Local government

Local government in the United Kingdom

The pattern of local government in England is complex, with the distribution of functions varying according to the local arrangements. Legislation concerning local government in England is decided by the Parliament and Government of the United Kingdom, because England does not have a devolved...

 elections

Elections in the United Kingdom

There are five types of elections in the United Kingdom: United Kingdom general elections, elections to devolved parliaments and assemblies, elections to the European Parliament, local elections and mayoral elections. Elections are held on Election Day, which is conventionally a Thursday...

were held in the thirty-two London boroughs on Thursday 9 May 1968. Polling stations were open between 8am and 9pm.

All seats were up for election. The result was a landslide for the Conservative Party

Conservative Party (UK)

The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...

, who won twenty-eight of the boroughs, while Labour lost control of seventeen of the twenty boroughs it had held going into the elections (including Bexley

London Borough of Bexley

The London Borough of Bexley lies in south east Greater London, and is a borough referred to as part of Outer London. It has common borders with the London Borough of Bromley to the south, the London Borough of Greenwich to the west, across the River Thames to the north it borders the London...

, where it did not win a single seat). Only ten Liberal

Liberal Party (UK)

The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...

 councillors were elected in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

.

The result followed the Conservative gain of the Greater London Council

Greater London Council

The Greater London Council was the top-tier local government administrative body for Greater London from 1965 to 1986. It replaced the earlier London County Council which had covered a much smaller area...

 in the elections the previous year

Greater London Council election, 1967

The second election to the Greater London Council was held on 13 April 1967, and saw the first Conservative victory for a London-wide authority since 1931...

.

Until 1978, each council had aldermen, in the ratio of one aldermen to six councillors. Following the elections, each council elected half of its aldermen, who would go on to serve until 1974. The remaining aldermen had been elected in 1964

London local elections, 1964

Local government elections were held in the thirty-two London boroughs on Thursday 7 May 1964. Polling stations were open between 8am and 9pm.This was the first election for the London boroughs, which had been created by the London Government Act 1963. All seats were up for election. The result was...

 and would serve until 1971. This only affected political control in Newham

London Borough of Newham

The London Borough of Newham is a London borough formed from the towns of West Ham and East Ham, within East London.It is situated east of the City of London, and is north of the River Thames. According to 2006 estimates, Newham has one of the highest ethnic minority populations of all the...

, which remained Labour-held after the election of aldermen.

Political control

Summary of council election results:

	Previous control	New control	Conservative	Labour	Liberal Liberal Party (UK) The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...	Others	Details
Barking London Borough of Barking and Dagenham In 1801, the civil parishes that form the modern borough had a total population of 1,937; and the area was characterised by farming, woodland and the fishing fleet at Barking. This last industry employed 1,370 men and boys by 1850, but by the end of the century had ceased to exist; replaced by...	Labour	Labour	13	32	-	4
Barnet London Borough of Barnet The London Borough of Barnet is a London borough in North London and forms part of Outer London. It has a population of 331,500 and covers . It borders Hertfordshire to the north and five other London boroughs: Harrow and Brent to the west, Camden and Haringey to the south-east and Enfield to the...	Conservative	Conservative	56	3	1	-
Bexley London Borough of Bexley The London Borough of Bexley lies in south east Greater London, and is a borough referred to as part of Outer London. It has common borders with the London Borough of Bromley to the south, the London Borough of Greenwich to the west, across the River Thames to the north it borders the London...	Labour	Conservative	55	-	-	1
Brent London Borough of Brent In 1801, the civil parishes that form the modern borough had a total population of 2,022. This rose slowly throughout the 19th century, as the district became built up; reaching 5,646 in the middle of the century. When the railways arrived the rate of population growth increased...	Labour	Conservative	49	11	-	-
Bromley London Borough of Bromley The London Borough of Bromley is a London borough of south east London, England and forms part of Outer London. The principal town in the borough is Bromley.-Geography:...	Conservative	Conservative	52	5	3	-
Camden London Borough of Camden In 1801, the civil parishes that form the modern borough were already developed and had a total population of 96,795. This continued to rise swiftly throughout the 19th century, as the district became built up; reaching 270,197 in the middle of the century...	Labour	Conservative	42	18	-	-
Croydon London Borough of Croydon The London Borough of Croydon is a London borough in South London, England and is part of Outer London. It covers an area of and is the largest London borough by population. It is the southernmost borough of London. At its centre is the historic town of Croydon from which the borough takes its name...	NOC No overall control Within the context of local councils of the United Kingdom, the term No Overall Control refers to a situation in which no single party achieves a majority of seats and is analogous to a hung parliament...	Conservative	47	1	1	11
Ealing London Borough of Ealing The London Borough of Ealing is a borough in west London.-Location:The London Borough of Ealing borders the London Borough of Hillingdon to the west, the London Borough of Harrow and the London Borough of Brent to the north, the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham to the east and the London...	Labour	Conservative	53	5	-	2
Enfield London Borough of Enfield The London Borough of Enfield is the most northerly London borough and forms part of Outer London. It borders the London Boroughs of Barnet, Haringey and Waltham Forest...	Labour	Conservative	51	9	-	-
Greenwich London Borough of Greenwich The London Borough of Greenwich is an Inner London borough in south-east London, England. Taking its name from the historic town of Greenwich, the present borough was formed in 1965 by the amalgamation of the former area of the Metropolitan Borough of Greenwich with part of the Metropolitan...	Labour	Conservative	38	22	-	-
Hackney London Borough of Hackney The London Borough of Hackney is a London borough of North/North East London, and forms part of inner London. The local authority is Hackney London Borough Council....	Labour	Conservative	31	27	2	-
Hammersmith London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham The London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham is a London borough in West London, and forms part of Inner London. Traversed by the east-west main roads of the A4 Great West Road and the A40 Westway, many international corporations have offices in the borough....	Labour	Conservative	54	6	-	-
Haringey London Borough of Haringey The London Borough of Haringey is a London borough, in North London, classified by some definitions as part of Inner London, and by others as part of Outer London. It was created in 1965 by the amalgamation of three former boroughs. It shares borders with six other London boroughs...	Labour	Conservative	53	7	-	-
Harrow London Borough of Harrow The London Borough of Harrow is a London borough of north-west London. It borders Hertfordshire to the north and other London boroughs: Hillingdon to the west, Ealing to the south, Brent to the south-east and Barnet to the east.-History:...	Conservative	Conservative	56	-	-	-
Havering London Borough of Havering The London Borough of Havering is a London borough in North East London, England and forms part of Outer London. The principal town in Havering is Romford and the other main communities are Hornchurch, Upminster and Rainham. The borough is mainly characterised by suburban development with large...	NOC No overall control Within the context of local councils of the United Kingdom, the term No Overall Control refers to a situation in which no single party achieves a majority of seats and is analogous to a hung parliament...	Conservative	35	7	-	13
Hillingdon London Borough of Hillingdon The London Borough of Hillingdon is the westernmost borough in Greater London, England. The borough's population was recorded as 243,006 in the 2001 Census. The borough incorporates the former districts of Ruislip-Northwood, Uxbridge, Hayes and Harlington and Yiewsley and West Drayton in the...	Labour	Conservative	60	-	-	-
Hounslow London Borough of Hounslow -Political composition:Since the borough was formed it has been controlled by the Labour Party on all but two occasions. In 1968 the Conservatives formed a majority for the first and last time to date until they lost control to Labour in 1971. Labour subsequently lost control of the council in the...	Labour	Conservative	53	7	-	-
Islington London Borough of Islington The London Borough of Islington is a London borough in Inner London. It was formed in 1965 by merging the former metropolitan boroughs of Islington and Finsbury. The borough contains two Westminster parliamentary constituencies, Islington North and Islington South & Finsbury...	Labour	Conservative	47	10	-	3
Kensington and Chelsea	Conservative	Conservative	57	3	-	-
Kingston upon Thames Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames The Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames is a borough in southwest London, England. The main town is Kingston upon Thames and it includes Surbiton, Chessington, New Malden and Tolworth. It is the oldest of the three Royal Boroughs in England, the others are Kensington and Chelsea, also in London,...	Conservative	Conservative	59	1	-	-
Lambeth London Borough of Lambeth The London Borough of Lambeth is a London borough in south London, England and forms part of Inner London. The local authority is Lambeth London Borough Council.-Origins:...	Labour	Conservative	57	3	-	-
Lewisham London Borough of Lewisham The London Borough of Lewisham is a London borough in south-east London, England and forms part of Inner London. The principal settlement of the borough is Lewisham...	Labour	Conservative	44	16	-	-
Merton London Borough of Merton The London Borough of Merton is a borough in southwest London, England.The borough was formed under the London Government Act in 1965 by the merger of the Municipal Borough of Mitcham, the Municipal Borough of Wimbledon and the Merton and Morden Urban District, all formerly within Surrey...	NOC No overall control Within the context of local councils of the United Kingdom, the term No Overall Control refers to a situation in which no single party achieves a majority of seats and is analogous to a hung parliament...	Conservative	46	4	-	4
Newham London Borough of Newham The London Borough of Newham is a London borough formed from the towns of West Ham and East Ham, within East London.It is situated east of the City of London, and is north of the River Thames. According to 2006 estimates, Newham has one of the highest ethnic minority populations of all the...	Labour	NOC No overall control Within the context of local councils of the United Kingdom, the term No Overall Control refers to a situation in which no single party achieves a majority of seats and is analogous to a hung parliament...	6	30	3	21	Details Newham Council election, 1968 Elections to Newham London Borough Council were held on 9 May 1968. The whole council was up for election. Turnout was 22.8%.Following the election, Labour had 30 councillors out of 60. Five Labour aldermen had been elected at the preceding election, with terms running until 1971...
Redbridge London Borough of Redbridge The London Borough of Redbridge is a London borough in outer north-east London. Its administrative headquarters is at Redbridge Town Hall in Ilford. The local authority is Redbridge London Borough Council.-Etymology:...	Conservative	Conservative	55	5	-	-
Richmond upon Thames London Borough of Richmond upon Thames The London Borough of Richmond upon Thames is a London borough in South West London, UK, which forms part of Outer London. It is unique because it is the only London borough situated both north and south of the River Thames.-Settlement:...	Conservative	Conservative	54	-	-	-
Southwark London Borough of Southwark The London Borough of Southwark is a London borough in south east London, England. It is directly south of the River Thames and the City of London, and forms part of Inner London.-History:...	Labour	Labour	27	33	-	-
Sutton London Borough of Sutton The London Borough of Sutton is a London borough in South London, England and forms part of Outer London. It covers an area of and is the 80th largest local authority in England by population. It is one of the southernmost boroughs of London...	Conservative	Conservative	41	7	-	3
Tower Hamlets London Borough of Tower Hamlets The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is a London borough to the east of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It is in the eastern part of London and covers much of the traditional East End. It also includes much of the redeveloped Docklands region of London, including West India Docks...	Labour	Labour	-	57	-	3	Details Tower Hamlets council election, 1968 Elections to Tower Hamlets London Borough Council were held on 9 May 1968. The whole council was up for election. Turnout was 14.3%.Until 1978, each London council had aldermen, in the ratio of one aldermen to six councillors. Tower Hamlets had ten aldermen. Following the elections, Tower Hamlets...
Waltham Forest London Borough of Waltham Forest The London Borough of Waltham Forest is in northeast London, England. Officially, it forms part of Outer London as it borders Essex. However, it can be seen that the NE London boundary does not extend far compared to elsewhere in the city...	Labour	Conservative	44	4	-	-
Wandsworth London Borough of Wandsworth The London Borough of Wandsworth is a London borough in southwest London, England, and forms part of Inner London.-History:The borough was formed in 1965 from the former area of the Metropolitan Borough of Battersea and much of the former area of the Metropolitan Borough of Wandsworth, but...	Labour	Conservative	48	12	-	-
Westminster City of Westminster The City of Westminster is a London borough occupying much of the central area of London, England, including most of the West End. It is located to the west of and adjoining the ancient City of London, directly to the east of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, and its southern boundary...	Conservative	Conservative	55	5	-	-