1949 London County Council election
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An election to the
The constituencies were completely reorganised before the election. The 60 former two-member constituencies and one four-member constituency were replaced by 43 three-member constituencies, to align with the UK Parliamentary constituencies due to be introduced at the
Campaign
The Labour Party campaigned on its progress on the County of London Plan, its construction of housing and schools, and its takeover of health services.[2]
The Conservative Party chose not to stand candidates in Bethnal Green, where it hoped its supporters would instead vote for the Liberal Party candidates. It argued that the Labour administration was short of talent.[2][3]
The Liberal Party and Communist Party of Great Britain each stood only six candidates, and hoped to retain representation in their strongest areas: Bethnal Green for the Liberals, and Stepney for the Communists.[1]
Results
The Conservative Party secured the most votes, but won the same number of seats as the Labour Party. The Liberal Party leader
Turnout at the election was 39%, a considerable increase from 26% three years earlier.[4]
Party | Votes | Seats | ||||||
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Number | % | Stood | Seats | % | ||||
Conservative | 1,526,000 | 50.9 | 126 | 64 | 49.6 | |||
Labour | 1,404,805 | 46.9 | 129 | 64 | 49.6 | |||
Liberal | 37,266 | 1.2 | 6 | 1 | 0.8 | |||
Communist | 26,666 | 0.9 | 6 | 0 | 0.0 | |||
Union Movement | 1,253 | 0.0 | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | |||
Independent
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617 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 |