# Tower Hamlets (electoral division)

Tower Hamlets was an electoral division for the purposes of elections to the Greater London Council. The constituency elected two councillors for a three-year term in 1964, 1967, and 1970.

## History

It was planned to use the same boundaries as the Westminster Parliament constituencies for election of councillors to the Greater London Council (GLC), as had been the practice for elections to the predecessor London County Council, but those that existed in 1965 crossed the Greater London boundary. Until new constituencies could be settled, the 32 London boroughs were used as electoral areas which therefore created a constituency called Tower Hamlets.
The electoral division was replaced from 1973 by the single-member electoral divisions of Bethnal Green and Bow and Stepney and Poplar.

## Elections

The Tower Hamlets constituency was used for the Greater London Council elections in 1964, 1967 and 1970. Two councillors were elected at each election using first-past-the-post voting.

### 1964 election

The first election was held on 9 April 1964, a year before the council came into its powers. The electorate was 136,374 and two Labour Party councillors were elected. With 32,473 people voting, the turnout was 23.8%. The councillors were elected for a three-year term.
1964 Greater London Council election: Tower Hamlets :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | John Patrick Branagan | 25,350 | | |
| | Labour | Ernest Ashley Bramall | 24,488 | | |
| | Communist | Solly Kaye | 2,618 | | |
| | Liberal | S. H. Woodham | 2,179 | | |
| | Liberal | J. W. Parton | 2,133 | | |
| | Conservative | A. J. Lawrence | 2,113 | | |
| | Conservative | B. Hawley | 1,959 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | | | |
| | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) |
| | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) |

### 1967 election

The second election was held on 13 April 1967. The electorate was 130,349 and two Labour Party councillors were elected. With 25,841 people voting, the turnout was 19.8%. The councillors were elected for a three-year term.
1967 Greater London Council election: Tower Hamlets :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes |
| | Labour | John Patrick Branagan | 16,477 |
| | Labour | Ernest Ashley Bramall | 15,663 |
| | Conservative | R. D. Mitchell | 3,996 |
| | Conservative | C. D. Sills | 3,509 |
| | Liberal | E. G. Weekes | 2,793 |
| | Liberal | S. H. Woodham | 2,786 |
| | Communist | Solly Kaye | 2,707 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing |

### 1970 election

The third election was held on 9 April 1970. The electorate was 126,738 and two Labour Party councillors were elected. With 29,296 people voting, the turnout was 23.1%. The councillors were elected for a three-year term.
1970 Greater London Council election: Tower Hamlets :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes |
| | Labour | John Patrick Branagan | 22,866 |
| | Labour | Ernest Ashley Bramall | 21,794 |
| | Conservative | R. D. Mitchell | 3,052 |
| | Conservative | P. R. C. Lloyd | 2,934 |
| | Independent | W. O'Dell | 1,551 |
| | Communist | Max Levitas | 1,223 |
| | Liberal | G. F. Stewart | 1,065 |
| | Liberal | C. A. S. Suett | 954 |
| | Homes before Roads | J. L. P. Drake | 390 |
| | Homes before Roads | R. K. Hall | 241 |
| | Union Movement | F. C. Lang | 192 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing |