liberals), while Halifax Conservatives went on and selected their candidate. On the eve of the election the Halifax Liberals decided not to stand (for the first time in 119 years) - but did not officially recommend support for the Conservative. No other deals seem to have been done, and the Conservatives started standing in Colne Valley. |
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Post by hullenedge on Nov 1, 2016 0:07:39 GMT
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Post by hullenedge on Nov 5, 2016 22:15:23 GMT
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The Bishop
Labour
Down With Factionalism!
Posts: 38,925
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Post by The Bishop on Nov 6, 2016 12:12:41 GMT
Blackpool stands out as both a Liberal "bright spot" in these trying times electorally - and conversely somewhere the LibDems barely register now.
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Post by marksenior on Nov 6, 2016 12:36:59 GMT
The one thing I remember vaguely about Blackpool in the early 60s is the row between the Conservatives and Liberals re aldermen . My memory is dim after so many years and I cant remember whether the row was in 1961/62 or 1962/63 .
There had been a long standing agreement that the 1/4 of council who were aldermen were selected in proportion to the seats actually won in the annual council elections . In one of those years the Liberals had won most of the wards in the annual elections but the Conservatives broke the agreement and retained control by selecting enough /conservative aldermen to retain control . In the following year the Liberals again won the majority of wards and had enough councillors to boot out all or the majority of Conservative aldermen .
If someone had a better memory of this time please correct me .
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Post by hullenedge on Nov 6, 2016 15:22:43 GMT
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Post by marksenior on Nov 6, 2016 15:46:58 GMT
Technically it was the Blackpool North by election bounce not the Orpington bounce . For some reason this was held the day before Orpington on the Wednesday . If it had been held on the Friday the day after , the Liberals would probably have won . |
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Post by hullenedge on Nov 6, 2016 23:29:10 GMT
Apologies for any misunderstanding but I meant Orpington bounce for the May elections. Agree that Blackpool North would have been a nailed-on Lib gain if the by-election had followed, rather than preceded, Orpington.
According to the Times the figures for the boroughs (England & Wales CBs/MBs) Con - 558, Lab + 294, Lib + 332. After the UDCs/RDCs had been polled Tory losses totalled over 800, Labour gains 400 (ish) and Liberal gains over 500 (ish).
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Post by AdminSTB on Nov 6, 2016 23:37:18 GMT
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Post by hullenedge on Nov 13, 2016 16:06:23 GMT
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Post by hullenedge on Dec 6, 2016 0:29:11 GMT
A small selection of Northern Ireland results from 1946/1955. I'd forgotten that Aldermen were directly elected. Franchise restricted to ratepayers, their spouses and business ratepayers. No STV! The 1946 local elections were the first in the province since 1936. Polling day was Wednesday 18th September bar County Londonderry Wednesday 16th October (waited until the register was not fully compiled). The 1955 elections were held on Wednesday 18th May, which was during the General Election campaign. www.dropbox.com/sh/vf4eqhmse5vblfq/AAAxRbT-XJJj-wbmHvO2czpwa?dl=0 |
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Post by Davıd Boothroyd on Dec 6, 2016 0:39:59 GMT
A small selection of Northern Ireland results from 1946/1955. I'd forgotten that Aldermen were directly elected. Franchise restricted to ratepayers, their spouses and business ratepayers. Famously, businesses got multiple votes, up to a maximum of six (dependent on the number of separate rateable premises). Gerry Fitt (who can be seen in the Belfast results) was scathing about this naked fiddling of the electoral system. |
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Post by Davıd Boothroyd on Dec 6, 2016 12:48:53 GMT
A small selection of Northern Ireland results from 1946/1955. I'd forgotten that Aldermen were directly elected. Franchise restricted to ratepayers, their spouses and business ratepayers. No STV! The 1946 local elections were the first in the province since 1936. Polling day was Wednesday 18th September bar County Londonderry Wednesday 16th October (waited until the register was not fully compiled). The 1955 elections were held on Wednesday 18th May, which was during the General Election campaign. www.dropbox.com/sh/vf4eqhmse5vblfq/AAAxRbT-XJJj-wbmHvO2czpwa?dl=0Fascinating stuff, and interesting to note that Aldermen were elected by the voters and not by the Councillors. I wonder if the wards for Belfast City Council had the same boundaries as the Stormont parliamentary constituencies in the city? Not all of them, but some were coterminous. See www.election.demon.co.uk/stormont/boundaries.html(Business ratepayers didn't get votes for Stormont, so the electorates were very different in the city centre) |
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Post by hullenedge on Feb 7, 2017 19:53:02 GMT
Possibly the final by-election before local government reorganisation on 1st April 1974?
February 1974 - A vacancy had occurred for the Fairfield ward on Hebden Royd UDC following the resignation of sitting Labour councillor Mr J. Lightburn. The composition of the council was LAB 8, CON 3, LIB 3 and IND 3. Given that the council would be extinct in just over a month it seems odd that this vacancy was filled however the UDC had been granted parish status. All UDC councillors would automatically become members of the Hebden Royd Parish Council. Elections to the parish council were scheduled for 1976.
Two candidates were nominated Robert Parks (Labour) and Philip Round (Liberal) and the by-election was to be held on Saturday 23rd February i.e. during the General Election campaign. Some electors queried whether the by-election would be postponed but the Returning Officer advised: 'The two elections are quite independent. One is a purely local affair, and the fact that a General Election follows five days later does not alter the arrangements for the local election in any way.'
Mr Parks was a local teacher but hailed from Barnsley. Mr Round was a local journalist and very much a 'local lad'.
Mr Round won polling 432 votes. Mr Parks polled 283. A comfortable majority of 149 and an impressive turnout of 63.7% (proximity to the major poll?).
The Liberals claimed that this victory signalled their impending success in the Sowerby constituency. Labour said that this result would have no relevance to the General Election. The Tories said that most of their supporters had either not voted or voted Liberal although a handful may have voted Labour to depress the Liberal majority!
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Post by Davıd Boothroyd on Feb 7, 2017 20:54:44 GMT
There was a more famous later byelection - for every seat on Clay Cross UDC, after the sitting councillors were surcharged and disqualified for defying the Housing Finance Act. The byelection was on Saturday 2 March 1974 - only two days after the general election - but had a turnout of 71.5%.
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